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Der Kehlkopf - (2010)
Eduard Möricke
for medium or high voice and piano
Der Kehlkopf, der im hohlem Bom
Als Weidenschnuppe uns ergözt,
Dem kam man endlich auf das Trom,
Und hat ihn säuberlich zerbäzt,
Man kam von hinten angestiegen,
Drauf ward er vorne ausgezwiegen.[ 1 page, circa 40" ]
Eduard Möricke
The Voice Box
The voice box, in its hollow boom,
From a willowy allergy up did bloom,
And finally did it fuss and fume,
With a neat, sweet sort of laryngeal rheum,
That from the back it forth did spume,
With a forward thrusting sort of plume.
Rhymed paraphrase by the composer
Copyright 2010 Gary Bachlund All international rights reserved.
Poets have enjoyed nonsense poetry, though not always made with nonsense syllables. This humorous portrait of man -- for it is about one of man's organs as of one of his behaviors -- uses words like Bom and Trom to refer their possible references, such as the verbs bomben and trommeln. The build-up to a cough or sneeze is much like the build-up to an emotional or even debate-heated rhetorical explosion, pressure growing and awaiting release. Take it any way you like, the architecture is quite similar and its end climactic and -- dare one say -- ejaculatory? A simple diatonic run up over several octaves to collapse in downward motion ends the short setting.
The score for Der Kehlkopf is available as a free PDF download, though any major commercial performance or recording of the work is prohibited without prior arrangement with the composer. Click on the graphic below for this piano-vocal score.
