| P. D. Q. Bach | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of P. D. Q. Bach album cover | |
| First appearance | |
| Last appearance |
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| Created by | Peter Schickele |
| Portrayed by | Peter Schickele |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Family |
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| Nationality | German |
P. D. Q. Bach is a fictional composer created by the American composer and musicalsatiristPeter Schickele for a five-decade career performing the "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" of theBach family. Schickele's music combinesparodies ofmusicological scholarship, the conventions ofBaroque andClassical music, andslapstick comedy. The name"P. D. Q." is a parody of the three-part names given to some members of the Bach family that are commonly reduced to initials, such asC. P. E. forCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach;PDQ is aninitialism for "pretty damned quick".
Schickele began working on the character while studying at theAspen Music Festival and School andJuilliard,[1] and performed a variety ofP. D. Q. Bach shows over many years.The Village Voice mentions the juxtaposition ofcollage,bitonality, 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."[2]
In 2012, Schickele reduced his touring due to age. On December 28 and 29, 2015, atThe Town Hall in New York, he performed two concerts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his first concert.[3] Schickele died on January 16, 2024, aged 88.[4]
Schickele wrote a humorous fictional biography of the composer[5] according to which P. D. Q. Bach was born in Leipzig onApril 1, 1742,[6] the son ofJohann Sebastian Bach andAnna Magdalena Bach; the twenty-first of Johann Sebastian's twenty children.[5] He is also referred to as "the youngest and oddest of Johann Sebastian’s 20-odd children".[7] He died May 5, 1807,[8] though his birth and death years are often listed on album literature in reverse, as "(1807–1742)?".[9] According to Schickele,P. D. Q. "possessed the originality ofJohann Christian, the arrogance ofCarl Philipp Emanuel, and the obscurity ofJohann Christoph Friedrich".[5]: 23
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 thebagpipes,slide whistle,kazoo, and fictional orexperimental instruments such as the pastaphone (made of uncookedmanicotti),[10]tromboon,[11]hardart,lasso d'amore,[12] and left-handed sewer flute.
There is often a startling juxtaposition of styles within a singleP. D. Q. Bach piece. ThePrelude to Einstein on the Fritz, which alludes toPhilip Glass's operaEinstein on the Beach, provides an example. The underlying music is Johann Sebastian Bach's first prelude fromThe Well-Tempered Clavier, but at double the normal speed, with each phrase repeated interminably in aminimalist manner that parodies Glass. On top of this mind-numbing structure is added everything fromjazz phrases to snoring to heavily harmonized versions of "Three Blind Mice" to the chanting of a meaningless phrase ("Coy Hotsy-Totsy", alluding to the art filmKoyaanisqatsi for which Glass wrote the score). Through all these mutilations, the piece never deviates from Bach's original harmonic structure.[2]
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 fromhigh art tolow art.[13] Further humor is obtained by replacing parts of certain classical pieces with similar common songs, such as the opening ofBrahms's Symphony No. 2 with "Beautiful Dreamer", or rewriting Tchaikovsky's1812 Overture as the1712 Overture with "Yankee Doodle" replacing Tchaikovsky's melody and "Pop Goes the Weasel" replacing"La Marseillaise".
Schickele divides P. D. Q. Bach's fictional musical output into three periods: the Initial Plunge, the Soused Period, and Contrition.[14] During the Initial Plunge,P. D. Q. Bach wrote theTraumarei for unaccompanied piano, anEcho Sonata for "two unfriendly groups of instruments", and aGross Concerto for Divers Flutes, two Trumpets, and Strings. During the Soused (or Brown-Bag) Period, P. D. Q. Bach wrote aConcerto for Horn and Hardart (a pun on the name ofa chain of automat restaurants), aSinfonia Concertante, aPervertimento for Bicycle, Bagpipes, and Balloons, aSerenude, aPerückenstück (literally German for "Wigpiece"), a Suite fromThe Civilian Barber (spoofingRossini'sThe Barber of Seville), aSchleptet in E-flat major, the half-act operaThe Stoned Guest (the character of "The Stone Guest" fromMozart'sDon Giovanni, and theplay by Pushkin), aConcerto for Piano vs. Orchestra,Erotica Variations (Beethoven'sEroica Variations),Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice, an opera in one unnatural act (Humperdinck'sHansel and Gretel and the 1969 filmBob & Carol & Ted & Alice),The Art of the Ground Round (Bach'sThe Art of Fugue), aConcerto for Bassoon vs. Orchestra, and aGrand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion.[5]
During the Contrition Period, P. D. Q. Bach wrote thecantataIphigenia in Brooklyn (Gluck'sIphigenia in Aulis, etc.), theoratorioThe Seasonings (Vivaldi'sThe Four Seasons),Diverse Ayres on Sundrie Notions, aSonata for Viola Four Hands,[15] thechorale preludeShould, aNotebook for Betty Sue Bach (Bach'sNotebook for Anna Magdalena Bach andBuddy Holly's "Peggy Sue"), theToot Suite, theGrossest Fugue (Beethoven'sGrosse Fuge), aFanfare for the Common Cold (Copland'sFanfare for the Common Man) and the canine cantataWachet Arf! (Bach'sWachet auf).[5]
A final work is the mock religious workMissa Hilarious (Beethoven'sMissa Solemnis) (Schickele no. N2O – the chemical formula ofnitrous oxide or "laughing gas").[16]
Thetromboon is a musical instrument made up of thereed andbocal of abassoon, attached to the body of atrombone in place of the trombone'smouthpiece. It combines the sound ofdouble reeds and theslide for a distinctive and unusual instrument. The name of the instrument is aportmanteau of "trombone" and "bassoon". The sound quality of the instrument is best described as comical and loud.
Thetromboon 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".[17][18] This instrument is called for in the scores ofP. D. Q. Bach's oratorioThe Seasonings,[19] as well as theSerenude (for devious instruments)[5]: 187 andShepherd on the Rocks, With aTwist.[20]
| Title | Record company | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Schickele Presents an Evening with P. D. Q. Bach (1807–1742)? | Vanguard Records | 1965 |
| An Hysteric Return: P.D.Q. Bach at Carnegie Hall | Vanguard Records | 1966 |
| Report from Hoople: P. D. Q. Bach on the Air | Vanguard Records | 1967 |
| The Stoned Guest | Vanguard Records | 1970 |
| The Intimate P. D. Q. Bach | Vanguard Records | 1974 |
| Portrait of P. D. Q. Bach | Vanguard Records | 1977 |
| Black Forest Bluegrass | Vanguard Records | 1979 |
| Liebeslieder Polkas | Vanguard Records | 1980 |
| Music You Can't Get Out of Your Head | Vanguard Records | 1982 |
| A Little Nightmare Music | Vanguard Records | 1983 |
| 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults | Telarc Records | 1989 |
| Oedipus Tex and Other Choral Calamities | Telarc Records | 1990 |
| WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio | Telarc Records | 1991 |
| Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion | Telarc Records | 1992 |
| Two Pianos Are Better Than One | Telarc Records | 1994 |
| The Short-Tempered Clavier and other dysfunctional works for keyboard | Telarc Records | 1995 |
| P. D. Q. Bach and Peter Schickele: The Jekyll and Hyde Tour | Telarc Records | 2007 |
| Title | Record company | Year |
|---|---|---|
| The Wurst of P. D. Q. Bach | Vanguard Records | 1971 |
| The Dreaded P. D. Q. Bach Collection | Vanguard Records | 1996 |
| The Ill-Conceived P. D. Q. Bach Anthology | Telarc Records | 1998 |
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| The Abduction of Figaro | 1984 |
| P. D. Q. Bach in Houston: We Have a Problem! | 2006 |
| Title | Publisher | Year |
|---|---|---|
| The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach | Random House | 1976 |
P. D. Q. Bach recordings received four successiveGrammy Awards in theBest Comedy Album category from1990 to1993.[21] Schickele also received a Grammy nomination in the Best Comedy Album category in 1996 for his abridged audiobook edition ofThe Definitive Biography of P. D. Q. Bach.[22]
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