Customer Reviews

The Ill-Conceived P.D.Q. Bach Anthology

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There's a lot to like here. OK, less than half of this cd is worth listening to. PDQ Bach, aka Prof. Peter Schickele, is an acquired taste for some. "Low brow" humor connected to "high brow" music in some cases makes for good fun. Pete's musical abilities are apparent all over the score(s) but the introductions, commentary, and non-musical moments now seem more sophomoric than when I saw him in concert years ago. The best and funniest and most joyful moments on this recording come from the 1712 overture and The Short Tempered Clavier, S3.14159, easy as 1. C major. All the rest is only modestly funny for all the creativity in evidence. For me, on a recording like this, I'd rather they left off the goofy introductions, except as absolutely necessary (for the sake of the music) and then let this mad musical mayhem speak for itself.

All that said, you know I will be adding more PDQ to my collection. It is hard to resist and laughter--even in small sporadic doses--is good for the soul.

As already described, the music on this CD is hillarious and the spoken sections usually less so.

This CD includes selections from many collections, but no complete collections - for example, the Dramatic Oratorio does not include the complete Oratorio, but rather a few sections. Other tracks are single movements from larger works, such as the second movement from the Grand Serenade.

I would suggest buying this CD if you do not already own any of PDQ Bach's CDs, but otherwise to buy the CDs containing complete works.

This CD is fun and action packed as much as you could hope for in a CD. He uses quotes from many famous folk and classical songs and implements them into his own compositions with a bit of a twist. For example, in Classical rap, where he raps about being the best rapper in the world with terrific brass interludes between the verses. The orchestra plays a clip from Vivaldi's "Spring" and then he twists it into a record "wicky-wicky" to the same tune. He introduces every peice before it is played in a hilarious manner in which he talks about the peice and something else that was going on in the composers mind as he wrote the peice. Starting at the begining-

This is Professor Pete- Peter Schickele introduces himself as well as P.D.Q.

1712 Overture- A takeoff of the 1812 overture of course, with snatches of some famous folktunes thrown in here and there.

Oedipus Tex- A parady of the Greek Myth Oedipus Rex where he murders his father who is the King. Oedipus Tex lives a life like his brother but in Texas style.

The next tracks are more comedy than exactly music like the WTWP station giving options over the phone about how you would like to hear a certain peice of music. Cooking French... is a woman cooking a French gourmet meal but flubbing up the entire time.

What I have already said pretty much sums it up. The rest of the tracks are equally hilarious and as witty as all the others. If you buy this CD you will not regret it no matter what type of music you listen to.