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bardiphoukaQuodlibet Either a topic for (or exercise in) philosophical or theological discussion, or a light-hearted medley of well-known tunes.
From the latin quod..or what, and libit..what pleases. So arguably, what pleases you. Originally it was to Philosophy and Theology what mock courts are to Law students. While we do not use the word often, the concept is still popular in University coffee houses. Especially, as it happens, those that serve alcohol.
Why the second definition came about I am not sure. I can tell it that it originated in Germany. How it got from philosophy to music is intriguing, not least because it didn’t happen in English. In the late Middle Ages in Germany, quodlibet started to be applied to type of humour that featured daft lists of items loosely combined under an absurd theme — one example was objects forgotten by women fleeing from a harem. Something similar happened in France, where a quodlibet became a witty riddle — even today, avoir de quolibet means to produce clever repartee on demand.
The German idea of the humorous conglomeration was first applied to a musical composition by Wolfgang Schmeltzl in 1544 and the name later became the usual term in that language for facetious combinations of tunes haphazardly combined. Famous examples exist in works by Bach and Mozart in the eighteenth century. In this connection it certainly lives up to the idea behind the Latin word, since the aim is to produce a humorous amalgam of tunes to please the audience.
Perhaps it was fleugelhorn playing Philosophy students at Octoberfest? One can neve tell. As for the French adaptation...even the French do not see to understand French so who can tell.
I must admit,btw, the I have a fondness for the letter Q. In fact I have a cat named Quanta. There is just something about foming the sound of the letter q which may not be overly appreciated in sophisticated company. But I have never claimed to be sophisticated. Any more than a quocker-wodger could claim to be sophisticated. Which is one of those delightful coinages from early 19th C.E. America for a slimy, devious politician.
From the latin quod..or what, and libit..what pleases. So arguably, what pleases you. Originally it was to Philosophy and Theology what mock courts are to Law students. While we do not use the word often, the concept is still popular in University coffee houses. Especially, as it happens, those that serve alcohol.
Why the second definition came about I am not sure. I can tell it that it originated in Germany. How it got from philosophy to music is intriguing, not least because it didn’t happen in English. In the late Middle Ages in Germany, quodlibet started to be applied to type of humour that featured daft lists of items loosely combined under an absurd theme — one example was objects forgotten by women fleeing from a harem. Something similar happened in France, where a quodlibet became a witty riddle — even today, avoir de quolibet means to produce clever repartee on demand.
The German idea of the humorous conglomeration was first applied to a musical composition by Wolfgang Schmeltzl in 1544 and the name later became the usual term in that language for facetious combinations of tunes haphazardly combined. Famous examples exist in works by Bach and Mozart in the eighteenth century. In this connection it certainly lives up to the idea behind the Latin word, since the aim is to produce a humorous amalgam of tunes to please the audience.
Perhaps it was fleugelhorn playing Philosophy students at Octoberfest? One can neve tell. As for the French adaptation...even the French do not see to understand French so who can tell.
I must admit,btw, the I have a fondness for the letter Q. In fact I have a cat named Quanta. There is just something about foming the sound of the letter q which may not be overly appreciated in sophisticated company. But I have never claimed to be sophisticated. Any more than a quocker-wodger could claim to be sophisticated. Which is one of those delightful coinages from early 19th C.E. America for a slimy, devious politician.
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Date: 2011-10-16 10:18 am (UTC)Being doubly redundant there, aren't you? :-)
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Date: 2011-10-16 10:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-16 10:23 am (UTC)Which brings me to the idea that it might be traced back to the student associations we had in Germany who were sporting not only fighting but also drinking games.
My lexicon of Middle German doesn’t show the word but there is a word “quoden” which relates to the word “queden” and the description given is “to melt together” and they used it in the Middleages for “saying, speaking and sounding”.
My other German lexicon states: “The mixture, helterskelter, and in music the Potpourri.