Thursday, June 25, 2009

For Those Who Think Classical Music is Stuffy

Below is a snippet of a recording of a piece by the 26 year-old Mozart. It is a 3-part canon (round) that he composed to sing with his friends while partying. It was probably an exercise in 3-part canon composition because he wrote a couple more like it, one that is pretty long. The title, Leck mich im Arsch, translates to, literally, lick me in the ass, but its sentiment is more like, kiss my ass. Below the YouTube screen you will find the words, first in German, then in English.


Leck mich im Arsch!
Lasst uns froh sein!
Murren ist vergebens!
Knurren, Brummen ist vergebens,
ist das wahre Kreuz des Lebens.
Drum lasst uns froh und fröhlich sein!

(Lick me in the ass!
Let us be glad!
Complaining is in vain!
Growling, grumbling is in vain,
is the true cross of life.
Therefore, let us be glad and merry!)

Thank you Merisi, for the translation of murren, knurren and brummen!

19 comments:

Lynette said...

That's the Wolferl I know and love!

Merisi said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWRCuiTOex8

I would translate "murren" as "complaining" and "knurren" as "growling".
"Brummen" in this song may be more "grumbling" than "humming", I am sure.

Do you know Mozart's delightful tongue-in-cheek lullaby, "Bona Nox"? Here it is performed by the Wiener Sängerknaben.

Imagine, I heard this first from my mother, and then in elementary school. I remember copying it off the blackbird into my notebook, with all the snickering going on in the classroom.

Merisi said...

I was trying to figure out which coffeehouse you meant on Schulerstrasse, but couldn't. Would you have more clues for a hapless girl?

Steph said...

Thanks for the better translation, Merisi! Porta is a tiny little wine bar at Schulerstraße 6. I've spent many blissful hours in there.I found it when I stayed at Pension Domizil. That was a quiet little neighborhood then, especially at night. Now that the Figarohaus has been made into a (ahem) museum, that may have changed.

Steph said...

I forgot to answer your other question. Yes, I love Bona Nox. I also like "Liebes Mandel wo is's Bandel?", but no one seems to get the double entendre!

Kathy said...

My favorite, harmony-wise, though is "Difficile Lectu"!

Kathy Handyside said...

Oops! I signed in wrong!

Kathy Handyside said...

One of the funniest experiences I had was when I was in the choir of my first Lutheran church. At choir rehearsal we were handed a piece of music entitled "Praise the Lord Our God Forever". As soon as we started singing it, I started choking with laughter. Guess where the tune came from? Mozart's "O du eselhafter, Martin"!!! Oh my God! The whole choir had no idea why I was laughing so hard. They thought it was "such a nice piece"!!! hahahahahah

Steph said...

That's hilarious, Kathy!

Steph said...

What makes "Difficile Lectu" so endearing is Mozart and company's performance of the piece as a joke aimed at the friend it was composed for, and the fact that the original is hard to read due to the champagne that was spilled on it.

Reminds me of my own "Box of Wine for 4 Friends & Piano", whose original has wine glass rings on it.

Kathy Handyside said...

I'd like to hear your box of wine piece, Steph!

Ville said...

When I saw this post, I immediately thought of "Box of Wine"
Too funny!!!

Lynette said...

"Praise the Lord Our God Forever"

ROTFLMAO!!! OMYGOD!!!

Steph said...

I'm putting "Box of Wine" on the web now. Just a midi file and lyrics, but you'll be able to hear it within the hour.

Steph said...

Okay, here's the link to my silly Box of Wine.

Lyn said...

Whatever I learn about Mozart only makes me love him more! Thank you for this treat..for the translation..the music is sublime!!

Kathy Handyside said...

I couldn't believe our choir director didn't recognize it! Sheesh! Whatever possessed the arranger of that piece is beyond me! Were they trying to be funny? Or were they one of those prudish types who want to clean up Wolfgang's act? Maybe. I was on another Mozart blog once and someone posted a question asking if anyone had ever heard or sang a choral piece entitled "Praise the Lord Our God Forever" because they were sure the tune was Mozart's. I should Google that piece and see who arranged it.

Kathy Handyside said...

Oh, I remember the Box of Wine song, now! You e-mailed it to me once before. Unfortunately it was on the hard drive of my old computer which died. I hadn't done my usual backup and was only able to save a few things.

Yeah, this is really a cute piece, Steph! Be fun to get together with a group and do it - I could play the tune on my recorder! haha

Kathy Handyside said...

I just found, and downloaded, an MP3 of "Praise the Lord Our God Forever" that some church put on the internet for free downloading - it works very well as a choral piece, but it still makes me snigger!!