John Wagstaff’s “Quirky music references” – Music and Performing Arts Library

The idea for this site came out of a talk I gave to the 2000 Annual General Meeting of the
International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres, UK Branch (IAML
(UK)). There I identified a number of reference sources that contained unusual or unexpected
information, and suggested that someone ought to start a Web site that could contain details of
other such sources, or itself list unusual information. I should have known that, having made the
suggestion, its implementation would fall to me…

Since its inception, however, the site has grown sufficiently to justify — I hope — its being
promoted as a useful resource for reference librarians who encounter unusual music questions
(frequently from unusual music readers).

It is, of course, possible to gather much “quirky” information from the Internet/World Wide Web.
The difference between other sites and this one is, I hope, that the *source* of the information
cited will be given, to enable librarians, information workers and other researchers to assess the
quality of the information provided. Contributions from others are invited: it is certainly not my
intention to run this site alone!

The amount of information that could, potentially, appear on this site is infinite, and the site
itself is likely to grow and develop over time. As soon as I can I will organise a search facility
on the site: in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the information available here, as well as finding
it useful.

John Wagstaff

Head of Music and Performing Arts Library

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

(wagstaff@illinois.edu)

Some useful books of lists

Neil BUTTERWORTH,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs. London: Robert Hale,
1991.

Ernest CHALLER,
Katalog der Gelegenheits-Musik: ein classificirtes Verzeichniss von Compositionen fur
Gelegenheiten aller Art der Vocal- und Instrumental-Musik in den verschiedenen Besetzungen.
Giessen: Ernst Challier’s Selbstverlag, 1897. A fascinating book that lists music for particular
occasions (Gelegenheiten) – for example, wedding music, patriotic songs, songs in particular
(German) dialects and about certain countries, student song, funeral music, etc. etc. There are
even sections given over to songs about particular German emperors.

Robert and Celia DEARLING, and Brian RUST,
The Guinness book of musical facts and feats. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives, 1976.

Robert and Celia DEARLING, and Brian RUST,
The Guinness book of recorded sound. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives, 1984.

James J. FULD,
The book of world-famous music: classical, popular and folk. 5th edition. New York: Dover,
1999.

Herbert KUPFERBERG,
Classical music lists. London: Ward Lock, 1986.

Nicolas SLONIMSKY,
Music since 1900. 6th edition, ed. Laura Kuhn. New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001. A
wonderful source of quirkiness and trivia, some of whose best bits are likely to appear on this
site in the next few weeks.

Fritz SPIEGL,
Music through the looking glass. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984.

“Homage” (or “Hommage” pieces) [see also “Variations on…” below]

Many works have been written to honour, imitate, or parody the work of other composers. Here are
a few. The source
par excellence of this sort of information is R. Michael Fling’s
Musical Memorials for Musicians: a Guide to Selected Compositions (Lanham, MD and London:
Scarecrow Press; and the Music Library Association, 2001; ISBN 08108401308). One day I’ll get
around to adding all his references to this site…maybe.

Joseph ACHRON,
Epitaph in memory of Scriabine, op. 38, for orchestra with optional chorus
. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 3.

John ADAMS,
Slonimsky’s earbox, for orchestra. Composed in honour of Nicolas Slonimsky. Source of
reference: recording on NONESUCH 7559-79607-2.

Luna ALCALAY,
In memoriam Ossip Mandelstam, for speaking voice, tape and orchestra. Source of reference:ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977 , 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 6.

Robert Livingston ALDRIDGE,

Tango for Gabriela, for violin and piano. Written for a Slovakian model and
actress, Gabriela Skrabakova. Here’s some material from the score/part, published New York; London:
Peters, 2004 (publisher’s no. 68077). “In January, 1999, violinist Boris Kucharsky asked me to
compse a short piece that was to be inspired by a young woman he had recently met, Gabriela
Skrabakova, the Slovakian model and actress. Musicalizing the letters of a person’s name in a
composition is a time-honored tradition of musical dedication, and this idea inspired Boris to
derive pitches both from Gabriela’s first and last name: G, A, B flat, E, A, for Gabriela, and E
flat, E, A, B flat, A for her last name…. In order to pay tribute to Boris’s infatuation with
Gabriela Skrabakova, I made these pitches into a melodic phrase which is essentially repeated
through the entire piece, as though one were saying over and over: ‘Gabriela, Gabriela, Skrabakova,
Skrabakova, Gabriela Skrabakova’. .. Gabriela Skrabakova is a model and actress who lives in
Bratislava, Slovakia. More information about Gabriela is available at
www.gabrielaskrabakova.sk.” Purely in the name of
research, I checked out this site, and it works. If you don’t want to go web surfing, you can find
a picture of the lady herself on the front of the score. If anyone wants to make similar
compositions around Heidi Klum or Claudia Schiffer, feel free. In fact, I feel a whole new website
coming on…

William ALWYN,
Homage march for trombone quartet. “Written for the link-up of ADAM with the University of
Rochester, New York”, according to its source (Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 1, p. 38.

Jurriaan ANDRIESSEN,
Hommage a Milhaud, for orchestra, including saxophone. Published by Henmar. Source of
reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 11.

Denis ApIVOR,
Homage to St Cecilia: a Decoration in Brass, op. 96 . Commissioned for a St Cecilia’s Day
service in Brighton, England, in 1994. Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000; vol. 1, p. 80.

Malcolm ARNOLD,
Homage to the Queen: Ballet, op. 42. Commissioned by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet Company in
celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, and first performed on
coronation night, 2 June 1953. Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000). Vol. 1, p. 119.

Louis AUBERT,
Le tombeau de Chateaubriand, for orchestra. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 19. Published by
Elkan-Vogel.

Lennox BERKELEY,
Improvisation on a theme of Manuel de Falla, for piano. Source of information: Score
(London: J. & W. Chester, 1960). Originally written for the centenary album issued by Chester’s
in 1960. I haven’t yet identified the theme used.

Amando BLANQUER,
Oda a Manuel de Falla, for string orchestra, harpsichord (or piano), and percussion.
Source of information: Score (Madrid: Real Musical Editores, 1986.). Not sure how much of an
“hommage” this actually is, but the use of the harpsichord suggests Falla’s concerto, of
course.

Arthur BLISS,
March, The Phoenix: “Homage to France, August 1944” . Written ‘in honour of the France
arisen from the defeat of 1940 to the liberation of 1944’. Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 1, p. 278. See also entry under Elisabeth Lutyens, below.

Dusan BOGDANOVIC,
Triptico en omenaje a Garcia Lorca is for guitar solo. The three movements are entitled 1.
El grito; 2. El silencio; and 3. Cancion de Jinete. Source of reference: score (Saint-Nicolas,
Quebec: Editions Doberman-Yppan, 2005)

William BOLCOM,
12 etudes for piano (Bryn Mawr, PA: Theodore Presser, 1971; plate no. 440-40004-43), no.
12: “Apotheosis: In memoriam Bela Bartok”. This is the only one of the 12 etudes to bear a
dedication. Source of information: Score (details above)

BOSSON, Cedric,
Fantaisie sur un thème de Moussorgsky, for piano. Nyon, Switzerland: HG Editions, 2005.
Source: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Robert BURCH,
Essay to the memory of Dmitri Shostakovich, for cello and piano. Source of reference:
Derek C. Hulme,
Dmitri Shostakovich: a catalogue, bibliography, and discography. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press; Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002, p. 573.

Alan BUSH,
Homage to William Sterndale Bennett, for string orchestra, op. 27. Based on Bennett’s
Piano sonata op. 46, “The Maid of Orleans”. Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 1, p. 432.

Geoffrey BUSH,
Homage to Matthew Locke, for brass sextet (1962). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 1, p. 468.

Geoffrey BUSH’s
5 Songs about musicians, for SATB
unaccompanied is a kind of
homage, as it makes some attempt at pastiche of the styles of the composers included, who are
Thomas Morley, Henry Lawes and Giles Farnaby (the other two ‘composers’ are Orpheus, which movement
is written in Bush’s own style; and Pan). The Lawes piece is to a text by Robert Herrick, and that
of Farnaby by John Dowland. The Morley has a modern text by Michael Drayton. Source: score
[London]: Thames Publishing, 1992. Bush prefaces the score as follows:

“In 1942, at a time when I was looking for suitable words for what was to be my first
considerable choral piece, I was much impressed by the way Jacobean and Caroline composers tended
to preface their musical publications with laudatory poems written by their friends. (The most
often quoted example is Milton’s sonnet to Henry Lawes: ‘Harry, whose tuneful and well-measured
song/First taught our English music how to scan/Words with just note and accent…’.

I chose three of these precursors of the modern publisher’s blurb, and framed
them with two poems about mythical musicians, Orpheus and Pan. Each of the
central settings contains a hint (in Morley’s case, rather more than a hint) of the
original composer’s style. Portraits was given its first broadcast performance in September
1944 by the BBC Chorus conducted by Leslie Woodgate–then in wartime exile in Bedford.”

Elliott CARTER,
Esprit rude/Esprit doux for flute and clarinet is dedicated to “Pierre Boulez, en
celebration de son soixantieme anniversaire”. Source of reference: Score (USA: Boosey &
Hawkes/Hendon Music, 1985, rev. ed. 1988; plate no. ENB-251)

Elliott CARTER,
Figment no. 2:remembering Mr. Ives. For solo cello. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2001. ISMN
M051104420. Soucre of information: Score.

Mario CASTELNUOVO-TEDESC O,
Serenatella on the name of Jascha Heifetz, for violin and piano, op. 170 no. 2.
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY: General Music Publishing Company, 1972. Source of information: WorldCat.
The op. 170 pieces are collectively called “Greeting cards”.

Jacques CASTEREDE,
Pour un tombeau de Frederic Chopin, for piano. Published Paris: Billaudot, 1994. Source of
music: Score (details as above)

James CLAPPERTON,
Howard Skempton. No. 3 of his “Stephen’s piano book” (1996). Source of information: CD
recording
Long journey back: piano music of James Clapperton, on METIER MSV CD92033. Other pieces in
this collection are dedicated to Clapperton’s landlady, Eileen Daffern (though the piece in her
honour is called “Renard”; and to Michael Finnissy (“They’re writing songs of love but not for
me”).

Christian DARNTON,
Homage a Ravel, for piano, op. 21 no. 2 (1924). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 580.

Ed de BOER,
Homage a Dimitri Shostakovich, op. 4, for orchestra. Source of reference: Derek C. Hulme,
Dmitri Shostakovich: a catalogue, bibliography, and discography. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press; Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002, p. 574. Hulme lists many other Shostakovich
“tribute” pieces in his book.

Claude DEBUSSY, “Pour un tombeau sans nom” is no. 2 of the
Six epigraphes antiques for piano duet. Source of reference:
New Grove II. Each of the Epigraphes begins with the word “Pour…”, e.g. “Pour invoquer
Pan”, “Pour que la nuit soit propice” etc. “Pour un tombeau sans nom” is the only one that falls
into this “Hommage” category, though. And of course it’s not particularly in honour of any
one person.

Maurice DELAGE,
Hommage a Roussel, op. 19, for voice, flute and piano. Unpublished. Source of reference:
Philippe Rodriguez,
Maurice Delage, ou La solitude d’un artisan. Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001, p. 147.

Mariusz DUBAJ,
Hommage a Lutoslawski, for solo flute. Published Krakow: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne,
2000. Source of reference: Score (publisher’s plate no. PWM 10 068.)

Tan DUN has written a
Water passion after St Matthew, commissioned by the Stuttgart Bachakademie Internationale
for the 250th anniversary of the birth of J. S. Bach. Source of information:
The Independent on Sunday [UK newspaper] 24 September 2000, culture section, p. 9.

Laurent DUVILLER-WABLE (b. 1947, Nimes),
Hommage a Edmon Colomer: “Noviembre” de Federico Garcia Lorca, for children’s choir,
soprano recorder, flute in C, violin, cello and piano. Source of information: Score (Paris:
Alphonse Leduc, 2006; pl. no. AL 29 712; choral score AL 29 713).

Peter EOTVOS,
Moro lasso, no. 3 of his
3 Madrigalkomodien , for 12-part chamber choir, was written for the 350th anniversary of
the death of Orlando di Lasso. Source of information: Score (Paris: Salabert, 1990; plate no.
E.A.S. 18915).

Elisenda FABREGAS,
Hommage à Mozart, for piano. Leipzig: Hofmeister, 2007. Source of information:
Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Luc FERRARI, “Hommage a John Cage”. This is the eighth movement of Ferrari’s
1980-1982: Fragments d’un journal intime, for piano. The composer gives the following
instructions: “Mode d’emploi: L’interprete attaque le piano avec energie et des deux mains, comme
pour jouer un accord qui necessite tous les doigts. Mais au lieu de jouer il reste brusquement
suspendu au-dessus du clavier. Il se maintient ainsi fixe dans une immobilite tres tendue, pendant
le temps du morceau = The performer attacks the piano energetically with both hands, as if to play
a chord using all ten fingers. Instead of actually playing, however, the pianist stays his hands
just above the keyboard. He remains fixed in rigid immobility for the duration of the piece”.
Source of reference: Luc Ferrari,
Recueil de pieces pour piano (Paris: Salabert, 1997), p. 129.

Michael FINNISSY,
Homage to Stravinsky, for solo flute. A facsimile of this piece was first published in the
UK music magazine
Tempo 81 (1967), between p. 28 and 29.

Jean FRANCAIX,
La promenade d’un musicologue eclectique, for piano. Source of information:
www.di-arezzo.com website. Score, published by Schott
(catalog no. M06557) consists of the following five “hommages”: (1) a Haendel; (2) a Frederic
Chopin; (3) a Maurice Ravel; (4) petit hommage a la musique contemporaine; and (5) hommage a
Adolphe Adam (de l’Institut).

John GARDNER,
Homage a Schubert, for piano, op. 206 (1993). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 711.

Ilse GERENYI,
Hommage a Bela Bartok, for organ. Described in the score as “Organistische und
barbaristische Freuden an Bartok’s ‘Mikrokosmos'”. Source of information: Score (Vienna: Doblinger,
1979; publisher’s no. 02-330)

Eugene GOOSSENS,
Homage to Paderewski, for piano (1941). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 779.

Eugene GOOSSENS,
Hommage a Debussy, for piano, op. 28. Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 768. Published in the special ‘Tombeau de Claude Debussy’ number of
La Revue Musicale , December 1920.

Gerard GRISEY,
Modulations, pour 33 musiciens. (Paris: Ricordi, 1987, c1978). Dedicated “Pour Olivier
Messiaen, a l’occasion de son soixante dixieme anniversaire” [i.e. 1978]. Source of information:
Score.

Sofia GUBAIDULINA,
Hommage a T. S. Eliot, fur Sopran und Oktett (Hamburg: Sikorski, 1987). Source of
information: Score. The voice part is based on Eliot’s
Four quartets.

Jesus GURIDI,
Fantasia homenaje a Walt Disney, for orchestra (including piano). Composed 1956, and
dedicated to Walt Disney. Source of reference: Victor PLIEGO DE ANDRES, ed.
Jesus Guridi [catalogue]. (Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, ?1996), p.
42.

Jesus GURIDI,
Tirana, homenaje a Sarasate, for flute and piano. Source of reference: Victor PLIEGO DE
ANDRES, ed.
Jesus Guridi [catalogue]. (Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, ?1996), p.
71.

Naji HAKIM,
Gershwinesca – see section on ‘Pieces with quirky titles’ below

Cristobal HALFFTER’s
Zeitgestalt for string quartet is dedicated to Paul Sacher on his 90th birthday. Source of
information: Score (Vienna: Universal Edition, 1996). Cat. no. UE30374

York HOLLER,
Improvisation sur le nom de Pierre Boulez. (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1985). Written
for Boulez’s 60th birthday in 1985, and offered “in herzlicher Dankbarkeit”. It is written for 16
instruments, and uses letters from Boulez’s name to dictate its melodic shape to a limited extent.
Source of information: Score.

Arthur HONEGGER,
Souvenir de Chopin, for piano. Paris: Choudens, 2005 (originally published 1947). Source
of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Jacques IBERT,
Toccata sur le nom d’Albert Roussel, pour piano. Source of information: Score (Paris:
Leduc, 1961; plate no. A.L. 23 133)

Robert Sherlaw JOHNSON,
Homage to Haydn for piano, commissioned by the BBC to celebrate the 250th anniversary of
Haydn’s birth in 1983. The letters of the composer’s name are transcribed as follows: H = B
natural; A and D are their normal pitches. Y is made up of a chord full of notes A+D+G+F+B+E, as
these letters of the alphabet (positioned as 1+4+7+6+2+5) add up to 25, which is Y’s position in
the alphabet; and N makes up a chord of A+H+B+C, or 1+8+2+3, which equals 14 (the position in the
alphabet occupied by the letter N). As an additional homage the work quotes from a Haydn piano
sonata, and the Emperor’s hymn from string quartet op. 76 no. 3. Source of information: the
composer’s own accompanying notes to the CD
Robert Sherlaw Johnson plays Robert Sherlaw Johnson (Oxford: Proudsound, 1996). CD no.
PROU CD 144.

Robert Sherlaw JOHNSON,
Pour le tombeau de Messiaen for piano. Source: the composer’s own accompanying notes to
the CD
Robert Sherlaw Johnson plays Robert Sherlaw Johnson (Oxford: Proudsound, 1996). CD no.
PROU CD 144. The composer writes as follows: ‘If a goldfinch’s song is slowed up to 1/8th of its
original tempo it continues to display a remarkable amount of detail which sounds quite different
to the song at its normal speed. It seemed a suitable homage to Messiaen to make use of a few
fragments of goldfinch’s song which I had notated in this way around 1968 when studying various
birdsongs in connection with a doctoral thesis on his music. The goldfinch opens the piece and
contrasts with a blackbird who was singing in my garden when the piece was being written’.

Robert Sherlaw JOHNSON,
Super nomine Edmund Rubbra for piano was ‘written as a birthday offering and performed in
a concert in honour of Edmund Rubbra’s 70th birthday in the Holywell Music Room in 1971’. Source of
information: the composer’s own accompanying notes to the CD
Robert Sherlaw Johnson plays Robert Sherlaw Johnson (Oxford: Proudsound, 1996). CD no.
PROU CD 144. The method of spelling out Rubbra’s name in music is as follows: EDB and A keep their
usual pitches (B is B natural, not B flat). M is mapped to E flat, N to the note F, R to A flat and
U to B flat, producing the sequence: EDEflatBflatFDAflatBflatBBAflatA

Mauricio KAGEL,
Ludwig van – homage to Beethoven (1970). Source of information: Paul Andrews, Bedford
Central Library, March 2001.

Mauricio KAGEL,
Variations without fugue on variations and fugue on a theme by Handel for

piano Op.24 by Johannes Brahms (1973). Source of information: Paul Andrews, Bedford
Central Library, March 2001.

Milko KELEMEN,
Hommage a Heinrich Schutz (1964), for choir. Source of information: Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 97.

Manfred KELKEL,
Hommage a Mozart, op. 7, for strings. Commissioned by Radio Geneva for the bi-centenary of
Mozart’s birth, and first performed on Radio Geneve, 10 December 1956. Duration: 8 minutes. Source
of information: Jean-Jacques VELLY, ed.
Le dessous des notes: voies vers l’esosthetique: hommage au Professeur Manfred Kelkel (29
janvier 1929-18 avril 1999) . Paris: Presses de Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, 2001, p.
420.

Manfred KELKEL,
Laterna Magica, divertimento for small orchestra, op. 16, composed in homage to Athanasius
Kircher. Source of information: Jean-Jacques VELLY, ed.
Le dessous des notes: voies vers l’esosthetique: hommage au Professeur Manfred Kelkel (29
janvier 1929-18 avril 1999) . Paris: Presses de Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, 2001, p.421.

Manfred KELKEL,
Tombeau de Scriabine for large orchestra, op. 22. Symphonic arrangements of Scriabin’s
sketches for
L’acte prealable . Duration: 16.5 minutes. Source of information: Jean-Jacques VELLY, ed.
Le dessous des notes: voies vers l’esosthetique: hommage au Professeur Manfred Kelkel (29
janvier 1929-18 avril 1999). Paris: Presses de Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, 2001, p. 422.

Gyorgy KURTAG,
Hommage a Andras Mihaly: 12 Mikroludien, op. 13. For string quartet. Source of reference:
Ingeborg ALLIHN, ed.
Kammermusikfuhrer . Munchen: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2000, p. 350. The same source
mentions two further “hommage” pieces by Kurtag, i.e. (1)
Officium breve in memoriam Andreae Szervanszky, op. 28: also for string quartet, and
honouring not only Szervansky (1911-1977) but also Webern: there are quotations from the music of
each in the work; and (2)
Hommage a R. Sch., op. 15d, for clarinet, viola and piano.

Gyorgy KURTAG,
Hommage a Ferenc Farkas, for piano. Source of reference: www.di-arezzo.com

Gyorgy KURTAG,
Hommage a Kodaly, for piano. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Gyorgy KURTAG,
Hommage a Domenico Scarlatti, for piano. Source of reference: www.di-arezzo.com

Jean LANGLAIS,
B.A.C.H.: six pieces pour orgue composees pour le tricentenaire de la naissance de Jean
Sebastien Bach. Published Paris: Editions Bornemann, 1985. Plate no. : S.B. 5464.5465. Source
of reference: Score

Paul LE FLEM,
Hommage a Rameau, for chorus. Published in Paris by Eschig. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Elisabeth LUTYENS,
Homage a la France, for piano (1940). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 1016 See also the entry under Arthur Bliss above.

Elisabeth LUTYENS,
Homage to Dylan Thomas (1953). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 1064.

Elisabeth LUTYENS,
Hommage a Igor Stravinsky, op. 36 (1956). A “chorale for orchestra”, ‘originally intended
as a musical Christmas card to Stravinsky upon his recovery from a serious illness in 1956’
[Poulton]. Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 1025. Poulton also notes “The score, dated 11 December 1956, is prefaced with a
quotation from Beethoven’s A minor String Quartet Op. 132 and the words ‘Thanks to Almighty God for
recovery from illness of Igor Stravinsky’.”

Francois-Bernard MACHE,
Acheron, for piano and percussion, “En hommage a Iannis Xenakis”. Commissioned by the
Greek delegation to UNESCO, and composed in 2001. Source of information: Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier de printemps 2002 [promotional newsletter], p. 22.

Ivo MALEC,
Miniatures for Lewis Carroll (1964), for chamber ensemble. Source of information: Kresimir
Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 67.

Frank MARTIN,
Ouverture en hommage a Mozart, for orchestra. Premiered in Geneva, 10 Dcember 1956. Source
of reference: Alain Perroux,
Frank Martin, ou L’insatiable quete. Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001, p.141.

John McLEOD,
Le tombeau de Poulenc, for orchestra. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 180.

Georges MIGOT,
Pour hommage a Claude Debussy, for solo guitar. Consists of three movements, Prelude;
Pastorale; and Postlude. Source of reference: sound recording on CYBELIA CY811

J. OBROVSKA,
Hommage à Bartok, for guitar. Published in Paris by Eschig. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Andrzej PANUFNIK,
Hommage a Chopin: five vocalises for soprano and piano (1949, rev. 1955). Source: Alan
Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 3, p. 1185, 1186. Poulton notes “Commissioned by UNESCO to commemorate the hundredth
anniversary of Chopin’s death”.

Hilda PAREDES,
In memoriam Thomas Kakuska, for solo violin. Heslington, York, England: University of York
Music Press, 2006. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Ian PARROTT,
Homage to two masters, for orchestra (1970). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 3, p. 1217. The “two masters” are J. S. Bach and Elgar.

D. POLACZEK,
Hommage à Satie, for organ. Published by Universal. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Francis POULENC,
Figure humaine (Paris: Salabert, 1945) is dedicated “A Pablo Picasso dont j’admire
l’oeuvre et la vie”. Source of information: Score.

Francis POULENC. No. 12 of Poulenc’s
15 Improvisations pour piano is subtitled “Hommage à Schubert”. No. 15 is subtitled
“Hommage à Edith Piaf”.

August READ THOMAS,
Shakin’ (Homage to Elvis Presley and Igor Stravinsky). Written to celebrate the 75th
anniversary, in 2006, of the Music Library Association, and premiered (and reprised) at a concert
given by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra at the Cannon Center, Memphis, Tennessee, Friday 24
February 2006 in the presence of the composer (and of a lot of MLA members as well). Duration is
ca. 8 minutes. Given the importance of this piece to librarians (probably the most frequent users
of this list), I’m reproducing here the full notes from the program of the concert:

“I am deeply honored to have received a commission from the Memphis Symphony
Orchestra to be presented as part of the Symphony’s Rock like Bach festival in conjunction with the
Music Library Association’s 75th Anniversary. Music of many periods and by different composers and
improvisers has fascinated and nurtured me since I was a child. I deeply love the music of J.S.
Bach for its precision, its amazing invention, its elegance, and the nobility and grandeur of its
emotional spectrum. Bach sounds utterly modern to me, even 300 years after it was composed. The
music of a myriad of other composers and Blues, Rock, and Jazz improvisers keeps me focused and
humble at the same time as they inspire me with confidence for creative thinking. My listening is
varied stylistically and also very close and granular such that I hear the beautiful specificity of
each composition, with all its exclusive shadings and gradations. Music is multifaceted and nuanced
in infinite measure so I am not interested in answering: “what is the category or style of that
music.” I refuse, for instance, to make a nice neat box in my mind or ear to safely answer that
question with a pat: “it is ‘XYZ-ism’, and that is an ‘XYZ-ist’ composer.” Excellent composers, in
their best compositions, are probing for something deeply personal. I hear each single work as its
own totally special and distinctive galaxy, each composer on an individualistic search, no matter
WHAT style or language is used. This commission provides the perfect opportunity for me to compose
a work that illustrates the nurturing and energy I have received from Rock and Roll. Shakin’ pays
homage to Elvis and Stravinsky. I grew up in the 1960s, the 10th of 10 children (and a twin), in a
home with music playing in literally every room! All my brothers and sisters loved Rock and Roll
and so did I, and thus, at a very deep level, I know this repertoire; and it has indisputably
affected my music. Many of my other works make reference to Jazz and to Jazz artists (both in the
sound of my music and in the titles) furthermore jazz is a thread that has been winding through my
life, my listening, and my music forever. Shakin’ is an 8-minute work for orchestra, which falls
loosely into three short sections, played without a pause. The first is characterized by the use of
soloists in the orchestra. It is lyric and elegant, and tuneful. Eight solo violinists, all who
have practice mutes on their instruments (which makes their sound extremely dreamy, distant, and
faint) play brief fragments of songs which Elvis sang. They spin an eight-part counterpoint-web.
This dreamy lattice obscures each song, so one should not try to hear
Amazing Grace, for instance, but it is there, floating above the orchestra in the
soloists, as if to recall the web of power that Elvis holds on it all, from afar. As if eight of
Elvis’ songs were in the room with us, but we cannot quite clutch them on our hands
[sic].

The second section is a kind of evolution, which features two solo violinists (instead of the
eight) above a kind of funky, rocking pizzicato bass-line. It did not make aural sense for the
eight violin soloists to totally disappear, so I pulled two of them to the foreground as a
transition to the third section. The final third of the work is one long crescendo, from
ppp to
fff, and it also is a gradual and continual accelerando. There are several “licks” that
repeat, although subjected to slight variations, and give a kind of feeling of home-base or of a
rock-motive. Each percussionist has a kind of repeating “lick” so too do various of the strong [?
string] sections, for instance
[sic]. You can hear the building blocks of the work accumulate, and grow and expand until
the final sounds. When asked to make a work that related to Elvis, I was NOT interested in making
an arrangement of Elvis tunes, not in making a kind of shallow pastiche of his greatest hits, nor
in making a public-relations Elvis extravaganza. It was my intention in Shakin’ to truly compose a
new work, that reacts to what Elvis gave to us all, but that is fundamentally the original work of
a singular musician. Thank you for the opportunity to share my art with the greater Memphis
community. Shakin’ is dedicated with admiration and gratitude to the Music Library Association,
David Loebel, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra” [Loebel is conductor of the Memphis SO]

A kind of ‘homage’ piece, because written for Schubert Year 1997, is Aribert Reimann’s
Metamorphosen uber ein Menuett von Franz Schubert (D 600) for 10 Instrumente. Source of
reference: Score (Mainz; London: Schott, 1997). Cat. no. Musik unserer Zeit ED9181.

Joaquin RODRIGO,
Tres evocaciones (Homenaje a Joaquin Turina) (1981) for piano solo was premiered by Jose
Manuel de Diego at the “Actos commemorativos del centenario del nacimento de Joaquin Turina”,
Conservatorio Superior de Musica, Seville, 19 January 1983. Source of reference: Alberto Gonzalez
Lapuente,
Joaquin Rodrigo [biography and worklist]. Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores,
[?1999], p. 75. The same source (p. 78) lists Rodrigo’s
Invocacion y danza (Homenaje a Manuel de Falla) for guitar, and his
Capriccio: ofrenda a Pablo Sarasate (1944) for violin solo.

Lionel ROGG,
Hommage a Messiaen, for organ. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Lionel ROGG,
Hommage a Takemitsu, for organ. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com. Published in Paris by Lemoine.

Gioacchino ROSSINI,
Il piano delle Muse, in morte di Lord Byron . For tenor or soprano solo, SSSTTB
semichorus, SAB choir, with piano. Lasts 3 minutes. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 68.

Several works in honour of ROSSINI are listed in Paolo Fabbri,
Rossini nelle raccolte Piancastelli di Forli (Lucca: LIM Editrice, [2001]), p. 22, as
follows:

Al sommo Rossini. Eco felsinea: raccolta di 5 pezzi per canto conaccompagnamento di pianoforte
e 3 pezzi per pianoforte solo espressamente composti dai seguenti autori: Cesare Aria; Federico
Dellari; C. Ferrari Castelvetri; Stefano Golinelli; Domenico Liverani; Gaetano Megazzari; Cesare
Santerre; Tadolini cav. Gio . Milano: G. Ricordi, 1844. (Salone o Musica, no. 27)

Saverio Mercadante:
A Rossini: inno per grandi masse vocali e strumentali eseguito in Pesaro il giorno 21 agosto
1864 per la solenne inaugurazione del busto dell’immortale compositore. Milano: F. Lucca,
[1865]. (Salone o Musica, nn. 25 and 26)

Ruben SARKISYAN,
Music in memory of Shostakovich: 3 pieces for flute, cello, and piano. Source of
reference: Derek C. Hulme,
Dmitri Shostakovich: a catalogue, bibliography, and discography. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press; Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002, p. 572.

Henri SAUGUET,
Soliloque, (“en memoire a Manuel de Falla”), for solo guitar. Source of reference:
recording on CYBELIA CY811.

Peter SCHICKELE,
Little mushrooms: suite for piano, four hands, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Schubert’s
birth. King of Prussia, PA: Elkan-Vogal, 2003. Source of information: Score. Cat. no.
160-00218. According to Schickele’s preface, the piece was so named because Schubert’s friends used
to call him “little mushroom”. Not real friends, then, were they???

Florent SCHMITT,
Hommage Fauré, for piano. Published Paris: Durand. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Alfred SCHNITTKE,
Hommage a Grieg, for orchestra. Premiered 15 June 1993 in Bergen to celebrate the 150th
anniversary of Grieg’s birth. Source of reference: CD issued with the book
Tilbakeblikk pa Grieg-Jubileet 1993: rapport om jubileets aktiviteter og begivenheter
([Oslo?]: Grieg-jubileet, 1993). ISBN 82-91266-09-3. Other works on the CD, and which we may
therefore suppose have a connection with the Grieg anniversary, are
Alluso for chamber ensemble by Kare Kolberg; a violin sonata by Per Henrik Nordgren;
Sett meg som segl pa ditt hjerte by Trond Kverno;
–shimmer–, for piano and chamber ensemble, by Hakon Berge; Songs for mezzosoprano to
texts by Goethe, by Anders Eliasson; and
Contrary dances for piano by Karl Aage Rasmussen.

Alfred SCHNITTKE,
Hommage a Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich, for piano, 6 hands.
(Hamburg: Hans Sikorski, 1998). Source of information: J. W. Pepper Catalogue of Aug-Oct. 1999, p.
26. I have not seen this score.

Edouard SCIORTINO,
Hommage a Albeniz, for piano. Published by Editions Coimbre. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Wolfgang SEIFEN,
Missa solemnis “Tu es Petrus”: zum 80. Geburtstag des Heiligen Vaters Papst Benedikt XVI.
For chorus, orchestra, and organ. Sankt Augustin: Butz, 2007.[How often to you find pieces for the
Pope’s birthday? Maybe it’s time to start a new section…]. Source of ifnromation: Harrassowitz
website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Deodat de SEVERAC,
Le tombeau de Gauguin, for piano (1908-21). Source of information: Jean-Bernard Cahours
D’Aspry,
Deodat de Severac (1872-1921): musicien du soleil mediterraneen. Anglet: Seguier, 2001, p.
141.

Rodion SHCHEDRIN,
Menuhin-Sonata, for violin and piano (1999). Published Mainz; London: Schott, 2001. ISMN
M001129725. Source of information: Score. Interestingly enough the score doesn’t say anything about
Yehudi Menuhin — but it is, surely, dedicated to him rather than any of the other members of the
Menuhin family?

Valentin SILVESTROV,
Postludium DSCH, for soprano and piano trio. Source of reference: Derek C. Hulme,
Dmitri Shostakovich: a catalogue, bibliography, and discography. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press; Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002, p. 573. [This piece is, of course, in memory
of Shostakovich]

Dmitri SMIRNOV,
Partita fur Violine solo, op. 43 (Hamburg: Hans Sikorski, 1985) was written “Zum 300.
Geburtstag von Georg Friedrich Handel”. Source of information: Score. It consists of a Rondeau,
Interludium, Chaconne and Postludium. The Chaconne may be based on an actual Handel melody (I’ve
not identified it so far).

Mathias SPAHLINGER,
Adieu m’amour: hommage à Guillaume Dufay
, for violin and violoncello. Source of information: Score (Hamburg: Peer
Musikverlag, 1983).

Charles Villiers STANFORD,
String quartet no. 5 in B flat, op. 104 is inscribed ‘In memoriam Joseph Joachim’. Source
of information: Score (Cambridge: SJ Music, 1998, based on the Stainer & Bell edition of
1908)

Zsigmond SZATHMARY,
BACH hommage, for organ. Published by Barenreiter. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

I. SZELENYI,
Hommage à Bartok, for piano. Published by Schott Musik. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Andras SZOLLOSY,
Pro somno Igoris Stravinsky quieto, for chamber orchestra (1 each of clarinet, bassoon,
horn, trombone, violin I, violin II, viola, violoncello, double bass and piano). Source of
reference: Score (Budapest: Editio Musica, 1981), plate no. Z. 8785. The instrumentalists are
expected to intone bits of the Requiem text, too. Multitasking in action…

Jeno TAKACS,
6 Metamorphosen for organ, op. 121 (published Vienna: Doblinger, catalog no. 00642)
includes “Gedanken uber Themen von J. Haydn” and “Hommage a M. Ravel”. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

Xaver Paul THOMA,
In memoriam H.K., op. 124, for solo cello. Asperg: IKURO Edition, 2007. Source of
inforamtion: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Jukka TIENSUU,
Le tombeau de Beethoven, for oboe, cello, piano and tape. Composed 1980, and first
performed in Helsinki on 23 September 1980 by Jouko Teikari, Erkki Rautio and Jakka Tiensuu. Source
of information: promotional brochure available from the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki,
Finland, 1995. Tiensuu has also written
Le tombeau de Mozart , for violin, clarinet and piano, premiered at the Turku Music
Festival on 18 August 1990. Source of reference: same as for
Le tombeau de Beethoven.

Mark-Anthony TURNAGE,
Silent cities, for orchestra (Mainz; London: Schott, 2001, ISMN M220119774; publisher’s
no. ED 12678) is inscribed “in memory of Sir Michael Tippett”. Source of information: Score.

Mark-Anthony TURNAGE,
True life stories, for piano solo (Mainz; London: Schott, 2000; ISMN M220119743,
publisher’s no. ED 12677) includes a fifth movement entitled “Tune for Toru”, in memory of Toru
Takemitsu. The other movements are dedicated as follows: 1. Elegy for Andy (“in memory of my
brother”); 2. William’s pavane (“for my son”); 3. Song for Sally (“for Sally Groves” – a Schott
employee); and 4. Edward’s refrain (“for my son”). Source of information: Score.

M. VOJTISEK,
Hommage à Bach, for guitar. Published in Prague by Panton. Source of reference:
www.di-arezzo.com

William WALTON,
In honour of the City of London: cantata for mixed chorus and orchestra (1937). Source:
Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 3, p. 1500.

Peter WARLOCK,
Christmas hommage to Bernard van Dieren, for piano (1917). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 3, p. 1538.

Charles WUORINEN,
A reliquary for Igor Stravinsky, for orchestra. Published New York; London: C. F. Peters,
1978, plate no. Edition Peters 66631. Source of information: Score (see above). According to
Wuorinen, fragments from an unfinished work by Stravinsky are included in the work; he gives
locations where these fragments are to be found.

Variations on…

There must be thousands of pieces that use thematic material of other composers. This list is by
no means exhaustive!

Erwin AMEND,
Variations on a theme of Rameau, for small orchestra. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 9.

Hendrik ANDRIESSEN,
Variations and fugue on a theme by Kuhnau, for strings. Published by Henmar. Source of
reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 11. Andriessen
has also composed a set of Variations on a theme by Couperin, for solo flute, harp and strings.
Same source of ref., same page. Also published by Henmar.

Robert ARMBRUSTER,
Variations in miniature (on “Chopsticks”), for orchestra. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 15.

Arthur BLISS,
Meditations on a theme by John Blow, for orchestra. Uses a theme from the introduction to
Blow’s setting of psalm 23. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 84.

Frederic BUNTE,
X Variations sur l’Air “Kind willst du ruhig schlafen” for violin and string trio, op. 1.
Published Offenbach: J. Andre, [1805]. Source of information:
Cox’s Gallimaufray [trade catalogue of Lisa Cox Music] no. 9 (Summer 2002), p. 4]

Henri BUSSER,
Fantasy on Scottish themes for trumpet and piano, op. 70. The tune is one that some people
may know as “When a body meets a body”. Source of reference: Score (Boca Raton, FL: Masters Music
Publications, [s.d.])

Milo CIPRA,
Eleven variations on a folk tune from Bosnia, for piano. Source of information: Kresimir
Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 27.

Lyell CRESSWELL,
Variations on a theme by Charles Ives, for flute and cello. Based on the song “Songs my
mother taught me”. Source of information: Lyell Cresswell,
Anake and other works, recording issued by NMC, London: CD no. NMC D077.

DACCI, Giusto.
Aida, di G. Verdi: Fantasia, op. 240, for clarinet and piano. Published London: Lazarus
Edition, 2003. According to the publisher, this work “makes free use of the priests’ motive first
heard in the opera’s prelude to link together a selection of the work’s best known tunes”. Source
of information: Score (ISMN M 708007 11 1)

Maurice DURUFLÉ,
Fugue sur le theme du carillon des heures de la cathedrale de Soissons, op. 12. Liguge:
Europart-Music, 2007. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Jindrich FELD,
Fantaisie-variations sur un theme de Leonard de Lorenzo, for solo flute. Paris: Billaudot,
2003. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Jacques-François GALLAY,
Fantaisie sur la romance “Ma Normandie”, for horn and piano, op. 34. Leipzig: Ostermeyer,
2006. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Alexis de GARAUDE,
Fantaisie et variations sur l’air de la Molinara “Nel cor piu no mi sento”, for horn and
piano. Leipzig: Ostermeyer, 2006. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Jesus GURIDI,
Diferencias sobre “El canto del caballero” de Antonio de Cabezon, for organ. Source of
reference: Victor PLIEGO DE ANDRES, ed.
Jesus Guridi [catalogue]. (Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, ?1996), p.
90.

Karl HOLLER [that’s Holler with an umlaut on the “o”],
Variations on a theme of Sweelinck, for orchestra. The theme is from Sweelinck’s
Mein junges Leben hat ein End. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 100.

Manfred KELKEL,
Ouverture sur un theme de Darius Milhaud, op. 21, for small orchestra (1972-92). Duration:
7 minutes. Source of information: Jean-Jacques VELLY, ed.
Le dessous des notes: voies vers l’esosthetique: hommage au Professeur Manfred Kelkel (29
janvier 1929-18 avril 1999) . Paris: Presses de Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, 2001, p.422.

Helmut LACHENMANN,
Cinq variations sur un theme de Franz Schubert , for piano (1956). Source of reference:
Martin Kaltenecker,
Avec Helmut Lachenmann (Paris: Van Dieren, 2001), p. 325. The variations are on Schubert’sDanse allemande, D643.

Theodore LALLIET,
Fantaisie sur des motifs de Chopin op. 31 pour hautbois avec accompagnement de piano
. Koblenz: Egge-Verlag, 2003. Source of information: Harrassowitz web site, April
2007.

Anatoly LYADOV,
Variations on a theme of Mikhail Glinka, for piano, op. 35. Published Frankfurt: M. P.
Belaieff, [s.d.]. Plate no. 1265. Source of information: Score.

Philippe SAGNIER,
Variations sur un air populaire de Maine, for double bass solo and string quartet. Paris:
Editiosn Combre, 2007. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Clara SCHUMANN,
Variations de concert sur la cavatine du Pirate de Bellini, op. 8, for piano. Source of
reference: Brigitte Francois-Sappey,
Clara Schumann, ou L’oeuvre et l’amour d’une femme. Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001, p.
147.

Julia USHER,
A reed in the wind: variations on a theme by John Taverner, for solo oboe. Published
London: Primavera, 1981. The theme is that used by Taverner in his “Western Wynde” Mass. Source of
reference: Score. The piece is also interesting because each of its 6 movements takes a wind as its
subject, as follows: 1. Mistral. — 2. Sirocco. — 3. Zephirus. — 4. Bora. — 5. Khamsin. — 6.
Harmattan.

Kings and Queens

Claude DEBUSSY,
Le roi Lear. Two fragments for orchestra exist, entitled “Fanfare” and “Le sommeil de
Lear”. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 91.

Gustav HOLST,
King Estmere, for chorus and orchestra. Lasts 22 minutes. Source of reference: Neil
Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 45.

Jacques IBERT,
Le roi d’Yvetot: opera-comique in four acts to a libretto by Jean Limozin and Andre de la
Tourrasse. Dates from 1928. Source of information: Gerard MICHEL,
Jacques Ibert: l’homme et son oeuvre (Paris: Editions Seghers, 1967, p. 120-22. Ibert also
composed a
Suite Elisabethaine in 1942 for chamber orchestra, harp and women’s chorus. Source of
information: Gerard MICHEL, op. cit, 129-30.

Einojuhani RAUTAVAARA,
True and false unicorn: a tapestry of voices (New York: Schirmer, 1982) features a
movement (no. 9) entitled “Queen Victoria”. Source of information: Score.

Pieces with ornithological connections

Barbara HELLER,
Come una colomba = Wie eine Taube [= Like a dove]: song cycle for soprano and piano on
poems by Giuseppe Ungaretti (Mainz; London: Schott, 2001; ISMN M001129169, publisher’s no. ED
9246). The seven poems are : Quiete — Sereno — Notte di maggio — Fase — Tramonto — Eterno —
Rosso e azzurro. Source of information: Score.

Robert Sherlaw JOHNSON,
Pour le tombeau de Messiaen. See above, under “Homage” (or “hommage”) pieces.

Svetoslav KARAGENOV,
Bird’s stories, for piano. Niedernhausen: Edition Kemel, 2007. Source of information:
Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Zoltan KODALY,
The peacock, for SATB or TTB chorus. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 50.

Claus KUHNL,
Der beleidigte Papagei [The insulted parrot]

:

elf Miniaturen fur Klavier. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Hartel, 2007. Source of
information: Harrassowitz website, April 2007. This one ought to be in our “Pieces with quirky
titles” too… And in homage to Monty Python, maybe this parrot, so overcome by the insults heaped
upon it, will become Der tote Papagei, or an “ex-parrot”.

Frank MARTIN,
Le coucou, canon for 7 female voices, composed 1930. Source of reference: Alain Perroux,
Frank Martin, ou L’insatiable quete . Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001, p.140.

Einojahuni RAUTAVAARA’s
Cantus arcticus: concerto for birds and orchestra (published Helsinki: Fazer, 1973)
includes a 2-channel tape recorder that plays a tape of birds against the music being played by the
orchestra. Source of information: Score.

Karin REHNQVIST,
The raven himself is hoarse, for female chorus a capella. [Text by Shakespeare.]
Stockholm: Reimers, 2006. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Kaija SAARIAHO,
Laconisme de l’aile for solo flute (1982) uses a text about birds: a fragment from
Saint-John Perse’s collection
Oiseaux . Source of information: notes by Risto Nieminen for the CD recording
A portrait of Kaija Saariaho (BIS CD-307). Saariaho’s …
sah den Vo [umlaut]
geln, for ‘harmonizer’, soprano voice, flute, oboe, cello and piano includes a verbal text
spoken twice in the work that talks about birds ‘flying in the mild air, as if they were
unconsciously questioning existence or trying to remember something forgotten’ (Nieminen’s notes
again, to the same CD).

Gary SCHOCKER,
Sonata for piccolo and piano has a final movement entitled “The mini-chicken”. Source of
reference: Score (King of Prussia, PA: Theodore Presser, 2005). The three other movements are 1.
Change of plans; 2. In olden style; and 3. Triste.

Pieces with animal connections

Georges APERGHIS,
Entre chien et loup; cycle for soprano, baritone and 5 players. Texts by Paul Klee, Goethe
and Franz Kafka. Published by Durand. Source of information: Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier ete 2002 [promotional newsletter], p. 21. Those in the know will already
have realised, in fact, that this entry on the site is spurious, to the extent that although the
piece exists, “Entre chien et loup” has nothing to do with animals: in French it is a synonym for
“twilight” [crepuscule]. I’ve occasionally thought that if Wagner had written The Ring in French,
he might have called the last part “Les dieux, entre chien et loup”, thus perhaps seriously
jeopardising its success.

Diana BURRELL,
Das Meer, das so gross und weit ist, da wimmelt’s ohne Zahl, grosse und kleine
Tiere, for string orchestra. Source of reference: CD of the works of Diana Burrell on
ASV, CD no. DCA977 (issued England, 1996).

Aaron COPLAND,
Scherzo humoristique, ‘Le chat et la souris’ [the Cat and the Mouse]
, pour piano. Source of information: Score (Paris: Durand, 1921; plate no. D. & F.
10107)

Peter EOTVOS, “Insetti galanti”, no. 1 of his
3 Madrigalkomodien for 12-part chamber choir, is based on texts from the 6th book of
madrigals by Gesualdo. Source of information: Score (Paris: Salabert, 1990; plate no. E.A.S.
18915).

Hans-Werner HENZE,
The English cat: a story for singers and instrumentalist by Edward Bond. Mainz: Schott,
2007 Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Yuri KNANIN
, Symphony of dogs [see ‘Pieces with quirky titles, below].

Vladimir KOJOUKHAROV,
Le paradis des chats: opera for children’s voices and orchestra, to a libretto by the
composer after a Japanese story. Source of information: Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier de printemps 2002 [promotional newsletter], p. 24. Score apparently published
by Salabert.

William LAWES,
The catts, for two sopranos, tenor and continuo. The only surviving original source is
London, British Library, Additional manuscript 31432, ff. 22v-23v (Lawes’s autograph). There is a
facsimile of the piece in vol. 2 of
English song, 1600-1675: facsimiles of twenty-six manuscripts and an edition of the texts,
ed, Elise Bickford Jorgens (New York: Garland, 1986), and a modern edition in Murray Lefkowitz,
ed.,
Trois masques a la cour de Charles Ier d’Angleterre: The triumph of peace; The triumphs of the
Prince d’Amour; Britannia triumphans (Paris: Editions du CNRS, 1970), p. 336-339. In addition,
Gordon Callon [who supplied the information in this section] has prepared an edition for a complete
edition of Lawes’s vocal music. An older edition, also produced by Callon, can be found at
http://ace.acadiau.ca/score/archive/ftp.htm#L; then click on WILLIAM LAWES, right click and
download files CATS1.EPS – CATS7.EPS.

Martin MATALON,
Las siete vidas de un gato [The seven lives of a cat], for 8 musicians and electronics.
Why Spanish cats only have seven lives I’m not quite sure, though perhaps this piece, which was
composed to accompany the silent film
Un chien andalou by Luis Bunuel, contains an explanation somewhere. Source of information:Calendrier 18 (hiver 2002) of Durand, Salabert and Eschig editions, p. 28.

Einojuhani RAUTAVAARA,
True and false unicorn: a tapestry of voices (New York: Schirmer, 1982) is based on poems
of the same title by James Broughton. The separate movements of the work are entitled: 1. The
unicorn questions the nature of the chase; 2. The lion, reading; 3. Sigmund of Vienna; 4. The
unicorn; 5. Entering the wilderness: the unicorn is beset by voices; 6. Young Sagittarius; 7. A
virgin, waiting; 8. The empress of Byzantium; 9. Queen Victoria; 10. His honor the mayor; 11. Big
black Sambo; 12. In the heart of the desert the silence is piercing; 13. The unicorn, wounded; 14.
“Mon seul desir”: The unicorn reaches a temple in a clearing; 15. Sigmund of Vienna; 16. The lion;
17. The unicorn; 18. The fool; 19. The virgin’s lullaby; 20. The unicorn. Source of information:
Score.

Maurice RAVEL: see below, under ROSSINI.

Jerome ROSEN, “Nocturne, with lion”, is the title of the 1st movemetn of his
Serenade for clarinet and percussion of 1967. Source of information: Score, published by
Composers Facsimile Edition, New York.

Giacchino ROSSINI’s
Duetto buffo di due gatti is probably sufficiently well-known not to need referencing: but
I’m grateful to Carolyn A. Kidder of the Eugene Ormandy Music and Media Center, Van Pelt/Dietrich
Library, University of Pennsylvania for reminding me of it. Carolyn also points out that a cat, as
well as a squirrel, appear in Ravel’s
L’enfant et les sortileges.

Kaija SAARIAHO,
Monkey fingers, velvet hand, for piano. Premiered in Tokyo in 1992, and published in
London by Chester Music. Source of information: promotional leaflet on Saariaho produced by the
Finnish Music Information Centre, 1995.

Deodat de SEVERAC,
Les hiboux [The owls]: song for voice and piano. Source of information: Jean-Bernard
Cahours D’Aspry,
Deodat de Severac (1872-1921): musicien du soleil mediterraneen. Anglet: Seguier, 2001, p.
143.

Judith WEIR,
Don’t let that horse eat that violin, for solo voice and horn. Source of reference: CD NMC
D025 (miscellaneous modern stuff sung by Jane Manning).

Judith WEIR,
Tiger under the table. Commissioned by the London Sinfonietta, and due for first
performance on 15 March 2003, conducted by Thomas Ades. Source of information:
The Full Score [promotional newsletter of the Music Sales group of companies, UK], Winter
2002 edition, p. 3.

Judith WEIR,
What sound will chase elephants away?. For 2 double basses. Source of information:
Kathy Adamson, librarian, Royal Academy of Music, London; and score, published 2007 by Chester
Music.

Wedding music

The obvious titles are omitted here. I’m just listing rather more unusual or quirky ones.

Ernest BLOCH,
Four wedding marches, for organ (composed 1946-50). Source of reference: Jacques
Tchamkerten,
Ernest Bloch, ou Un prophete en son temps (Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001), p. 133.

Peter EOTVOS, “Hochzeitsmadrigal”, no. 2 of his
3 Madrigalkomodie for 12-part chamber choir. Source of information: Score (Paris:
Salabert, 1990; plate no. E.A.S. 18915).

Charles GOUNOD,
Marche nuptiale, for organ solo. “Composee pour le mariage de Miss Agnes Brown”, some
information on whom is included in the preface to the printed score. First published Eastwood,
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, UK by Basil Ramsey, 1984. Source of information: Score.

Jesus GURIDI,
Marcha nupcial, for organ (but it also exists in a version for orchestra). Source of
reference: Victor PLIEGO DE ANDRES, ed.
Jesus Guridi [catalogue]. (Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, ?1996), p.
39.

Deodat de SEVERAC,
Cortege nuptial catalan, for small orchestra (1918). Source of information: Jean-Bernard
Cahours D’Aspry,
Deodat de Severac (1872-1921): musicien du soleil mediterraneen. Anglet: Seguier, 2001, p.
142.

Compositions with quirky titles

Quirkiness is, of course, in a matter of individual taste: but here are a few titles that *I*
regard as quite quirky:

John ADAMS,
Lollapalooza, for orchestra. Written as a 40th birthday present for Simon Rattle. Source
of reference: recording on NONESUCH 7559-79607-2.

Adams writes as follows about the title, in the booklet accompanying this CD: “The term
‘Lollopalooza’ has an uncertain etymology, and just that vagueness may account for its popularity
as an archetypical American word. It suggests something large, outlandish, oversized, not unduly
refined. H. L. Mencken suggests it may have originally meant a knockout punch in a boxing match. I
was attracted to it because of its internal rhythm: da-da-da-DAAH-da. Hence, in my piece, the word
is spelled out in the trombones and bubas, C-C-C-E flat-C (emphasis on the E-flat) as a kind of
idee fixe.” Enough already…

Georges APERGHIS has composed a piece simply entitled
B.W.V., for solo voices and instruments; published by Salabert. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 13.

Dominick ARGENTO,
Bravo Mozart (an imaginary biography) (1969), for orchestra. Published by Boosey &
Hawkes. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 15.

Milton BABBITT,
The joy of sextets, for violin and piano. Source of reference: Chris Marshall, formerly of
the BBC.

Gerald BARRY,
O/ [this is supposed to look like an upper-case letter O with a slash through it, as used
in ?Norwegian. The piece is for two pianos. Source of information: Chris Marshall, formerly of the
BBC, who points out that the BBC Music Library uses this symbol to designate a full score in its
catalogues. Whether or not there is a connection, who knows? But it’s fun to speculate.

Irwin BAZELON,
Symphony no. 8 1/2 [that’s “eight and a half”]. Source of information: Score, published
Bryn Mawr, PA: Theodore Press, 1996. Cat. no. 416-41135.

David BEDFORD,
A horse, his name was Hunry Fencewaver Walkins, for guitar and chamber ensemble, including
piano. Published London: Universal Edition, 1978. Source of information: Score. The score also
informs us that “The title comes from ‘Because he liked to be at home’, a poem by Kenneth Patchen”.
For another work about a horse, see Judith WEIR,
Don’t let that horse eat that violin, for solo voice and horn. Source of reference: CD NMC
D025 (miscellaneous modern stuff sung by Jane Manning).

Stanislav BINICKI,
Na uranku [= At dawn]. One-act opera. Not particularly quirky title-wise, but noted by
Slonimsky/Kuhn as the first national opera to a libretto in the Serbian language, and therefore
worth noting, surely?? Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900 , 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 29.

Boris BLACHER,
What about this, Mr Clementi?, from his
Trois pieces pour piano. Source of reference: score (published Vienna: Universal Edition,
1946). Plate no. UE11628. The piece uses melodic and harmonic figurations in the style of Clementi,
and is a clever pastiche.

Carey BLYTON,
Eine Kleine Froschmusik = A little frog music by Jeremy Fischer, Esq. (aka Bulgy Gogo)
(aka Carey Blyton): for piano duet. Source of information : Score ([London]: Blyton, c. 1991
(printed by Modus Music)). Information supplied by Wendy Harrisson, Guildhall School of Music and
Drama, May 2001.

Carey BLYTON,
The Indian coffee house roof garden orchestral tango, or The last tango in
Pondy, op. 91. [Original version for piano duet]. Source of information : Score (London:
Universal, 1988 (printed by Modus Music)). Information supplied by Wendy Harrisson, Guildhall
School of Music and Drama, May 2001. Nick Barlow of the University of the West of England has
supplied the following background information by the composer, taken from the score of an
arrangement of the piece by David Bedford: “The Indian Coffee House in Pondicherry, India, is
situated on the one-and-a-half kilometre Avenue Goubert, which runs parallel to the sea-front. A
single-storey building, it has a small restaurant on the ground floor and a roof-garden restaurant,
covering the entire roof, where one may eat while looking out over the Bay of Bengal. I sat on many
occasions among the faded palms in tubs and thought of the past. I found the place full of echoes
of the 1920s and 1930s, redolent of a bygone age. This little piece is a memento of it.”

August BUNGERT,
Zeppelins grosse Fahrt. Dramatic symphony, “depicting in grandiosely Wagneromantic tones
the proud flight of an early dirigible airship” (Slonimsky/Kuhn). Source of information: Nicolas
Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 77.

O’Brien BUTLER,
Muirgheis. According to Slonimsky/Kuhn, the first opera to be written to a libretto in the
Gaelic language. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 28. See also
Thierry PECOU below.

John CAGE,
ALSLP, for solo piano or organ. Cage reports: “The title is an abbreviation of “as slow as
possible.” It also refers to “Soft morning city! Lsp!” the first exclamations in the last paragraph
of
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)”. Source of information: Score (New York: Henmar Press,
1985)

Cornelius CARDEW,
Three winter potatoes, for solo piano (Universal Edition, 1966). Source of reference:
Anthony Perch,

Guildhall School of Music and Drama (which owns a copy of the piece).

John Alden CARPENTER,
Adventures in a perambulator, orchestral suite “describing in modernists modalities with a
vocabulary of the impressionist palette six typical scenes as seen and heard from the vantage
point of a baby carriage”. Movements are
En voiture!,
The Policeman ,
The Hurdy-Gurdy ,
The Lake,
Dogs, and
Dreams (Slonimsky/Kuhn). First performed 19 March 1915Source of information: Nicolas
Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 125.

Elliott CARTER,
Au quai, for bassoon and viola. Hendon Music [Boosey & Hawkes], 2002. Source of
information: Score (ISMN M-051-10445-1).

Francis COITEUX,
Le bel hautbois dormant, for oboe and piano. [Say this title out loud and you’ll
understand why it appears in this section.]. Paris: Editions Combre, 2007. Source: Harrassowitz
website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Henry COWELL,
Six ings : for piano. Source of information: Score (New York : Associated Music
Publishers, c1950)

The 6 “ings” are entitled 1. Floating — 2. Frisking — 3. Fleeting –4. Scooting — 5.
Wafting — and 6. Seething. Provided by Pamela Bristah, Music Librarian, Wellesley College,
Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA

Jan CYZ,
Vitamin C , for clarinet, two trumpets and trombone. Published Bautzen: ENA Musikverlag,
2007. Source of information: Harrassowitz web site, April 2007.

Christian DARNTON,
To a dead goldfish, for piano, op. 16 no. 1 (1924). Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 579. Poulton adds: “Written for C. A. N. Hewlin”; and that the piece contains a
“brief allusion to Eric [sic] Satie’s Obstacles Venimeux from Heures Secularies et instanees”.

Donald ERB,
Sonata for solo violin (Bryn Mawr, PA: Merion Music, 1996) has a fourth (final) movement
entitled “Gut bucket blues”. Source of information: Score.

Bruno GINER,
‘K’, for two recorders [i.e. flutes a bec] and magnetic tape. Source of information:
Calendrier 18 (hiver 2002) of Durand, Salabert and Eschig editions, p. 29. Published by
Durand. See also Philippe MANOURY’s opera of the same title below: is there copyright on a title
like this???

A. GREENE,
7 Wild mushrooms and a waltz: easy pieces for a prepared piano (New York, 1976). Source of
information: Anthony Perch, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, March 2001.

Naji HAKIM,
Gershwinesca, for organ. Source of information: United Music Publishers’ promotional
UMP News and Performance Diary, March-April 2001: ‘On 30 April 2001 the celebrated organ
virtuoso Wayne Marshall will give the world premiere of
Gershwinesca by Naji Hakim as part of his recital opening the celebrations for the 50th
anniversary of the Royal Festival Hall [London]. Commissioned by Wayne Marshall,
Gershwinesca is a rhapsody for solo organ whose themes are entirely drawn from the works
of George Gershwin, including such well-known favourites as
‘Let’s call the whole thing off’, ‘Nice work if you can get it’, ‘How long has this been going
on’, ‘I got rhythm’, ‘The man I love’ as well as material from
‘Rhapsody in Blue’, ‘An American in Paris’ and
‘Porgy and Bess’ .’

Herbert HOWELLS, Minuet “Grace for a fresh egg”, for bassoon and piano. Source of
reference: Dr Paul Andrews, Bedford Central Library. Further information in Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 859, where it is listed as “Minuet: Grace for a Fresh Egg”. Dedicated “to Hugh on
his 22nd birthday”. Lasts 1 minute; published by Novello, 1984. Source: Alan Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 2, p. 859.

Charles IVES,
From Hanover Square North at the End of a Tragic Day the Voice of the People again arose.
Last movement of Ives’s
Second orchestral set. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 126.

Leos JANACEK,
Music for Indian club swinging [Hudba ke krouzeni kuzely ], for keyboard. Source of
information: Kathy Adamson, Librarian, Royal Academy of Music (and confirmed by
New Grove II)

Jan JARVLEPP [with an umlaut on the “A” of the surname],
Garbage Concerto: a concerto for recycled garbage and orchestra. The sort of title that
makes the heart sing [or, maybe, hum] if you are interested in quirky stuff. Source of reference:
recording on BIS CD1052 (recorded 1999), with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Kroumata
Percussion Ensemble, under Lan Shui. The movements of the concerto are entitled “Dance of the
wind”; “The rideau canal, 3 a.m.”; and “Rain dance”. Here’s what the composer says in the sleeve
notes to the recording: “In the first movement…the five soloists play on metal cans, glass jars,
plastic bottles, hubcaps, recycling box and a paper bag. In the serene second movement… the
soloists blow on glass bottles filled with different levels of water while the orchestra provides a
minimalistic backdrop. In the lively final movement…the percussionists play metal cans, glass
jars, plastic bottles, a recycling box and a maraca made out of a metal can. The work was
commissioned by the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Currie with funding from the
Laidlaw Foundation. The first performance was in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre on 22nd January
1996, with soloists Jonathan Wade, Paul Vaillancourt, Ken Simpson, David Stachon and Eric
Vaillancourt”.

Mauricio KAGEL,
A deux mains: impromptu fur Klavier. Frankfurt etc.: C. F. Peters, 1997. Souce of
information: Score (Pl. no. 32052; Edition Peters 8896)

Yuri KHANIN (1965-),
Five smallest orgasms, op. 29, for orchestra. Source of information: recording, London:
Olympia, 1992. CD no. OCD284. According to the accompanying notes, the work was written as a direct
response to Scriabin’s
Poem of ecstasy. Other works by Khanin with quirky titles, and mentioned in the same
accompanying notes are:
Symphony of dogs ;
Middle symphony ;
Sport training for the mind ;
Looking through people ; and
One step forward, two steps backward, chagrin bone. Those wishing to mount a “classical
music and sex” concert might like also to take note of
G-spot tornado by Franz Zappa, which somewhat disappointingly takes only about five
minutes.

Gerd KU[umlaut]HR,
Stop and go and black and white (and sometimes blue) , for instrumental ensemble. Source
of information:
Calendrier 18 (hiver 2002) of Durand, Salabert and Eschig editions, p. 6.

Hanna KULENTY,
E for E, for harpsichord solo. Another of those pieces with a one-letter title. Is a trend
emerging? Source of information: score (Krakow: PWM, 1999; ISBN 83-224-0571-5)

Goddard LIEBERSON,
Piano pieces for advanced children or retarded adults. Reported to me by Leslie Rieger of
the University of Montana, who writes: I ran across a collection yesterday which you may wish to
include on your quirky site. It’s a 3 volume set by Goddard Lieberson entitled “Piano Pieces
for Advanced Children or Retarded Adults”. At first glance, I thought “Well isn’t THAT PC?”, but
after looking at the individual volume titles and the titles of the pieces, I must conclude that it
was meant as tongue-in-cheek. The first volume is titled
Five Songs Without Mendelssohn and the contents are: Whistling Boy on Horseback —
The Same Boy, Five Years Later, In Paris — My Neighbor Studies Voice — My Father Plays Pizzicato
— An Aimless Walk in the Woods. The second volume is
Six
Technical Studies (Which Will Teach You Nothing). Contents: Prelude — Melody for the Left
Hand — Melody for the Right Hand — Minor Seconds — Safe on Third — In Fifth Form. The third
volume is
Eight
Studies in Musicology (Which Will Teach You a Great Deal). Contents: Mozart
Without One Mistake — How to Handel a Bach Violin Solo — How to Be a Soviet Composer — The Piano
in the Distance Playing Chopin — Shostakovich’s Vacation on a Collective Farm — Liszt, My
Children (And You Shall Hear an Enharmonic Change) — Aaron Copland Shakes Hands With Abe Lincoln –
Tchaikovsky’s Last Waltz. The series was published in 1964 by Mills Music, Inc. and has been
recorded by Andre Previn on Columbia Records ML-5986 (mono) and MS-5686 (stereo). Thanks,
Leslie. Welcome to full membership of the world of quirkiness.

Maybe not particularly quirky except in terms of its brevity is the title of
Philippe MANOURY’s opera
K, first performed at the Paris Opera in March 2001. Source of information: United
Music Publishers’ promotional
UMP News and Performance Diary, March-April 2001. The periodical reports:
‘Based on Franz Kafka’s novel
Der Prozess (The Trial), the opera libretto is derived from an adaptation of the
novel by Bernard Pautrat in which some of the minor characters and situations have been cut.
From this the librettist has gone back and incorporated the original German phrases from
Kafka’s text. According to the composer, “in the case of an author like Kafka, it seemed
impossible to me to not use his original text. This text could not be sung in French”.’
Interestingly enough, this reflects the opinion of Otto Schumann, who in his
Handbuch der Opern (Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen; 9th ed. 1954), p. 749 says of Gottfried
von Einem’s opera
Der Prozess “Kann man aus Franz Kafkas beruhmt gewordenem Roman ‘Der Prozess’ eine Oper
oder ein Musikdrama machen? Nein. Es sei denn, man wurde die Hauptgestalt des Romans (Josef K.)
vollig neu fassen; das aber wurde eine derartige Verfalschung der Kafka-Dichtung bedeuten, dass man
sie gar nicht erst als Grundlage zu wahlen brauchte.” For other pieces with short titles, see
Herman RECHBERGER and Jukka TIENSUU below; plus Hanna KULENTY and Bruno GINER above..

Steven MACKEY,
Banana/Dump Truck, for cello and orchestra. Source of reference: composer’s web site at
http://www.stevenmackey.com/compositions.cfm. Brought to my attention in early 2004 by one of our
bright students, Charles Tarver. Immortality via this site is Charlie’s reward.

Benedict MASON,
! [that’s an exclamation mark] for 14 players. Source of information: Kathy Adamson,
Librarian, Royal Academy of Music, London. Kathy also points out that if his worklist in Grove is
anything to go by, Mason is the sort of quirky person we’re interested in: he has other works
listed in Grove (article by Richard Toop) entitled
Oil and petrol marks on a wet road are sometimes held to be spots where a rainbow stood ,
for voices;
Lighthouses of England and Wales (1988) and
PIANO.WITH.VIOLIN.TO.TOUR.ALL.HALLS.MUSIC.

Chiel MEIJERING,
I like rats, but I don’t like Haydn, for saxophone quartet. Published Amsterdam: Donemus,
1981. Source of information: Score.

Chiel MEIJERING,
Monkees in India, for flute and piano. Published Amsterdam: Donemus, 1979. Source of
information: Score.

Chiel MEIJERING,
Orang-Utan (off his onion) for violin and piano. Published Amsterdam: Donemus, 1979.
Source of information: Score.

Usko MERILAINEN,
The concert where I dozed off,
consciousness streaming free. A ‘radiophonic poem’ commissoned by the Finnish Broadcasting
Company and first performed by them on 19 July 1982. Source of information: promotional leaflet on
the composer produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki, 1998.

Sol MYSNIK,
The X-Ray vindicator, opera in 11 scenes for three countertenors, basso profondo, piano,
balalaika, toy pistol and static electricity generator, permiered on 27 April 1905. Source of
information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 39.

Herman RECHBERGER,
B & D for double bass and percussion. Source of information: promotional leaflet
produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki, 1997. Another of those very short
titles. See also Bruno GINER, Hanna KULENTY and Philippe MANOURY above, and Jukka TIENSUU below.
Rechberger has also written
C+M+B, for organ, first performed in Vantaa, Finland, 19 December 1996. Source of
information: promotional leaflet produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki,
1997.

Aulis SALLINEN,
The Beaufort scale, op. 56. This work is a setting based on the Beaufort wind
velocity scale, and is a humoresque for mixed choir, first performed in Jyvaskyla, Finland, June
1984. Published by Novello in England. Source of information: promotional leaflet on Sallinen
produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki, 1995. For another piece inspired by the
wind, see Julia USHER’s
A reed in the wind in the “Variations on…” section above; and TAKEMITSU’s
And then I knew ’twas wind in this section below.

Giacinto SCELSI,
KYA. Another of those pieces with a short title, this time scored for clarinet and 7
instruments (viola, cello, cor anglais, bass clarinet, horn, trumpet and trombone). Source of
reference: Ingeborg ALLIHN, ed.
Kammermusikfuhrer. Munchen: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2000, p. 524.

Gary SCHOCKER,
Ambidextranata , for flute and piano, “one player”. Source of reference: Score (King of
Prussia, PA: Theodore Presser, 2005). This piece is also quirky in requiring the flautist also to
play the piano part.

Peter SCULTHORPE,
Irkanda IV. Source of information: Score (London: Faber Music, 1968, c1967). Cat. no.
F0125. The composer explains that ‘Irkanda is an Australian native word meaning “A remote and
lonely place”.’

Leo SOWERBY,
The Irish Washerwoman, orchestral scherzo. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura
Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 137.

Toru TAKEMITSU,
And then I knew ’twas wind, for flute, viola and harp. Published Tokyo: Schott, 1992. Am I
the only person who thinks this is an odd title? Source of information: J. W. Pepper catalogue,
Aug-Oct. 1999, p. 28. For another composition featuring wind, see Sallinen’s
The Beaufort scale above.

Alexander TCHEREPNIN,
Sonatine sportive, for alto saxophone and piano. There are three movements: Lutte;
Mi-temps; and Course. Source of reference: Score (Paris: A. Leduc, 1943). Plate no. A.L.
20.090.

Jukka TIENSUU,
/L for amplified piano, four hands. First performed by the composer with Matti Haapasalo
in Joensuu, Finland, on 29 September 1982. Source of information: promotional brochure on Tiensuu
issued by the Finnish Music Information Centre in Helsinki, Finland, 1995. Tiensuu has also written
a piece entitled
M for amplified harpsichord, percussion and strings, commissioned by the Finnish
Broadcasting Company and first performed during International Gaudeamus Week in Hilversum, the
Netherlands, on 13 September 1981. Source: same as for
/L. For another piece with a short title, see Hanna KULENTY and Philippe MANOURY above;
and see also Herman RECHBERGER.

Sever TIPEI,
Portrait of the arts as a young woman killing herself with a “coup de telephone” in MI
48105, for female vocal quintet. Source of reference:
Raw cuts: experimental music by Sever Tipei. USA, 1998. ?Not commercially available. In
the collection of Oxford University Music Faculty library. Another piece, slightly less quirky in
title, on the same CD, is
Cantus interruptus.

Joan TOWER,
Fanfare for the uncommon woman. Source of reference: Helen Hale-Martin of King’s College
London Library. Helen found reference to this piece while surfing the Net for concerts of music by
women. The piece was due to be premiered in Leeds on 25 March 2001.

John WOOLRICH,
It is midnight, Dr Schweitzer. For string ensemble of 11 players. Source of reference:
Score (London: Faber Music, 1996): ISBN 0571516807. The composer explains that the work is in 11
fragments, and that ‘Each section takes its title from one of the constructions of Swiss sculptor
Jean Tinguely (1925-1991). The fragments are: 1. Viens, le Gismo; 2. The three graces; 3. L’amour;
4. Le chasseur infernal; 5. Machine fleur; 6. Il est minuit, Dr Schweitzer; 7. Soleil noir; 8. Der
Hund von Garavicchio; 9. An affair of the heart; 10. Si c’est noir je m’appelle Jean [worthy of a
quirky title entry in itself]; 11. Elvira’.

Iannis XENAKIS,
Concerto PH, for amplified burning charcoal. Source of reference: obituary of Xenakis in
The Times, 5 February 2001. Supplied by Malcolm Lewis of Nottingham Central Library.

Frank ZAPPA,

G-spot tornado
, for orchestra. Source of reference: Memphis SO program of 24 February 2006. See
also Yuri Khanin’s
Five smallest orgasms above.

Unusual tempo, dynamic and expressive indications

In Henry COWELLL’s,
Homage to Iran, for violin and piano: the pianist is encouraged to imitate the sound of an
Iranian drum by pressing the piano strings. Source of information : Score/part (New York ; London :
C. F. Peters, 1959)

Claude DEBUSSY’s
Petite suite, 3rd movement (Menuet) for piano duet is the earliest example I have come
across of the dynamic marking pppp. Source of information: Score (published Paris: Durand). Galina
Ustvolskaya’s
Oktett for 2 oboes, 4 violins, timpani and piano (published Hamburg: Sikorski, 1998) also
features the pppp marking. Source of information: Score.

The dynamic marking ffff is frequently to be met with in the music of Galina Ustvolskaya: for
example, in much of her 6th piano sonata. The marking fffff (that’s five ‘f’s) markings, in
conjuction with sforzandi, are to be found in her
Composition no. 2, “Dies irae” (Hamburg: Sikorski, 1993). Source of information:
Score.

Donald ERB’s
Sonata for solo violin (Bryn Mawr, PA: Merion Music, 1996) has, in its second-movement
Scherzo, the indication “A tempo col legno battuto – with chopstick”. The same movement requires
the violinist to hum a separate line of music, and to perform tongue clicks. In the final movement,
“Ceremony”, the player needs “a glockenspiel bar or Crotale or a Bell which sounds ‘A'”. Source of
information : Score.

Einojahuni RAUTAVAARA’s
Cantus arcticus: concerto for birds and orchestra (published Helsinki: Fazer, 1973)
includes such markings as “Think of autumn and of Tchaikovsky”; and “Imitate the swans”. Source of
information: Score.

Gary SCHOCKER,
Ambidextranata , for flute and piano, “one player” (published King of Prussia, PA:
Theodore Presser, 2005). This piece requires the flautist also to play the piano part.

P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY uses the dynamic marking ppppp in bars 155-160 of the first movement of his
6th Symphony. Source of information: Paul Andrews, Bedford Central Library, March 2001.

Galina USTVOLSKAYA uses a system of arabic numerals in her
12 preludes for piano (1953) to denote the length of rests. Thus a crotchet rest sign with
a 4 underneath denotes 4 x crotchet beats rest. In her system of quirky notation, without bar
lines, this would appear to work quite well.

Works employing the Hammond organ, or other unusual instruments

Malcolm ARNOLD,
A grand overture for 3 vacuum cleaners, one floor polisher and full orchestra (published
London, Paterson, ca1956). Source of information: Kathy Adamson, Librarian, Royal Academy of
Music

Harrison BIRTWISTLE,
The Last Supper (opera) uses piano accordion as a sort of continuo instrument. Source of
information: Paul Andrews, Bedford Central Library, March 2001.

Henri COLLET,
La chevauchee des Valses qui rient, for bird whistles (quail, cuckoo, nightingale etc),
whistle, trumpet, persuccion, piano, violins and cello. Composed March 1914, and unpublished.
Source of reference: Jean Gallois,
Henri Collet, ou L’Espagne imperieuse. Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001, p.119.

Gerard GRISEY,
Modulations, pour 33 musiciens includes Hammond organ (Paris: Ricordi, 1987, c1978).
Source of information: Score.

Shan Lin JIAO,
Kitchen: pièce humoristique pour 5 percussionistes, utlisant du materiel de cuisine
[Humourous piece for 5 percussionsts using kitchen equipment]. Clermont-Ferrand: Alfonce
Production, 2006. Source of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Manfred KELKEL,
Rongo-Rongo, op. 36, for basset horn and alpine horn (1985). Duration: 4 minutes.
Unpublished. Source of information: Jean-Jacques VELLY, ed.
Le dessous des notes: voies vers l’esosthetique: hommage au Professeur Manfred Kelkel (29
janvier 1929-18 avril 1999) . Paris: Presses de Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, 2001, p. 424.
Kelkel has also composed
Irirangi, described as “carre magique sonore pour cor solo et chambre d’echo analogique”.
Same information source, same page.

Olivier MESSIAEN,
Oraison for a quartet of Ondes Martenot. Source of information: Paul Andrews, Bedford
Central Library, March 2001. Paul also recommends the web site
www.musiccentre.ca/ds/CDs/EnsOndes.htm for similar works for the Ondes Martenot by less well known
composers.

Herman RECHBERGER’s
L’apparition de Papageno (1989) is described as a ‘musical monologue for 1 performer with
recorders, ocarinas, optional bagpipe, scenery, videotape or living birds’. It was first performed
in Paris on 12 December 1989. Source of information: promotional leaflet on Rechberger from the
Finnish Music Information Centre, 1997. Rechberger’s
Natura coronat opus (1991) is scored for percussion instruments, voices, stones, sand,
leaves, metal and wooden objects, ethnic instruments, composed light and visual elements. Source of
information: promotional leaflet produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki, 1997.
His
Fipolhungfraitelus (1993) is for keyboard, two countertenors, tenor/baritone, bass, flute,
accordion, lute, tenor banjo, guitar, kantele, double bass and stage equipment. First performed in
Espoo, Finland, 3 May 1995. Source of information: as for the previous two works mentioned.

Charles Villiers STANFORD,
Ode to discord. Dedicated to the Amalgamated Society of Boiler Makers, scored for voices
and a large orchestra including a hydrophone and a dreadnought drum. First performed 9 June 1909.
Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 74..

Galina USTVOLSKAYA’s
Composition no. 2, ‘Dies irae’ is scored for 8 double basses, piano and wood block.

Iannis XENAKIS,
Concerto PH, for amplified burning charcoal. Source of reference: obituary of Xenakis in
The Times 5 February 2001. Supplied by Malcolm Lewis of Nottingham Central Library.

Works using electronics

Kaija SAARIAHO,
Jardin secret I, for electronics [alone]. Source of information: CD recording on BIS,
CD-307.

Kaija SAARIAHO,
NoaNoa for flute and electronics (published London: Chester Music, 1991). Source of
information: CD recording on BIS, CD-307.

Kaija SAARIAHO,
Six Japanese gardens, for percussion and electronics. First performed in Tokyo, 12 July
1995. Source of information: promotional leaflet on Saariaho produced by the Finnish Music
Information Centre, 1995.

Aulis SALLINEN,
Chaka: melodrama for radio. This is scored for mixed choir, percussion, piano, two
violins, viola, cello, double bass, two speakers and seven tapes. Source of information:
promotional leaflet on Sallinen produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki,
1995.

Pieces based on the notes B-A-C-H

Ulrich PRINZ, with Joachim DORFMULLER and Konrad KUSTER published a list of “Die Tonfolge
B-A-C-H in Kompositionen des 17. bis 20. Jahrhunderts: ein Verzeichnis” [i.e. a list of musical
settings from the 17th-20th centuries using the notes BACH] in their
300 Jahre Johann Sebastian Bach: sein Werk in Handschriften und Dokumenten ; Musikinstrumente
seiner Zeit ; Seine Zeitgenossen : eine Ausstellung der Internationalen Bachakademie in der
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart 14. 9 bis 27.10 1985. (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1985). ISBN
3-7952-0459-3 (hardback); 3-7952-0460-7 (paperback).

A quite quirky article (and therefore definitely worthy of mention on this site) is Wolf
KALIPP’s “Das ur-motiv B-A-C-H im Spiegel zeitgenossischer fraktaler Geometrie, dargestellt an
Beispielen ausgewahlter Orgelmusik des 17.-20. Jahrhunderts”, in
Jean-Sebastien Bach: no. 16 (2001) of the French periodical
Ostinato-rigore: revue internationale d’etudes musicales (Paris: Editions Jean-Michel
Place), p. 55-71.

Menahem AVIDOM’s
Suite 1962, on the name of “B-A-C-H” for orchestra, is an unusual example. Source of
reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977 , 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 19.

Jean LANGLAIS,
B.A.C.H.: six pieces pour orgue composees pour le tricentenaire de la naissance de Jean
Sebastien Bach. Paris: Editions Bornemann, 1985. Source of reference: Score.

Pieces based on the notes D-S-C-H

Derek C. HULME, in his
Dimitri Shostakovich: a catalogue, bibliography, and discography, 3rd edition (Oxford:
Oxford University Press; Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2002) has a useful appendix (appendix 6, p.
567-575) that lists works that use D-S-C-H. In addition to use of the motif in Shostakovich’s own
works, Hulme also lists such oddities as Edison DENISOV’s string quartet
D-S-C-H of 1969; and the
Postludium DSCH by Valentin Silvestrov. He also gives information on some of the many
compositions written in Shostakovich’s honour after the composer’s death, some of which are listed
in “Homage” pieces above.

Love and romance

A useful book for the romantically inclined (like myself) is
Liebesbriefe grosser Musiker, compiled by Wilhelm Jerger (Bern: Alfred Scherz Verlag,
1950). It contains love letters (all in German) from Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (the letters to the
Immortal Beloved), Weber, Marschner, Robert Schumann, Liszt, Wagner (to Mathilde Wesendonck), Peter
Cornelius and Reger.

Modern operas

Philippe BOESMANS,
Wintermarchen [The winter’s tale, after Shakespeare]. Premiered 10 December 1999 at the
Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels. Source of information: recording (DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 469
559-2

Steve CHANDRA SAVALE and the Asian Dub Foundation,
Kadhafi, un mythe vivant. An opera on the life of Libyan leader Mouammar Kadhafi,
commissioned by English National Opera and first performed there (London, Coliseum) on 7 September
2006. Information from the web site
www.musicologie.org. Full press release as follows:

“Un opéra consacré à la vie du chef de l’Etat libyen Mouammar Kadhafi doit s’ouvrir jeudi 7
septembre pour six représentations dans l’un des plus célèbres théâtre de Londres, avec six mois de
retard. “Kadhafi, un mythe vivant” a été commandé par L’English national opera (ENO) qui a plutôt
l’habitude de jouer des oeuvres classiques de Debussy et Donizetti. Son programme propose
actuellement La Traviata ou encore le Mariage de Figaro. L’opéra consacré à Kadhafi “explore une
énigme pleine de contradictions et le pouvoir d’un mythe”, explique l’ENO qui souhaite attirer un
public plus jeune que ses spectateurs traditionnels. La musique a été composée par Steve Chandra
Savale et l’Asian Dub Foundation, un collectif de musique électronique alternative. A côté de
membres de l’orchestre de l’English National Opera, des musiciens d’Afrique du Nord accompagneront
la reconstitution d’événements réels de la vie de celui qui préside la Lybie sans discontinuité
depuis tout juste 37 ans.”

Jonathan DOVE,
When she died…. Opera written for television, first broadcast on Channel 4 television,
UK, on 25 August 2002. Source of reference:
BBC Music Magazine, September 2002, p. 18. The copy reads: “… With a libretto by writer
and poet David Harsent, the opera takes as its starting point the outpouring of public grief which
followed the death of Princess Diana”. The piece lasts 50 minutes, and includes Willard White in
its cast.

Pascal DUSAPIN,
Faustus, la derniere nuit. Described by the composer as “un opera en une nuit et onze
numeros” [opera in one night and 11 numbers], this opera was premiered at the Staatsoper in Berlin
early in 2006. It was to be repeated by the Opera de Lyon in March 2006. The work is written in
English, and deals with the verbal joust between Faust and Mephistopheles.
Faust, the last night is Dusapin’s fifth opera. Source of information:
http://www.opera-lyon.com/opera-operette-comedie-musicale-festival/spectacle.php?spectacle=272&saison=

Pascal DUSAPIN,
To be sung: chamber opera to an English libretto by the composer, after Gertrude Stein.
For narrator, three sopranos, seven instrumentalists and magnetic tape. Source of information:
Calendrier 18 (hiver 2002) of Editions Durand, Salabert and Eschig, p. 16. The
Calendrier also mentions a forthcoming performance of the work at the Florence Gould Hall,
New York, on 27 March 2003, which may [or may not] be its premiere.

Peter EOTVOS,
Le balcon. Based on a text by Jean Genet. To be premiered on 5 July 2002 at the
Aix-en-Provence Festival. Source: of information: Alain Patrick Olivier, “Un renouveau de l’opera”,Accents: le journal de l’Ensemble Intercontemporain (April-September 2002), 16-19.

Peter EOTVOS,
Three sisters [text after Chekhov by Claus H. Henneberg and Peter Eotvos]. Premiered at
the Opera de Lyon, March 1998, conducted by Kent Nagano and directed by Ushio Amagatsu. Source of
information: Rachel Beckles Willson, “Peter Eotvos in conversation about ‘Three Sisters'”,
Tempo 220 (April 2002), 11-13.

Philippe FENELON,
Les rois. Opera in 3 acts, for 19 soloists, chorus and orchestra, on a libretto by the
composer after Los Reyes by Julio Cortazar. Commissioned by the French state and by the Grand
Theatre de Bordeaux, where it is due to be performed in May and June 2004. Source of information:
Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier de printemps 2002 [promotional newsletter], p. 38. Updated by information from
the summer 2002 issue of the same newsletter.

Philip GLASS,
Galileo Galilei. Opera in 12 scenes, adapted from the life of Galileo by Mary Zimmerman,
Philip Glass and Arnold Weinstein. World premiere is due to take place on 24 June 2002 at the
Goodman Theater, Chicago. Source of information:
The full score [newsletter of the [UK] Music Sales Group], Spring 2002, p. 4.

Philippe HERSANT,
Le moine noir: opera for 5 soloists, chamber choir and orchestra. Libretto by Yves
Hersant, after the novel by Chekhov. Commissioned by the Leipzig Opera, and due to be performed
there in Autumn 2004. Source of information: Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier de printemps 2002 [promotional newsletter], p. 38.

Heinz HOLLIGER
. Schneewittchen. Commissioned by the Zurich Opera House, and premiered ?1999. Recorded on
ECM records in 2000. Source of information: recording.

Philippe MANOURY,
La frontiere. Libretto by Daniela Langer. Chamber opera composed in 2002 and due to be
premiered in Orleans in autumn 2003. Source of information: Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier de printemps 2002 [promotional newsletter], p. 37.

Philippe MANOURY,
K. Premiered on 7 March 2001 at the Opera de Paris, Opera Bastille. Source of information:
United Music Publishers’ promotional
UMP News and Performance Diary, March-April 2001.

Philippe MANOURY,
La frontiere, chamber opera in 4 tableaux for six singers, nine instrumentalists and
electronics. Source of information:
Calendrier 18 (hiver 2002) of Durand, Salabert and Eschig editions, p. 30. The same source
mentions a perfoamcne in Orleans, France, in October 2003, which may or may not be the
premiere.

Nicholas MAW,
Sophie’s choice. To be premiered in the UK at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden,
London, in December 2002. Source of information: publicity poster on London underground…

Thea MUSGRAVE,
The baroness. This is the provisional title of an opera being composed by Musgrave to
celebrate her 75th birthday on 27 May 2003. Commissioned by New Orleans Opera, premiere due in
October 2003. Source of reference:
The Full Score [promotional newsletter of the Music Sales Group], Winter 2003, p. 10.

Michael NYMAN,
Facing Goya. World premiere in Spain, August 2000; German premiere at the Badisches
Staatstheater, Karlsruhe, October 2003. Source of information:
The Full Score [promotional newsletter of the Music Sales Group], Winter 2002, p. 3.

Laurent PETITGIRARD,
Joseph Merrick, dit ‘Elephant Man’, recorded by Chant du Monde, Harmonia Mundi LDC
2781139.40, conducted by the composer, in October 2000. Source of information: United Music
Publishers’ promotional
UMP News and Performance Diary, March-April 2001; and Petitgirard’s own web site, at
http://www.mnl-paris.com/compositeurs2/petitgirardlaurent/petitgirardlaurent.html.

Andre PREVIN,
A streetcar named Desire. Performed [not premiered] at the Opera du Rhin, Strasbourg,
December 2001. Source of information:
The full score [newsletter of the [UK] Music Sales Group], Spring 2002, p. 11

Poul RUDERS,
The handmaid’s tale [Tjenerindens fortaelling]. Libretto by Paul Bentley. Premiered 6
March 2000, Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen. Source of information: recording (DA CAPO
8.224165-66, recorded 2000)

Kaija SAARIAHO,
L’amour de loin. First performed at the Salzburg Festival in 2000 [exact date unknown at
present]. Source of information: Alain Patrick Olivier, “Un renouveau de l’opera”,
Accents: le journal de l’Ensemble Intercontemporain (April-September 2002), 16-19. The US
premiere of
L’amour de loin is due to take place at the Santa Fe Opera in July 2002. Further
information on the opera can be found in Sanna IITTI, ”
L’amour de loin: Kaija Saariaho’s first opera”,
Journal of the International Alliance for Women in Music 8 (2002) nos 1-2, p. 9-14

Aulis SALLINEN,
Kuningas Lear [King Lear]. First performed by Finnish National Opera on 15 September 2000.
Source of information: promotional leaflet on Sallinen produced by the Finnish Music Information
Centre, Helsinki, 2000.

Nicknamed/subtitled compositions

Compositions with fairly well-known nicknames (such as Haydn symphonies and quartets) are not
noted here, as they can usually be found elsewhere quite easily. But there may be some that you
don’t recognise below…
Please send me your own discoveries, with sources of information!

Erkki AALTONEN’s Symphony no. 2 is subtitled “Hiroshima”, and dates from 1949. Source of
reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 2. Aaltonen’s 3rd
symphony is subtitled the “Popular” symphony. Maybe a bit over-optimistic.

Joseph ADLER’s Symphony no. 4 is subtitled “Geometrics”. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 4.

Kalevi AHO’s Symphony no. 7 is entitled ‘Insect symphony’ (Hyonteissinfonia). In six movements,
each is given over to a particular insect or group of insects. The symphony is based on Avo’s
satirical opera
Insect life (Hyonteiselamaa ). Movements as follows: 1. The tramp, the parasitic hymenopter and its
larva; 2. The butterflies (the foxtrot and tango of the butterflies); 3. The dung beetles (Grief
over the stolen ball of dung); 4. The grasshoppers; 5. The ants (The working music of the ants and
war marches 1 and 2); 6. The Dayflies and lullaby for the dead dayflies. Source of information:
notes by Aho to the recording of the work on BIS CD-936 (1998).

George ANTHEIL’s Second sonata for piano is entitled ‘The airplane’. Source of information:
Score (Theodore Presser, 1931). Antheil’s 5th symphony is subtitled “The joyous”, and his 6th
symphony is called “After Delacroix”. His 3rd is subtitled “American”.. Source of reference for all
the symphonies:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 12.

Blaz ARNIC [that’s with a hacek on the “z” and on the “C”] has composed several symphonies with
subtitles, as follows: no. 3: “Duma”; no. 4, “Resurrection”; no. 5, “Partikularna”; no. 6,
“Samorastnik”; no. 7, “Dela”; no. 8, “On native soil”; and no. 9, “War and peace”

Kurt ATTERBERG, Symphony no. 7 is subtitled “Sinfonia romantica”; and no. 8 if subtitled “Pa
svenska folkmotiv” (on Swedish folk tunes). Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 18.

Menahem AVIDOM. Several of his symphonies have subtitles, as follows: no. 1 “Symphonie
populaire”. Hopefully it is. No. 2, “David”. No. 5, “The song of Eilat”; and no. 7, “The
Philharmonic”.

P. D. Q. BACH’s string quartet no. 1 in F major [composed, of course, by his modern-day mentor,
Peter Schickele] is subtitled “The Moose”. Source: Donald Rosenberg, “Schickele: the man behind P.
D. Q. Bach”,
Early Music America 7 no. 3 (Fall 2001), p. 26 (the whole article takes up p. 22-26)

Granville BANTOCK wrote a symphony subtitled
The Hebridean. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900 , 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 131.

William Sterndale BENNETT’s piano sonata op. 46 is entitled ‘The Maid of Orleans’. Source: Alan
Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 1, p. 432 (see also the list of homage (hommage) pieces above for Alan Bush’s work
based on this sonata).

Franz BERWALD’s Symphony no. 3 is subtitled “Sinfonie singuliere”; and his fourth, “Sinfonie
naive”. Source of reference: recording on Chandos CHAN 9921 (Colchester: Chandos, 2002)

Bruno BJELINSKI’s first symphony is subtitled “Summer symphony”. Composed in 1954. Source of
information: Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 44. His second symphony is subtitled “In memoriam poetae”.

Cornelis DOPPER’s Symphony no. 3 is subtitled “Rembrandt”. Source of information: recording on
Chandos CHAN 9923 (Colchester : Chandos, 2002). Dopper’s symphony no. 6 is subtitled “Amsterdam”.
Same source of reference.

Henri DUTILLEUX’s second symphonyis subtitle “Le double”. Source of reference:
Henry Dutilleux: music: mystery and memory: converesations with Claude Glayman, translated
by Roger Nichols (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003) (first published in French as
Mystere et memoire des sons. Arles: Actes Sud, 1997).

Edward GERMAN’s second symphony is entitled the “Norwich”. It is in A minor, and lasts for 32
minutes. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 15.

Henry HADLEY’s second symphony is subtitled “The four seasons”. Source of information: Nicolas
Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900 , 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 14-14. His fourth
symphony is subtitled “North, East, South, West Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura
Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 94.

Roy HARRIS’s Symphony no. 4 is subtitled “Folk song”. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 10.

Josef Matthias HAUER’s
Negro rhapsody is subtitled “Shout” Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900 , 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 112.

Alan HOVHANESS’s second symphony is subtitled “Mysterious mountain”. Source of reference: Neil
Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 138.

Hans HUBER’s second symphony, op. 115, is called the Bocklinsinfonie, having been composed under
the impression of an exhibition of Bocklin’s paintings. Composed 1897. Source of information:
Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 6. His third
symphony is subtitled the “Heroische”. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 16. Huber’s seventh
symphony is subtitled the “Schweizerisch” [Swiss]. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura
Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 142. Are we to
assume a certain obsession with Huber by Kuhn/Slonimsky???

Alan HOVHANESS’s Symphony no. 1 is subtitled “Exile symphony”. Source of information: Score (New
York ; London : C. F. Peters, 1972)

Imants KALNINS’s Symphony no. 4 is subtitled “Rock” symphony. Source of information: Recording
(BIS CD1052, recorded 2000). It’s inspired by rock music, principally by The Beatles.

Manolis KALOMIRIS’s Symphony no. 1 op. 21 is subtitled “La levendia (De la bravoure ardente)”.
Source of information: Score (Athens: Union des Compositeurs Hellenes, 1956)

Edgar Stillman KELLEY’s second symphony is subtitled “New England”. Source of information:
Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 112.

Helmut LACHENMANN’s second string quartet (1989), is subtitled “Reigen seliger Geister”. Source
of reference: Martin Kaltenecker,
Avec Helmut Lachenmann (Paris: Van Dieren, 2001), p. 30

Laszlo LAJTHA’s symphony no. 4, op. 52, is the “Spring” symphony. Source of reference: Neil
Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 140.

Per NORGARD’s Sixth symphony is subtitled “At the end of the day”. Source of information:
recording, on Chandos CHAN 9904 (published Colchester : Chandos, 2002).

Aulis SALLINEN’s Symphony no. 5 is entitled
Washington Mosaics. Source of information: score. His sixth symphony is entitled
From a New Zealand diary. Source of information: promotional leaflet on Sallinen issued by
the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki, 1995. Sallinen’s symphony no. 7 is entitled
The dreams of Gandalf, commissioned by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and first
performed by them in Stockholm on 27 November 1996, conducted by Neeme Jarvi. Source of
information: promotional leaflet on Sallinen produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre,
Helsinki, 2000.

Peter SCHICKELE’s String quartet no. 5 is subtitled “A year in the country”. It is a real
Schickele work, not a P. D. Q. Bach one. Source: Donald Rosenberg, “Schickele: the man behind
P. D. Q. Bach”,
Early Music America 7 no. 3 (Fall 2001), p. 24 (the whole article takes up p. 22-26).
Schickele’s First Symphony is subtitled “Songlines”. Source: same article.

Leif SEGERSTAM’s works often include quirky subtitles. Here is a selection, supplied by Kathy
Adamson, Librarian of the Royal Academy of Music. Kathy says “There is such a wealth of quirkiness
in his [Segerstam’s] output that I’m tempted to dismiss him for affectation”(!). Here goes.
Segerstam’s symphony no. 23 is subtitled “Afterthoughts questioning questioning”; no. 70 [yes, 70]
is entitled “Before 80”, no. 71 “After 70”. No. 72 is “”Nameless, kept secret”, no. 73 is “1 after
72”, and 74 is “2 after 72”. Source of information: for no. 23, CD recording ONDINE ODE9282; for
the rest, scores published by the Finnish Music Information Centre.

Arthur SULLIVAN’s symphony in E minor is subtitled the “Irish”. Source of reference: Neil
Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 148.

Charles TOURNEMIRE’s third symphony, op. 43, is subtitled “Moscou” [Moscow]. Source of
information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900 , 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 114. Tournemire’s
1st symphony, op. 18, is subtitled the “Romantique”. Source of reference: Pascal IANCO,
Charles Tournemire, ou Le mythe de Tristan. Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001, p.101; and
his 2nd symphony, op. 36, subtitled “Ouessant”. Source of reference: IANCO,
op. cit. Symphony no. 7, op. 49, is subtitled “Les danses de la vie”, and no. 8, op. 51,
is “Le triomphe de la mort”. IANCO,
op. cit.

Unusual Christmas music

Only obscure titles will be noted here!

Samuel BARBER,
Die natali: chorale preludes for Christmas, op. 37 (published New York: Schirmer, 1961.
This features several Christmas standards, including ‘O come o come Emmanuel’, ‘Es ist ein Ros
entsprungen’, ‘We three kings’, ‘God rest ye merry, gentlemen’ and other yuletide hokum. Source of
information: Score.

Rutland BOUGHTON,
Bethlehem, choral drama based on the Coventy nativity play. Source of information: Nicolas
Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 130.

Max BRUCH,
Gruss an die heilige Nacht: Weihnachts-Hymne, for solo alto, chorus, orchestra and organ,
op. 62. Niedernhausen: Edition Kemel, 2007. Source of information: Harrassowitz website
(www.harrassowitz.de)

Finn HOFFDIN,
Julekantate: Maria sad pa ho og stra, for voice, children’s choir, violins,
violoncello, recorders and metallophone = Julekantate : Maria sad pa ho og stra for solo,
blokflojter, violiner, cello og metallofoner / Tekst: N.F.S. Drundtvig. Published in Copenhagen
: Skandinavsk Musikforlag 1956. Source of information: Geoff Thomason, Royal Northern College
of Music; and the RNCM online catalogue.

Paul KONT,
Kleine Weihnachtsmusik = Little Christmas music, for organ. Source of information: Score,
published Vienna: Doblinger, 1999 (Doblinger cat. no. 02 433). A pleasant little suite, consisting
of Praeludium — Pastorale I — Intermedium — Pastorale II — Postludium. Nothing to frighten your
granny here, and doesn’t look too difficult to play: all the pedal work is long notes.

Christian Robert PFRETZSCHNER,
Variationen im Style eines Pastorale über das Weihnachtslied “stille Nacht, heilige
Nacht”, for organ. Niedernhausen: Edition Kemel, 2006. Source of ifnormation: Harrassowitz
website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Alfred REED,
Russian Christmas music, for symphonic band. New York: Fox, 1969. Source of information:
Geoff Thomason, Royal Northern College of Music (and the RNCM library catalogue)

Erkki SALMENHAARA has composed a
Joulun kellot (Christmas bells), 1954, revised version 1981, for bass voice and piano.
First broadcast performance by Martti Wallen (bass) and Mart Lille (piano) by the Finnish
Broadcasting Corporation, 4 January 1984. Source of information: promotional booklet on Salmenhaara
produced by the Finnish Music Information Centre, Helsinki, 1997.

Peter WARLOCK,
Christmas hommage to Bernard van Dieren, for piano (1917). Duration: 1’45”. Source: Alan
Poulton,
A Dictionary-Catalog of Modern British Composers (Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press,
2000), vol. 3, p. 1538.

Novels and stories about musicians

Just as there have been many films, accurate or (more usually) inaccurate about the lives of the
‘great’ composers, and about other musicians, there is also a sizeable volume of fiction books that
feature musicians in one way or another. Here are a few:

E. T. A. HOFFMANN,
Ritter Gluck (1809)

Johann Peter LYSER,
Die Pirole. According to Gerhard von Westerman in his notes to volume 1 of
Musikalische Novellen: eine Auswahl von Novellen der Weltliteratur (Munich: Drei Masken
Verlag, 1922), this is one of 16 novellen by this author to deal with Mozart. In Westerman’s
opinion
Die Pirole is the most successful and the best of them. It is based on a real incident
that was often related by Mozart’s widow.

Edouard MORIKE,
Mozart auf der Reise nach Prag.

Vladimir Fyodorovich ODOYEVSKY,
Beethovens letztes Quartett (1831)

Vladimir Fyodorovich ODOYEVSKY,
Sebastian Bach (1835)

Richard WAGNER,
Eine Pilgerfahrt zu Beethoven. Written sometime during Wagner’s stay in Paris between 1839
and 1842.

An interesting study of the phenomenon of stories based around musicians in the
Revue et gazette musicale de Paris, 1835-38, appears in James HAAR, “The
Conte musical and early music”, in Philippe Vendrix, ed.
La Renaissance et sa musique au XIX siecle (Paris: Klincksieck, 2000), 191-208. Haar notes
10 stories, seven of them by Stephan de la Madelaine, one by Jules Janin and one by Berlioz (with
one anonymous), as follows:

Madelaine: “L’auteur de Charmante Gabrielle” [about Eustache du Caurroy]

Madelaine: “Comment l’opera fut introduit en France”

Janin: “Stradella”

Madelaine: “Corelli”

Anon.: “La vieillesse de Guillaume Dufay”

Madelaine: “Francesca” [about Caccini’s daughter of that name]

Madelaine: “Les Psaumes de Josquin”

Madelaine: “La jeunesse de Bassini”

Berlioz: Le Premier opera: Nouvelle”

Madelaine: “Le Maitre de chapelle de Francois Ier: chronique du XVe siecle”.

Here is Haar’s summary of “La vieillesse de Guillaume Dufay”:

Late 15th-century Paris. On a summer night, a group of strollers listens to Dufay, “le
premier compositeur de la renaissance, le pere de l’harmonie”, discuss “ses recentes decouvertes
sur l’harmonie tonale”. It is late; Dufay heads for home but gets lost, knocks and enters a strange
house he thinks is his own. Told that his housekeeper is ill, he says he will send for Gregoire
Duprez, father of his pupil Josquin. The maid, Ursula, speaks of her mistress Helene de Maugue; she
had an affair with a man who was killed, leaving her with a baby daughter. She takes Dufay to be
the child’s great-uncle, from whom she hopes for support.

Helene is the daughter of a musician, Thomas Chevrus. Dufay knew him, and welcomes Helene as his
own daughter. The next day he finds his own house; he goes out with Josquin. They meet Helene and
Ursula by chance, return to Dufay’s house, and Helene is installed as mistress of the house. Ursula
accompanies Josquin to St-Denis where he is now maitre. Helene’s daughter is taken ill. Dufay
watches over her, but absent-mindedly opens a window during a storm; his candle is knocked over, a
fire started, and the window left open. The child dies of exposure. Helene, delirious with grief,
sings a lullaby at the baby’s crib, singing it in two related forms. Dufay and Josquin listen,
analyze, put the melodies together, and in that moment (in 1465) “le contrepoint venait d’etre
decouvert!”. Josquin proposes to Helene; they marry, to Dufay’s delight. END OF SUMMARY.

[(Soap)-Opera, anyone????]

The other stories are in a similar vein, though occasionally seem to have rather more historical
accuracy.

An interesting book for those interested in stories about Haydn and Mozart is, not surprisingly,Um Haydn und Mozart: Novellen (Stuttgart: Strecker und Schroder, 1925), which contains the
following:
Don Juan / E. T. A. Hoffmann. —
Das Quartett / W. H. Riehl. —
Gotteskindschaft / Matthaus Gerster. —
Ein wunderliches Geigenspiel des Wolfgang Amade / Josef Friedrich Perkonig. — and — of
course —
Mozart auf der Reise nach Prag / Edouard Morike. According to a publisher’s advertisement
at the end of the book, there is a further volume, entitled
Um Bach und Beethoven , containing stories by Karl Gohle, Matthaus Gerster, Adolf Stern,
Richard Wagner, and Wilhelm Schafer, selected by Matthaus Gerster.

Leandro DONOZO, head of Gourmet Musical, has kindly supplied the following bibliography of
references to music in literature, which I guess fits best in this section. I have not checked his
citations, but have no reason to suppose that they are inaccurate. Here goes:

Dannie ABSE and Joan ABSE, comps.
The music lover’s literary companion . New York: Parkwest; Robson Books, 1989.

Louis Charles ELSON,
Shakespeare in music: a collation of the chief musical allusions in the plays of Shakespeare,
with an attempt at their explanation and derivation, together with much of the original music
. Boston: L. C. Page, 1914.

B. H. FAIRCHILD,
Such holy song: music as idea, form, and image n the poetry of William Blake. Kent, OH:
Kent State University Press, 1980.

Richard GIANNONE,
Music in Willa Cather’s fiction. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2001.

Jean H. LEVENTHAL,
Echoes in the text: musical citation in German narratives from Theodor Fontaine to Martin
Walser. New York: Peter Lang, 1995.

Caroline Joan PICART,
Thomas Mann and Friedrich Nietzsche: eroticism, death, music, and laughter. Amsterdam;
Atlanta: Rodopi, 1999.

Patrick PIGGOTT,
The innocent diversion: a study of music in the life and writings of Jane Austen. D.
Cleverdon, 1979.

David A. POWELL,
While the music lasts: the representation of music in the works of George Sand. Lewisburg:
Bucknell University Press, 2001.

Garl SCHMIDGALL,
Shakespeare and opera. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.

Ann Barbara KERSTING-MEULEMAN (Stadt- und Universitatsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main) recommends
Alan GOBLE,
The complete index to literary sources in film (London: Bowker Saur, 1999; ISBN
1-85739-229-9); and Lisa PHILPOTT (University of Western Ontario) recommends web site
www.lib.washington.edu/music/mystery.html

For those interested in poetry about music, the book
Streich leise Saiten Musikant: Dichter der Welt uver Musik, selected and edited by Georg
von der Vring (Munich: Albert Lange and Georg Muller, 1957) will be of interest. It includes the
following (some in German translation from other languages):

“An einer Musiker” (Nikolaus Lenau)

“Music” (Percy Bysshe Shelley)

“Pan’s flute” (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

“Ghasel” (Friedrich Ruckert)

“Aufklang “[Echo] (William Blake)

“Gesang fur die Schatten” [Song for the shadows] (Walter de la Mare): the title of the book
is taken from the German translation of the first line of this poem.

“Abendstandchen” (Clemens Brentano)

“Der Geiger von Dooney” [The violinist of Dooney] (W. B. Yeats)

“Valse de Chopin” (Albert Giraud)

“Paganini” (Franz Grillparzer)

“Zigeunermusik” (Maria Eugenie delle Grazie)

“Orpheus Sang” (John Fletcher)

“Die Harfe” (Lonja Stehelin-Holzing)

“Vergessene Weise2 (Paul Verlaine)

“An Wilhelm Hartlaub” (Eduard Morike)

“Symphonie” (Clemens Brentano)

“Auf eine feierliche Musik” [To a stately music] (John Milton)

“Nachklange Beethovenscher Musik” (Clemens Brentano)

“Beethovens Buste” (Detlev von Liliencron)

“Posaune” [Trombone] (Victor Hugo)

“Die alten Frauen” [The old women] (Charles Baudelaire)

“Das Ende des Festes (Conrad Ferdinand Meyer)

“Gesang der Erzengel” (Goethe)

Know your geography

[this section notes works that have place names in their titles, or in some other way have a
geographical connection]

Erkki AALTONEN,
Symphony no. 2, “Hiroshima” (1949)
. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 2. Surely one of
the earliest pieces to commemorate Hiroshima.

Diren ALEXANIAN,
Petites pieces armeniennes for piano and violin or cello. Published Paris: A. Z. Mathot,
[1919]. Source of information:
Cox’s Gallimaufray [trade catalogue of Lisa Cox Music] no. 9 (Summer 2002), p. 1]

Paul ALIPRANDI,
Esquises pyreneennes, for orchestra. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 8.

Fikret AMIROV,
Two Azerbaijan Mugams, for orchestra. Published by Schirmer. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 9.

Tony AUBIN,
Suite danoise, for orchestra. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977, 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 19.

Frederick AUSTIN,
Palsgaard (4 Danish sketches), for orchestra, including alto flute. Source of reference:
ASCAP symphonic catalogue 1977 , 3rd edition. (New York: ASCAP, 1977), p. 19.

Samuel BARBER,
Knoxville: summer of 1915, for soprano and orchestra. Source of reference: Neil
Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 190.

Blagoje BERSA composed an opera called
Postolar od Delfta [The cobbler of Delft] Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura
Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 116.

Bruno BJELINSKI,
Sketches from Dubrovnik (Dubrovacke skice), for orchestra. This work is in fact a ballet
arrangement of another work by Bjelinski entitled
Mediterranean Sinfonietta. Source of information: Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century . Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 83. Bjelinski has also composed a
Sinfonietta brasileira (1962). Source of information: Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century . Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 43.

Ernest BLOCH,
Helvetia, the land of mountains and its people. For orchestra. Source of reference:
Jacques Tchamkerten,
Ernest Bloch, ou Un prophete en son temps (Geneva: Editions Papillon, 2001), p. 132.
Apparently published by Broude Brothers, according to the source.

Benjamin BRITTEN,
An American overture, for orchestra. Duration: 10.5 minutes. Source of reference: Neil
Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 85.

Ivan BRKANOVIC,
Sarajevo suite, for orchestra (1957). Source of information: Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 46. Brkanovic has also composed a
Dalmatian Diptych (1953): same source of information.

James CLAPPERTON,
The cathedral at Freiburg: no. 1 of his three-piece piano cycle
Michael’s Piano Book. Source of information: CD recording
Long journey back: piano music of James Clapperton, on METIER MSV CD92033.

Emil COSSETTO,
Cantata to Zagreb (1950). Based on a poem by Marin Franicevic. Source of information:
Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 87.

Henry COWELL,
Homage to Iran, for violin and piano. Source of information : Score/part (New York ;
London : C. F. Peters, 1959). Also interesting for the fact that the pianist is encouraged to
imitate the sound of an Iranian drum by pressing the piano strings.

Paul CRESTON,
Night in Mexico, for orchestra. Duration 6 minutes. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 91.

Claude DEBUSSY,
Marche ecossaise, for orchestra. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 91.

Antun DOBRONIC,
Bosnian rhapsody, for piano quintet. Source of information: Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century . Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p.24. Dobronic has also composed a
Dubrovnik Diptych (Dubrovacki diptihon), 1925. Source of information: Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 19.

Cornelis DOPPER,
Symphony no. 6, is subtitled “Amsterdam”. Source of reference: recording on Chandos CHAN
9923 (Colchester: Chandos, 2002).

Edward ELGAR,
Polonia, symphonic poem. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 39.

Bechara EL-KHOURY, Symphony,
“Les ruines de Beyrouth” [The ruins of Beirut], op. 37 (1985). Source of information:
Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier de printemps 2002 [promotional newsletter], p. 25.

Juan Jose FALCON SANABRIA,
Himno a Canarias, for chorus and orchestra. Written in honour of the Canary Islands to a
text by Fernando Garcia Ramos, and premiered at the Teatro Perez Galdos, Las Palmas, Canary
Islands, 30 May 1984. Lasts 2’14”. Source of reference: Belen Perez Castillo and Julio Arce Bueno,
Juan Jose Falcon Sanabria [biography and worklist]. Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y
Editores, [?1997]. ISBN 8480482532. Falcon Sanabria’s work has been heavily influenced by the
Canary Islands, and the same catalogue records a
Capricho canario for band (1959); a song, “Que bonita es Gran Canaria” (1967) for voice
and piano; an
Arrorro canario (1969), for mixed chorus a cappella, and
Canarias canta , also for mixed a cappella choir (1982). Joaquin RODRIGO wrote
Folias canarias in 1958, for voice and guitar. Source of reference: Alberto Gonzalez
Lapuente,
Joaquin Rodrigo [biography and worklist], Madrid: Sociedad General de Autores y Editores,
[?1999], p. 61. A waltz by Saint-Saens,
Valse canariote op. 38, was written in the Canary Islands in April 1890. Source of
reference: Sabina Teller Ratner,
Camille Saint-Saens 1835-1921: a thematic catalogue of his complete works, vol. 1 (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 40-41.

Gabriel GROVLEZ,
Improvisations sur Londres (London voluntaries) for piano. This set consists of: 1.
Westminster Abbey. — 2. The park. — 3. “Soir de dimanche sur les bords de la Tamise”. Source of
information: Score (London: Augener, 1910). Plate no. 14097.

John HARBISON,
San Antonio: sonata for alto saxophone and piano . New York: Associated Music Publishers,
1995. The composer provides the following programme note in the score: I. The summons. The traveler
has a free afternoon in San Antonio. It is August, 105 degrees. Expecting to start with the cool
promenade along the river, he is instead lured by a sound. He follows it up a long stairway and
finds himself in a little fiesta–a hot square, no shade, many people, a few dancing to a fast
beat, the band playing and singing in Spanish. II Line dance. The first dancers finish, exhausted.
Then, as if on cue, practically the whole crowd gets into a line, all ages, nine to ninety. They
all know the steps, which change with the phrases. III. Couples’ dance. Then the music changes
again, still slower; they go on in couples. No one seems to feel the heat; the band hardly stops.
Everyone the traveler included, sinks into it. Towards the end, a young girl asks the traveler to
dance. He declines. — But a year later, when the tourist jots down the memory of the
sounds–something about a saxophone, and a few rhythms–in his distorted memory, he accepts. Source
of information: Score (ISBN 0793540283)

Julius HARRISON,
Bredon Hill, for orchestra. Bredon Hill is in Worcestershire, England. Source of
reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 163.

Alan HOVHANESS,
Armenian rhapsody. Source of information :
Armenian rhapsody no. 2 [so presumably there is a no. 1 as well] (New York: Rongwen Music,
1944)

Jacques IBERT,
Bostoniana. First movement of an unfinished symphony, premiered at the Concerts Lamoureux,
Paris, in October 1963 under the baton of Charles Munch [which presumably explains the title, which
was not given by Ibert himself]. Source of information: Gerard MICHEL,
Jacques Ibert: l’homme et son oeuvre (Paris: Editions Seghers, 1967), p. 105. Had the
symphony been completed, it would have been Ibert’s second, his first being the
Symphonie marine, composed in 1931 but classed as a posthumous work

Emmerich KALMAN,
Die Herzogin von Chicago: Operette in 2 Abteilung . Source of information:
Cox’s Gallimaufray [trade catalogue of Lisa Cox Music] no. 9 (Summer 2002), p. 17]

Mieczyslaw KARLOWICZ,
Lithuanian rhapsody, op. 11: symphonic poem for orchestra. Source of information:
recording on Chandos CHAN9986.

Manfred KELKEL,
Concerto de Zagreb, op. 19, for guitar and orchestra (1968-69). Commissioned by Radio
Zagreb, and first performed on that station on 5 April 1972. Duration: 28 minutes. Source of
information: Jean-Jacques VELLY, ed.
Le dessous des notes: voies vers l’esosthetique: hommage au Professeur Manfred Kelkel (29
janvier 1929-18 avril 1999) . Paris: Presses de Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, 2001, p.422.

Jean LANGLAIS,
Legende de la ville d’Ys, for solo voice and piano. Paris: Editions Combre, 2007. Source
of information: Harrassowitz website (www.harrassowitz.de)

Fran LHOTKA,
Two Croatian rhapsodies, for violin and chamber orchestra (1928). Source of information:
Kresimir Kovacevic,
The history of Croatian music in the twentieth century. Zagreb: Udruzenje Kompozitora
Hrvatske, 1967, p. 33.

Philippe MANOURY,
Passacaille pour Tokyo, for piano and 17 instruments. Source of information:
Durand-Salabert-Eschig,
Calendrier de printemps 2002 [promotional newsletter]. The work is published by
Durand.

Harry PARTCH,
Barstow: eight hitchhiker inscriptions from a highway railing at Barstow, California.
Source of information: the score I saw was a string quartet arrangement by Ben Johnston (Baltimore:
Smith Publications, 1996).

Karin REHNQVIST,
Arktis Arktis! [= Arctic, arctic]. This work is definitely one for the aficionado of
quirkiness, as it was, according to its composer, based on her experiences during a month on an
icebreaker in the north of Canada. Source of reference: Tony Lundman, “Shivering beauty” [article
on Rehnqvist],
Nordic Sounds 2003no. 3, p. 23-25

Camille SAINT-SAENS,
Valse canariote. See FALCON SANABRIA above.

Deodat de SEVERAC,
Matin de paques a Toulouse [Easter morning in Toulouse] for piano (1895). Source of
information: Jean-Bernard Cahours D’Aspry,
Deodat de Severac (1872-1921): musicien du soleil mediterraneen . Anglet: Seguier, 2001,
p. 140. Severac has also written a suite in 5 movements for piano entitled
En Languedoc (1903-04). Same information source, same page.

Igor STRAVINSKY,
Four Norwegian moods, for orchestra. Source of reference: Neil Butterworth,
Neglected music: a repertoire handbook for orchestras and choirs (London: Robert Hale,
1991), p. 117, which also reports “These four fragments were written for a Second World War film
concerning the Nazi occupation of Norway. When the composer discovered that the studio proposed to
rescore the music, he withdrew the work”.

Igor STRAVINSKY,
Madrid, from Four studies for orchestra. Source of information: 2-piano transcription
score (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1951. Plate no. B. & H. 17006)

Ernst TOCH,
Fuge aus der Geographie, for speaking chorus. Source of reference: Maureen Buja, New York
(and confirmed by
New Grove II )

Charles TOURNEMIRE’s third symphony is subtitled “Moscou” [Moscow]. Source of information:
Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,
Music since 1900, 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 114.

Waldemar WENDLAND,
Der Schneider von Malta. Comic opera. Source of information: Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn,Music since 1900 , 6th edition (New York: Schirmer Reference, 2001), p. 106.

Music and transport

The title of this section was inspired by an article in the
BBC Music Magazine of August 2002 (vol. 10 no. 12), p. 33-34, entitled “Wheels of fire”,
author Graeme Fife, and dealing with the role of the bicycle in music. It lists the following
pieces of music that have a cycling connection:

Hans Christian LUMBYE,
Velocipede-Galop

Josef STRAUSS,
Velocipede-Polka

Stanislaus ELLIOT,
Bicycle Sonata for piano and voice, “a sort of scena recounting the drama of learning to
ride a bicycle, a busy medley of arpeggios, syncopation and tumbling note-clusters…” (Fife, p.
33)

David MUNROW,
La course en tete, a suite to accompany a film about cycle racing (1976)

Uuno KLAMI,
The cyclist, orchestral rondo (1946)

Godfried-Willem RAES,
Second symphony “for singing bicycles” (1980). Fife reports “Raes’s bizarre confection is
an open-air event scored for a minimum of 12 cyclists who turn up with bikes for a two-hour
workshop before they let the impromptu performance roll. Each bike is fitted with a dynamo to
generate electricity; to the dynamo is attached a loudspeaker with a carefully calculated length of
tube: the bikes will then produce a specific musical scale. Riding in a line, the cyclist at the
rear overtaking the rest in constant procession, different velocities will produce glissandi
effects and resonance in the tubes. Varying road surfaces create frequency modulation and
variations in timbre: narrow streets for reverb and echo; cobblestones for tremolo”.

Mauricio KAGEL,
Eine Brise [A breeze] requires 111 cyclists, “all of whom had to ring a bell, whistle,
sing and ride in formation”. (Fife, p. 34).

They couldn’t make this up…some
surprising facts and feats

The purpose of this section is to record amazing, “off the wall” information that doesn’t seem
to fit anywhere but that I hope people will find quirky. Here goes.

Reported in
The Bell, newsletter of the British publisher Stainer & Bell, Autumn 2002 edition, p.
4:

“Two decades ago, a prop man at the Paris Opera took to beekeeping. Buying himself a small
hive, he stored it on the roof, planning to take it to his home in the country. However, after only
one week on the roof of Garnier’s masterpiece, the bees had already produced honey. So they stayed
put, and today around 100,000 bees live at
L’Opera, sipping nectar from flowers in the nearby Palais Royal, the Tuileries gardens,
and from apartment balconies. Their flavourful honey may be purchased in several shops in Paris as
well as at the opera house itself.”

And here’s quite an amazing report, from
www.yahoo.fr of 12 March 2005, of a “heavy metal” version of
Gounod’s
Faust. I thought carefully before deciding to leave the photograph in: but if anyone
is offended by it, I apologise. Here’s the report:

La première de “Faust – Metal Opera”, qui réalise une fusion inédite du heavy-metal et de
l’opéra de François Charles Gounod, a été saluée vendredi soir par un tonnerre d’applaudissements à
l’opéra de Kristiansund, une petite ville de 17.000 habitants abritée au fond d’un fjord, sur la
côte occidentale de la Norvège. Les puristes plaideront que, comme Faust dont le mythe est ainsi
électrisé, ils ont vendu leur âme au diable. Quinze musiciens du Sinfonietta de l’opéra de
Kristiansund et un groupe local de heavy-metal, Pica Fierce, ont adapté la partition du compositeur
français, elle-même inspirée de la tragédie éponyme de Goethe d’après une légende allemande du
16ème siècle.

Pour leur communauté de thèmes –la lutte du bien contre le mal, les questions existentielles–,
“Faust convient parfaitement au heavy metal et vice-versa”, selon le chef de l’opéra de
Kristiansund Jan Karstensen. Un avis manifestement partagé par les 300 spectateurs, souvent jeunes,
qui ont applaudi à tout rompre la dernière note de guitare électrique tandis que Faust et sa
bien-aimée Marguerite gisaient sur la scène noire.

“C’est mieux que tout ce que j’avais imaginé”, s’est enthousiasmé Stian Kristiansen, 27 ans. “Je
n’étais jamais allé à l’opéra, mais ça m’a vraiment donné envie d’y retourner. J’ai même été ému
quelquefois”. “Génial!,” approuvait Torun Werswick, 65 ans. “J’ai trouvé ça fabuleux!”.

L’ensemble classique est installé sous des échafaudages montés sur les côtés et au fond de la
scène, les quatre membres de Pica Fierce au-dessus d’eux.

Vêtue de rose pastel, la chaste et blonde Marguerite entonne un air lyrique avant d’être
brutalement interrompue par les grincements d’un solo de guitare et la voix effrayante de
Méphistophélès qui vient d’acheter l’âme de Faust.

Actrices de “Faust-Metal Opera” lors d’une répitition le 10 mars 2005 (Photo Bjoern
Hansen/AFP)

En pantalon moulant et manteau de cuir noir, ses longs cheveux sombres et bouclés tombant sur
ses épaules, le génie du mal exécute un pas de danse anarchique, secoue nerveusement la tête,
exhibe sa langue et lance sur la foule des regards mauvais et fous — ce qu’on attend généralement
d’un artiste de heavy metal.

Petter Simensen, qui incarne Faust, estime que la confrontation des genres permet de
crédibiliser les grands écarts émotionnels de la tragédie: du plus profond désespoir de Faust à son
amour pour Marguerite, puis de nouveau son insondable accablement lorsqu’elle meurt après qu’ils se
furent perdus dans l’héroïne et fourvoyés dans le meurtre.”Représenter cette transformation est une
véritable performance théâtrale”, souligne Petter Simensen.

Si, grâce à l’apport du heavy metal, le “Faust – Metal Opera” compte désormais parmi les plus
noires versions du conte tragique, il en est aussi la plus moderne mouture.

Les jeunes qui forment le choeur, lycéens à Kristiansund, sombrent dans la toxicomanie et la
prostitution, participent à des scènes de sexe, de viol et de violence.

“On s’adresse à un public jeune et il faut recourir à ce genre d’effets pour les toucher”,
justifie Nils K. Rue, membre du groupe de heavy metal Pagans Mind et interprète de
Méphistophélès.

Anniken Solli, qui joue une lesbienne amoureuse de Marguerite et qui, à la ville, enseigne la
musique au lycée local, acquiesce. “Mes élèves n’ont parlé que de Faust pendant deux ans”,
dit-elle, précisant espérer que la pièce provoquerait de nombreuses réactions. “Sinon, pourquoi
s’ennuyer à la monter?”.

September 11 2001

The events of September 11 will have inspired much music and poetry. The following is a hymn,
written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, co-pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Pitman, NT, in
response to the tragedy. Source of reference: Music Library Association electronic mailing list
(MLA-L), 19 September 2001.

Tune: St Anne, attrib. William Croft, 1708. Text: Copyright 2001 Carolyn Winfrey Gillette.
Permission to use the hymn is given by the author.

There are four verses, as follows:

1. O God our words cannot express

The pain we feel this day.

Enraged, uncertain, we confess

Our need to bow and pray.

2. We grieve for all who lost their lives…

and for each injured one.

We pray for children, husbands, wives

Whose grief has just begun.

3. O Lord, we’re called to offer prayer

For all our leaders, too.

May they, amid such great despair,

Be wise in all they do.

4. We trust Your mercy and Your grace;

In You we will not fear!

Many peace and justice now embrace!

Be with Your people here!

The following, additional list is by no means exhaustive. Much of it has been supplied by
members of the Music Library Association, via its electronic mailing list MLA-L. I have divided the
material into popular and classical works. The name of the provider of the information is noted
next to each entry.

Classical Music

Matthew BIENICK,
Questing the manx clasti: for vocalising C-flute or alto flute. Computer-notated score,
ISMN M673010864. For flute solo, lasting 5 minutes. On caption: “In memoriam, September 11, 2001”.
[Information supplied by Judith Foster, Music Resources Manager, Australian Music Centre, 13
January 2003]

John COOPER,
Requiem, dedicated to the victims of September 11. Cooper has also written a Peace Cantata
in response to subsequent events, which was premièred, together with the Requiem, on October 4 2002
at South Congregational Church, Amherst, Mass. [Information supplied by Peter W. Shea, W.E.B.
DuBois Library, University of Massachusetts, Amherst]

Keith GATES,
An American Requiem, for four-part chorus, soprano, mezzo and baritone soloists, and wind
ensemble. Commissioned by the Band and Choral Departments of McNeese State University, and was
premièred on 1 May 2002. It is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack of
11 September. [Information supplied by Mary Frances Sherwood, Music Librarian, McNeese State
University]

Guy G. GAUTHREAUX,
From sea to shining sea, for unaccompanied snare drum. Published Burke, VA: Pioneer
Percussion, 2001. Caption states “In grateful memory of those who lost their lives on September 11,
2001”. [Information supplied by Mickey Koth, Yale Univesity Music Library, 19 December 2002]

Werner HEIDER,
Unexpected: reflection of the 11.9.2001, for bass clarinet solo. [Information supplied by
Vic Cardell, who also tells of the series “Classics Unlimited: Music against Terrorism” from the
publishers Zimmermann of Frankfurt]

Bertold HUMMEL,
110901, for solo percussion, and narrator ad lib., op. 107d [Information supplied by Vic
Cardell — see above]

Frank MICHAEL,
String quartet no. 6 (Dona nobis pacem), op. 96. [Information supplied by Vic Cardell —
see above]

Gary SCHOCKER,
A fond farewell: meditations on September 11, for flute and piano. King of Prussia, PA:
Theodore Presser, 2002. Source of information: Score (Presser cat. no. 111-44146)

Ivan SHEKHOV,
Heart for New York for solo flute, op. 78. [Information supplied by Vic Cardell — see
above]

Phillip WILCHER,
One Tuesday in September, for solo piano. Computer-notated score, ISMN M673011632.
[Information supplied by Judith Foster, Music Resources Manager, Australian Music Centre, 13
January 2003]

Robert Ian WINSTIN,
September 11th, 2001: 9.05 a.m., for solo trumpet and small orchestra. [Information
supplied by Paul Harvey, of ERMMedia]

Ruth ZECHLIN,
Mors et resurrectio [Death and Resurrection], for solo violin [Information supplied by Vic
Cardell — see above]

James Heintze took another approach, and posted a list of music (mainly classical) that might be
felt to be appropriate in helping people reflect on the events of September 11. The items were all
recommended by music librarians, and are as follows:

Bach, J. S. Cantata BWV80,
Ein feste Burg. Recommended by Mary Black, Michigan State University Fine Arts/Music
Library

Bach, J. S. Concerto for 2 violins and string orchestra, BWV1041. Recommended by Pamela Bristah,
Wellesley College

Bach, J. S. Mass in B minor. Recommended by Pamela Bristah, Wellesley College

Bach, J. S.
St Matthew Passion, “Wir setzen uns mit Traenen” (final chorus). Recommended by Jack Hall,
University of Houston Libraries; and the complete work also recommended by W. Robert Chapman,
Hartford Public Library

Barber, Samuel.
Adagio for strings. Recommended by Dan O. Clark, Florida State University Music
Library

The Beatles. “Let it be”. Recommended by Valerie Elliott, former music librarian of
Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library

Bernstein, Leonard.
Chichester Psalms. Recommended by Joseph Berlin

Bloch, Ernest. Violin sonata no. 2. Recommended by Joseph Berlin

Brahms, Johannes.
Ein deutsches Requiem. Recommended by W. Robert Chapman, Hartford Public Library

Brahms, Johannes.
Intermezzo in E flat major, op. 117 no. 1. Recommended by Neil R. Hughes

Brubeck, Dave.
To Hope! A Celebration. Recommended by Jim Heintze, American University Music Library

Bruch, Max.
Kol Nidrei, op. 47. Recommended by W. Robert Chapman, Hartford Public Library

Bryars, Gavin. “Jesus’ blood never failed me yet”. Recommended by Beth Flood, Oberlin
Conservatory Library

Dvorak, Antonin.
Biblical psalms: Psalm 23. Recommended by Mary Black, Michigan State University Fine
Arts/Music Library

Fauré, Gabriel.
Requiem. Recommended by W. Robert Chapman, Hartford Public Library

Haydn, Joseph.
Nelson Mass: Agnus dei. Recommended by David Guion, John Marshall Law School Library

Haydn, Joseph.
Mass in time of war. Recommended by David Guion

Hindemith, Paul.
Mathis der Maler. Recommended by Judith Marie Fiehler, Library of Congress

Howells, Herbert.
Take him, earth, for cherishing. Recommended by David Peter Coppen, Sibley Music Library,
Eastman School of Music

Howells, Herbert.
Te deum. Recommended by Gary Mayhood, New Mexico State University Library

Lennon, John. “Imagine”. Recommended by Valerie Elliott, former music librarian at the
Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library

Mahler, Gustav. Symphony no. 2. Recommended by Holly Mockovak, Boston University Music Library;
by Gary Mayhood; and by Dennis Davies-Wilson, University of New Mexico, Los Alamos

Mahler, Gustav. Symphony no. 5: Adagietto. Recommended by David Peter Coppen, Sibley Music
Library, Eastman School of Music

Martinu, Bohuslav. Symphony no. 1. Recommended by Judith Marie Fiehler, Library of Congress

Mozart, W. A.
Requiem. Recommended by David Peter Coppen, Sibley Music Library, Eastman School of
Music

Schubert, Franz.
Litany for the Feast of All Souls, D343. Recommended by Peter W. Shea, W.E.B. DuBois
Library, University of Massachusetts, from the LIEDER-L discussion list

Strauss, Richard.
Tod und Verklärung. Recommended by Dennis Davies-Wilson, University of New Mexico, Los
Alamos

Telemann, Georg Philipp.
St Mark Passion: overture. Recommended by Mary Black, Michigan State University Fine
Arts/Music Library

Ulmer, James Blood. “Show me your love, America”. Recommended by Joe Tucker, Berklee College of
Music

Vaughan Williams, Ralph.
Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis, and
Serenade to Music. Contributor withheld his/her name.

Popular Music

Steve Earle, “John Walker’s Blues” from Jerusalem

Alan Jackson, “Where were you” (when the World stopped turning) from Drive

Pearl Jam, “Bush Leaguer” from Riot Act

Toby Keith, “Courtesy of the red, white and blue (The Angry American)” from Unleashed

Mr Lif, “Home of the Brave” from Emergency Rations

Sleater-Kinney, “Combat Rock” from One Beat

Bruce Springsteen, “The Rising”

Neil Young, “Let’s roll”

All the above were supplied by Marci Cohen, Multimedia Librarian, Northbrook Public Library,
Northbrook, IL. Marci also mentions an article by Greg Kot that appeared in the Chicago Tribune on
24 November, and concerns protest songs written in reaction to September 11. It can be found at
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-0211240279nov24,0,1057576.story?coll=chi%2Dleisurearts%2Dhed…
which is not something you would want to have to type too often. Also, last time I tried it I
couldn’t get it to work.

Hymns etc.

The Hymn Society of the United States and Canada published a leaflet, “Songs of Remembrance:
Hymns for the Commemoration of September 11, 2001” (published Boston: Hymn Society in the United
States and Canada, 2002), that contains the texts of 12 hymns, as follows. In all cases the name
given is that of the author of the text: standard tunes are suggested in the leaflet for each item,
but are not reproduced here. [Information, and a copy of the leaflet, supplied by John Thornburg of
Dallas, Texas.]

Mary Louise BRINGLE, “When terror streaks through morning skies”

James Hart BRUMM, “See the newfound terror”

John CORE, “Here by our own home waters”

Carl P. DAW, Jr. “When sudden terror tears apart”

Edith Sinclair DOWNING, “Hear us now, we come confessing”

Ruth DUCK, “We humans guild to frame a life”

Dolores DUFNER, “Light shone in darkness at the world’s creation”

Mary Nelson KEITHAHN, “When life becomes a nightmare”

Andrew PRATT, “God’s on our side and God will grieve”

Joanne REYNOLDS, “God binds us with a mighty cord”

Clayton J. SCHMIT, “A fuller vision, Lord, we seek”

Rae WHITNEY, “When all the world is wounded”

Mr Thornburg also sent an anthem composed by Jane Marshall in memory of Marjorie Atkin, one of
its members, and which also mentions the tragedy. Its title is “Help us sing again”.

Suzanne Flandreau (Librarian and Archivist, Center for Black Music Research, Chicago) reports
that shapenote singers in New England put out a call for shapenote compositions written after
September 11, and that a tunebook,
September Psalms, was produced. Suzanne says that it “includes new anthems, fuging tunes
and psalm tunes, some patriotic tunes set in shapenote style, and one or two other memorial pieces
as well. I think it came out in January or February of 2002”. The book was compiled and published
by Chris Noren of Beverly, Massachusetts.

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