ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT P,D,Q. Bach Revealed

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31225, 24 November 1966, Page 14

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT P,D,Q. Bach Revealed

Among the more interesting music discovered in recent years has been that of P. D. Q. Bach, described as the last and the oddest of J. S. Bach’s 20-odd children.

The discoveries were introduced to the world last year in two concerts in New York, given by some of the city’s best musicians, including a representation from the famed Juilliard School of Music. Part of the concerts is now available on Vanguard mono. VR5.9195 (42s 6d), with spoken introductions by Peter Schikele, the world's leading authority on P. D. Q. Bach. Works from this disc will be broadcast from 3YC in a series starting on Sunday evening.

Before Schikele began his investigations little more was known about P. D. Q. Bach than could be deduced from police records, tavern 1.0.U5. and the like.

Now quite a bit is known about him, although his dates are still tentatively 1807-1742. Rhythmic irregularities in his dance music have led to the conclusion that one of his legs was shorter than another, and his music has been grouped into three periods—the initial

plunge, the soused, and the period of contrition. It includes many of the traditions of baroque—including high, middle, low and “really filthy” baroque. Schikele describes P. D. Q. Bach as one of the most eclectic composers the world has known. “His plagiarism was limited only by his faulty technique,” he explains. Concerto for Horn and Hardart (the hardart is an

instrument resembling a foodvending machine) suggests a lot of debt to Mozart. P. D. Q. Bach is known to have visited Mozart at the age of three days, so perhaps he could have filched some of that composer’s work in progress. On the other hand there are some signs of a stubborn creative originality, such as the second movement where the variations have no relationship to the theme. A cantata “Iphigenia in Brooklyn” owes a considerable debt to Purcell and helped by the ability of the tenor John

Ferrante to shift quickly into a sort of counter-tenor voice is both arresting and witty. Particularly fine is the aria, “Running knows.” The Sinfonia Concertante has a remarkable assemblage of instruments, including bagpipes, left-handed sewer flute, lute, double-reed slide music stand, balalaika and ocarina. All are fitted cleverly into place. Although doubts could arise over the inclusion of the left-handed sewer flute, after hearing the bravura conversation of the bagpipes with the string orchestra it can only be regretted that later composers did not explore this potentially rich field further. Schikele also includes a work of his own, and reveals himself as a plagiarist as talented as P. D. Q. Bach himself. “Quodlibet” for small orchestra develops into a sort of musical name-dropping game, with Beethoven turning up most times. Some strange things happen, such as the development of “Swannee River” from a chorus of the “Choral” Symphony. There is no doubt that P.D.Q. Bach and his creator are the best things in musical humour to turn up since the late Gerald Hoffnung set some

of Britain’s leading composers writing for his mad concerts. Like some of those concert pieces, the better the listener’s knowledge of music, the more musical jokes will be discovered.

SANG IN NOUMEA Eight members of Auckland’s Dorian Singers spent a week in Noumea this month, taking part in the inaugural concert of the new conservatory of music. They augmented the conservatory choir in a performance of Gluck’s “Orpheus.”

SHAW MUSICAL Leslie Caron will make her debut on the Broadway stage as Cleopatra in “Her First Roman,” a musical comedy based on Bernard Shaw’s “Caesar and Cleopatra,” which will open in the autumn of 1967. The actress’s contract also calls for her to star in the eventual film version. Ervin Drake has written the music and lyrics in addition to adapting Shaw’s play for the musical stage. OPERA PREMIERES

Three operas will be performed for the first time in Britain at the Camden Festival (formerly the St. Pancras Festival) next year. They are Donnizetti’s “Morino Faliero,” recently revived in Belgium, Mozart’s “Lucio Silla,” recently staged at Salzburg, and Massenet’s “Sappho.” The festival will also have a Finnish theme.

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