From: boylan@sw.stratus.com (Richard Boylan)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: WHAT ABOUT PDQ BACH!
Date: 6 Apr 92 21:41:51 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.

In article <1992Mar25.172926.16889@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>, jefrank@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jason E Frank) writes:
> I think most PDQ fans have much more respect for his earlier stuff.

I do.  His first four albums for Vanguard were:

The original album: Contains "Concerto for Horn & Hardart", the cantata
"Iphegenia in Brooklyn"
and the "Sinfonia Concertante" for six solo instruments (ocarina, lute,
bagpipe, left-handed sewer flute, double-reed slide music stand and one
other I can't remember).

	The high- (or low-) light of this album is the bagpipe solo in
	the finale. But there are other great moments--the unplanned
	cadenza by the harpsichord in the cantata (played by Leonid
	Hambro, and including licks from DeFalla concerto for harpichord);
	the trill contest between the Horn and the Hardart, etc. (Horn &
	Hardart was the name of a chain of inexpensive restaurants in
	New York.)

The second album was already mentioned:

> 	1.  An Hysteric Return--P.D.Q. Bach at Carnegie Hall.  contains
> his grand oratorio "The Seasonings", "Unbegun Symphony" (which is a bunch of
> familiar quotes from classical pieces fused into a single entity), and the 
> "Pervertimento for Bagpipes, Bicycle and Balloons" (no description can do
> this piece justice--you need to hear it for yourself.

	While the second album, particularly the "gross oratorio" is
	quite funny, it is clearly an attempt to duplicate the success
	of the first, and loses something thereby.

The third PDQ Bach album was "P.D.Q. Bach on the air", purporting to be
transcripts of broadcasts over WOOF, Hoople, North Dakota.  It included
an incomplete "Concerto for two unfriendly groups of instruments", the
"Beethoven sportscast", an on-location recording of the "Traumerai", the
"Schleptet", the "Toot Suite", along with station breaks, news, weather
and statewide intramural basketball scores.

	This is my favorite PDQ Bach album (and it's probably not even
	in print any more).  Peter Schickle grew up in Iowa, and the
	small-town, one-person radio stations that he's parodying were
	a part of his youth.  The belly laughs include the on-air
	explosion of some equipment, but there are subtle jokes as well.
	The "Schleptet", in particular, is full of jokes that would be
	best appreciated after a couple of semesters of music theory.

The fourth album was the half-act opera, "The Stoned Guest", along with
two madgridals from the "Triumphs of Thusnelda".

	At this point, Schickle was going for straight laughs, something
	that a general audience could appreciate.  But he lost something
	by aiming lower, and I bought few of the records after this.


I have a lot of respect for his decision to give up writing PDQ Bach
pieces.  It's all but eclipsed his serious composing, which I happen to
like.  His Elegies for Clarinet and Piano are lovely (and that recording
is no longer available either, I'm sure.)  He also did some very creative
arranging work for Joan Baez, including "Joan", "Baptism" and "Noel". Only
the last is still in print, which is too bad because "Baptism" was a very
unusual and original album.  I wonder if they sold more than a thousand
copies.

Richard Boylan
Stratus Computer
Marlboro, Mass
boylan@sw.stratus.com
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical