P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer invented by the American musical

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

Peter Schickele "Professor" Peter Schickele (; born July 17, 1935) is an American composer, musical educator, and parody, parodist, best known for comedy albums featuring his music, but which he presents as being composed by the fictional P. D. Q. Bach. He also ...

, who developed a five-decade-long career performing the "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" of the

Bach family The Bach family refers to several notable composers of the Baroque music, baroque and Classical period (music), classical periods of music, the best-known of whom was Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). A family genealogy was drawn up by Johann ...

. Schickele's music combines

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

musicological Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

scholarship, the conventions of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and Classical music, and

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

comedy. The name is a parody of the three-part names given to some members of the

that are commonly reduced to initials, such as , for

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

; ''PDQ'' is an

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for " pretty damned quick". Schickele began working on the character while studying at the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

and

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, and has performed a variety of Bach shows over the years. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' mentions the juxtaposition of

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

bitonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, a ...

, musical satire, and orchestral surrealism in a "bizarre melodic stream of consciousness ... In P.D.Q. Bach he has single-handedly mapped a musical universe that everyone knew was there and no one else had the guts (not simply the bad taste) to explore." As of 2012, Schickele had reduced his touring due to age. On December 28 and 29, 2015 at The Town Hall in New York, he performed two concerts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his first concert.

Biography

Schickele gives a humorous fictional biography of the composer according to which P. D. Q. Bach was born in Leipzig on April 1, 1742, the son of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and

Anna Magdalena Bach Anna Magdalena Bach (née Wilcke or Wilcken) (22 September 1701 – 22 February 1760) was a professional singer and the second wife of Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography Anna Magdalena Wilcke was born at Zeitz, in the Electorate of Saxony. Whi ...

; the twenty-first of Johann's twenty children. He is also referred to as "the youngest and oddest of Johann Sebastian’s 20-odd children". He died May 5, 1807, though his birth and death years are often listed on album literature in reverse, as "(1807–1742)?". According to Schickele, "possessed the originality of Johann Christian, the arrogance of Carl Philipp Emanuel, and the obscurity of Johann Christoph Friedrich".

Music

Schickele's works attributed to P. D. Q. Bach often incorporate comical rearrangements of well-known works of other composers. The works use instruments not normally used in orchestras, such as the

bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

slide whistle A slide whistle (variously known as a swanee or swannee whistle, lotos flute piston flute, or jazz flute) is a wind instrument consisting of a fipple like a recorder's and a tube with a piston in it. Thus it has an air reed like some woodwinds ...

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifi ...

, and fictional or

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

instruments such as the pastaphone (made of uncooked

manicotti Manicotti (the plural form of the Italian word '' manicotto''), literally, "little sleeves" (< ''manica'' 'sleeve' + the diminutive ending ''-otto''), are an

tromboon P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer invented by the American musical satirist Peter Schickele, who developed a five-decade-long career performing the "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" of the Bach family. Schickele's music combines ...

hardart The ''Concerto for Horn and Hardart'', S. 27, is a work of Peter Schickele composing under the pseudonym P. D. Q. Bach. The work is a parody of the classical double concerto but where one instrument, the hardart, uses different devices, such as plu ...

, lasso d'amore, and left-handed sewer flute. There is often a startling juxtaposition of styles within a single Bach piece. The ''Prelude to Einstein on the Fritz'', which alludes to

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

's opera ''

Einstein on the Beach ''Einstein on the Beach'' is an opera in four acts composed by Philip Glass and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson, who also collaborated with Glass on the work's libretto. The opera eschews traditional narrative in favor of a formali ...

'', provides an example. The underlying music is

J.S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...

's first prelude from ''

The Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of in ...

'', but at double the normal speed, with each phrase repeated interminably in a

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

manner that parodies Glass. On top of this mind-numbing structure is added everything from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

phrases to snoring to heavily harmonized versions of "

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number o ...

" to the chanting of a meaningless phrase ("Koy Hotsy-Totsy," alluding to the art film ''

Koyaanisqatsi ''Koyaanisqatsi'' (), also known as ''Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance'', is a 1982 American experimental film, experimental non-narrative film directed and produced by Godfrey Reggio with music composed by Philip Glass and cinematography by R ...

'' for which Glass wrote the score). Through all these mutilations, the piece never deviates from Bach's original harmonic structure. The humor in P. D. Q. Bach music often derives from violation of audience expectations, such as repeating a tune more than the usual number of times, resolving a musical chord later than usual or not at all, unusual key changes, excessive dissonance, or sudden switches from

high art High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society con ...

low art In sociology, the term Low culture identifies the forms of popular culture that have Commoner, mass appeal, which is in contrast to High culture, which has a limited appeal to a smaller proportion of the populace. Culture theory proposes that b ...

. Further humor is obtained by replacing parts of certain classical pieces with similar common songs, such as the opening of Brahms's Symphony No. 2 with "

Beautiful Dreamer "Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by American songwriter Stephen Foster. It was published posthumously in March 1864, by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition states on its title page that it is "the last song ever written by Steph ...

", or rewriting Tchaikovsky's ''

1812 Overture ''The Year 1812, Solemn Overture'', Op. 49, popularly known as the ''1812 Overture'', is a concert overture in E major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon ...

'' as the '' 1712 Overture'' with "

Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolution. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state anthem of Connecticut. Its ...

" replacing Tchaikovsky's melody and "

Pop Goes the Weasel "Pop! Goes the Weasel" (Roud 5249) is a traditional English and American song, a country dance, nursery rhyme, and singing game that emerged in the mid-19th century. It is commonly used in Jack-in-the-box toys and for ice cream trucks. The song ...

" replacing "

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

Compositional periods

Schickele divides P. D. Q. Bach's fictional musical output into three periods: the Initial Plunge, the Soused Period, and Contrition. During the Initial Plunge, Bach wrote the for unaccompanied piano, an ''Echo Sonata'' for "two unfriendly groups of instruments", and a ''Gross Concerto for Divers Flutes, two Trumpets, and Strings''. During the Soused (or Brown-Bag) Period, P. D. Q. Bach wrote a '' Concerto for Horn and Hardart'' (a pun on the name of a chain of automat restaurants), a ''

Sinfonia Concertante Sinfonia concertante (; also called ''symphonie concertante'') is an orchestral work, normally in several movements, in which one or more solo instruments contrast with the full orchestra.Collins: ''Encyclopedia of Music'', William Collins Sons & C ...

'', a ''Pervertimento for Bicycle, Bagpipes, and Balloons'', a ''Serenude'', a ''Perückenstück'' (literally German for "Wigpiece"), a Suite from ''The Civilian Barber'' (spoofing

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

''), a ''Schleptet'' in E-flat major, the half-act opera '' The Stoned Guest'' (the character of "The Stone Guest" from

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'', and the

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by Pushkin), a ''Concerto for Piano vs. Orchestra'', ''Erotica Variations'' (

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's ''

Eroica Variations The Variations and Fugue for Piano in E major, Op. 35 are a set of fifteen variations (plus three "bonus" variations) for solo piano composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1802. They are commonly referred to as the ''Eroica Variations'' because a d ...

''), ''Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice'', an opera in one unnatural act ( Humperdinck's ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

'' and the 1969 film ''

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Mazursky, written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker (screenwriter), Larry Tucker, who also produced the film, and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, ...

''), ''The Art of the Ground Round'' (

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's ''

The Art of Fugue ''The Art of Fugue'', or ''The Art of the Fugue'' (german: Die Kunst der Fuge, links=no), BWV 1080, is an incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach. Written in the last decade of his life, ''The Art of Fug ...

''), a ''Concerto for Bassoon vs. Orchestra'', and a ''

Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion The ”Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion” is a piece of music written by Peter Schickele, touted as a composition of the fictional P.D.Q. Bach. It consists of 4 movements, and is intended to be humorous to listen to. The pl ...

''. During the Contrition Period, P. D. Q. Bach wrote the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

''Iphigenia in Brooklyn'' (

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

's ''

Iphigenia in Aulis ''Iphigenia in Aulis'' or ''Iphigenia at Aulis'' ( grc, Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Αὐλίδι, Īphigéneia en Aulídi; variously translated, including the Latin ''Iphigenia in Aulide'') is the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripide ...

'', etc.), the

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

''The Seasonings'' (

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

's '' The Seasons''), ''Diverse Ayres on Sundrie Notions'', a ''Sonata for Viola Four Hands'',The term ''four hands'' refers to the playing of one instrument, most commonly a piano, by two players at once. the

chorale prelude In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 ...

''Should'', a ''Notebook for Betty Sue Bach'' (

's ''

Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach The title ''Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach'' (german: Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach) refers to either of two manuscript notebooks that the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach presented to his second wife, Anna Magdalena. Ke ...

'' and

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

's "

Peggy Sue "Peggy Sue" is a rock and roll song written by Jerry Allison and Norman Petty, and recorded and released as a single by Buddy Holly on September 20, 1957. The Crickets are not mentioned on label of the single (Coral 9-61885), but band members Jo ...

"), the ''Toot Suite'', the ''Grossest Fugue'' (

's ''

Grosse Fuge The ''Grosse Fuge'' (German spelling: ''Große'' ''Fuge'', also known in English as the ''Great Fugue'' or ''Grand Fugue''), Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven. An immense double fugue, it was ...

''), a ''Fanfare for the Common Cold'' ( Copland's ''

Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that year b ...

'') and the canine cantata ''Wachet Arf!'' (Bach's '' Wachet auf''). A final work is the mock religious work ''Missa Hilarious'' (

's ''

Missa Solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In French ...

'') (Schickele no. N₂O – the chemical formula of

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a ...

or "laughing gas").

Tromboon

The tromboon is a musical instrument made up of the

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

and

bocal A bocal is a curved, tapered tube, which is an integral part of certain woodwind instruments, including double reed instruments such as the bassoon, contrabassoon, English horn, and oboe d'amore, as well as the larger recorders. In the double ree ...

of a

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

, attached to the body of a

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

in place of the trombone's

mouthpiece Mouthpiece may refer to: * The part of an object which comes near or in contact with one's mouth or nose during use ** Mouthpiece (smoking pipe) or cigarette holder ** Mouthpiece (telephone handset) ** Mouthpiece (woodwind), a component of a woodw ...

. It combines the sound of double reeds and the

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

for a distinctive and unusual instrument. The name of the instrument is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordstromboon P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer invented by the American musical satirist Peter Schickele, who developed a five-decade-long career performing the "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" of the Bach family. Schickele's music combines ...

was developed by Peter Schickele, a skilled bassoonist himself, and featured in some of his live concert and recorded performances. Schickele called it "a hybrid – that's the nicer word – constructed from the parts of a bassoon and a trombone; it has all the disadvantages of both". This instrument is called for in the scores of Bach's

''The Seasonings'', as well as the ''Serenude (for devious instruments)'' and '' Shepherd on the Rocks, With a

Twist Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

''.

Recordings

Awards

P. D. Q. Bach recordings received four successive

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s in the

Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to presen ...

category from

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. Schickele also received a Grammy nomination in the Best Comedy Album category in 1996 for his abridged audiobook edition of ''The Definitive Biography of P. D. Q. Bach''.Past Winners Database
page for the 1996 Grammy award nominees and winners on the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' website

References

Sources

External links

*
Interview with Peter Schickele
February 15, 1988
P. D. Q. Bach: Works, About

Theodore Presser Company The Theodore Presser Company is an American music publishing and distribution company located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, formerly King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and originally based in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It is the oldest continuing music publ ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, P. D. Q. Fictional composers Fictional musicians Nonexistent people used in jokes Parody musicians Running gags Telarc Records artists Vanguard Records artists Humor in classical music

Biography

Music

Compositional periods

Tromboon

Recordings

Awards

See also

References

Sources

External links