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Fliege und Wanze - (2006)
Joachim Ringelnatz
for medium voice and piano
Die Fliege hat zur Wanze gesprochen:
"Leih' mir doch eine Maß Blut,
Ich habe den Bürgermeister gestochen. - -
Aber der roch nicht gut,
Und ich habe sein Blut, ohne was zu sagen,
In die Nase von seiner Frau übertragen
Und gab auch der Tochter und dem Sohn
Eine kleine Portion.
Und nun riecht die ganze Familie
Nach Quecksilber und Petersilie [ 1 ]
Und ist voller Pickel und Flecke,
Und es ist ein Vergnügen, von der Decke
Aus zuzugucken, wie sie sich jucken."
Die Wanze tat etwas fremd
Und brummte: "Ach, Bagatelle!"
Und kroch dabei einem Kutscher ins Hemd.
Dort war derzeit ihre Quelle.[ 4 pages, 2' 15" ]
Joachim Ringelnatz
The Fly and the Bug
The fly had said to the bug:
"Lend me a little bit of blood,
I have pricked the mayor.
But he didn't smell good,
And so I have the blood, without saying anything,
Passed it on into his wife's nose
And gave also the daughter and son
A little bit.
And now the whole family smells
Of mercury and parsley [ 1 ]
And is full of pimples and spots,
And it is a joy, from the ceiling
To watch how everyone itches.
The bug did something strange
And buzzed: "Oh, bagatelle!"
And crawled then into the shirt of a coach driver.
That was there at the moment his source [of supply].A cycle of short songs for high voice from Ringelnatz' early collection, Strumpfsinn in Versen (1912), is titled Strumpfsinn Lieder. Along with those texts is a short biography of Joachim Ringelnatz.
The score 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.
NOTES
[ 1 ] "Mercury and parsley" were cures of the time applied to itching. Given that many modern pharmaceuticals are based on plants, how modern were old-fashioned ideas.
