Donald Macleod's Unbelievable Spoofs
Donald Macleod explores the history of the musical spoof. Who are the spoofs, and who are the unlikely musicians whose lives are so utterly absurd they can only be true?
The world of classical music is a funny old place. Donald Macleod should know - he's been charting its every quirk for over a decade. And along the way, he's discovered that separating the fact from the fiction is not an easy task. In a special live edition for Comic Relief, the two intertwine as Donald plunges into the history of the musical spoof. But who are the spoofs, and who are the unlikely musicians whose lives are so utterly absurd they can only be true?
With the help of silent film accompanist Neil Brand we meet such dubious figures as Bolognese theatre composer Lasagne Verdi, famously submitted (and nearly printed) in the music world's most trusted encyclopedia, served for good measure with an accompaniment of Pietro Gnocchi. There's a chance to hear the music of Pietro Raimondi, the man who composed three oratorios to be performed simultaneously, centuries before Charles Ives conceived of such an adventure. Avant-garde composers reemerge from the 大象传媒 archive too, including Hilda Tablet whose 'reinforced concrete music' found its way into the repertory of Covent Garden in the 1950s. Plus a bizarre encounter with the man said to be a reincarnation of Merlin and Francis Bacon, variously described as a courtier, adventurer, charlatan, inventor, alchemist, pianist, violinist and amateur composer. But did he really exist? You'll have to make up your own mind.
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Donald Macleod's Unbelievable Spoofs
Duration: 02:11
Music Played
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P.D.Q. Bach
telephone request system
Performer: Professor Peter Schickele (speaker)
- TELARC CD80210.
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Pietro Gnocchi
Taster of his work鈥�
- Unknown recording.
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Johann Sebastian Mastropiero
Cantata Laxaton - Nos 14-15 (final recit and chorus)
Performer: Les Luthiers
- ANS RECORDS 19005-2.
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Neil Brand
A guide to the Hameln Weserdunklied
Performer: Neil Brand (piano)
- Live performance & improvisation.
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Pietro Raimondi
Il Giudizio Universale - Chorus 'Il Leone di Giuda si Desta'
Performer: Chorus from the Rassegna Internazionale di Musica Sacra Virgo Lauretana 2002, Columbus Orchestra of Genova, Arturo Sacchetti (conductor)
- BONGIOVANNI.
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George Tolhurst
Ruth - Recit & Chorus: 'And she went and came' (with spoken introduction)
Performer: soprano soloist, Antony Hopkins (stage introduction and conductor), Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music
- 大象传媒 Archive recording from 6 March 1973.
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Dag Henrik Esrum-Hellerup
Tube (on the spot piano reduction of the orchestral version by Neil Brand)
Performer: Neil Brand (piano)
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Don Pietro Gnocchi
Sonata no.3 in G major 鈥� Vivace ma non presto
Performer: Brixia Musicalis
- CREMONA MVC 005-017.
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Neil Brand
Confectionary Concerto
Performer: Neil Brand (Toblerphone AND piano, AT THE SAME TIME!)
- Live performance.
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P.D.Q. Bach
Minuet Militaire
Performer: The Greater Hoople Area Off-Season Philharmonic, Prof Peter Schickele (conductor)
- TELARC CD80210.
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Piotr Zak
Mobile (beginning)
- 大象传媒 ARCHIVE CDA26787.
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Hilda Tablet
'I have a little mark on my left upper arm' from the opera Emily Butter (realised Max Saun
Performer: Unknown performers
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Neil Brand
Le Comte de St Germain reimagined
Performer: Neil Brand (piano)
- Live performance.
Broadcast
- Fri 18 Mar 2011 12:00大象传媒 Radio 3
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