My top five songs that make me laugh: Classical pieces that bring real joy.

Right after I wrote my post from last week, my roommate and I were listening to a few of the classical music pieces that our professor showed us for our Junior year art class. Most of the songs we ended up listening to were the ones we had laughed at the most in class. (Clearly, we were a very mature group of college students). Anyway, here are the top ten classical pieces of music that made us laugh.

1. Largo al factotum from Barber of Seville

This is sung by the Barber Figaro near the beginning of the opera. He wakes up and immediately starts singing about how fortunate he is to be a barber (and also how lucky the women are). The brass and string sections start off bouncy and light, and then become faster and grander as the aria progresses. It's hilarious to see this matchmaking barber sing about his trade and women at the same time, and it also helps that two Bugs Bunny episodes parody this exact piece. What's opera doc?

2. El Grillo (The Cricket) By Josquin de Prez

Back in the Renaissance, a lot of composers started wondering why the only pop music was Church related. Enter the Chanson, a French secular polyphony (chant with multiple parts) that was all the rage in Europe's courts. The Cricket is an astounding piece for its undulating voices that bring to mind the image of the insect it is named for, and the singers become more shrill as the piece progresses, making it a laugh out loud kind of piece. It is supposed to be fun and lighthearted background music for a Renaissance court, and centuries later, it is still enjoyable.

3. Lasciate i monti from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo

I kind of wonder if this is how weddings really go. Monteverdi's opera is actually the first of its kind, and it tells the legend of Orpheus and Euridice. One of the first scenes is the wedding dance. It starts with a woman announcing the wedding and when it will take place, then suddenly BLAM!!! Piccolos, flutes and background singers start up, about 20 dancers skip onto the stage and we're already in the middle of the festivities. This 0-60 transition makes me think that it might be the most realistic portrayal of a wedding ever. It is a joyful piece, and is also broken up with reverence for the ceremony taking place.

No wonder they're so happy, that clothing looks super comfortable!

4. Viderunt Omnes by Perotinus

You know a song is going to be funny (to our modern ears anyway) when it takes them five minutes to say two words totaling five syllables! This piece is one of the first polyphonic hymns of the Church, since Gregorian chant had ruled the scene for the last couple centuries. It sounds funny, but it also highlights the experimental attitude composers had towards more than one voice in any given piece. It is a kind of meandering beauty, as Perotinus tries to figure out the best way for four different voices to mesh.

5. The Cold Song by Purcell

If you're going to check out this song, I would highly recommend listening to the version with Andreas Scholl, the most famous counter tenor in the world. The best part of his performance is that he sounds like he is actually freezing to death in a snowstorm. I can't do justice to this song by describing it words, so I would just go listen to it.

I guess I brought up classical music this week because I talk about joy, but not about practical things that will actually bring us joy. I think listening to classical music is a great way to experience true fulfillment (I mean, just look at Scholl in that picture!). In all seriousness, I think it's important that we stop settling for cheap imitations of true music, and look back to the classics for true depth. Rather than shallow emotions, we should experience true joy when pursuing the art form of music.

I know this came out a day late, sorry about that! But hey, that means next week comes a day earlier. Hope y'all enjoyed the music I recommended in this post. Stay virtuously happy and have a great week!

So, why couldn't the string quartet find their composer? He was Haydn!

No words, this is just amazing