Classically Speaking

Here's some recent fun and silliness shared by friends. Happy Friday:)

Mozart opera + comic book heroes=Don Supermani!

 

Lady Gaga + Bassoons = The Breaking Winds (more from NPR)

And please pardon me, all you wonderful maestri out there:

-

I never thought I’d get to write these words of this blog: the following is NSFW (not safe for work) -- unless you’ve got a lenient workplace and a decent set of headphones.

That’s part of why I’m a day late in posting this recording; I waited until I got home to check it out then spent the whole evening debating whether I could post it here! Titillated enough yet? Here we go.

“Leck mich im Arsch,” K. 232 was a naughty little novelty when Mozart wrote it ca. 1782.

The English translation is not a huge leap from the German title, but if you want to confirm the words, you can find the history of the text in this decently well-sourced Wikipedia article (The Grove Dictionary of Music let me down on details about this one…)

It’s an even naughtier little novelty now that the band Insane Clown Posse has added their take, in a new recording produced by Jack White. You can hear the song and read about it here: Jack White Collaborates with Insane Clown Posse to Cover Mozart. For Real.” [pitchfork.com]

That’s the part you where you needed the headphones at work.

If you’d like a recording of the Mozart sans ICP, I’d recommend Mozart Unexpurgated (it does also appear in the Complete Mozart box set issued by Brilliant Records).

My favorite album of naughty classical fun is The Art of the Bawdy Song by the Baltimore Consort (many thanks to Dr. Paul Borg, who introduced a group of  wide-eyed undergraduates at Illinois State University to this album, along with Florence Foster Jenkins, Anna Russell, the 1812 Overture at West Point, and other great classics…)

As for ICP and White, classical connections do not play out in the rest of this release. According to Pitchfork:

The B-side will be "Mountain Girl" (which concerns itself with "tall tales about a shotgun wedding, meth problems and moonshine").

Today's word of the day  (via A.Word.A.Day) is fugue:

noun:
1. A musical form in which a theme is repeated in several voices and developed into a complex pattern.
2. A pathological state of consciousness in which someone appears to be conscious of one's actions but has no memory of them after returning to a normal state.

Read the full entry here. Then check out this explanation from Glenn Gould:

While it's only Tuesday, here's a Fugue for Friday, aka the Dragnet Fugue, by Stephen Malinowski, performed by The New Esterházy Quartet:

And the Nokia fugue, by Vincent Lo:

Lady Gaga's music also seems to be quite the popular source for fugue themes, including this one by Giovanni Dettori played on a beautiful old pipe organ:

Any other suggestions for fugues to pass the time?

Karl “Hoss” Cartwright’s madcap musical adventures continue in France, with music from the opera Orpheus in his Underwear and by beloved composer Hank Debussy (of Paris – both Texas and France).

Adventures in Good Country Music with Karl "Hoss" Cartwright

Written by Larry Groce
Karl “Hoss” Cartwright: John Kessler 

Piano and music arrangements: Eric Kitchen 
Vocals (Plastico Flamingo, et. al): Larry Groce 
Violin (Peggy Nini): Deni Bonet.

(c) Larry Groce and (p) West Virginia Public Radio 1987.

Special thanks to Andy Ridenour for sharing the cassette and to Paul Flaherty for digitizing it.

 

Previously on “Adventures in Good Country Music”

* Okie from Vienna

* They're Gonna Put Me in the Oratorio

* Bourbon and Water Music

* Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Valkyries
* The Round Mound of Profound Sound
* Waltzin’ Prison Blues