Further reading
- Hutcheon, Linda (1985). "3. The Pragmatic Range of Parody". A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms. New York: Methuen. ISBN 0-252-06938-2.
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Parody music, or musical parody, involves changing or copying existing (usually well known) musical ideas, and/or lyrics, or copying the particular style of a composer or performer, or even a general style of music.
In music, parody has been used for many different purposes and in various musical contexts: as a serious compositional technique, as an unsophisticated re-use of well-known melody to present new words, and as an intentionally humorous, even mocking, reworking of existing musical material, sometimes for satirical effect.
Examples of musical parody with completely serious intent include parody masses in the 16th century, and, in the 20th century, the use of folk tunes in popular song, and neo-classical works written for the concert hall, drawing on earlier styles. "Parody" in this serious sense continues to be a term in musicological use, existing alongside the more common use of the term to refer to parody for humorous effect.
The word "parody" derives from the post-classical Latin parodia, which came from the Greek παρῳδία (lit. "burlesque poem" or song). [1]
The earliest musical application of this Greek term was only in 1587, on the title-page of a parody mass by the German composer Jakob Paix, as the equivalent of the previously usual Latin expressions missa ad imitationem or missa super …, which were used to acknowledge the source of borrowed musical material. Such preferences for Greek terms were a product of Renaissance humanism, which was strong in Germany by that time though the word's use was infrequent and casual. It was only in modern times that the term "parody technique" came into general use as a historical musicological term, especially after the publication of Peter Wagner’s Geschichte der Messe in 1913. [2] Although the practice of borrowing preexisting polyphonic textures dates back to the 14th century, these earlier manifestations are closer to the technique of contrafactum than to the parody of 16th-century music. [2] In the latter part of the 15th century, composers began to include the other voices of a polyphonic model in basically cantus firmus structures, such as Jacob Obrecht's Missa Fortuna desperata and Missa Rosa playsante. [2] In Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians , Michael Tilmouth and Richard Sherr write of the genre:
The essential feature of parody technique is that not merely a single part is appropriated to form a cantus firmus in the derived work, but the whole substance of the source – its themes, rhythms, chords and chord progressions – is absorbed into the new piece and subjected to free variation in such a way that a fusion of old and new elements is achieved. [2]
Many of the most famous composers of the 16th century, including Victoria, Lassus and Palestrina, used a wide range of earlier music in their masses, drawing on existing secular as well as religious pieces. [2] [lower-alpha 1]
After the beginning of the Baroque period, there continued to be parodies with serious intent, an example being J. S. Bach's reuse of three cantatas in his Christmas Oratorio . [4] As musical fashions changed, however, there was little cause to re-use old modal tunes and compositional styles. [5] After the middle of the 17th century, composers sought to create "a unique musical treatment appropriate to the text and the circumstances of performance". [5] Thereafter the serious parody became rare until the 20th century. [6]
The parodic elements of Bach's "Cantate burlesque", Peasant Cantata are humorous in intent, making fun of the florid da capo arias then in fashion. [6] Thereafter "parody" in music has generally been associated with humorous or satiric treatment of borrowed or imitative material. Later in the 18th century, Mozart parodied the lame melodies and routine forms of lesser composers of his day in his Musical Joke . [6] A century later, Saint-Saëns composed The Carnival of the Animals as a musical joke for his friends; [7] several of the movements contain musical parody, radically changing the tempo and instrumentation of well-known melodies. [lower-alpha 2] Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra (1943) features the appearance (followed by a trombone raspberry) of a theme from Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony. [lower-alpha 3]
In theatrical music, the 18th century ballad opera, which included satirical songs set to popular melodies of the time, involved some of the broadest musical parodies. [9] In Così fan tutte Mozart parodied the elaborate solemnities of opera seria arias. [10] His own The Magic Flute was the subject of Viennese parodies in the decades after his death. [10] Parodies of Wagner range from Souvenirs de Bayreuth by Fauré and Messager (sending up music from the Ring cycle by turning the themes into dance rhythm) [11] to Anna Russell's Introduction to the Ring, which parodies the words and music of the cycle by presenting their supposed absurdities in a mock-academic lecture format. [12] [lower-alpha 4]
Offenbach, a frequent parodist (of among others Gluck, Donizetti and Meyerbeer), [10] was himself parodied by later composers from Saint-Saëns [7] to Sondheim. [14] In the Savoy operas, Sullivan parodied the styles of Handel, Bellini, Mozart, Verdi and others. [15] His own music has been parodied ever since. The parodic use of well-known tunes with new lyrics is a common feature of Victorian burlesque [16] and pantomime, British theatrical styles popularised in the 19th century. [17]
Serious parody was revived, in modified form, in the 20th century, with such works as Prokoviev's Classical Symphony and Stravinsky's neo-classical works including The Fairy's Kiss and Pulcinella . [2] However, Tilmouth and Sherr comment that although these works exhibit "the kind of interaction of composer and model that was characteristic of 16th-century parody", they nevertheless employ "a stylistic dichotomy far removed from it". [2] The same authors comment that the use of old music in the scores of Peter Maxwell Davies similarly "engenders a conflict foreign to the total synthesis that was the aim of 16th-century parody". [2]
Popular music has used parody in a variety of ways. These include parodies of earlier music, for comic or (sometimes) serious effect; parodies of musical and performing styles; and parodies of particular performers.
Before the 20th century, popular song frequently borrowed hymn tunes and other church music and substituted secular words. "John Brown's Body", the marching song of the American Civil War, was based on the tune of an earlier camp-meeting and revival hymn, and was later fitted with the words "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord", by Julia Ward Howe. [18] This practice continued into the First World War, with many of the soldiers' songs being based on hymn tunes (for instance "When this lousy war is over", to the tune of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" [19] and "We are Fred Karno's Army", to the tune of "The Church's One Foundation"). [20]
Folk song has often been written to existing tunes, or slight modifications of them. This is another very old (and usually non-humorous) kind of musical parody that still continues. For instance, Bob Dylan took the tune of the old slave song "No more auction block for me" as the basis for "Blowin' in the Wind". [21]
In the 1940s Spike Jones and his City Slickers parodied popular music in their own way, not by changing lyrics, but adding wild sound effects and comedic stylings to formerly staid old songs. [22] The 1957 Broadway musical Jamaica parodied the then very fashionable commercial variety of Calypso music. [23] A musical using heavy parody was the 1959 show Little Mary Sunshine , which poked fun at old-fashioned operetta. [24]
Parodists of music from the concert hall or lyric theatre have included Allan Sherman, known for adding comic words to existing works by such composers as Ponchielli and Sullivan; [25] and Tom Lehrer, who has parodied Sullivan, folk music, ragtime and Viennese operetta. [26] The pianist Victor Borge is also noted for parodies of classical and operatic works. [27]
The musical satirist Peter Schickele created P. D. Q. Bach, a supposedly newly discovered member of the Bach family, whose creative output parodies musicological scholarship, the conventions of Baroque and classical music, as well as introducing elements of slapstick comedy. [28]
Stan Freberg created parodies of popular songs in the 1950s and 1960s, mocking the musical conventions of the day,Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel". [29] The bandleader and pianist Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford, created the musical duo, "Jonathan and Darlene Edwards", as a parody of bad cabaret acts. [30] The British group The Barron Knights became famous for their parodies of pop performers in the 1970s, whilst The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican currently perform comedy parodies of popular songs from a wide of genres primarily on folk instruments. [31]
Parodists with differing techniques have included "Weird Al" Yankovic and Bob Rivers, who have generally put new lyrics to largely unchanged music, [32] and Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine or The Lounge Kittens keeps the lyrics intact but alters the musical style, performing rap, metal, and rock songs in a lounge style. [33] Country Yossi, a pioneering composer and singer in the Jewish music genre, reworks the lyrics of country music and other mainstream hits to convey Orthodox Jewish themes. [34] [35] Another example of musical parody is Mac Sabbath, a Black Sabbath tribute band who utilize McDonald's-themed props and costumes with altered lyrics satirizing the fast food industry. [36] parody in the 21st century has included the 2005 musical Altar Boyz , which parodies both Christian rock and the "boy band" style of pop. [37]
Notes
References
Sources
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January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 336 days remain until the end of the year.
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He is best known for 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord".
A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it.
Although definitions of music vary wildly throughout the world, every known culture partakes in it, and it is thus considered a cultural universal. The origins of music remain highly contentious; commentators often relate it to the origin of language, with much disagreement surrounding whether music arose before, after or simultaneously with language. Many theories have been proposed by scholars from a wide range of disciplines, though none has achieved broad approval. Most cultures have their own mythical origins concerning the invention of music, generally rooted in their respective mythological, religious or philosophical beliefs.
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performance, composition, conducting, music theory and history, and has trained some of the most important figures in international music life. The RCM also undertakes research, with particular strengths in performance practice and performance science.
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the University of Cambridge before studying music in Leipzig and Berlin. He was instrumental in raising the status of the Cambridge University Musical Society, attracting international stars to perform with it.
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery.
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, also known as the Tallis Fantasia, is a one-movement work for string orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The theme is by the 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis. The Fantasia was first performed at Gloucester Cathedral as part of the 1910 Three Choirs Festival, and has entered the orchestral repertoire, with frequent concert performances and recordings by conductors and orchestras of various countries.
The patter song is characterised by a moderately fast to very fast tempo with a rapid succession of rhythmic patterns in which each syllable of text corresponds to one note. It is a staple of comic opera, especially Gilbert and Sullivan, but it has also been used in musical theatre and elsewhere.
In music, homophony is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that provide the harmony. One melody predominates while the other parts play either single notes or an elaborate accompaniment. This differentiation of roles contrasts with equal-voice polyphony and monophony. Historically, homophony and its differentiated roles for parts emerged in tandem with tonality, which gave distinct harmonic functions to the soprano, bass and inner voices.
Baude Cordier was a French composer in the ars subtilior style of late medieval music. Virtually nothing is known of Cordier's life, aside from an inscription on one of his works which indicates he was born in Rheims and had a Master of Arts. Some scholars identify him with Baude Fresnel, a harpist and organist in the court of Philip the Bold, though other scholars have rejected this.
Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known opera or piece of classical theatre or ballet is adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, usually risqué in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work, and often quoting or pastiching text or music from the original work. Victorian burlesque is one of several forms of burlesque.
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it, but a parody can also be about a real-life person, event, or movement. Literary scholar Professor Simon Dentith defines parody as "any cultural practice which provides a relatively polemical allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice". The literary theorist Linda Hutcheon said "parody ... is imitation, not always at the expense of the parodied text." Parody may be found in art or culture, including literature, music, theater, television and film, animation, and gaming. Some parody is practiced in theater.
Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé music was originally written to accompany the film of the same name, produced by the Belgoskino film studios in Leningrad in 1933–34 and released in March 1934. It was Prokofiev's first attempt at film music, and his first commission.
Baroque music refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transition. The Baroque period is divided into three major phases: early, middle, and late. Overlapping in time, they are conventionally dated from 1580 to 1650, from 1630 to 1700, and from 1680 to 1750. Baroque music forms a major portion of the "classical music" canon, and is widely studied, performed, and listened to. The term "baroque" comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning "misshapen pearl". The works of George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach are considered the pinnacle of the Baroque period. Other key composers of the Baroque era include Claudio Monteverdi, Domenico Scarlatti, Alessandro Scarlatti, Alessandro Stradella, Tomaso Albinoni, Johann Pachelbel, Henry Purcell, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Arcangelo Corelli, François Couperin, Johann Hermann Schein, Heinrich Schütz, Samuel Scheidt, Dieterich Buxtehude, Gaspar Sanz, José de Nebra, Antonio Soler, Carlos Seixas and others.
American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall, and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in the United States in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nudity. By the late 1920s, the striptease element overshadowed the comedy and subjected burlesque to extensive local legislation. Burlesque gradually lost its popularity, beginning in the 1940s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by recreating burlesque on the stage and in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s.
The original use of the term "parody" in music referred to re-use for wholly serious purposes of existing music. In popular music that sense of "parody" is still applicable to the use of folk music in the serious songs of such writers as Bob Dylan, but in general, "parody" in popular music refers to the humorous distortion of musical ideas or lyrics or general style of music.
Theatre music refers to a wide range of music composed or adapted for performance in theatres. Genres of theatre music include opera, ballet and several forms of musical theatre, from pantomime to operetta and modern stage musicals and revues. Another form of theatre music is incidental music, which, as in radio, film and television, is used to accompany the action or to separate the scenes of a play. The physical embodiment of the music is called a score, which includes the music and, if there are lyrics, it also shows the lyrics.
