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Igel und Agel: Hedgehog Hodgepodge
Igel Und Agel: Hedgehog Hodgepodge
In the continual struggle for completeness and clarity in our programs we have spared no effort or expense to bring you, our faithful audience, a proper rendition of Christian Morgenstern's "Igel und Agel" or “The Hedgehog Song” from Erik Bergman's suite of four songs, Galgenlieder.
The original version by Morgenstern was written in German, intentionally nonsensical.
Igel und Agel
Ein Igel saß auf einem Stein
und blies auf einem Stachel sein
Schalmeiala, schalmeialü!
Da kam sein Feinslieb Agel
und tat ihm schnigel schnagel
zu seinen Melodein.
Schnigula schnagula
schnaguleia lü!
Das Tier verblies sein Flötenhemd...
"Wie siehst du aus so furchtbar fremd!?"
Schalmeiala, schalmeialü -.
Feins Agel ging zum Nachbar, ach!
Den Igel aber hat der Bach
zum Weiher fortgeschwemmt.
Wigula wagula
waguleia wü
tü tü...
und blies auf einem Stachel sein
Schalmeiala, schalmeialü!
Da kam sein Feinslieb Agel
und tat ihm schnigel schnagel
zu seinen Melodein.
Schnigula schnagula
schnaguleia lü!
Das Tier verblies sein Flötenhemd...
"Wie siehst du aus so furchtbar fremd!?"
Schalmeiala, schalmeialü -.
Feins Agel ging zum Nachbar, ach!
Den Igel aber hat der Bach
zum Weiher fortgeschwemmt.
Wigula wagula
waguleia wü
tü tü...
Our hard working scholastic German teacher and 2nd tenor Jim Knight found the following translation on the internet by one Max Knight (could this be Jim’s uncle?)
Stickly and Stackly
Stickly Prickly sat on a hill,
blew upon a cast-off quill.
Shalm flute-a-la, Shalm flute-a-lee.
There came his true love Stackly
and did him shnickly shnackly
and joined his tune and trill
shnikoola, shnakoola
shnakoo-lee-a-lee.
He blew off every single quill
"You look so bare now, are you ill?"
Shalm flute-a-la, Shalm flute-a-lee
She eyed a handsome neighbor. woe!
But Stickly drowned - the river flow.
Wiggoola, wiggoola,
wigoo-lee-a-lee too tee.
Stickly Prickly sat on a hill,
blew upon a cast-off quill.
Shalm flute-a-la, Shalm flute-a-lee.
There came his true love Stackly
and did him shnickly shnackly
and joined his tune and trill
shnikoola, shnakoola
shnakoo-lee-a-lee.
He blew off every single quill
"You look so bare now, are you ill?"
Shalm flute-a-la, Shalm flute-a-lee
She eyed a handsome neighbor. woe!
But Stickly drowned - the river flow.
Wiggoola, wiggoola,
wigoo-lee-a-lee too tee.
Makes no sense, but neither does the original poem.
Our “richtig” German bass Peter Rohloff did a (more or less) faithful literate translation.
A hedgehog sat on a rock
and played (a tune) on one of his spikes (quills).
Chalumaya-la, chalumaya-lee
His sweetheart Hay-dgel (Hedg-ey?) came to join him,
And she did him shnee-dgel/shnay-dgel to his melodies.
Shnigula, shnagula, shnagulaya-lee.
The animal blew away his flute-able shirt…
"Why do you look so terribly strange"?
Chalumaya-la, chalumaya-lee
Sweet Hay-dgel (Hedg-ey?) went to see the neighbour - alas!
But the creek swept the hedgehog into the pond.
Wigula, wagula, wagulaya-lee. Wee-wee - tee-tee
and played (a tune) on one of his spikes (quills).
Chalumaya-la, chalumaya-lee
His sweetheart Hay-dgel (Hedg-ey?) came to join him,
And she did him shnee-dgel/shnay-dgel to his melodies.
Shnigula, shnagula, shnagulaya-lee.
The animal blew away his flute-able shirt…
"Why do you look so terribly strange"?
Chalumaya-la, chalumaya-lee
Sweet Hay-dgel (Hedg-ey?) went to see the neighbour - alas!
But the creek swept the hedgehog into the pond.
Wigula, wagula, wagulaya-lee. Wee-wee - tee-tee
This, we admit, is sooo much better!!! However lacking in poetry – and just what is a flute-able shirt? So Peter “gave it a go” in poetic English.
Hedgehog Idyll
A hedgehog lounged upon a rock
And squeezed a tune out of his spike-y smock
A wheeze-y whooze-y flageolet.
His sweetheart piggy came, and to his melodies
She did him breeze-y browze-y harmonies.
Flautand-a-loo, flutoo-a-lee
Hog blew his fluting shirt right off his back!!
"How strange you look, how much you lack!?"
flautand-a-loo, flutoo-a-lee;
Alas, his sweetheart went next door not meek.
And hog, he floated downstream in the creek.
Waguleia, wigula, too, too
A hedgehog lounged upon a rock
And squeezed a tune out of his spike-y smock
A wheeze-y whooze-y flageolet.
His sweetheart piggy came, and to his melodies
She did him breeze-y browze-y harmonies.
Flautand-a-loo, flutoo-a-lee
Hog blew his fluting shirt right off his back!!
"How strange you look, how much you lack!?"
flautand-a-loo, flutoo-a-lee;
Alas, his sweetheart went next door not meek.
And hog, he floated downstream in the creek.
Waguleia, wigula, too, too
And finally, the choir hack, an Ogden Nash wannabe, came up with this:
Ode to the Hedgehog
A hedgehog sat upon a stone
Tuning his schnagel all alone:
"shalumaya-la shalumaya-le"
Came hence his true love Agel
And tickled his well tuned schnagel
With her fine toothed comb.
"Schnigula, schnagula"
The poor chap lost his mane so fair.
“You look so bare without your hair!”
"shalumaya-la shalumaya-le"
Then she spied yon neighbor upon his stone
And left poor Igel to swim alone.
"Wigula Wagula
Wagulee-a-wee…Tee tee…."
A hedgehog sat upon a stone
Tuning his schnagel all alone:
"shalumaya-la shalumaya-le"
Came hence his true love Agel
And tickled his well tuned schnagel
With her fine toothed comb.
"Schnigula, schnagula"
The poor chap lost his mane so fair.
“You look so bare without your hair!”
"shalumaya-la shalumaya-le"
Then she spied yon neighbor upon his stone
And left poor Igel to swim alone.
"Wigula Wagula
Wagulee-a-wee…Tee tee…."
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Comments:
Cari leoni,
Chor Leoni! Almost rhyming to a place in Sicily, where ‘singing’ usually ends in silence. Except for one name your member list doesn’t tell anything about Italian ancestors. So it seems to be the cultivated roar of the alpha lion and, just take it for granted, his heart: cor-leone. What makes me ruminate on lions? Well, the carom billiards was started by Professor Leigh Hunt Palmer whose cue ball stroke the object ball in Nova Scotia, Professor Walter A. Aue. There it rebounded off and hit a compratriot of Christian Morgenstern. Isn’t our morning star your evening star? Ask Venus. In Morgenstern’s case it is the other way round. Max Knight, Morgenstern’s poetidentical twin, is unsurpassable. Walter A.Aue, breathe him in, is a member of the Knight-hood. The German, writing this, has made an attempt – not on Morgenstern – but at transfering Morgenstern’s grotesques into a language he has been in love with for quite a long time. Leoni, carry on ‘roaring’!
Bertram Kottmann
Hedge-hug-hog
A hedgehog sat upon a stone and blew a spine all of his own: shawmayallhear, shawmayallthere! Hence came his hedge-hug-lassie and did some brissy brassy to his melodious tone. Shnissoola, shnussoola shassoolay all hear!
He blew away each single spine … „Now you remind me of a swine!?“ Shawmayallhear, shawmayallthere -. Hedge lassie to her neighbour went! The hog by the wet element was washed into the brine. Wetoolee, wetoolah wetooliah wee tee tee…
Posted by: Bertram Kottmann | March 4, 2007 I 5:46 AM
:-) What a glorious read, and the comment by Leigh Hunt Palmer including a superb Picket Fence translation, is priceless. Thanks for a lovely laugh.
Looking forward to the Lions' next music this month at West Van United.
And yes, do present more Christian Morgenstern! Also, anyone ever look into Joachim Ringelnatz? Your German-speaking members will know.
:-) Inge Bailey
Posted by: Inge Bailey | March 2, 2007 I 1:08 PM
I have been a Christian Morgenstern/Max Knight fan for more than four decades, and a Chor leoni fan for as long as that is possible. Needless to say, I was thrilled to see this note.
I think Max Knight is (or was) a Berkeley denizen. I believe I heard him interviewed on KPFA in the sixties, when I bought a copy of his translation of some of Morgenstern's "Galgenlieder".
Morgenstern's "poems" here are more correctly characterized as doggerel. They were probably inspired by the works of an earlier English poet, Edward Lear
I hope the Lions will consider setting my favorite Galgenlied, "Der Lattenzaun" to song. It is short, and I include it below, with Max Knight's "translation". Both are lovely to hear.
Der Lattenzaun
Es war einmal ein Lattenzaun, mit Zwischenraum, hindurchzuschaun.
Ein Architekt, der dieses sah, stand eines Abends plötzlich da -
und nahm den Zwischenraum heraus und baute draus ein großes Haus.
Der Zaun indessen stand ganz dumm, mit Latten ohne was herum.
Ein Anblick gräßlich und gemein. Drum zog ihn der Senat auch ein.
Der Architekt jedoch entfloh nach Afri- od- Ameriko.
The Picket Fence
One time there was a picket fence with space to gaze from hence to thence.
An architect who saw this sight approached it suddenly one night,
removed the spaces from the fence, and built of them a residence.
The picket fence stood there dumbfounded with pickets wholly unsurrounded,
a view so loathsome and obscene, the Senate had to intervene.
The architect, however, flew to Afri- or Americoo.
You have a very liberal comment policy, but I will note that I post this without permission of the authors. Morgenstern is dead, and I don't know which side of the grass Max Knight is on.
Your sincere admirer,
Leigh Hunt Palmer (not related to the poet)
Posted by: Leigh Palmer | March 2, 2007 I 11:12 AM