They are from this most excellent album, which every kid should have in order to drive his parents nuts.Here Katie is practicing her handwriting by transcribing the chorus from track #4. (think Offenbach)
translation: "Oh can you do the Can Can?If you can then I can"
[I can Can Can if you Can Can
Can you Can Can...]
Another gem is from a famous string piece by Mozart (I'll give you one guess):
"Please don't play your violin at night
Wolfgang go to bed, turn out the light..."
The piece goes on to suggest that the soprano should try counting sheep.
["You should trying counting sheep."
"No sheep won't help me sleep
Sleep sleep sleep sleep,
Sheep sheep sheep sheep,
Sheep won't help me sleep, won't help me sleep."
"Try counting sheep."]
Letting alone the fact that I will NEVER be able to hear certain classical pieces the same ever again, this is an extremely well done album. Almost every song tells something about the music or the composer. So whenever the kids hear one of these songs in the future, they'll remember the lyrics and therefore the composer. (Miriam is singing the songs as she reads over my shoulder while I type.)
For example, the title track, Beethoven's Wig, is -- what else? -- his Fifth Symphony:
"Beethoven's wig... is very big...."
There's also "Franz Liszt, the famous pianist" for the Hungarian Rhapsody #2;
a piece you can guess from the lyrics:
"Here's a short Beethoven piano piece,
He wrote this piece,
Just for Elise."
Hayden's Surprise Symphony:
"Listen very carefully,
To this noted symphony,
Maybe you will recognize,
Haydn's Great Surprise." *BAM!*
The Pizzicato from Sylvia by Delibes:
"You left the bathroom water dripping Sylvia,
Into the sink it's drip, drip dripping Sylvia..."
And the fun one, the 1812 Overture:
"The crowds were cheering at the concert hall (rah! rah!)
The night Tchaikovsky shot a cannonball (rah! rah!)
It was the loudest cannon that you'll ever hear,
It was so loud it even shook the chandelier!"
My personal all-time favorite, and one which I plan to memorize (especially when we get to studying English history), is all the rulers of England from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II set to Purcell's Trumpet Tune (popular at weddings). If you go to the Amazon page you can hear a sample (track #7).
"First came William, then a second William,
Henry, Stephen, then a second Hank,
Next was Richard called the Lion Hearted,
Evil John, then one more Henry ro-o-ose to the rank."
It's obvious the people who made this CD had fun doing it. The lyrics are extremely clever. I see that there are 3 more similar albums available on Amazon -- we may need to acquire them. I'm particularly looking forward to hearing "Sing Verdi Very Loud" on Album 2, set to La donna e mobile by -- of course -- Verdi.
