- Leck mich im Arsch
"Leck mich im Arsch" is a canon in
B-flat major composed byWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , K. 231 (K382c), with lyrics in German. It was one of a set of at least six canons probably written inVienna in 1782. [Eisen, Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians online, Subscription] Sung by six voices as a three-part round, it is thought to be a party piece for his friends.English translation
A literal translation of the song's title and lyrics into English would be "Lick me in the
arse ". A moreidiom atic translation would be "Kiss my arse", or even "Get stuffed". [cite book | last = Schemann | first = Hans | title = English-German Dictionary of Idioms | publisher = Routledge | location = New York | year = 1997 | isbn = 0415172543 ] Thescatological title and lyrics have been used as evidence to support the contention that Mozart had Tourette syndrome, although this contention is not widely supported by medical professionals. [cite journal |author=Kammer T |title=Mozart in the neurological department - who has the tic? |journal=Frontiers of neurology and neuroscience |volume=22 |issue= |pages=184–92 |year=2007 |pmid=17495512 |doi=10.1159/0000102880 |url=http://www.uni-ulm.de/~tkammer/pdf/Kammer_2007_Mozart_preprint.pdf |format=PDF|accessdate=2007-09-10] [cite journal |author=Ashoori A, Jankovic J |title=Mozart's movements and behaviour: a case of Tourette's syndrome? |journal=J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. |volume=78 |issue=11 |pages=1171–5 |year=2007 |pmid=17940168 |doi=10.1136/jnnp.2007.114520]Publication and modern discovery
Mozart died in 1791 and his widow,
Constanze Mozart , sent the manuscripts of the canons to publishersBreitkopf & Härtel in 1799, saying that they would need to be adapted for publication. The publisher changed the title and lyrics of this canon to the more acceptable "Laßt froh uns sein" ("Let us be glad!"), similar to the traditional GermanChristmas carol , "Lasst uns froh und munter sein ". Of Mozart's original text, only the first words were documented in a catalogue of his works. [Preface to the "Neue Mozart Ausgabe", [http://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma/nma_cont.php?vsep=93&gen=edition&l=1&p1=-20] ]A new text version, which may have been the authentic one, came to light in 1991. Handwritten texts to this and several other similar canons were found added to a printed score of the work in an historical printed edition acquired by
Harvard University 's Music Library. They had evidently been added to the book by a later hand. However, since in six of the pieces these entries matched texts that had, in the meantime, independently come to light in original manuscripts, it was hypothesised that the remaining three may, too, have been original, including texts for K231 ("Leck mich im Arsch" itself), and another Mozart work, "Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber " ("Lick my arse nice and clean", K233; K382d in the revised numbering). [cite news|first=Allan|last=Kozinn|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6DD1F31F931A35750C0A967958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fM%2fMozart%2c%20Wolfgang%20Amadeus|title=Three Naughty Mozart Texts Are Found|work=New York Times|date=1991-03-02 |accessdate=2007-09-19] Later research has indicated that the latter composition is probably the work of Wenzel Trnka (1739–91). [cite book
last = Plath| first = Wolfgang| coauthors = Bennwitz, Hanspeter; Buschmeier, Gabriele; Feder, Georg; Hofmann, Klaus| title = Opera incerta. Echtheitsfragen als Problem musikwissenschaftlicher Gesamtausgaben
publisher = Kolloquium Mainz 1988| date = 1988| isbn = 3-515-05996-2] [cite book
author = Silke Leopold (ed.)| coauthors = Jutta Schmoll-Barthel, Sara Jeffe| title = Mozart-Handbuch
publisher = Metzler| date = October 2005| location = Stuttgart| pages = pp. 640, 653, 689
isbn = 3-476-02077-0] [cite web| author = Dietrich Berke, Wolfgang Rehm, Miriam Pfadt
title = Endbericht| work = Neue Mozart Ausgabe| language=German|publisher = Bärenreiter| date = 2007| url = http://www.baerenreiter.com/html/download/pdfs/Endbericht-NMA.pdf| format = PDF| accessdate = 2007-09-10 ] [cite web| author = Catherine Carl, Dan Manley, Dennis Pajot, Steve Ralsten, Gary Smith
title = Koechel List| publisher = Mozart Forum| url = http://www.mozartforum.com/Koechel%20part%203.htm
accessdate = 2007-09-10 ]Lyrics
The original incipit attested in the earliest Breitkopf catalog consisted only of the words "Leck mich im Arsch". [Preface to the "Neue Mozart-Ausgabe" Vol. III/10, p. X. [http://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma/nma_cont.php?vsep=93&gen=edition&l=1&p1=-20] ] The text rediscovered in 1991 consists only of the repeated phrases: [Denis Pajot: "K233 and K234 Mozart's "Kiss my Ass" Canons." [http://www.mozartforum.com/Lore/article.php?id=070 Mozart Forum] ]
Leck mich im A...g'schwindi, g'schwindi!Leck im A... mich g'schwindi. Leck mich, leck mich, g'schwindietc. etc. etc. (where "A..." obviously stands for "Arsch"; "g'schwindi" means 'quickly').
The bowdlerized text of the early printed editions reads:
Another semi-bowdlerized adaptation is found in the recordings of "The Complete Mozart" edition by Brilliant:Citeweb|url=http://music.brilliantclassics.com/epages/joan.storefront/46e7959800359f06271dd5d385f406d2/Product/View/92540|title=Mozart Edition, Complete Works|accessyear=2007|accessdate=2007-09-12|publisher=Foreignmediagroup.com|year=2006|author=Brilliant Classics] Cite web|url=http://www.integralemozart.info/telechargements/V8_Mozart.pdf|title=Mozart Complete Edition (Brilliant), Volume 8: CD 1, Canons|accessdate=2007-09-12|publisher=Integrale Mozart|year=2007|format=PDF|language=German, Italian|author=integralemozart.info]
This is a clear allusion to the line "... er kann mich im Arsche lecken!" attributed to the late medieval German knight Götz von Berlichingen, known best as the title hero of
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 's drama.This version contains a slight error about the Goethe source: the line occurs in the third act.Cite web|url=http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/G%C3%B6tz_von_Berlichingen/3._Akt|title=Götz von Berlichingen/3. Akt (unexpurgated))|accessdate=2007-09-12|publisher=Wikisource|author=Wikisource|language=German] Cite web
url=http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/?id=12&xid=859&kapitel=10&cHash=48a97f66532|title=Götz von Berlichingen/3. Akt (expurgated)|accessdate=2007-09-12|publisher=Project Gutenberg |author=Project Gutenberg |language=German]Media
ee also
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Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber " (English: "Lick me in the ass fine well and clean")References
ources
*Cliff Eisen, et al.: "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart", "Grove Music" Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed September 9, 2007), [http://www.grovemusic.com (subscription access)]
Further reading
*
Neal Zaslaw (2006) [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=440472 The Non-Canonic Status of Mozart’s Canons] Eighteenth-Century Music (2006), 3: 109–23 Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/S1478570606000510External links
*NMA|93|11
* [http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=121911392&id=121911148&s=143441 30-second preview] on the iTunes store, performed by the Chorus Viennensis & Uwe Christian Harrer
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