Dylan Thomas Quote
david56
> I ran across an old Grammaphone piece on Bach which contains the quote,
> "Bach is best" attributed to Dylan Thomas. There's no citation for the
> quote.
>
> I know that there's a character in Under Milkwood called Organ Morgan,
> who's a great Bach fan (Organ Morgan calls him "Bach fach", which is
> Welsh for "Bach dear" I think), but that's as close as I can come.
>
> Can any of you help me find this quote? Thanks.
>
'Under Milk Wood' (1954) by Dylan Thomas features Organ Morgan whose
single-minded enthusiasm for the instrument is a source of irritation to
his wife:
Mrs Organ Morgan (at table, talking to her husband about Polly Garter):
"Remember Bob Spit? He wasn't any bigger than a baby and he gave her
two! But they're two nice boys, I will say that, Fred Spit and Arthur.
Sometimes I like Fred best and sometimes I like Arthur. Who do you like
best Organ?"
Organ Morgan:
"Hm? Oh, Bach without any doubt. Bach every time for me..."
Mrs Organ Morgan:
"Organ Morgan, you haven't been listing to a word I said ..."
And she bursts into tears ...
Organ Morgan:
"And then Palestrina"
...
Third Woman: And how's Organ Morgan, Mrs. Morgan?
First Woman: you look dead beat
Second Woman: it's organ organ all the time with him
Third Woman: up every night until midnight playing the organ.
Mrs. Organ Morgan: Oh, I'm a martyr to music.
First Voice: Organ Morgan goes to chapel to play the organ. He sees Bach
lying on a tombstone.
Organ Morgan: Johann Sebastian!
Cherry Owen (drunkenly): Who?
Organ Morgan: Johann Sebastian mighty Bach. Oh, Bach fach.
Cherry Owen: To hell with you,
First Voice: says Cherry Owen who is resting on the tombstone on his way
home.
--
David
I say what it occurs to me to say.
=====
The address is valid today, but I will change it to keep ahead of the
spammers.
nhopkins
Robin Crag
> who's a great Bach fan (Organ Morgan calls him "Bach fach", which is
> Welsh for "Bach dear" I think), but that's as close as I can come.
"bach" in welsh means "small". (In your quote, it has undergone a soft
mutation... welsh is fun like that :-). But, yes "Bach fach" means
dear bach too, bach can be used as a term of endearment.
Trra, fy ffrindiau Bach fach,
Robin
nhopkins
Thanks. I certainly don't think that Organ Morgan would have considered
Bach "little" so I always assumed it was a term of endearment. I always
wondered whether there was some sort of double entendre with "organ" in
the name "Organ Morgan".
John Briggs
:-)
John Briggs