This month, the music world lost not one but two towering figures at once—P.D.Q. Bach, billed as the last and oddest of J. S. Bach’s twenty-some-odd sons; and Peter Schikele, the serious composer and silly musicologist who “discovered” him. Sad as I was to hear of Professor Schikele’s death, just seeing his name brought a smile to my lips and a silent laugh to my heart.
The entertainingly apt and touching obit in The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/arts/music/peter-schickele-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Q00.z5OO.ceGyso1qkRy8&smid=url-share) sent me on a delightful detour, starting with the outrageous, you-have-to-hear-it-to-believe-it “Pervertimento for Bicycle, Bagpipes and Balloon.” (The titles and “Schikele numbers” of P.D.Q’s compositions are as witty and surprising as the music itself. Take the “Missa Hilarious” for bargain countertenor, basso blotto, chorus and orchestra, S. N2O, whose movements include the Yrie-kay—which goes from ridiculous pig Latin to sublime stuttering (k-k-k-kyrie), with some spiffy yodeling (“Jesu H. Christe!”) in between—and the Angus Dei: “She’s the prettiest cow I’ve ever seen, and I have seen a few!”.)
I saw one of Schikele’s live P.D.Q. Bach programs once when the fates were kind enough to send him to the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie while I was at Vassar. I left with a bellyache that lasted for days. That program included The Magic Basson, in which, to the best of my recollection, Schikele appeared dressed as a Satyr, chasing a Nymph, and the titular bassoon was systematically disassembled while the poor bassoonist continued to play it.
On the flip side of the Missa Hilarious is “Eine Kleine Nichtmusik,” including amid its Mozart mashup melodic snippets that veer suspiciously close to the theme from Batman and “Turkey in the Straw.”
After that, it seemed only fair to give the serious side of Peter Schikele a chance. After all, this Juilliard-trained musician had a notable career of his own, scoring films
His Concerto for Oboe from 1995 is beautiful, haunting, jazzy and evocative and provides a wonderful counterpoint to the musical mayhem of his alter ego, P.D.Q. I highly recommend a romp through the zany antics of P.D.Q. and a thoughtful consideration of Mr. Schikele, in any order that tickles your fancy.
Louise T. Guinther 
Leave a comment