Unsinn Poesie - (1995)      

Brigitte Peter, Gerhard Rühm and Martin Walser

Three songs for medium voice and piano

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These texts remain under copyright and are therefore not fully reproduced herein.

i. Ein Zungenzerfitzler (Brigitte Peter)   [ 2 pages, circa 40" ]

Sieben Schnitzer, die auf siebzehn Schnitzsitzen sitzen
und mit spitzen Schnitzern Ritzen in ihr Schnitzholz schlitzen,
wobei sie schwitzen,
sind siebzehn schwitzende......

 

ii. sonnett (Gerhard Rühm)    [ 2 pages, circa 1' 25" ]

 

erste strophe erste zeile
erste strophe zweite zeile
erste strophe dritte zeile
erste strophe vierte zeile

zweite strophe erste zeile
zweite strophe zweite zeile
zweite strophe dritte ......

 

iii. Professoren-Liedchen (Martin Walser)     [ 1 page, circa 40" ]

 

Büchlein, Büchlein an der Wand
wer ist der Klügste im ganzen Land?
Der Doktor Doll, der Daktor Dall
der Diktor Dill....

from Deutsche Unsinnpoesie, Universal Bibliothek Nr. 9890, Phillip Reclam jun. GmbH / Co., Stuttgart

 

[ 5 pages, circa 2' 45" ]

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Written in 1991 in Köln, these short settings of "Nonsense Poetry" were composed during a concerts of Dvorak's Requiem at the Kölner Philharmonie. The tradition of humor through nonsense and word play has long interested me, and the welcome Reclam edition of German Nonsense Poetry has remained a treasure for me. For those interested in German nonsense poetry, I encourage them to obtain a copy of this small yet marvelous book from which I have drawn such moments of pleasure. The Reclam editions are found at most German bookstores.

 

 

i. A Tongue-Twister

 

Seven woodcutters, who sit at seven woodcutting seats
and split with sharp carving cuts  their cutting wood,
sweating all the while,

are seventeen sweating, cutting,

sitting at their cutting seats, craft-filled cutters making

wood-cutting-carving-slits.

ii. sonnet

 

first strophe first line

 first strophe second line

first strophe third line

first strophe fourth line

 

second strophe first line

second strophe second line

second strophe third line

second strophe fourth line

 

third strophe first line

third strophe second line

third strophe third line

 

fourth strophe first line

fourth strophe second line

fourth strophe third line

iii. Little Professorial Song

 

Little book, little book against the wall,

who is the cleverest in the whole land?

It's Doktor Doll, or Daktor Dall
or Diktor Dill, or Duktor Dull

who is the cleverest in the land.

Little book, little book,

you will pay me back for that!

 

 

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. Please note that these texts remain under copyright, and the scores are provided for non-commercial use only unless the right to use these texts is arranged with the publisher as noted above.

 

Unsinn Poesie