Umm, you DO know that the lyrics are rather obscene, don't you? I'm
afraid I can't help with availability, but there was an LP from the late
1960s on (American) Epic with the title, "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a
Dirty Old Man," with Norman Luboff and his choir. I've only ever seen
two copies of this, and one of them is mine, so I imagine it's much
rarer than the commonplace junk everybody seems to want to get rid of
via eBay....
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/index.htm
My main music page --- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/berlioz.htm
And my science fiction club's home page --- http://www.lasfs.org/
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Thanks in advance,
Audrey
*********************************
"...a gentle trace
Of light diviner than the common sun
Sheds on the common earth, and all the place
Was filled with magic sounds woven into one
Oblivious melody..."
-Shelley, "The Triumph of Life"
> Does anyone know where I can obtain either Mozart's Canon in B-flat major
> for 6 voices in 1, K 231 ("Leck mich im arsch"), or the K 233-Canon in
> B-flat major for 3 voices in 1 ("Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön
> sauber")? At least what they are singing...
As those lyrics were indeed rather obszene like Matthew said, they have
been "cleansed" by Breitkopf (the publisher) for the release of the
Canons. e.g. K.231 became "Laßt froh uns sein" and K.233 "Nichts labt
mich mehr als Wein" and have subsequently been sung with those replaced
lyrics. I have an old Eterna (East German) LP containing most of these
Canons and "Gesellige Lieder" (with Breitkopf's lyrics of course), I
don't know if it has been reissued on CD yet. On the other hand - since
the Philips Complete Mozart Edition claims to have everything by Mozart,
the Canons should be contained there (in vol. 23) with their original
lyrics.
Ciao
A.
lol, yeah. :) "Kiss my ass" and "kiss my fine and clean ass" I believe. I just
wanted to know how everything sounded in comparacent to the lyrics.
<<I'm
afraid I can't help with availability, but there was an LP from the late
1960s on (American) Epic with the title, "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a
Dirty Old Man," with Norman Luboff and his choir. I've only ever seen
two copies of this, and one of them is mine, so I imagine it's much
rarer than the commonplace junk everybody seems to want to get rid of
via eBay....>>
Hm...any way you can put any of it on tape? :) I was reading my trusty copy of
Neal Zaslaw's "Compleat Mozart" and there's also K 559 and K 561. Does anyone
have any idea if this is any easier to find? Tower Records is quite a ways
away, and I don't drive yet, so...
hi A.!
<<As those lyrics were indeed rather obszene like Matthew said, they have
been "cleansed" by Breitkopf>>
Aw, but why? They were so much fun Mozart's way...
<< K.231 became "Laßt froh uns sein" and K.233 "Nichts labt
mich mehr als Wein" and have subsequently been sung with those replaced
lyrics.>>
Really? So that means I should be able to find them? (by the way--how did you
get your keypad to do the German character that stands in for the English "ss"
[ß]? I can do the various letters with umlats, but I can't do that one.
<<I have an old Eterna (East German) LP containing most of these
Canons and "Gesellige Lieder" (with Breitkopf's lyrics of course), I
don't know if it has been reissued on CD yet.>>
Like I asked Matthew: Is there any way you can possibly put it on tape? :)
<< On the other hand - since
the Philips Complete Mozart Edition claims to have everything by Mozart,
the Canons should be contained there (in vol. 23) with their original
lyrics.>>
but that would mean I would have to get the CMI...I'm not positive it's
complete (the one at my local Tower Records, it's 25 CDs, but it doesn't
include full operas. Just excerpts from the more famous ones.) and it's
$239.99. Now, I'm running on a High Schooler's salary of about $50 a month
from odd jobs...
> <<Umm, you DO know that the lyrics are rather obscene, don't you?>>
>
>lol, yeah. :) "Kiss my ass" and "kiss my fine and clean ass" I believe.
Not exactly - the proper translation is much more obscene than that.
Gyorgy
Alas, my only working cassette player is in my car, and there's no way
to record to that. Besides, vol. 23 of the Complete Mozart Edition
ought to be available separately, somehow.
If you're a high school student, I should add another reason for me not
to send such a tape to you would be "contributing to the delinquency of
a minor"! ;--)
There is a 1992 CD issued by Tall Poppies Records (TP009) in Australia
which includes K233. The CD is called "Mozart Unexpurgated; Scatological
and other Songs, Canons and Piano Variations". It also includes the 6-part
Canon K.238 "Leck mich im Arsch" - I wonder whether you have the right
Koechel number.
The performances are by The Song Company, an Australian ensemble directed by
Roland Peelman. On this CD they perform with Geoffrey Lancaster on the
forte piano.
The works recorded are ( as listed - there are original texts and English
translations)-
K238 ("Kiss my backside"); K558 ("Off to the Prater"); K556 ("Off we go");
K.555 ("Lacrimoso son io"); K.559 ("Difficile lectu mihi mars"); K.560 ("Oh,
you earnest-headed donkey"); K.472 ("The Sorcerer"); K.398 (Variations for
forte-piano on a theme by Pasiello); K.429 (Aria "Dir danken wir die
Freude"); K429 (Trio "Dir Seele des Welstalls"); K437 ("Wo der perlende
Wein"); K.233 "Wine's a refreshing thing.."-"Kiss my behind"); K.553
("Allelulia"); K232 ("Most art"); K433 ("Every man is fond of nibbling");
K.562 ("Caro bell'idol"); K.234 ("Summer's heat"); K.351 ("Flower of the
night"); K. 571a ("Cara mio, Schluk und Druck"); K.557 ("Nascoso"); K.441
("Dearest lover, wear a cover"); K.138 (Variations in F for forte-piano);
K.348 ("V'amo di core teneramente"); and K.561, ("Bona Nox").
The Song Company's URL is http://www.nmn.org.au/songco.htm. Its page
includes a discography, and an email link for inquiries. As indicated on
that page, it has toured in both Asia and (from 1997) each year in Europe.
Membership of the ensemble has substantially changed since 1992, but Roland
Peelman remains its Artistic Director.
I should tell you that I have a formal, but unpaid, association with The
Song Company.
Hugh Roberts
My curiousity is getting the better of me...pray tell how so... :)
> mich mehr als Wein" and have subsequently been sung with those
> replaced lyrics.>>
>
> Really? So that means I should be able to find them?
Yes, several times in the new lyrics version at least. I should however
point out to you that the canons themselves (the music) do not in any
way reflect the obscenity of the lyrics -- they're artful, sophisticated
little gems (Hildesheimer described the relation to the point in his
Mozart biography, alas I have no translation at hand).
> (by the way--how did you get your keypad to do the German character
> that stands in for the English "ss" [ß]?
Easy -- I've got a German keyboard -- implies that I mostly write in
German -- implies that I *am* German :-)
> Like I asked Matthew: Is there any way you can possibly put it on
> tape? :)
I certainly could, but I think it's easier for you to find a CD version
near your place.
> but that would mean I would have to get the CMI...I'm not positive
> it's complete (the one at my local Tower Records, it's 25 CDs, but it
> doesn't include full operas. Just excerpts from the more famous
> ones.)
You probably only saw these slim-case double discs with the highlights
of the CME. The actual volumes all come in cardboard boxes each and are
(a) definitely available separately (at least in Europe), and (b)
definitely contain all Mozart operas in full.
> and it's $239.99. Now, I'm running on a High Schooler's salary of
> about $50 a month from odd jobs...
Well, while volume 23 ist not that expensive, it contains 8 discs and is
still dearer than $50, sorry...
Ciao
A.
Yes, he does. K238 is Piano Concerto No 6.
After listening to my copy of the CD again, and re-reading the ample liner
notes, I should point out that (as you may have gathered from the list I set
out in my earlier post), most of the songs in this CD are sung in English,
with a very free translation by John K. Wregg, an Australian writer. The
reason is that, as Wregg says in the notes, that after Mozart's death
Constanze "sanitised the words in order to canonise her departed husband";
and that "any attempt to recapture the feeling of the originals called for
more than mere translation...While not wanting to put my obscenities into
the mouth of Mozart, I still wanted a more bawdy and visceral approach than
the published texts."
As the notes point out, Mozart would have been the last to think of the
resulting language as in any way exceptional. They provide an example of
Mozart's "infantilism and coprophilia" which Stefan Zweig called to Freud's
attention: the example is in a letter from Mozart to his mum; and the notes
also provide an example of how his mum wrote to stern old Leopold, just to
show it ran in the family.
By the way, the music is ravishing.
Hugh Roberts
Thomas Deas wrote in message <7gq65h$o8$2...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk>...
> Does anyone know where I can obtain either Mozart's Canon in B-flat
> major for 6 voices in 1, K 231 ("Leck mich im arsch"), or the K
> 233-Canon in B-flat major for 3 voices in 1 ("Leck mir den Arsch
> fein recht schön sauber")? At least what they are singing... Any
> info will be appreciated!
The Toelz Boys' Choir recorded a number of these infamous canons
sometime in the seventies, and an RCA re-release on CD (titled,
puzzlingly, `Mozart and his time') appeared a few years back.
The record is quite an experience: to hear innocent-sounding boy
sopranos in devoted deliverances of these works is mildly disturbing,
a feeling that is only heightened by the extreme contrast in subject
matter offered by the other works included, such as a pious `Alleluia'
and the all-time favourite `Komm, lieber Mai'.
RCA did not print the lyrics, though, but the relevant volume of
Baerenreiter's New Mozart Edition will provide you with both music and
reliable texts to all these canons -- consult your favourite library.
They are quite amusing to sing, too, so why not gather a few friends
for a Mozart evening?
Lars
The old Phillips LP complete Mozart edition vol 16 ('Arias- Lieder -
Canons') includes K231, though while it makes cynical comments about
the puritanical purges of Mozart's original, it still uses the
bowdlerised version.
Actually on the Comic Mozart LP I much prefer the comic drunk pieces,
mainly because the music does have something to do with the text -
whereas in the filthy canons the music would just as well fit the
Latin Mass ...
Hope this helps if all else fails but it's not going to do much for
satisfying your curiosity.
--
Best wishes,