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Re: GUYS! MUCHACHOS! ATTENTION! ACHTUNG! CUIDADO! THIS IS VALENTINE'S DAY!

At 10:21 PM 2/14/01 +0100, Jost Ammon wrote: 
> [X] Roses (but only cut from your wife's mother-in-law's, which is btw
your own mother, bush - but attention: remove carefully the thorns to
prevent a backlashing allusion of presenting her a cactus representing your
mother's daughter-in-law's, which is btw your own wife, armchair)

Try not to mess with WTC's C-major prelude at the piano (after 35 years of
rehersal your wife is entitled to a nearly flawless rendition), a hug and a
kiss and some self-picked snowdrops - who could ask for more?


Funny story:

I was hired to play for a friend's wedding many years ago and had just
tuned the harpsichord...this was about an hour before the time to start the
ceremony.  I played through that C-major prelude just to warm up and check
the tuning.  The bride's mother came storming in and informed me: "This is
a Jewish wedding.  You will NOT play that Christian piece!"

I quickly realized she was hearing it as the accompaniment to Charles
Gounod's vocal solo setting of the "Ave Maria", not as a solo Bach piece
from the WTC....

In my defense I assured her I was simply warming up and not planning to
play it at all.  I pointed out that it's merely a Bach solo keyboard piece
anyway, there's no text or anything (and I showed her the music).

Anyway, all she needed to hear was that I wouldn't be playing it.  Problem
solved.  But wow!  I sure hadn't expected any of that.

Who else thinks of the Gounod when hearing this one?  I've certainly never
imagined it at Gould's slow tempo or with his articulations, anyway...until
now.  The vocal version typically goes about 50% faster, and is transposed
to a different key, so it's really quite a different piece altogether.  Yes?

But we digress.

Somewhere in the Gould literature I think there's a story where he heard
some piece transposed, and he didn't recognize it because of that.  Anybody
recall what piece it was?


Bradley Lehman, Dayton VA
home: http://i.am/bpl or  http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl
clavichord CD's: http://listen.to/bpl or http://www.mp3.com/bpl
trumpet and organ: http://www.mp3.com/hlduo

"Music must cause fire to flare up from the spirit - and not only sparks
from the clavier...." - Alfred Cortot