Hey, Julius, no big whoop ... I knew you knew all that. I was responding to
Wally, who asked: "Is that a Mozart melody?" to which I replied: "No, it
isn't." Which is correct ... we may not know the melody's origin
definitively, but we do know Mozart did not compose it.
-Fred
In a message dated 12/11/01 11:56:17 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>I wrote:
>
>>and Mozart's immortal "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"
>
>
>
>>"Wally asked:
>
>>is that a mozart melody?
>
>
>
>Wrong, said Fred:
>
>> No, it isn't. According to The Book of World Famous Music by James J.
>
>Fund,
>
>> it first appeared without words as "Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman" ("Shall
>I
>
>tell
>
>> you, Mother?") in Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy by M. Bouin in Paris
>
>in
>
>> 1761. Mozart did compose 12 variations on the melody.
>
>
>
>Now I say:
>
>
>
>Yes, it is.
>
>
>
>Let's put the thread back in its original context. The question was: "which
>
>songs evoke the strongest childhood memories for you?" My "Twinkle Twinkle
>
>Little Star" response was based on childhood recollections of my mother
>
>playing Mozart's "Theme and Variations K265" (1781 or 1782) on solo grand
>
>piano before tucking me into bed when I was four or five years old, while
>we
>
>were living in Ansbach, Germany. I still have the sheet music and the
>
>wondrous memories.
>
>
>
>I could've said, "Themes and Variations...etc," but I chose to use the
>
>"Twinkle Twinkle..." title to tap in to the universal familiarity and
>
>childhood innocense evoked. I never meant to suggest that Mozart wrote
>the
>
>lyrics, nor were there any lyrics to his composition when written. The
>
>title "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" did not become associated with the
>
>melody until a poem written by Brit sisters Jane and Ann Taylor called
>
>"Star," appeared in a book called _Rhymes for the Nursery_ in 1806 and
>
>became inextricably linked as lyrics to the melody, which was overwhelmingly
>
>attributed to Mozart at that time.
>
>
>
>Now, Fuld's book (not "Fund" btw) cited by Fred does espouse the
>
>conventional wisdom on the origin of the melody, but it's not by any means
>
>the definitive derivation explanation. Another authoritative sources
>
>(_Compleat Mozart: A Complete Guide to the Works of Wolfgang Amadeus
>
>Mozart_, Zaslaw and Neal, editors, 1990) say the theme originated as a
>
>popular French air called "Les amours de Silvandre (Silvandre's Loves)"
>in
>
>1761.
>
>
>
>I would love to hear "Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman" played from _Les Amusements
>
>d'une Heure et Demy_ to see how closely it resembles Mozart's variations.
>
>Fred?
>
>
>
>-Julius
