BACH
O,wachet auf! Rise with the lark!
And hear the tunes of J.S. Bach!
Motets, chorales or some cantata;
A devious fugue, a deft toccata.
Enjoy them all as you embark
Upon Johann Sebastian Bach.
And then there were the other Bachs, –
All musically quite bright sparchs;
Not quite as great as old J.S., –
But good musicians, none the less,
Were W.F. and C.P.E.,
And then the English one – J.C.
A total output broad and rich
(Although you can’t tell which is which).
* * * *
BARTOK,BELA
The folk-singer’s art occ-
Upied Bela Bartok
Who was first and foremost Hungarian.
Folk songs might have perished,
But all these he cherished, –
A kind if a song antiquarian.
BEETHOVEN
How sadly are life and events interwoven;
How hugely ironic that L.van Beethoven,
Who walked through the woods making note after note,
Yet never heard one of the sounds that he wrote.
e loved making music; he loved his klavier,
But hated the trumpet he held to his ear.
And yet compensations are found, one forgets; –
He never heard much of his last few quartets.
BERLIOZ, Hector. 1803 – 1869
Hector Berlioz,
Possibly rather unfairly, owes
Much of his success to Harriet,
The girl who said she wouldn’t marry yet.
Though the wild dreams this induced seem a bit drastic,
The symphony they produced was quite fantastic.
BRAHMS & LISZT
The music of Brahms
Has Hungarian charms;
A feature not missed
By the pianist Liszt.
But I must admit I’m not at all certain whether
They’d like how today they are both linked together.
CHOPIN
Some pieces of music by Frederic Chopin
Infuse you quite gradually, like a slow punc-
Ture; others can strike like a thrust from a Ghurka:
An etude, a nocturne – a lively mazurka, –
These have an affect which is very much faster.
In vigour and sentiment he was a Master.
CZECH-OUT
One could not conceive of a better na –
Tionalistic composer than Smetana.
His dates make him differ from Janacek,
And he’s more a Bohemian than-a-Czech.
The musical scene they took part in, who
Could argue, continued in Martinu.
DEBUSSY, Claude. 1862 1918
Composers have musical insights that few see;
And so it occurred on one warm afternoon
That, seated before his piano, Debussy
Was painting the light of the silvery moon.
But while contemplating the chords he was playing,
He viewed the bright sunlight that dappled the lawn,
And found his attention was constantly straying,
Diverted by thoughts of an indolent fawn.
“Oh, blast!” said Debussy (at least, the French for it),
“I still hear the sound of the sea being sung;
And cannot help hearing, much as I deplore it,
The tune of that lady aux cheveux de lin.”
DELIUS.
My aim,” Fenby said, “this time hence is
Deploying my aesthetic senses.
That cuckoo thing’s really a s –
Uperb bit of Delius,
So I’ll be his amanuensis.”
DVORAK
“Now what shall I call him?” said young Mrs. Dvorak;
“I can’t name him Boris, Ivanovitch, nor Jacques.
He’ll write for the New World, perhaps, when he’s bigger
A symphony, – or a Quartet for a Nigger.
I hope he won’t turn out to be Rustifarian!
I’ll just call him Antonin, – that’s quite Hungarian.”
ELGAR
That old English gentleman, Sir Edward Elgar,
Maintained all his life that remarkably well-guar-
Ded secret of what really was that Enigma;
And ever since, too, he’s avoided the stigma
Of having composed (that’s a different story)
The tune for that thing about Land, Hope and Glory.
GRIEG, Edvard
Edvard Grieg
Moved into a different league
When he’d done a fair old stint
Composing music for Peer gynt
HANDEL, George Frideric.1685 – 1759
When he came over to see George the Second,
The folk who knew music in general reckoned
No English composer could quite hold the candle
To their new-found Briton George Frideric Handel.
He wrote for the Water; he wrote for the Fireworks;
Did several Operas, and composed Choir works
His great reputation grew higher and higher,
Especially when he composed the Messiah.
HAYDN
That man of the symphony, Haydn,
Went to London, and so he supplied an-
Other half dozen more;
That’s 104.
And that caused his broad smile to widen.
KODALY.
Is it surprising that Zoltan Kodaly
Stands in the Classical Pops stakes so haly?
People like musical jokes. What a wheeze
To start off a work with an orchestral sneeze.
LITOLFF
I feel very sorry for Litolff;
In music it seems that he bit off
More than he could chew,
As they don’t play right through
The piece round what they’ve made a hit of.
MOZART
“Wolfgang,” said the Prince to young Mozart;
“That piece is not bad, but the notes are t-
Oo many. Why not,Amadeus,
Compose some nice music to play us?”
He wrote (thinking “don’t it make you sick!”)
Mis-hearing, A Little Night Music.
OPERA CORNER
ROSSINI,Gioachino 1792 – 1868
Goachino Rossini
Often felt just a teeny
Bit embarrassed about his ability
To write operas with such facility.
He wrote William Tell; – he also had ra-
Ther a good success with the Gazza Ladra.
Then he must have made a cool million
From that thing about the famous Sevillian
Barber. Also this most musical fella
Even managed to compose an opera about Cinderella.
Then presumably quite suddenly the creative desire went,
And he embarked upon a long and silent retirement..
I know what you’re thinking; You’re thinking I’ll bet he
Has now clean forgotten the great Donizetti;
But I’ve not omitted him, never you fear,
With the Regiment’s Daughter or Scottish Lucia;
And nor would one Norma-lly miss out Bellini.
Then jump a few years for il signor Puccini:
Now, just as Gluck left Eurydice in Hades,
Puccini portrayed some unfortunate ladies.
Disaster and gloom seemed to follow poor Mimi,
Who died of cold hands and an artist too dreamy.
Manon had to flee from an oversexed jailer;
And Butterfly lost her American sailor.
Tosca and Turandot died like the rest’
And so did the Girl from the far Golden West.
VERDI, Giuseppe.1813 – 1901
So, come to the opera, come, sit and there de-
Light in the works of the masterly Verdi.
And if it’s uplift you’re seeking you need a
Spectacular night with Celeste Aida.
La Traviata and Il Trovatore, –
Bask in the music and, don’t mind the story.
So widely read was this musical fellow, –
Shakespeare is there: Macbeth, Falstaff, Otello.
Music and characters you can’t forget. – Oh,
Yes, and we mustn’t omit Rigoletto!
Tunes that refresh you like musical vino,
Driven himself by Forza del Destino..
PROKOFIEV,Sergei Sergeyevich. 1891 – 1953
“Writing music for the ballet,” said Prokofiev,
“Why, I do it just as easily as toffee. Ev –
Er heard what an enthusiastic clap you get
For writing something for the Lady Capulet?
And being a resourceful sort of fella, coo! –
I followed that with one on Cinderella, too.
My efforts simply couldn’t find a stopper, a
Result was that I wrote an ‘Orange’ opera.
My other works, I say, with all sincerity,
Have marked me as a Classic for posterity.”
PURCELL, Henry, 1659 – 1695
A lot of thought quite musical continually fell
Right slap into the mind of the composer H. Purcell.
He worked with zeal and energy upon a brilliant scheme
To write some lovely music to Midsummer Evening’s Dream;
But found to his displeasure when at last the play was seen
It was someone else’s version, and was called The Fairy Queen.
That may explain his shyness,for he kept it very dark
That his Trumpet Voluntary was by Jeremiah Clarke.
RACHMANINOV
“Sergei,” said his friends to Rachmaninov,
“Forgive us, we’ve all had more than enough
Of your gloom and your grey melancholy’
Why don’t you compose something jolly?”
So he – what riposte could be finer? –
Wrote that Prelude in C sharpish minor.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
“Now, what shall I write next?” said young Rimsky-
Korsakov;
“I’ll have to write something that’s going to force
a toff
Or snob about music to notice me. Maybe a
Large tuneful piece on the tales of Arabia.
If Scheherezade can get by, can it fail a man
To write special music for Sinbad the Sailorman?”
SCARLATTI
And then there’s the great Domenico Scarlatti;
His life was made up of continual fears
That harpsichord playing would damage his ears.
Throughout his composing he felt certain that he
Would finish his days irredeemably batty.
He threatened to turn his friend’s guts into garters
If ever he asked for a few more sonatas.
SCHUBERT.
The bloke I feel sorry for’s poor ole Franz Schubert,
‘E’s famous for writing those songs; well, it’s true but
‘E turned out sonatas, impromptus and things,
And smashing quintets for piano and strings.
It’s partly ‘is fault, ’cause ‘e did churn ’em out –
About “Death and the Maiden” or catching that Trout;
And ‘is orchestral fame, – well, it ‘as to diminish
Through leaving a work that ‘e couldn’t quite finish.
SHOSTAKOVICH, Dimitri
To try to describe all the works of that chap Shostakovich
Is just like describing the method of tying a clovehitch;
Two criss-crossing strings both diverge, then are knotted, just so;
Just so Shostakovich provides us two strings to his bow.
Who else has the varying formats of music he has?
Concertos and symphonies, music for films and then jazz.
New music, but still within Soviet cultural whim;
Political dogma could put no restraint upon him.
SIBELIUS
A patriot’s composer was the Finnish Jean Sibelius,
Well known for composing those En Sagas and Karelias;
And if you wanted patriotic pride, what could be handier
To back your banner-waving than the music of Finlandia?
But also you got music of a wildness and severity
That wasn’t merely local, but enjoyed a wide posterity.
JOHANN STRAUSS, Jnr
Now young Johann Strauss may have had a few faults,
But one of them wasn’t improving the waltz;
For when you were dancing that made it all right
To cuddle your partner excitingly tight.
Such moments of passion could be quite sublime,
As long as you did it in strict three-four time.
So why, in the sex-driven times of today,
Do dancers keep partners some six feet away?
TCHAIKOVSKY
“For Heaven’s sake, wife,” exclaimed Peter Tchaikovsky,
“I’m sad and depressed, do not want you, be off! Ske-
Daddle, for I’m going out on a bender
With some of my friends of a similar gender.
For over the years I have grown quite pally
With some of the handsome young men from the ballet.
My music for dance is alive, – energetic,
And makes my last symphony seem quite pathetic.”
SHOSTAKOVICH
I’ve let my memory and imagination rove, itch-
Ing to find the complete rhyme for Shostakovich. –
There isn’t one; so I’ve decided to swallow
My literate pride, and suggest that you wallow
* * * *
DEBUSSY, Claude. 1862 1918
Composers have musical insights that few see;
And so it occurred on one warm afternoon
That, seated before his piano, Debussy
Was painting the light of the silvery moon.
But while contemplating the chords he was playing,
He viewed the bright sunlight that dappled the lawn,
And found his attention was constantly straying,
Diverted by thoughts of an indolent fawn.
“Oh, blast!” said Debussy (at least, the French for it),
“I still hear the sound of the sea being sung;
And cannot help hearing, much as I deplore it,
The tune of that lady aux cheveux de lin.”
* * *
DVORAK, Antonin. 1841 – 1904
“Now, what shall I call him?” said young Mrs. Dvorak;
“I can’t name him Boris, Ivanovitch nor Jacques.
He’ll write for the New World, perhaps, when he’s bigger;
A symphony – or a quartet for a Nigger.
I hope he won’t turn out to be Rustifarian; –
I’ll call him Antonin, -that’s nicely Hungarian.
* * *
HANDEL
When he came over to see George the Second
The folk who knew music in general reckoned
No English composer could quite hold the candle
To their new-found Briton George Frederic Handel.
He wrote for the Water; he wrote for the Fireworks;
Did several operas and composed Choir works.
His great reputation grew higher and higher,
Especially when he composed The Messiah.
* * *
KODALY. Zoltan. 1882 – 1967
Is it surprising that Zoltan Kodaly
Stands in the Classical Pops stakes so h-aly?
People like musical jokes; – what a wheeze
To start off a work with an orchestral sneeze!
RACHMANINOV, Sergey. 1873 – 1943
“Sergey” said his friends to Rachmaninov;
“Forgive us, we’ve all had more than enough
Of your gloom and your grey melancholy.
Why don’t you compose something jolly?”
So he – what riposte could be finer? –
Wrote that Prelude in C sharpish minor
* * *
STRAUSS, Johann. 1825 –1899
Now young Johann Strauss may have had a few faults,
But one of them wasn’t inventing the waltz;
For when you were dancing, that made it all right
To cuddle your partner excitingly tight.
Such moments of passion could be quite sublime –
As long as you did it in strict three-four time;
So why, in the sex-driven times of today
Do dancers keep partners some six feet away?
* * *
TCHAIKOVSKY
“For Heaven’s sake, wife,” exclaimed Peter Tchaikovsky,
“I’m sad and depressed, do not want you, ske-
Daddle, for I’m going out on a bender
With some of my friends of a similar gender;
For over the years I have grown quite pally
With some of the handsome young men from the ballet.
My music for dance is alive – energetic,
And makes my last symphony seem quite pathetic.”
* * * *
DELIUS.
“My aim,” Fenby said, “this time hence is
Deploying my aesthetic senses.
That cuckoo thing’s really a s –
Uperb bit of Delius,
So I’ll be his amanuensis.”
* * * *
KODALY.
Is it surprising that Zoltan Kodaly
Stands in the Classical Pops stakes so haly?
People like musical jokes. What a wheeze
To start off a work with an orchestral sneeze.
* * * *
* * * *
SCHUBERT.
The bloke I feel sorry for’s poor ole Franz Schubert,
‘E’s famous for writing those songs; well, it’s true but
‘E turned out sonatas, impromptus and things,
And smashing quintets for piano and strings.
It’s partly ‘is fault, ’cause ‘e did churn ’em out –
About “Death and the Maiden” or catching that Trout;
And ‘is orchestral fame, – well, it ‘as to diminish
Through leaving a work that ‘e couldn’t quite finish.
* * * *
RACHMANINOV
“Sergei,” said his friends to Rachmaninov,
“Forgive us, we’ve all had more than enough
Of your gloom and your grey melancholy’
Why don’t you compose something jolly?”
So he – what riposte could be finer? –
Wrote that Prelude in C sharpish minor.
* * * *
ELGAR
That old English gentleman, Sir Edward Elgar,
Maintained all his life that remarkably well-guar-
Ded secret of what really was that Enigma;
And ever since, too, he’s avoided the stigma
Of having composed (that’s a different story)
The tune for that thing about Land, Hope and Glory.
* * * *
MOZART
“Wolfgang,” said the Prince to young Mozart;
“That piece is not bad, but the notes are t-
Oo many. Why not,Amadeus,
Compose some nice music to play us?”
He wrote (thinking “don’t it make you sick!”)
Mis-hearing, A Little Night Music.
* * * *
DVORAK
“Now what shall I call him?” said young Mrs. Dvorak;
“I can’t name him Boris, Ivanovitch, nor Jacques.
He’ll write for the New World, perhaps, when he’s bigger
A symphony, – or a Quartet for a Nigger.
I hope he won’t turn out to be Rustifarian!
I’ll just call him Antonin, – that’s quite Hungarian.”
* * * *
* * * *
TCHAIKOVSKY
“For Heaven’s sake, wife,” exclaimed Peter Tchaikovsky,
“I’m sad and depressed, do not want you, be off! Ske-
Daddle, for I’m going out on a bender
With some of my friends of a similar gender.
For over the years I have grown quite pally
With some of the handsome young men from the ballet.
My music for dance is alive, – energetic,
And makes my last symphony seem quite pathetic.”
* * * *
* * * *
HAYDN
That man of the symphony, Haydn,
Went to London, and so he supplied an-
Other half dozen more;
That’s 104.
And that caused his broad smile to widen.
* * * *
* * * *
SCARLATTI
And then there’s the great Domenico Scarlatti;
His life was made up of continual fears
That harpsichord playing would damage his ears.
Throughout his composing he felt certain that he
Would finish his days irredeemably batty.
He threatened to turn his friend’s guts into garters
If ever he asked for a few more sonatas.
* * * *
JOHANN STRAUSS
Now young Johann Strauss may have had a few faults,
But one of them wasn’t inventing the waltz;
For when you were dancing that made it all right
To cuddle your partner excitingly tight.
Such moments of passion could be quite sublime,
As long as you did it in strict three-four time.
So why, in the sex-driven times of today,
Do dancers keep partners some six feet away?
* * * *
LITOLFF
I feel very sorry for Litolff;
In music it seems that he bit off
More than he could chew,
As they don’t play right through
The piece round what they’ve made a hit of.
* * * *
* * * *
* * *
DEBUSSY
Composers have musical insights that few see,
And so it occurred on one warm afternoon,
That, seated before his piano, Debussy
Was painting the light of the silvery moon.
But while contemplating the chords he was playing,
He viewed the bright sunlight that dappled his lawn,
And found his attention was constantly straying,
Diverted by thoughts of an indolent faun.
“O blast!” said Debussy (at least the French for it),
“I still hear the sound of the sea being sung,
And cannot help hearing, much as I deplore it,
The tune of the lady aux cheveux de lin.”
* * * *
SIBELIUS
A patriot’s composer was the Finnish Jean Sibelius,
Well known for composing those En Sagas and Karelias;
And if you wanted patriotic pride, what could be handier
To back your banner-waving than the music of Finlandia?
But also you got music of a wildness and severity
That wasn’t merely local, but enjoyed a wide posterity.
* * * *
OPERA CORNER
ROSSINI,Gioachino 1792 – 1868
Goachino Rossini
Often felt just a teeny
Bit embarrassed about his ability
To write operas with such facility.
He wrote William Tell; – he also had ra-
Ther a good success with the Gazza Ladra.
Then he must have made a cool million
From that thing about the famous Sevillian
Barber. Also this most musical fella
Even managed to compose an opera about Cinderella.
Then presumably quite suddenly the creative desire went,
And he embarked upon a long and silent retirement.
* * * *
I know what you’re thinking; You’re thinking I’ll bet he
Has now clean forgotten the great Donizetti;
But I’ve not omitted him, never you fear,
With the Regiment’s Daughter or Scottish Lucia;
And nor would one Norma-lly miss out Bellini.
Then jump a few years for il signor Puccini:
Now, just as Gluck left Eurydice in Hades,
Puccini portrayed some unfortunate ladies.
Disaster and gloom seemed to follow poor Mimi,
Who died of cold hands and an artist too dreamy.
Manon had to flee from an oversexed jailer;
And Butterfly lost her American sailor.
Tosca and Turandot died like the rest’
And so did the Girl from the far Golden West.
* * * *
VERDI, Giuseppe.1813 – 1901
So, come to the opera, come, sit and there de-
Light in the works of the masterly Verdi.
And if it’s uplift you’re seeking you need a
Spectacular night with Celeste Aida.
La Traviata and Il Trovatore, –
Bask in the music and, don’t mind the story.
So widely read was this musical fellow, –
Shakespeare is there: Macbeth, Falstaff, Otello.
Music and characters you can’t forget. – Oh,
Yes, and we mustn’t omit Rigoletto!
Tunes that refresh you like musical vino,
Driven himself by Forza del Destino..
* * * *
BERLIOZ, Hector. 1803 – 1869
Hector Berlioz,
Possibly rather unfairly, owes
Much of his success to Harriet,
The girl who said she wouldn’t marry yet.
Though the wild dreams this induced seem a bit drastic,
The symphony they produced was quite fantastic.
* * * *
HANDEL, George Frideric.1685 – 1759
When he came over to see George the Second,
The folk who knew music in general reckoned
No English composer could quite hold the candle
To their new-found Briton George Frideric Handel.
He wrote for the Water; he wrote for the Fireworks;
Did several Operas, and composed Choir works
His great reputation grew higher and higher,
Especially when he composed the Messiah.
DEBUSSY, Claude. 1862 1918
Composers have musical insights that few see;
And so it occurred on one warm afternoon
That, seated before his piano, Debussy
Was painting the light of the silvery moon.
But while contemplating the chords he was playing,
He viewed the bright sunlight that dappled the lawn,
And found his attention was constantly straying,
Diverted by thoughts of an indolent fawn.
“Oh, blast!” said Debussy (at least, the French for it),
“I still hear the sound of the sea being sung;
And cannot help hearing, much as I deplore it,
The tune of that lady aux cheveux de lin.”
* * *
RACHMANINOV, Sergey. 1873 – 1943
“Sergey” said his friends to Rachmaninov;
“Forgive us, we’ve all had more than enough
Of your gloom and your grey melancholy.
Why don’t you compose something jolly?”
So he – what riposte could be finer? –
Wrote that Prelude in C sharpish minor/
* * *
DVORAK, Antonin. 1841 – 1904
“Now, what shall I call him?” said young Mrs. Dvorak;
“I can’t name him Boris, Ivanovitch nor Jacques.
He’ll write for the New World, perhaps, when he’s bigger;
A symphony – or a quartet for a Nigger.
I hope he won’t turn out to be Rustifarian; –
I’ll call him Antonin, -that’s nicely Hungarian.
* * *
KODALY. Zoltan. 1882 – 1967
Is it surprising that Zoltan Kodaly
Stands in the Classical Pops stakes so h-aly?
People like musical jokes; – what a wheeze
To start off a work with an orchestral sneeze!
* * *
STRAUSS, Johann. 1825 –1899
Now young Johann Strauss may have had a few faults,
But one of them wasn’t inventing the waltz;
For when you were dancing, that made it all right
To cuddle your partner excitingly tight.
Such moments of passion could be quite sublime –
As long as you did it in strict three-four time;
So why, in the sex-driven times of today
Do dancers keep partners some six feet away?
* * *
TCHAIKOVSKY
“For Heaven’s sake, wife,” exclaimed Peter Tchaikovsky,
“I’m sad and depressed, do not want you, ske-
Daddle, for I’m going out on a bender
With some of my friends of a similar gender;
For over the years I have grown quite pally
With some of the handsome young men from the ballet.
My music for dance is alive – energetic,
And makes my last symphony seem quite pathetic.”
* * * *
HANDEL
When he came over to see George the Second
The folk who knew music in general reckoned
No English composer could quite hold the candle
To their new-found Briton George Frederic Handel.
He wrote for the Water; he wrote for the Fireworks;
Did several operas and composed Choir works.
His great reputation grew higher and higher,
Especially when he composed The Messiah.
* * * *
SHOSTAKOVICH
I’ve let my memory and imagination rove, itch-
Ing to find the complete rhyme for Shostakovich. –
There isn’t one; so I’ve decided to swallow
My literate pride, and suggest that you wallow