#kitten piano concerto

[colorfulxmelody]

the other day I visited the arcade with my friends and we matched coords/colors

love my girlies<3

[lastanzadikuroneko]

the kittens recital, karl reichert, 1836

[webvampzz]

trying not to lose my shit bc something i want is out of stock even though i could literally never afford or buy it so it literally doesnt affect me

[bodylineonbodies]

Kitten Piano Concerto JSK (L562) by Bodyline

My pink bodyline cat's piano coord from a couple of weeks ago. 🩷

[cheesy09]

[CN] Kiro's Fledgling Date

🌸 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date that hasn't been released on the EN server yet! 🌸

[Note: This date was translated with the help of Google Translate :>]

[PART 1]

Gaffer: Kiro, according to the problems that appeared during the rehearsal this morning, the lighting’s been adjusted again. You can go take a look.

Mixer: Kiro, Kiro. You need to listen to the remix part of the third track again.

Kiro: Okay, I’ll be there when I’m done!

Kiro, wearing a beret and a pair of black-rimmed glasses, was communicating with the music director under the stage, looking serious and devoted.

The company’s newly signed artists were hosting their first concert.

Perhaps because this was his first time being a part of the stage as a PD, Kiro had put all of his energy into it in the past few days, so much so that he hadn’t slept well for several days.

Looking at his dark circles, I sighed slightly and then thought of a way to help him relax. I picked up a stack of posters and walked to him.

MC: Mr. PD Kiro, I’m going to put up posters outside the museum, but I can’t do it by myself. Can you help me~?

Kiro seemed to have just finished discussing about the music. Hearing my invitation, he accepted without a second thought.

Kiro: Of course. Leave it to me.

-

The weather outside the museum was pleasant and we posted posters on both sides. After I came down from the stool and dusted my hands, I suddenly noticed that the upper left corner had been slightly raised.

I jumped up and tried to smooth it out, but I couldn’t reach it. Just when I was about to look down for the stool, my outstretched hand suddenly touched a strip of warm skin.

Kiro easily reached over me and stretched out his hand to smooth the raised part. I looked up, just in time to see his azure blue eyes looking at me.

The afternoon air carried with it the scent of grass and trees, but on the tip of my nose lingered the faint aroma of milk. I slowed down my breathing for a while, taking in the moment of security and listening to Kiro’s smiling voice.

Kiro: Miss Chips, you jump around like a kitten.

MC: ...It seems that these few days of continuous work hasn’t yet exhausted you if you still have time to observe me.

Since we were still outside, I hurriedly pulled away from his unclipped embrace and stood on the steps to examine the poster.

The poster this time was inspired by Kiro. I had recently heard from colleagues that Kiro had liked this poster very much.

I looked up at the pattern in front of me. A small and exquisite bird stood in front of a huge window, tilting it’s head and looking at the lights passing through the window.

With a beginner’s innocence and leaping courage.

MC: The spots on the bird’s wings are so delicate. What kind of bird is it?

I turned my head to look at Kiro, He and l looked at the poster, side by side, and there was a sparkling light in his eyes.

Kiro: It’s a purple-winged starling. 

Kiro: According to rumors, it was Mozart’s pet. One day, it had suddenly flown to his window. It’s sound is similar to the piano tune Mozart was composing at the time, which later came to be known as “Piano Concerto No.17 in G major”.

It was the first time I had heard this story. Just as I was about to ask more, a timid voice suddenly came from behind me.

??: Are you the staff of the Fledgling Concert? 

[PART 2]

Kiro and I turned our heads at the same time and saw a few young girls standing behind us, carrying personal signs together.

On the stand was Wen Ke, one of the protagonists of the concert, and under it was a huge flower.

“Our Wen Ke has been walking the flower road.”

It suddenly became clear to me that they all came to see the concert for Wen Ke.

Probably because Kiro was busy controlling the stage process recently, he was rough and wore black-rimmed glasses and a mask, making him unrecognizable.

I nodded and spoke to them.

MC: Is something the matter?

Girl A: We came by train from outside the city and wanted to ask if you could help us outside the venue? We wanted to set this up!

Seeing their pleading, expectant gazes, I was a little hesitant. There were three protagonists to this concert and it wasn’t good to give support to just one of them.

But just as I was beating around the bush, the girls in front of me seemed to have understood what I meant and waved their hands immediately.

Girl A: Sorry for the trouble! Let’s not put in the stadium. Instead, let’s put it on the side of the road.

Girl B: But... if you put it on the side of the road, Wen Ke might not be able to see it with so many people. 

One of the girls spoke disappointedly, standing in the sun, slightly clutching the corner of the stand.

Kiro: He’ll see it.

Kiro suddenly spoke. The girls and I turned our heads to look at him in surprise. He looked at the stand and spoke to the girls with certainty.

Kiro: This is his stage. He’ll see it.

Kiro’s tone was as firm as a rock and the girls were reassured. They happily carried the standing signs to the door to arrange them.

Seeing how happy and busy they were under the sun, I saw Kiro’s eyes light up, and I patted his head.

Kiro: By the way, I have to adjust the lighting one last time!

He hurriedly returned to the arena, and the originally planned mandatory rest naturally failed to be implemented.

I sighed and bought drinks for the girls, saying that Wen Ke’s senior had bought it for them, and the girls took it with a smile.

-

When he returned to the arena, Kiro stood amongst the lighting team, frowning and communicating with the chief electrician.

It was obvious that he really wanted this concert to go well.

In the afternoon, he finally had a moment to rest. He sat with his legs crossed on the edge of the stage, quietly watching the changing lights.

I also sat next to him and handed him the iced drink I bought at noon.

MC: This is your first time seeing the stage from the perspective of a PD. Do you have any thoughts about it?

I asked with a smile. At that moment, Kiro seemed to finally relax. He leaned against me lazily and gestured at the light on the stage.

Kiro: My thought is that the light on this stage is so bright.

Kiro: The director’s team, the lighting team, the props team... so many people behind the scenes work together to light this place up. And for the sake of such light, they always stand in a place where the light cannot reach them.

Kiro: Seeing a stage with such expectations and wishes makes me want to stand on this stage even more.

His voice was light and soft, and the corners of his eyes narrowed slightly, but I was well aware of the joy that rolled in his heart.

MC: Most definitely.

MC: And this belief will definitely become a fire, hidden in everyone’s heart. After all, they also stood in front of everyone in order to rush to the future that they wanted in their hearts.

I thought back to the girls who set up the flower stands outside the venue, and the fancy but sincere slogans, and I came to understand some of the reasons why Kiro worked so hard.

`MC: And for the audience, seeing their favorite idols shining brightly will make them happy without a doubt.

Kiro suddenly turned his head to look at me and a bright light fell on my face. He got very close and scratched the tip of my nose.

Kiro: I also found out something.

There was a distinct laugh in his voice.

Kiro: It turns out that being your colleague make me incredibly happy.

[PART 3]

I was stunned for a moment. It felt like my entire being was almost drowning in the azure blue ocean that was just a short distance away.

Our other colleagues were busy doing their own thing. I blinked slowly and quickly reached out to hug Kiro’s waist.

I whispered in his ear.

MC: I’m also very happy to be able to work with you.

MC: This hug is a reward to PD Kiro for his hard work.

I saw a soft smile slowly blooming in his eyes, as if every smile that I had seen on stage, belonged to Kiro.

-

Countdown to 6 hours, the last rehearsal.

Kiro: Here you need to freeze the beat and then freeze for a second in front of the audience. You’re still jumping too fast.

Kiro: Well - let me demonstrate.

There were several dance steps that the juniors kept making mistakes. Kiro jumped onto the stage and stood in front of them to demonstrate in person. I stood under the stage holding onto the script and looked up at Kiro, who tirelessly repeated the action of turning his head to freeze the frame.

Staff member: MC, some media have arrived. It is estimated that they’re all here for Kiro.

I nodded, indicating that I understood.

MC: You keep watch here, and I’ll go meet them.

-

As soon as I walked to the door, a reporter from Xingju Weekly stopped in front of me. He glanced at Kiro who was on the stage in the distance, and his eyes shone with the excitement of discovering a breaking point.

Weekly reporter: Producer MC, is this performance actually followed up by Kiro? Why is he willing to be a stepping stone for unknown newcomers? Is it due to pressure from the company? Or was it because of some ulterior exchange of interests between him and the company?

Weekly reporter: Did Kiro really prepare for this concert?

His questions were sharp and harsh and shot at me like a barrage of cannons. I took a deep breath and answered in all seriousness.

MC: I’m sorry. If you’re speculating about Kiro and the company, you underestimate his love for this stage.

The reporter was taken aback by my answer. In fact, as an organizer, it was best to maintain a good relationship with the media. But there was a voice in my heart that said that Kiro and everyone else had paid too much to be maliciously speculated against.

I looked straight into the camera and continued.

MC: In Kiro’s eyes, no matter who stands up on that stage, that place would always be the most dazzling and sacred place. Because he knows how much he paid to uphold that stage, he would not despise any performance.

MC: Even those offstage.

The reporter still didn’t seem to believe my answer, and just as I was about to fight back, someone suddenly blocked me. 

I looked up and saw Kiro’s figure in front of me.

He seemed to have heard what he had said just now. The cameraman behind the reporter hurriedly pointed the camera at him, and the reporter immediately asked questions.

Reporter: Kiro, what do you think of the producer of [MC’s company name]? Has the company stagnated your personal development?

Kiro widened his eyes slightly as if he had heard something from the Arabian Nights, and then shook his head.

Kiro: She conveyed everything I wanted to say from the heart.

Kiro: The stance of the company’s producer is my stance.

The reporter was still skeptical, so I signaled the staff to take him to the media booth, and when I turned around, Kiro lightly hooked my arm.

-

The audience began to enter the arena, one after another, and someone immediately spotted Kiro standing under the stage with sharp eyes and rushed over excitedly.

Audience member A: Oh my God, it’s Kiro! He actually came to this concert!

Audience member B: Kiro, can you sign your name for me!!!

Facing the huge audience, Kiro stood under the stage and shook his head gently.

Kiro: Not today. 

[PART 4]

Kiro: It’s not me who’s going to stand on the stage today, so “Kiro’s” signature isn’t that precious.

Kiro: What’s precious are the people who are about to stand on this stage, because they’ve paid a lot to shine in your eyes.

Kiro: I hope that the reason you’re happy today was because you saw them standing brightly on this stage.

Kiro repeated my words in a gentle tone and my heart moved slightly. So he remembered what I said.

But in the blink of an eye, I saw the audience couldn’t help but look a little disappointed. I thought for a moment and walked up to him.

MC: Today’s protagonist have not yet appeared, but PD Kiro can sign autographs as a warm-up guest.

Audience: Great!!!

MC: But after the show starts, I hope everyone can focus on the people on stage~

Audience: Of course! Today, I’ll latch onto the trio of fledglings!

The audience nodded and I looked at Kiro.

MC: What does PD Kiro think?

Kiro took the poster and the signature pen handed over by the audience, turned his head and said with a smile in my ear.

Kiro: I am both, a guest for the show and a PD. Will the boss pay me double the salary?

MC: [laughing] Mm, well said!

Audience member A: Why did Kiro come to the Fledgling Concert?

Audience member B: I heard that the trio of fledglings are your own juniors. Is that true?!

Kiro signed the poster and handed it to the fans in front of him. Hearing those words, he nodded generously.

Kiro: Yes, they are all hardworking entertainers. I’m sure they won’t let you down.

Audience member C: Wow. Kiro, can you tell us the best song in this concert?

Kiro: Although everyone’s preferences differ, I think the best song must be “The Starling”.

Audience member C: Starling? What does that mean?

Kiro stopped his hand from signing, raised his head and smiled at the questioning girl. He then stretched out his hand to make a “shush” sign.

Kiro: That is a secret that they need to reveal to you personally.

Even though he was clearly standing under the stage at the moment, I suddenly became astonished and found him to be as dazzling as when he was on stage.

The giant screen suddenly went black, and then the ten-minute countdown timer flashed.

Kiro: Well, the warm-up event ends here, and the next part is the main attraction.

Following Kiro’s words, the lights in the audience slowly dimmed, surrounded by the sound of chirping birds.

The audience returned to their seats under the guidance of the staff and waited quietly for the unknown opening.

In the dim light, I turned to look at Kiro who was beside me.

MC: Mr. PD Kiro, the performance is about to start. May I invite you to witness it with me? 

MC: When the fledglings take off?

I watched Kiro’s gaze linger on my face for a moment, as if confirming my position in such a vast world.

Then, he held my hand tightly.

Kiro: I’d be honored to.

-

He dragged me all the way backstage. The curtain slowly opened , and after the countdown of “3,2,1″, a white light lit across the stage.

Dark birds flew across the stage, carrying the lightest dreams to the top.

Through the gap in the curtain, I saw the girls who arranged the flower stand standing in the crowd, waving light sticks at Wen Ke diligently.

Wen Ke’s every turn, every dance step, cooperated flawlessly with his teammates. And the two teammates next to him, Yu Xixi and Yang Han, were also earnestly doing the movements that had practiced countless times.

The singing of the starlings came from a distance, and the melody was crisp and catchy, like a young bird looking out among the green leaves in the cluster of trees.

At the moment when they turned their heads to freeze, the audience screamed incessantly, and all they saw was a sea of light green fluorescent light.

MC: Although I’ve seen it many times at your concerts, this time seems to be a little different.

Kiro: What’s different?

MC: It’s the first time we stood in the audience together like this, watching other people shine.

MC: It feels... wonderful.

At that moment, I saw a beam of light passing through the gap and fall onto the floor of the backstage. I reached out my hand to hold it up and grinned at Kiro.

MC: Senior Kiro, congratulations on witnessing a smooth and splendid takeoff.

MC: From the fledgling concert, up until now, everything was perfect.

MC: Good work, our PD Kiro.

I bent my eyes and looked at Kiro who was hidden within the dim world in the background. He made a strange gesture towards me.

Kiro: It’s you and me. We witnessed it together.

Kiro: When putting up the posters, didn’t you ask me why I chose the purple-winged starling for the poster, Miss Chips?

Kiro paused and spoke softly.

Kiro: Legend has it that each purple-winged starling represents a unique melody. They spend their whole lives searching for their melody, no matter where it is hidden.

Kiro: I was lucky to have found my melody.

He lowered his eyes slightly and his clear gaze fell on my face.

Kiro: To be understood, to be illuminated.

His eyes were shining brightly at me, and I heard what seemed to be the sound of a bird flapping its wings in my chest.

It was like finding the person who was most important to me in this world, and it was like being found by him.

Did the little bird in the story, who stood at Mozart’s window and listened to him play the piano, feel the same way as I did in this moment?

I looked at Kiro without blinking and heard his words follow slowly.

Kiro: I hope that every purple-winged starling can find its own melody.

Kiro: And can be listened to well.

Masterlist: here

[bubmyg]

three pancakes - myg

pairing: yoongi x reader

genre/warnings: vampire!yoongi, fluff lmao so much fluff when do i not write fluff, domestic goodness, no blood warnings this time but the kittens make a cameo!

word count: 1,382

summary: there’s someone playing the piano in your dreams or the one where yoongi has a normal saturday morning with you

a/n: omg hannah u still write yeah i know alright ajfdlksf forgive me i haven’t written in months but i got this idea and wrote it in forty minutes here we go :’-)

There was a piano in your dream, a rich mahogany color lined in engraved bits of gold that drew in prominent trim designs to flecks in the wood. Someone, something, was playing it, the succession of keys pressing down into a haunting melody not the result of your hand reaching out to feather over the slick ivory. You jerked the appendage into your chest, holding your hand at your wrist as the music seemed to gather speed, more keys pressed down at a time in flurrying speed and the jerk of your gaze to keep up with the phenomenon was almost enough to rouse you from your sleep.

Instead, it was the slow of the music once more than eventually peeled your eyes open, the transition from the white swathed around the piano in your dream becoming dark then dim, grays and blues melding together from where black out curtains quelled the knocking of the morning sun. The music never stopped, however muffled now, crawling out from the spaces left underneath the cracked bedroom door when your bare feet hit the hardwood to pry it open. 

A few other noises joined the concerto, the steady ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway and the excited meows of the kittens as they tumbled over each other in an effort to greet you. When the piano didn’t seem to cease with the clear indication that you were awake (to a vampire with hypersensitive ears, that is), you paused in your trek to the siren song, crouching to let the orange tabby and black kitten curl their purring heads into your cupped palms for a few passing heartbeats. 

Fingers played the keys of this piano, delicate ones wrapped underneath a few silver bands and covered at the palm by the sleeves of a baggy black turtleneck. You followed the line from pink tinged knuckles to the slouch of thin framed glasses resting on the edge of a rounded nose, pausing in the archway to the living room just to let your heart recover from the rush of fondness it got in that moment. 

Yoongi didn’t acknowledge you until you’d lowered yourself into the massive armchair stationed at a diagonal to the instrument, eyes flitting to yours long enough to have an endeared smile of his own pressing into the line of his lips before the human color of his eyes, a richly gentle brown, became hidden behind thick eyelashes as his fingers continued their work. You watched in rapt attention, feet curled underneath you, chin to the palm of your hand until the song died out in an almost playful skip of his index and middle fingers over the last couple of notes. 

He sat back, abandoning the character of a centuries old vampire once known for his skill on the very thing he sat behind in favor of your Yoongi, using the hyper extended curl of his ring finger to shove his glasses up on his nose before stuffing flattened palms under his thighs while broad shoulders hunched a bit and the same pink color in his knuckles tinged the top of his ears. 

“I didn’t wake you, did I?”

You shook your head, “You’re up late, anyway.”

Rarely was he “awake” when morning came for you, generally already trapped in the work in his basement studio while the curtains, all three layers, on the upper level had been drawn back for your benefit. Upon further inspection, you found that to be the case in that given instance, curtains of the grand bay window facing the front of the house drawn open. Panic seasoned into you from years of dating a vampire silenced into just the roar of your heart when you noticed it was cloudy, splashes of rainwater curling down the glass planes. The circle of natural light spilling through the windows didn’t quite reach Yoongi’s purposefully placed bench, anyway. 

“It’s the weekend,” Yoongi offered as simple explanation, “I wanted to see you.”

Your heart warmed, shaking your head to disperse the unwarranted shyness that trickled into your smile. “What was that you were playing?”

Yoongi didn’t pluck the keys hard enough for the full capacity of their sound to emit, relaxing your stature a bit more as the rain seemed to make up for the disparity in sound. “Something I’ve been writing…”

“You’ve already got me hearing it in my dreams so,” You grinned when he furrowed an eyebrow at you, “I’m sure it’ll be wonderful.”

He parted his mouth to question when a bit more light spilled into the room, a few of the clouds in the distance breaking with the introduction of the sun. Amusement lit his features when you moved to scramble for the curtains, rising to gently catch your wrist and tug you to him albeit the bit of nausea that rumbled low in his stomach. 

“Come. Let me make you breakfast,” When you hesitated, Yoongi touched pouted lips to the back of your hand, “No windows in there.”

Yoongi held your hand as you rounded the kitchen island, clambering atop the countertop while he abandoned you for the cupboards. Fingers stalled on a box and he turned to you with a knowing smirk, “Do you want pancakes?”

You tried to suppress your smile. “Yes, please.”

Then did he drag the box out, a cheap pancake mix you’d picked up at the store weeks ago. An indignant wrinkle met the bridge of his nose and he glared at you over the frames of his glasses, “Is this all we have?”

“It’s good,” You tried to argue. 

Yoongi rolled his eyes, dropping the box back into place beside a half eaten bag of corn chips and a dented can of corn, instead yanking open the cabinet containing his cooking materials. Ingredients came in a frenzy then, quickly filling the opposite counter and before you could blink at the sound of thunder outside, he’d dropped a mixing bowl next to your thigh filled with a gooey brown substance stirred by a massive spoon in his grasp. 

“What was that you said about your dream?”

He wasn’t looking at you, fluffy black bangs pointed to you instead as they ruffled with every few passes of his spoon through the mixture. You hummed, drawing your attention to the far corner of the kitchen while letting your legs swing over the side. 

“There was someone playing the piano in my dream. I think the song sounded similar to the one you were playing,” You didn’t notice that Yoongi had stopped stirring as you continued to ramble, “There wasn’t anyone sitting at it...but the keys were being pressed down? It was weird, come to think of it—”

Cool fingertips touched the side of your neck first and then your cheek, soft in nudging you closer for Yoongi’s lips to linger on the opposite side of your face, closer to your nose than anything. 

“It was probably me,” He teased lowly, nudging his nose against your cheek, “I’m a vampire, remember? I don’t show up in anything—”

“Is there your way of telling me your ever growing list of superpowers includes hacking into my dreams?”

Yoongi sighed against your cheek, “No—” His hand dropped from your cheek to your thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze, “—but I will say this…”

He was stoically serious when you cocked your chin to look at him, “...if I still dreamed as you humans do, mine most certainly would include you, angel.”

If Yoongi would have stalled a fraction longer you were almost sure the over growing fondness deep in your heart would have expanded enough to draw him into your little bubble of love but he broke the ambiance but gently patting your thigh a couple of times before pulling away with the pancake batter at his hip. 

“How many do you want?”

Maybe it made it worse that he’d moved further away (enough to drag out the griddle and grunt to reach the outlet for it) because you found yourself stalling in your answer for so long that he turned to look at you again with expectant eyebrows. 

“Two is fine.”

You giggled when Yoongi placed his hands on his hips and glared, “All this batter and you only want two?”

“Okay, three…”

[requiem626k]

Hello my dear Req, I'm here again to ask for some classical music you could recommend me🤭 Usually I would ask for piano music, but I've been in the mood for one with a harp in it lately! And I know you're busy with school and all that so please take your time hehe. And take care🥰

Hello there, my dearest Kat ❤️! I’d be so delighted to recommend you more pieces, it makes my little heart so happy that you’re interested in them 🥺��

I hope you’ll like my selection! I tried to include variety in terms of vibes, nationalities and eras this time (Austrian-Classical, Russian-Romantic and French-19th century), instead of sticking to a single man 🤭 I’ll try to keep it short and simple (no that’s a lie, I won’t be able to 😶)

And thank you so much for your consideration, things have been pretty busy for me indeed so I’m sorry for the extremely late post 😖 And I know that uni is soon starting for you, so likewise, please take your time to listen to the pieces <3

That being said, let’s start~

Mozart - Als Luise die Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers verbrannte

Of course, it wouldn’t be Req’s post if it didn’t start off with Mozart. This is a short lied like Das Veilchen (the one that I previously shared), the title is long haha and it means “As Luise Was Burning the Letters of Her Unfaithful Lover”. As you can guess from its name, this is really, REALLY dramatic. It’s in c minor, a tonality that Mozart doesn’t use so often (but when he does, oh boy, see his Great Mass in c minor 🤤) but which is perfect for its fierce mood. Also it’s fairly special for me because we used to sing this in our music theory classes haha, I would play the piano accompaniment while practicing with the classmates before every oral exam.

I truly adore this lied. The lyrics are once again taken from a poem, a poem of Gabriele von Baumberg, she apparently wrote it at a very young age (18 or so).

My heart melts at 00.34 omg, that soft “melancholie” and the silence that comes after 🥺… It’s truly one of those silences that make you agree with Mozart’s quote:

The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.

Then, it takes a cheerful turn (he just can’t refrain from putting happy sprinkles 🤭) until the strong chord at 00.49.

I think the section that starts at 01.00 is so worthy of being noted, I love love LOVE the suspense and tension that the piano accompaniment creates and that finishes with a strong build-up.

And the chord at 01.32… I leave my heart there. It just has me so soft. It’s so bittersweet, Mozart for some reason repeats the phrase “May smoulder long yet in my heart.” twice at the end and it’s just- 🥺

As always, he knows so well what word must be cited with what emotion, and chooses carefully his chords and functions. I just love it, and wanted to share since you had liked the previous lied 🤭

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2

*inhale* This one’s gonna be long, I can feel it.

I have literally SO MANY things to say about this one.

Rachmaninoff is a famous Russian composer that you might have heard of. He’s part of the Romantic Era which is, to simplify, about pouring your emotions and the turmoils in your life into your art and depicting feelings instead of trying to stick to certain rules and ‘holy’ virtues, of which we had already talked about a bit hehe.

And this piece… Oh my. You’ll see how different this concerto is compared to the Mozart ones we listened to previously. His second piano concerto corresponds to a depressive episode of his, due to his works not having a big success and being criticised so harshly. This beautiful piece is his comeback work, and you can just feel the inner conflicts, the emotional tornado he had at that period. With Mozart’s concertos, your soul is purified, they softly caress your insides and comfort you. But here, Rachmaninoff takes your emotions, and he proceeds to crush it. He plays with it, throws it, abuses it, you sob and sob and sob. At least I do 😭.

First movement

One can perfectly sense the dark pessimism in the first, silent, dangerous chord. As the 8 chords come one after another, every single one stronger than the previous, you’re on your toes and the tension increases until finally hearing the main theme through violins at 00.43. Listen to that theme very well. It’s so beautiful, so so moving, the piano section creates a fierce, dangerous background and I always get goosebumps when the violins come in.

Then, at 02.30, the second main theme is heard through the piano, pay attention to that! You will encounter it under various forms through the movement 🤭 It’s much softer compared to the first, ominous theme, it creates a beautiful contrast.

I want to note down the beautiful oboe-piano duet in 04.14 🥺. I adore oboes, it has a really beautiful and soft vibe, and here its melody is just so bittersweet when combined with the piano’s accompaniment. Then at 04.35, the piano starts playing a really soft phrase, the soft touch at that high note at 04.46, oh my God my heart. I have a feeling that you’ll adore that part 🥺 I want to note down literally every second omg

At 05.22, it turns once again really quiet and ominous, foreshadowing a big outburst through a build-up. The flutes play a big role in that aura through their short but dangerous phrases.

I especially adore the part at 06.17 in this pre-outburst section, it’s reminds me of a wave of emotions that keep hitting you and stepping back, only to strike even harder afterwards. The flutes in the background reinforce this vibe. The tension gets higher and higher at 06.36 (omg I’ll faint I love this part, I’m trembling while listening to it and trying to write this at the same time, I can’t keep up with my thoughts aaa) through the constant mutual escalation of both the piano and the orchestra. THE BEAUTY OF THE BUILD-UP PLEASE I WILL LOSE MY MIND.

And all this preparation was for the beautifully passionate part at 07.02. Rachmaninoff notes down “Alla Marcia”, meaning it should be played like a march, and its rhythmic features most certainly have that vibe. It’s just so majestic, so pompous, so raw, I love love LOVE it. It’s almost like you’re swooning in euphoria after having an emotional build-up and breakdown, it’s just- it’s something else that I can’t even describe. I just don’t have the right words for it.

I know that the piano’s melody is so alluring and enchanting there, but maybe in a second listen, I’ll want you to pay attention to the violin part during the march section 👀 Can you hear the very first theme that was introduced at the very beginning of the movement? Rachmaninoff was a total genius to put it in the background and make it fit so well. I always hesitate between paying attention to violins or piano, I end up rewinding it every single time 😖 It’s soo good.

After the euphoric section, the second theme comes again. A thing that’s worth noting down is the flute’s beautiful addition at 07.53, it’s in the background but it just makes my heart melt. I also always get goosebumps at the few ominous, sinister seconds that starts at 09.17 😳

Then it goes pretty quietly until the ending hehe, like a calmness after storm 😌 This piece is a total emotional rollercoaster, I swear. At 11.01, I love the playfulness of the piano section, it’s just so mischievous like a little naughty kitten. Then it picks up the pace, and ends with three strong beats.

Ugh. 🦋🦋🦋

Second movement

(meme credit goes to @/pianoomemes on Instagram)

This meme says it all. I don’t even need to add anything else. As you know by now, the second movements are meant to create a sharp contrast with the first one’s mood, and 🥺😭.

The main melody… It has my heart. The movement starts with a soft piano-flute introduction, and the ethereal main theme is heard at 12.56 through an oboe.

I don’t really any other commentary to do on this heavenly movement. Just let yourself in its embrace without any technical/guiding worries <3

(Though I feel obliged to add that the part that truly has me in this movement is 22.17 🥺. It’s just so moving and sweet ahh, it just takes you away, it almost has a sentiment of longing I feel, I always have a drop of tear forming in my eyes at that part.)

Third movement

The third movement is a usual, playful, jokester movement hehe. It’s a general pattern for final movements as you might have noticed, even though this one’s not written under a Rondo form. It’s rare that I say this, but I feel like this final movement is as charming as the second one for me 🤭 (No movement surpasses the first movement though, personally of course~)

The theme that starts at 25.51 through violins is so so charismatic, it almost always flusters me 😳✨.

Then he naughtily plays around with themes, modulations and instruments haha, I’ll leave the commentary at that and leave you once again alone with the movement itself 😌

(The majestic comeback of the charismatic theme at 34.09 though 😳! I’m *this* close to thirsting over a theme omg it’s MESMERISING I want to cry.)

Fauré - Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11

And finally, to fulfil your wish 💕, here’s a piece from Fauré where you can hear one of the most beautiful usages of harp in a work, in my opinion.

Even though it’s a religious work, its lyrics are in French. Fauré is a French composer from late 19th century, and even though he’s not that well-known among the media he’s a really unique composer that we can’t even classify in a certain movement. He’s from the same era as the French Impressionists such as Debussy or Ravel, but his style is much more different than theirs. He even has his own unique chord chain etc. that we use the term “fauréen” in harmony classes. But anyways, onto the piece 🤭

I really have no proper words to describe how heavenly, ethereal, poetic, incredible, awe-inspiring and soft this piece is. Like oh my God. I feel my heart melting into a puddle and tear up every time I listen to it. I just can’t bring myself to believe that he was only 19 when he composed this for a competition, if my memory doesn’t deceive me.

The beginning with the orchestra and harp is making a truly beautiful beginning, and the first moment that I want to talk about is 01.09, it always gives me goosebumps when the sopranos come in on the background that the basses and tenors had created.

At 02.00, there’s a soft oboe that comes in for a few seconds and only plays four notes, do you hear it? Those four notes can have my heart 🥺. It’s so beautiful omg. It’s crazy how the littlest touch could make such big of a difference. He could’ve easily not put it there, but he did and that’s what makes a good composer.

The “que tout l’enfer” at 02.24 is so fierce, so mad, “enfer” means “hell” and Fauré really accentuated its meaning, I love it.

And when the piece comes to the ending, at 04.14, a soft flute plays the beginning of the main theme for the first time I believe, which is a really enchanting change for the ear.

And the ending is just so, so soft like the whole piece, I truly can’t. The main melody is just so beautiful, and he truly did an impeccable job with mixing all the voices, the orchestra and the beautiful harp together. I just turn into a soft, soft bubble made out of cotton every time I listen to this.

~

Ahh this was a long ride, I truly hope you enjoyed the pieces, my beloved! I wasn’t sure which style or composers you would like the most, I guess we’ll try and see 😳❤️

Just for the sake of archiving them, I’ll also add the links of the beautiful pieces we discussed on Discord.

Fauré - Barcarolle no. 1 (Fauré brainrot is strong with me nowadays haha)

Mendelssohn - Etude no. 1 op. 104b (I feel like you’d love his A Midsummer Night’s Dream overture ngl, because Shakespeare 😳 I didn’t add it here though since it doesn’t contain piano or harp)

[lu-undy]

Chapter 34 - SBT

Here it is!

"Meoooow."

Lucien didn't even hear the kitten sing along to him. He was too deep into his rehearsal, on the piano, in his suite. His fingers were gliding on the keys and the man had sunk to depths uncharted by man ever before him. It was so dark at these depths, he didn't need his eyes to see, so he closed them. 

Not only did he not need his eyes to see but he was also exhausted. The nightmares coming back to him were starting to get to him. But, as of late, there was one thing that never failed to bring peace to him and help him fall asleep. 

Lucien was in the dark despite the golden sun drowning his living-room. The song he was rehearsing was sweet but the smoke of the cigarette between his lips, bitter. It balanced it out nicely. 

The Frenchman played and played, letting his fingers do the work while he set his thoughts free to run wild. And oh boy, they did. They ran and galloped, flew like fish in the clouds and swam like birds in the sea… One image kept coming back to him, one smile, one pair of lagoon blue eyes. And that sensitive side of him… M was full of surprises, all being good ones so far.

But how long? How long could he make it last? That trick of thinking about him to find peace and fall asleep without being assaulted by images of Marie and Jérémy? Could he even make it last? Was it even in his power?

The doorbell rang.

"Oh?" Lucien stopped playing and pricked his ears up. 

"Meow." 

He scooped Perle off the piano and put her on his shoulder as he went to the door and opened. 

"Ah, bonjour Bastien." 

"Hey there, L! Pearl..." The young man was carrying a few boxes.

The kitten hissed and Bastien chuckled.

"Tsk, sois polie et dis bonjour, Perle."

[Tsk, be polite and say hello, Perle.]

She hissed again and Lucien tapped her nose. 

"My apologies, as always, Bastien." 

"No worries. I have a few things for you. First, these suits from your tailor. He had me tell you that he added the extra one you asked for." 

"Oh, that is generous of him." Lucien took the suits that Bastien was handing him. 

"And he says good luck for tonight." 

"Merci. Here is for you, Bastien, and have a good day." 

Bastien accepted the tip with a wide smile before nodding and leaving.

"Jetons un coup d'oeil, Perle."

[Let us have a look, Perle.]

Lucien opened the boxes one by one. 

"Hm… Very nice, and very appropriate; right on time too." 

There were a few suits for his concerts, then M and his costume for Duchemin's masquerade ball and… 

"Oh, wow…" 

That had to be M's extra suit. Lucien had called Richard and added one. Why? He couldn't really say. Maybe seeing M's gaze fall to the floor when Richard lectured him about his clothes got to Lucien. Maybe it reminded him of his days locked up in his parisian flat, in rags as well, watching the sun spin around his head?

In any case, he needed to get this suit delivered to the Aussie. He rang for Bastien and asked him to do it for him. 

Now, Lucien needed some well earned lunch. 

"Perle, tu viens?" 

[Perle, you want to come along?]

The kitten brushed herself on her master's head. He smiled and got her leash. 

"Alors allons-y."

[Then, let's go.]

Lucien attached the leash to Perle and dropped her on the floor for her to trot happily on his side. He put on his jacket and headed for Victoria's diner. 

-- Victoria's diner --

"Oh hey, L!" 

"Bonjour, V."

"Hello, Pearl…!"

The kitten answered in her own way. 

"She still doesn't like anyone, eh?" 

"Non… And I try to teach her to at least say hello, but she refuses and just hisses at whoever happens to cross her path." Lucien sat down and scooped Perle off the floor to drop her on his lap. 

"Apart from you, that is."

"Indeed." 

"So, what will you have today?" She asked. 

"The fish." He answered. 

"I'll ask for a big one, so you can give some to her." Victoria winked. 

"Very nice of you, thank you. And you?" 

"I think I'll go for a Ceasar salad."

"Add it to my bill, please."

"Thanks! I'll be back in a minute." 

Victoria spun on her heels and left man and kitten alone. 

"Meow…" 

Perle was playing with her master's fingers, grabbing the index with her fluffy paws and gnawing on it. Lucien undid the leash and took her closer to his face. He kissed her and chatted with her while waiting for Victoria to come back.

"Perle?"

"Meow?" 

He laid her on the table on her back. 

"Booh!"

He tickled her and the kitten squealed and mewled, trying to push back these fingers that she liked to feel against her and through her fur so much. Lucien chuckled and removed his hand just to get rid of his glove and be able to feel her soft fluffiness. She hugged and cuddled his finger, wrestling with his hand still. 

"And here we go, fish and chips for the old man and the kitten, and a salad for me!"

Victoria put everything on the table before sitting down and joining Lucien. 

"Bon appétit, V."

"Thanks, to you too."

And they started digging in. Victoria had brought a small dessert plate where Lucien put bits of the fish that he previously had blown on, to make it cool down, and make sure Perle wouldn't burn herself on them. 

"So, how's it going with your friend?" She asked. 

"My friend?" He repeated. 

"Yeah, the lanky bloke from the other day, what's his name again…? Uh…"

"Ah, you mean M perhaps?" 

"Yeah, him! How's it going with him?" 

"We are not friends, professional acquaintances." Lucien corrected. 

"You can tell that to someone else, L, but not to me." 

Lucien stopped chewing sharp and his eyes darted up from his plate to Victoria's. 

"Pardon?" He asked in his native tongue. 

"You call him Bushman and he calls you Spook. You're friends." She explained. "An odd combo, but eh, I won't judge." 

Lucien raised a confused eyebrow. He wanted to answer back something, show her the wrongs of her ways, but her argument was pretty solid. He called M 'Bushman' and he was 'Spook'... 

"An odd combo?" He repeated. 

"You're as fancy as a bloke can get. It's a miracle you don't ask me for silver cutlery when you eat!" Victoria said. "But he looks like the very simple type."

"How so?" Lucien wanted to know exactly what she was thinking. 

"He doesn't have those manners of yours, he dresses up very simply, he talks very simply. In a word, he is your exact polar opposite." 

Lucien smiled. 

"Indeed, he is." 

"And yet…" She said and he raised his eyes to her. 

"Hm?" 

"And yet you like him, eh?" 

The concerto of cutlery on plates stopped sharp. 

"Non." He said coldly, although Victoria could hear the difference between his usual cold-bloodedness and the tone he was using now.

"Yeah, you get along nicely together." She went on. 

"Victoria…"

"Hey, I just mean I'm surprised you seem to - "

"Enough about him already!" He burst before frowning and looking down at the content of his plate. Perle had jumped out of fright on the table and laid down low, her ears were pulled back.

Lucien's sudden fit of anger startled Victoria who blushed out of embarrassment and resumed eating her salad, frowning too, but that was only because her friend's unexpected reaction pushed her to think harder.

"L?" 

"What?" He still stared at his plate, wincing at how ridiculous his behaviour had been. He was at the other end of proud of himself.

"Why are you so aggressive when I mention him? I'm just happy for you to have a friend."

"And for the millionth time I will repeat myself, he is not my friend!"

He raised his eyes to her and she was making one of those unfazed faces that said that she didn't believe him. Lucien rolled his eyes and sighed out of exasperation. 

"We are just working together. Circumstances called for it, neither of us and especially not me, wanted this."

"Hm…" She still did not believe a word of it. 

"Why are you insisting with this?" He asked.

"If you behaved normally, I wouldn't. But look at you, you're gripping your fork so tight, your knuckles are white. And I've never heard you get angry at anything before. Even when I asked you personal stuff, you didn't get angry. You just got up and went away."

Lucien looked away at Perle.

"So I'm just… surprised." Victoria said. "Why would you jump on your high horses just for that bloke?" 

He couldn't look her in the eyes and just petted Perle, as a wordless act of excuse to have yelled and scared her. But he knew. He knew Victoria was far from stupid...

"Oh, Gosh…!" She dropped her fork and it landed with a clink that shattered his ears. The conclusion she came to in her head dawned on her hard.

Lucien frowned and put a hand on his eyes, to hide how hard he was screwing them, while Victoria smacked a hand on her mouth. He raised furious eyes to her, shining like the sheen of blades. It was a threat, he was threatening her without the words. His ice grey eyes burning and the red of his face spoke the words his mouth couldn't and she blushed. She was impressed. 

"D-don't worry, I-I won't tell anyone…" She stuttered, paralysed by the rage fuming out of his face, his hair, and his suit. 

-- The Queen Victoria --

Lulu was in his dressing room, getting ready for the night's performance. His encounter with Victoria for lunchtime didn't leave his mind. What she had read in him, he was trying his best to hide, forget and even better, throw away. He couldn't allow himself to feel that way. Non, of course not, not while getting his revenge for Marie and Jérémy. 

Marie… 

What would she think if she knew? 

Lucien shook his head. Non! Not again! That wasn't the right moment to think about this now! He was about to step on stage…!

And yet, Lucien kept on staring at his reflection in the mirror, his impeccable hair, his eyes and his suit sharper than before. And he remembered his miserable afternoon that day, after the lunch he shared with Victoria. 

He had gone back home and straight to his bed, where he needed to hide, like a fox in his den. He curled up under the duvet, all the lights were out, the suite was dead silent, and he held Perle in his arms, because there was no one else to hug, to cuddle, to squeeze. 

"Meow?" 

His breath was getting louder and faster. He regretted it, he regretted having told Victoria. Merde! He hadn't said anything! But if she got it, that meant that he had made it clear enough, non? Merde! Merde! Merde! Why did he have to be like that?!

"Meow?" 

Marie would die of shame if she knew it, no doubt. And Lucien wouldn't know how to look Jérémy in the eye if he had still been walking amongst the living. Marie didn't know that he could also like men. She knew him as a romantic man, a man who would appreciate beauty though all his senses. A good meal? A nice perfume? A soft scarf? He used to revel in them all, a man of acute sensitivity he was, both on his physical senses and his heartstrings… 

What would Marie think to see him now closing his eyes at night on the image of a man? What would she say if she was still next to him, in his bed? What would she say if, when he held her hand, he would feel the engagement ring again? How would she look at him, if she knew that the only way for him to fall asleep and peaceful, was to swim in the lagoon blue eyes of a man?

And what man? Scruffy, wild, untidy, someone at the polar opposite of his prime, pristine, impeccable and elegant self, to quote Victoria. 

And on top of all that, he couldn't afford any shred of sentimentality, not when he was off to kill a man, not when he was off to torture the life out of him, choke it out of him, lacerate it out of his very skin. Non, frivolous feelings like these wouldn't help, quite the opposite. 

"Meow?" 

"Perle…"

She brushed herself on him, under the cover.

"Pourquoi je suis encore comme ça?"

[Why am I still like that?]

"Meow?"

"Après la mort de Marie, je ne pensais que je pouvais encore-…"

[After Marie's death, I never thought I could-....]

He screwed his eyes shut and felt them grow warmer.

"Non! Pas encore! Je n'en peux plus d'être comme ça!"

[No! Not again! I can't bear it anymore, to be like that!]

He released Perle and wrapped his arms around himself, curling in a fetal position. He wanted to be small, tiny, to not exist, to press the reset button of his life…

"MERDE!"

Perle screeched out of fright as Lucien, again, drenched his pillow, the mascara of his cold facade melting along his cheeks…

After he had woken up and taken a hot shower, he had called Andy. Change of plans, change of songs. Here were the new chords. The song was French, he insisted on singing it. Oh, and there was something else he trusted Andy with, something for-... 

Argh! Again?! 

The same blue eyes flashed before his eyes…

Lucien sighed. He was now at the Queen Victoria and looking next to him, he found yet another cardboard box full of admirers’ letters. A voice in his head whispered to him to have a look. But reason got the best out of him and he resorted to simply push it away, out of his reach.

He was now Lulu, and it hurt, because he was the artist, the sensitive man. He knew that when it was his turn to walk on stage - any minute now - he would then again lose against her, against Music. 

She would wrap herself around his neck, his waist, let her hands slither along his slender body, send shivers everywhere as if she was touching his bare skin. She also would take his lips, suck the very breath out of them and leave him empty and exhausted. Trying to resist falling too hard, it takes a lot of effort and energy.

"Ladies and gentlemen…!"

Lucien's ears pricked up. It was his time to shine. He stood up, straightened his bowtie and carded back his hair. 

Hey, mate? Deep breath. 

His eyes snapped wide and his pupils shrank. 

"... The one and only, the great Lulu!"

Lucien gulped down some water and walked to the stage. He pushed the panes of the thick red curtain left and right and emerged in front of the crowd. He had asked for a bit more light on him that evening. Frank, the Queen Victoria's owner, had mocked him, thinking Lucien was throwing a tantrum, like a rotten spoilt child. 

But non, of course not.

Lucien walked to the microphone under the thunder of applause that for once didn't make him feel that good.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Lucien started. "Thank you again for the letters, I appreciate the kind words and would like to reiterate my thanks." 

A wave of applause rolled in the audience. 

"Secondly, I took the liberty of changing tonight's song." 

There was a collective silent gasp in the audience.

Lulu sat down at the piano. 

{The song is "Comme ils disent" [As they say] by Charles Aznavour, some lyrics have been tweaked}

He nodded at Andy and his fingers sank on the keys as the violins pulled their first chord. Lulu closed his eyes and let her get to him, Music, he let her possess him. The double-bass resonated in his chest, his heart beat the tempo and he slowly melted in the melody as he sang.

"J'habite seul avec ma Perle

[I live alone with my Perle]

Dans un très bel appartement

[In a very beautiful flat]

Aristocrate

[Aristocrat]

J'ai pour me tenir compagnie

[I have for company]

Des cigarettes, des nuits d'ennuis

[My cigarettes, my nights of boredom]

Et une chatte"

[And a lady cat]

Of course the original song's lyrics were different, but Lucien had changed them all when he had decided that he should sing selfishly, about… himself. 

"Le travail ne me fait pas peur

[Working doesn't scare me]

Je suis un peu décorateur

[I'm a bit of a decorator]

Un peu styliste

[A bit of a designer]

Mais mon vrai métier

[But my real job]

C'est la nuit

[It's at night]

Que je l'exerce travesti

[That I work for it, in a disguise]

Je suis artiste"

[I am an artist]

Oui, Lucien in fact, was an artist. Espionnage, like music, was an art. It was a means to express one's feelings. The boldness of a bullet, the delicateness of a knife, the seduction of an interrogation exercise, the sensuality of torture… And Lucien was an expert at all of it.

"J'ai un numéro très spécial

[I have a very special number]

Qui finit en nu intégral

[That I finish completely naked]

Après strip-tease"

[After a strip-tease]

Of course Lucien did not mean it literally. But it did feel like it, especially in this one-sided game where he knew M was somewhere out there listening to him, not knowing that the L he worked with was the same Lulu in front of him. And that was why Lucien asked to be blinded with a spotlight. He wanted the light to make it impossible for him to see that man, sitting there in the crowd. He needed that external light to take his eyesight away because he knew that without it, he would be too tempted.

Lucien took a deep breath, the next verses he knew where the hardest. They spoke a truth that no one should know about him, and yet, he needed to shout it, he needed to free himself from that taboo.

"Et dans la salle je vois que

[And in the room I see that]

Les mâles n'en croient pas leurs yeux!

[The males cannot believe their eyes!]

Je suis un hom-oh

[I am a man-oh/homo]

Comme ils disent"

[As they say]

And there, it was said, it was sung and it was yelled. That song was cleverly designed such that one could either hear "Je suis un homme, oh" [I am a man, oh], or it could also be "Je suis un homo" [I am a homosexual]. 

Lucien stood off of the piano and took the microphone with him. He started walking on stage, the words coming out of his mouth were commanding his legs, his arms, his entire body.

"Je me couche mais ne dors pas

[I got to bed but I can't sleep]

Je pense à mes amours sans joie

[I think about all my sad loves]

Si dérisoires

[So pointless]

À cet homme beau comme un dieu

[I think about that man, gorgeous as a god]

Qui sans rien faire a mis le feu

[Who, without doing anything, set fire]

À ma mémoire

[To my memory]

Ma bouche n'osera jamais

[My mouth won't ever dare]

Lui avouer mon doux secret

[Admit my soft secret]

Mon tendre drame

[My tender disaster]

Car l'objet de tous mes tourments

[Because the object of all my desires]

Passe le plus clair de son temps

[Spends all of his time]

Sur le macadam"

[On the roads]

And there he was again. Lucien was standing at the edge of the stage, a hand on his chest to help his heart. His lower lip was trembling and he could feel a tear form in his eyes. He fluttered his eyelashes and looked up, as if to swallow back those shameful, burning waters. 

"Nul n'a le droit en vérité

[No one in truth has any right]

De me blâmer, de me juger

[To blame me, to judge me]

Et je précise

[And I want to make it clear]

Que c'est bien la nature qui

[That it is only Nature]

Est seule responsable si

[The one responsible if]

Je suis un hom-oh

[I am a man-oh/homo]

Comme ils disent"

[As they say]

That last note he held as long ah he had some breath, it floated in the air and stretched the passing of time itself. Of course, as he closed his eyes, the tears finally sank. He turned his back and left the stage without adding a word.

Lucien locked himself in the dressing room. Nothing made sense anymore. Why did he have to sing that? M knew that Lulu liked men, they had talked it through before. But why did he feel like he had to sing it? 

A knock interrupted his descent in madness. He froze. 

Merde. 

He stood up from his sofa and nearly fell. 

"Merde."

His legs were jelly. He caught himself on the sofa's arm and pushed on his legs and thighs to stand, collecting his dignity. He feared that the man behind the door was the one he had asked the brightest of lights on his eyes for… 

Lucien cleared his throat and pulled the door open. 

"Frank?" 

The plump man was standing at the door and Lucien's lungs slowly released the air he realised he had trapped there.

"Duchemin wants to see you, maybe even have a bite with you." 

"Ah, but of course." Lucien followed the restaurant owner to the upstairs, VIP area. 

"Here he is! The legend! The fool!" Duchemin applauded him and his brain-dead henchmen copied him around. Lucien bowed elegantly as he noticed the lady on his lap was yet again a new one.

"Merci." He sat next to the criminal. 

"Cheeky choice of song, hm?" Duchemin said. "Somebody please, get this man a menu!"

"It is one of the artist's functions, to go beyond taboos, open people's minds through their ears and hearts." Lucien coldly answered as he took the menu he was handed and chose the chocolate dessert again.

"Still, quite bold, although I had no doubt about it." Duchemin answered. 

"About what?" Lucien asked. 

"À propos de ce que vous avez chanté."

[About what you sang.] 

Duchemin's French was impeccable, of course, he was a native. But with his British accent when he spoke English, Lucien had almost forgotten that. Of course Duchemin had understood the lyrics…

"I also understand about your plus one." Duchemin added. 

"Hm?" 

The dessert appeared in front of Lucien's eyes and he dug in. 

"Vous m'aviez dit que ce serait un homme."

[You told me it would be a man.]

Duchemin said in French.

"Does it come as a surprise to you?" Lucien answered.

"No, to each their own. I know plenty more like you and unlike you. I do not care as long as you are a friend. And Lulu, you are becoming a good one!" 

Lucien gave him a fake, yet believable smile.

"Many thanks."

"Did you get your costume yet?" Duchemin asked. 

"Oui, I did."

"And your other half too?"

Lucien almost choked on his chocolate dessert. He was seeing M in his head and hearing "other half" at the same time. His heart jumped in his ribcage. 

"Oui." He simply answered, thanking his lifetime of service as a spy for hiding his blush and emotions. 

"Perfect! I cannot wait to see you there! It will be quite the party."

"Do you expect a lot of guests?" Lucien asked. 

"Certainly! It will be colourful and hopefully, a great moment of entertainment!" 

"No doubt." 

"And I have talked about you to a few people, look at the upstairs area here…"

Lucien looked left and right. It was full of people. He smiled to himself. He indeed won his bet with Frank. In about a month, the popularity of the Queen Victoria soared. 

"You look tired, Lulu. Not enough sleep?" 

"I work hard." Was Lucien's answer. "I thank you for your company, but I must get some rest."

"Of course, thank you, and congratulations again on today's performance!" 

"You are welcome."

Lucien stood up and bowed to the criminal before going back to his dressing room. He locked himself in, threw his gloves and tie away before dropping on the sofa. He put his elbows on his knees and bent forward to hold his face in his palms. 

"Mon Dieu…"

He undid the first button of his shirt and breathed heavily.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY AND HER ALL-NUN BAND

S4;E8 ~ November 1, 1971

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Bob Carroll and Madelyn Davis

Synopsis

Harry's sister, a nun, needs a band to play at a benefit for the children's hospital so Lucy consults an agent who suggests an all-nun band from Kansas. The nuns are all set to play when their saxophonist gets the flu. Lucy volunteers to fill in, but first she takes a few quick lessons from noted bandleader and sax player Freddy Martin.  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)  

Guest Cast

Mary Wickes (Sister Paula Carter) was one of Lucille Ball’s closest friends and at one time, a neighbor. She made a memorable appearances on “I Love Lucy” as ballet mistress Madame Lamond in “The Ballet” (ILL S1;E19). In her initial “Lucy Show” appearances her characters name was Frances, but she then made four more as a variety of characters for a total of 8 episodes. This is one of her 9 appearances on “Here’s Lucy.” Their final collaboration on screen was “Lucy Calls the President” in 1977.

Sister Paula has been a nun for 25 years.  

Freddy Martin (Himself) was a saxophonist and band leader who first gained national attention in 1940 and continued on through the 1970s leading one of the most popular bands of the Big Band Era. Best known for his hit songs adapted from classical themes, his many hits on RCA Victor and Capitol records included "Cumana," "The Hut-Sut Song," "Bumble Boogie," adapted from Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee," and his theme song, "Tonight We Love," adapted from the first movement of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto. Martin was nicknamed “The Concerto King.”  He died in 1983.

Lew Parker (Mr. Adams) is probably best remembered as the restaurateur father of Ann Marie, Marlo Thomas’ character on TV’s “That Girl” (1966-71). He made five appearances on “The Lucy Show.” He also appeared in the very first episode of “Here’s Lucy.” This is his final time co-starring with Lucille Ball.

The Remnants (Themselves, an All-Nun Band) was a real group of nuns from the Sisters of Charity in Leavenworth, Kansas.  They were an outgrowth of a 1940s dance band at St. Mary’s College, re-taking the stage in the late 1960s after nuns were permitted to wear street clothes and perform in public. They made two records.  

Joan Carey (Audience Member, uncredited) was one of the few performers to appear in “I Love Lucy,” “The Lucy Show” and “Here’s Lucy.” She also served as Lucille Ball’s camera and lighting stand-in. [Thanks to The Lucy Lounge for spotting Carey!]

The audience at the final performance features uncredited background performers.  

The first draft of this script was dated March 15, 1971.  Handwritten notes by Lucille Ball and Gary Morton suggest that Lucie Arnaz’s charactere Kim do a tap dance! 

It seems as if Mary Wickes was always wearing a habit on screen, but in fact (in addition to this episode), she only ever played two nuns on film: Sister Clarissa in The Trouble with Angels (1966) and Where Angels Go Trouble Follows (1968); and Sister Mary Lazarus in Sister Act (1992) and Sister Act 2 (1993). She was far more typically cast as nurses due to the popularity of her break-out role of Nurse Preen in The Man Who Came To Dinner (1942), a part she also played on Broadway and television.  

In his DVD introduction to the episode, music director Marl Young recounts that the Remnants came to the attention of writer Bob Carroll after they did a benefit in California. Later, Young was invited to teach at their school in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Sister Paula is trying to raise money for the children's ward at St. John's Hospital.

Mr. Adams says he goes back to Larry Funk and his Band of a Thousand Melodies.  This was a real-life band who were primarily responsible for introducing singer Helen O'Connell and Vaughn Monroe.

Mr. Adams tries to get Lucy interested in a St. Bernard who hums “Kitten on the Keys.” In 1921 Zez Confrey wrote his novelty piano solo "Kitten on the Keys", inspired by hearing his grandmother's cat walk on the keyboard of her piano. [You can’t make this stuff up!]

Adams then tries to convince her to use him – singing a few bars of “Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey” a capella and doing some dance moves.

When Harry finally agrees to pay the Remnants’ first class airfare from Kansas, he moans “Isn't it a shame they're not flying nuns!”  Harry is referring to the ABC TV sitcom starring Sally Field titled “The Flying Nun” (1967-70) in which a nun's large coronet lifted her in the air on the windy island of Puerto Rico. Although the show had been off the air for nearly a year, it was previously mentioned several times on “Here's Lucy.”  

When Lucy asks Harry to move up payday to Tuesday, he replies “Not a chance! They can shove Washington's birthday anywhere they want to, but my payday remains Friday.” In June 1968, a bill was enacted that consolidated Washington and Lincoln's birthdays into one holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February.  

This is about as close as “Here's Lucy” (or any “Lucy”-com) gets to dealing with religion. From what Harry says about his parents (Lucy's in-laws) the Carter's were a very Catholic family, although the word “Catholic” is never spoken. 

Lucy tells Freddy Martin that she spent many evenings dancing to his band at the Coconut Grove. The Los Angeles nightclub was were Martin hired Merv Griffin, who went on to usurp Martin in popularity. In 1957, Martin released an album titled Freddy Martin at the Coconut Grove.

Lucy tells Martin that she was first saxophone in the Jamestown High School Band, a claim that Lucy Ricardo also makes in “The Saxophone” (ILL S2;E2) in 1952. 

Demonstrating 'tone' for Lucy, Martin plays his theme song "Tonight We Love," adapted from the first movement of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto.

The performance of Lucy and The Remnants (and Sister Paula) is of the American gospel hymn “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

Lucille Ball learned to play the saxophone for “The Saxophone” (ILL S2;E2) and the skill was interpreted into several episodes of the series after that.  Even Lucy Carmichael on “The Lucy Show” knew how to play saxophone (although she also dabbled with the violin).  Lucy Carter previously played the sax during the talent portion of the Miss Secretary Beautiful competition in “Lucy Competes with Carol Burnett” (S2;E24).  Lucy Barker played the sax on “Life With Lucy” (1986).

To get Freddy Martin's attention when he is playing the saxophone, Lucy says “Whoah Fred!”  something Lucy Ricardo often said to Fred Mertz (and Fred the dog) on “I Love Lucy.”  

Family Matters!  As usual, there is no discussion by anyone about Paula and Harry's late brother, Lucy's husband. Sister Paula also fails to ask about her niece and nephew.  Not a very warm family, the Carters.

Light Bulb Moment!  The gold lamp in Mr. Adams' office is the same one seen in Harry's office in “Lucy and Harry's Italian Bombshell” (S4;E3). In the office, the lamp has been replaced by a globe.  

Oops!  When Mary Wickes tries to bow with the drum strapped to her she nearly tumbles into the bass.  The second time she bows she steadies herself by holding onto the piano.  

“Lucy and Her All-Nun Band” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

Mary Wickes in a nun’s habit?  What’s not to like?!  Freddy Martin seems like an afterthought, but that’s a minor quibble. The Remnants!  Wow!

[moremercurial]

Tagged by @cognacandlace! thank you dear ⭐️

if i were a month, i’d be: December

if i were a day of the week, i’d be: Wednesday

if i were a planet, i’d be: Venus

if i were a sea animal, i’d be: an anemone

if i were a god/goddess, i’d be: Branwen

if i were a piece of furniture, i’d be: this seat

if I were a gemstone, i’d be: rose quartz

if i were a flower, i’d be: a camellia

if i were a kind of weather, i’d be: a cloudy day with gusts of wind

if i were a color, i’d be: pantone 290 (B9D9EB)

if i were an emotion, i’d be: the positive nervousness that comes with anticipation of something amazing

if i were a fruit, i’d be: a pear

if i were a sound, i’d be: the sound of someone’s heartbeat when you lean against their chest

if i were an element, i’d be: water

if i were a place, i’d be: fountains abbey

if i were a mythological creature, i’d be: a selkie

if i were a taste, i’d be: very milky tea

if i were a scent, i’d be: jasmine

if i were an object, i’d be: an ornate jewelry box

if i were a body part, i’d be: a nose

if i were a song, i’d be: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor k. 466 (movement III, Rondo) - Mozart

if i were a pair of shoes, i’d be: light pink kitten heels

I tag: @suffering-musician, @wolfie-amadeus, @pinklybronzed, @therepublicofletters, @eclogues, & @sinfonia-antarctica

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Apple Color Emoji'}

[dramallamadingdang]

Oh, God! Question meme! A really long one! Run! Hide!

Tagged by @ajaysims. *points* It's his fault! His! Not mine! ;)

This is really long, since it's a synthesis of two of these questions memes and I have verbal diarrhea. So, I cut.

Name: Katrina

Nicknames: Most RL people other than my kids and grandkids call me Kat because one syllable is less than three. :) Simmers call me iCad because that's what I chose to call myself when I started participating in the community. Hubby calls me Kitten. Kids call me Ma, usually in exasperated/long-suffering tones. Grandkids call me Mimi because I hate the usual things that grandmothers are called because they're associated with old people. I may be old, but I'm not old, y'know? :)

Zodiac sign: Taurus, but astrology is still bullshit.

Height: A hair less than 6'0/about 182cm. And very underweight due to digestive/metabolic issues mostly because of a malfunctioning liver. (No, not from alcohol. From having had asymptomatic Hepatits C that I most likely got from a blood transfusion in the early 80s, before they screened donated blood for that. It sucks, y'all. Cherish your liver. Baby it. Seriously. Stop with the alcohol. Just stop. Do weed instead.)

Orientation: In experience/practice: A Kinsey 2. In terms of the kind of person who attracts me: People with IQs over 130. I really, truly don't care what you look like, what gender you identify as, or what sex organs you have or don't have. Smart is seriously sexy. So, I'm sapiosexual. :)

Ethnicity: Whitey-white-white, yay! :| Glow-in-the-dark white. I-start-burning-in-the-sun-in-30-seconds white. Damn-near-albino white. Also, mostly of Welsh descent. Only sort of half-second-generation American on one side; my paternal grandma was one of those horrible immigrants who took a job away from a Real American(TM). She was even a somewhat illegal one, for a few months. But she was white and British so I guess that's OK.

(Sorry, as a person married to a man whose mum -- who is awesome -- was born in Mexico and who came here legally with her family when she was 7 and is a citizen but she still gets shit these days because she’s “a Mexican,” I've sorta come to really hate the kind of people who tend to call themselves Real Americans(TM).)

Favorite fruit: Okra, especially when part of aloo bhindi masala, an Indian dish. Okra IS a fruit. Really. Look it up. Also, tomatoes.

Favorite season: Autumn, when everything is dying. MWAHAHAHAHAH!

Favorite book series: Still Sharon Kay Penman's "Welsh trilogy." Also, though not really a series, per se: The Star Trek novels that were published in the 80s. They got mostly stupid after that, but there were some gems that were published in the mid-80s, before The Next Generation was a thing.

Favorite flower: Calla lilies. Usually used in funeral arrangements, along with Easter lilies, yay. Flowers of death! MWAHAHAH!

Favorite scent: Lilacs. Lavender. Honeysuckle. And this "rain" scent scented candle. It's so clean and fresh and not-perfumey, yet it manages to drown out the brine smell that eventually permeates everything when you live close to the shore...

Favorite color: Greens. All shades, although I prefer the yellower shades, especially the darker ones like army green. Also, orange.

Favorite animal: The spotted hyena, but I already extolled their many virtues the last time I did this list, so I'll refrain. Also, elephants.

Coffee, tea, or hot cocoa: Hell no, maybe, and yes please (if it's vegan), respectively.

Average sleep hours: Sleep? What is this word? *just came off a 38-hour work "day" a few hours ago, and I'm too wired to sleep.* YAY SHOWBIZ! :| But generally, when life isn't crazy, usually about 6 hours per 24 hour period. And I'm nocturnal, so those six hours are usually between about 0900 and about 1500. :)

Cat or dog person: Both person. And llama person. And alpaca person. And horse person. And snake person. And spider person.

Favorite fictional characters: Spock. (Well, actually, pretty much the entire original Star Trek crew except, well, Kirk. Whom I hate. With a passion. I really like Abrams-Kirk, though. Oddly enough. So it might just be that I can't stand Shatner...) The Cardassian characters from Star Trek: DS9, but especially Garak. Also, Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien from DS9. Jack O'Neill and Rodney McKay from the Stargate franchise. KITT from the original Knight Rider. And Jayne Cobb from Firefly. (Hi, @eulaliasims!)

Number of blankets you sleep with: I'm in SoCal at the moment. No blankets because I tend to sleep in the warm part of the day. And when I do sleep at night, there's a furnace-like husband and a large, furnace-like dog in the bed with me. Blankets would be overkill.

Dream trip: Still Antarctica. Or space. But Antarctica is more likely at this point. ;)

Blog created: I think it was December of 2013. Maybe November. Ahhhh, those halcyon pre-2016 years...

Number of followers: Right now? 1443. It might change in an hour or so.

Time right now: About 0220 Pacific Time, Wednesday, March 22. One month and one day until my birthday. I expect presents, people! (Nah, I kid. Birthdays after 50 don't mean much. Hell, birthdays after 18 -- or 21, nowadays, I guess -- don't mean much. :) )

Last thing you googled: I was looking for some textures to use for some recolors I'm working on during downtimes at work.

Fave music artist: In terms of non-classical stuff: Queen, always and forever. But I also really like the Barenaked Ladies and other such alternative groups from the 90s as well as 80s New Wave stuff. Also, Metallica. In terms of "classical" stuff: Beethoven, always and forever.

Song stuck in my head: Beethoven's 8th piano sonata, 3rd movement. I was playing it at work today...on my cello. I'm working on arranging the entire sonata for solo cello...starting with the 3rd movement because I do better working on things backward. (Since I'd be willing to bet most people don't know the tune off the top of their head, here's Dubravka Tomsic playing it on youtube, if you're curious.

Last movie I watched: Star Trek Beyond. I liked it better than Into Darkness but not as well as the first Abrams-verse one...

Last TV show I watched: I have Stargate Atlantis paused on my computer screen at the moment. I plan to work on furnishing/decorating the house I put up for download tonight when I'm done with this, and I usually have a TV show playing while I build/decorate stuff in my game. :)

What I’m wearing right now: A pair of black sweatpants and a Telluride Daily Planet T-shirt. (That's the local newspaper at home. :) ) Boring white underwear. My fleece-lined moccasins because my feet are always cold.

The kind of stuff I post: Sims stuff, duh! At least on this blog. :) The other blog has the ranty/political stuff.

Why did I choose my url: Because I like to point and laugh at silly internet drama and because I own llamas, and I added dingdang because dramallama was taken and because of this song.

Gender: According to every one of those silly "What Gender Are You?" online quizzes, I am male, mainly because I'm a self-confident, argumentative, assertive, non-empathetic asshole who doesn't do "feelings." Yet, I have girl plumbing. Go figure. Meh, it's all just social conditioning and expectations, anyway, so...I rebel. I reject gender labeling and their associated roles.

Hogwarts house: I took a quiz once and it said Gryffindor. I've never read Harry Potter or seen any of the movies except one of them during an airplane flight...and I fell asleep during it, so...Yeah, I don't know what it means to be Gryffindor. Don't much care, either.

Pokémon team: Don't know anything about Pokemon, either.

Lucky number: 13 because I am anti-superstition. (Well, except when it comes to white pianos, of course, but I have hard evidence that they are evil, so it’s not superstition. ;) ) Or 42. Take your pick.

Dream job: I once said "Not having one" but then followed it up with "but that's boring." So, I decided to take on some work through June. And you know what? I'm gonna go back to "Not having one." I just need to find some volunteer work to keep me occupied for a few hours a day. Not for 38-hour "days," though. :p

Relationship status: I is married to my second husband. He's cute. And a lot younger than me, woooooooo! First marriage wasn't nearly so fun, though. The only good thing that came of it was my kids.

Pets: Oh, God. Most of them are back home in Colorado (where I have a 39-acre ranch) while I'm here in California, but:

A herd of llamas and alpacas, about 50 total at the moment, but "unpacking" season is approaching, so that number will be going up to about 65 soon. 5 horses 2 nanny goats...which actually belong to a neighbor but they're currently housed on my property, so...they count! 8 dogs 5 cats...although sadly that will probably be going down to four soon because the 18-year-old whose had health problems all her life is currently quite sick and likely won't be getting better. :( Also, there are a ton of barn cats, but they don't really count as pets. A flock of chickens. 1 rooster, the rest hens. 1 California kingsnake 5 tarantulas, various species 8 dragonfly nymphs. I think 2 will become dragonflies this year because I've had them for a few years now...

Last song you listened to: Beethoven's 5th piano concerto, for somewhat sentimental reasons.

Favorite TV Show: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I love the original series a lot, too, but DS9 surpassed it in my book.

First Fandom: Star Trek, of course. I remember declaring that I would marry Spock when I grew up. I was 3 at the time, in 1967, watching the episode "Amok Time" (in which Spock almost gets married) in its original run. We'd only just gotten a color TV a few months before, so it was REALLY COOL. I also wrote a crapton of fanfic in the 70s/80s and a bit in the 90s. Even published a 'zine in the 80s. It was expensive as hell back then but SO MUCH FUN!

Randomly Tagging People I Don’t Think I’ve Tagged For This Thing Before: @randommindtime (It's what you get for following me!), @yandereplumsim, @elfpuddle, @halousims, @nuttydazesublime, and @kayleigh-83. As always, feel free to ignore for whatever reason. :)

[pianistswkitten-blog]

Mitsuko Uchida with kitten.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skKow5jXZ_k

[lolita-tips]

So I had a weak moment and bought bodylines kitten piano concerto (l562) in sax but I usually only wear classical lolita (mostly flowery stuff) and realised I do not have any shoes to wear it with. Is there anything I could also wear with classical?

I would say to just wear it with black shoes like these or these which are just two examples of shoes that could definitely work for a Sweet or Classic look so you’ll get a lot of use out of them. Sax shoes can be hard to match to fabric color anyway and I feel that black would just look better with the dress than white.

[larsbjorge-blog]

Marilyn is not Dead 2013-11-210106

Guests enjoying the performances during "Marilyn Is Dead" event at Pepelo NYC Lounge. Kayvon Zand, Delysia La Chatte and Anna Evans were behind this evening of "dark Hollywood glamour," with show featuring (dead) star turns from Trixie Little, Madame Rosebud, Velocity Chyaaldd, Markko Donto, Mss Vee, Bettina May, and Evans and La Chatte themselves. For all you sex kittens out there, the night also included a Marilyn look-alike contest. Johanna Constantine served as the night’s alluring DJ.

Photo by: Roman Kajzer @FotoManiacNYC FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / FLICKR / TWITTER

More of my work dedicated to the subject: Facebook Page: ALT LIFE NYC

YOUTUBE VIDEO FROM MARILYN IS DEAD (3:10) YOUTUBE VIDEO FROM ANOTHER PERFORMANCE (5:00)

BURLESQUE

In contemporary usage, burlesque is a playfully nostalgic form of striptease — think fans and feather boas rather than explicit nudity — but this is just the latest form of an ironic style of entertainment dating back to medieval times.

Burlesque comes from burla, Spanish for "joke." Comedy has always been an essential part of burlesque art, but it’s comedy of a particular kind. Burlesque is satirical, and it uses exaggeration that can be extreme. Early examples of burlesque in English literature can be found in the Canterbury Tales. By the eighteenth century, the word was used to describe often risque parodies of serious operas or plays. Burlesque became associated with striptease in the music halls and vaudeville theaters of nineteenth-century America.

Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery.

Burlesque overlaps in meaning with caricature, parody and travesty, and, in its theatrical sense, with extravaganza, as presented during the Victorian era. "Burlesque" has been used in English in this literary and theatrical sense since the late 17th century. It has been applied retrospectively to works of Chaucer and Shakespeare and to the Graeco-Roman classics. Contrasting examples of literary burlesque are Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and Samuel Butler’s Hudibras. An example of musical burlesque is Richard Strauss’s 1890 Burleske for piano and orchestra. Examples of theatrical burlesques include W. S. Gilbert’s Robert the Devil and the A. C. Torr – Meyer Lutz shows, including Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué.

A later use of the term, particularly in the United States, refers to performances in a variety show format. These were popular from the 1860’s to the 1940’s, often in cabarets and clubs, as well as theaters, and featured bawdy comedy and female striptease. Some Hollywood films attempted to recreate the spirit of these performances from the 1930’s to the 1960’s, or included burlesque-style scenes within dramatic films, such as 1972’s "Cabaret" and 1979’s "All That Jazz", among others. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990’s.

Literary origins and development

The word first appears in a title in Francesco Berni’s Opere burlesche of the early 16th century, works that had circulated widely in manuscript before they were printed. For a time, burlesque verses were known as poesie bernesca in his honour. ‘Burlesque’ as a literary term became widespread in 17th century Italy and France, and subsequently England, where it referred to a grotesque imitation of the dignified or pathetic. Shakespeare’s Pyramus and Thisbe scene in Midsummer Night’s Dream and the general mocking of romance in Beaumont and Fletcher’s The Knight of the Burning Pestle were early examples of such imitation.

In 17th century Spain, playwright and poet Miguel de Cervantes ridiculed medieval romance in his many satirical works. Among Cervantes’ works are Exemplary Novels and the Eight Comedies and Eight New Interludes published in 1615. The term burlesque has been applied retrospectively to works of Chaucer and Shakespeare and to the Graeco-Roman classics.

Burlesque was intentionally ridiculous in that it imitated several styles and combined imitations of certain authors and artists with absurd descriptions. In this, the term was often used interchangeably with "pastiche", "parody", and the 17th and 18th century genre of the "mock-heroic". Burlesque depended on the reader’s (or listener’s) knowledge of the subject to make its intended effect, and a high degree of literacy was taken for granted.

17th and 18th century burlesque was divided into two types: High burlesque refers to a burlesque imitation where a literary, elevated manner was applied to a commonplace or comically inappropriate subject matter as, for example, in the literary parody and the mock-heroic. One of the most commonly cited examples of high burlesque is Alexander Pope’s "sly, knowing and courtly" The Rape of the Lock. Low burlesque applied an irreverent, mocking style to a serious subject; an example is Samuel Butler’s poem Hudibras, which described the misadventures of a Puritan knight in satiric doggerel verse, using a colloquial idiom. Butler’s addition to his comic poem of an ethical subtext made his caricatures into satire.

In more recent times, burlesque true to its literary origins is still performed in revues and sketches. Tom Stoppard’s 1974 play Travesties is an example of a full-length play drawing on the burlesque tradition.

Burlesque in music

Classical music Beginning in the early 18th century, the term burlesque was used throughout Europe to describe musical works in which serious and comic elements were juxtaposed or combined to achieve a grotesque effect. As derived from literature and theatre, "burlesque" was used, and is still used, in music to indicate a bright or high-spirited mood, sometimes in contrast to seriousness.

In this sense of farce and exaggeration rather than parody, it appears frequently on the German-language stage between the middle of the 19th century and the 1920’s. Burlesque operettas were written by – Johann Strauss II (Die lustigen Weiber von Wien, 1868), – Ziehrer (Mahomed’s Paradies,1866; Das Orakel zu Delfi, 1872; Cleopatra, oder Durch drei Jahrtausende, 1875; In fünfzig Jahren, 1911) and – Bruno Granichstaedten (Casimirs Himmelfahrt, 1911). French references to burlesque are less common than German, though – Grétry composed for a "drame burlesque" (Matroco, 1777). – Stravinsky called his 1916 one-act chamber opera-ballet Renard (The Fox) a "Histoire burlesque chantée et jouée" (burlesque tale sung and played). – A later example is the 1927 burlesque operetta by Ernst Krenek entitled Schwergewicht (Heavyweight) (1927).

Some orchestral and chamber works have also been designated as burlesques, of which two early examples are the Ouverture-Suite Burlesque de Quixotte, TWV 55, by Telemann and the Sinfonia Burlesca by Leopold Mozart (1760). Another often-performed piece is Richard Strauss’s 1890 Burleske for piano and orchestra.

Other examples include the following: – 1901: Six Burlesques, Op. 58 for piano four hands by Max Reger – 1904: Scherzo Burlesque, Op. 2 for piano and orchestra by Béla Bartók – 1911: Three Burlesques, Op. 8c for piano by Bartók – 1920: Burlesque for Piano, by Arnold Bax – 1931: Ronde burlesque, Op. 78 for orchestra by Florent Schmitt – 1932: Fantaisie burlesque, for piano by Olivier Messiaen – 1956: Burlesque for Piano and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 13g by Bertold Hummel – 1982: Burlesque for Wind Quintet, Op. 76b by Hummel Burlesque can be used to describe particular movements of instrumental musical compositions, often involving dance rhythms. Examples are the Burlesca, in Partita No. 3 for keyboard (BWV 827) by Bach, the "Rondo-Burleske" third movement of Symphony No. 9 by Mahler, and the "Burlesque" fourth movement of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1.

Jazz The use of burlesque has not been confined to classical music. Well known ragtime travesties include The Russian Rag, by George L. Cobb, which is based on Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor, and Harry Alford’s Lucy’s Sextette based on the sextet, ‘Chi mi frena in tal momento?’, from Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti.

VICTORIAN THEATRICAL BURLESQUE

Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theater of the mid 19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known opera or piece of classical theater or ballet is adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, usually risque in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work, and often quoting or pastiching text or music from the original work. Victorian burlesque is one of several forms of burlesque.

Like ballad opera, burlesques featured musical scores drawing on a wide range of music, from popular contemporary songs to operatic arias, although later burlesques, from the 1880’s, sometimes featured original scores. Dance played an important part, and great attention was paid to the staging, costumes and other spectacular elements of stagecraft, as many of the pieces were staged as extravaganzas. Many of the male roles were played by actresses as breeches roles, purposely to show off their physical charms, and some of the older female roles were taken by male actors.

Originally short, one-act pieces, burlesques were later full-length shows, occupying most or all of an evening’s program. Authors who wrote burlesques included J. R. Planché, H. J. Byron, G. R. Sims, F. C. Burnand, W. S. Gilbert and Fred Leslie.

History of Victorian theatrical burlesque

Burlesque theater became popular around the beginning of the Victorian era. The word "burlesque" is derived from the Italian burla, which means "ridicule or mockery". According to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Victorian burlesque was "related to and in part derived from pantomime and may be considered an extension of the introductory section of pantomime with the addition of gags and ‘turns’." Another antecedent was ballad opera, in which new words were fitted to existing tunes.

Madame Vestris produced burlesques at the Olympic Theater beginning in 1831 with Olympic Revels by J. R. Planché. In these pieces, comedy stemmed from the incongruity and absurdity of the grand classical subjects, with realistic historical dress and settings, being juxtaposed with the everyday modern activities portrayed by the actors. For example, Olympic Revels opens with the gods of Olympus in classical Greek dress playing whist. In the early burlesques, the words of the songs were written to popular music, as had been done earlier in The Beggar’s Opera. Later in the Victorian era, burlesque mixed operetta, music hall and revue, and some of the large-scale burlesque spectacles were known as extravaganzas. The English style of burlesque was successfully launched in New York in the 1840’s by the manager and comedian William Mitchell, who had opened his Olympic Theater in December 1839. Like the London prototypes, his burlesques included characters with nonsensical names such as Wunsuponatyme and The King of Neverminditsnamia, and made fun of all kinds of music currently being presented in the city.

Unlike pantomime, which aimed at all ages and classes, burlesque was aimed at a narrower, highly literate audience; some writers, such as the Brough brothers, aimed at a conservative middle class audience, and H. J. Byron’s success was attributed to his skill in appealing to the lower middle classes. Some of the most frequent subjects for burlesque were the plays of Shakespeare and grand opera. From the 1850’s onward, burlesquing of Italian, French and, later in the century, German opera was popular with London audiences. Verdi’s "Il trovatore" and "La traviata" received their British premieres in 1855 and 1856 respectively; British burlesques of them followed quickly. "Our Lady of the Cameleon" by Leicester Silk Buckingham and "Our Traviata" by William F. Vandervell (both 1857) were followed by five different burlesque treatments of "Il trovatore", two of them by H. J. Byron: "Ill Treated Trovatore", or the Mother the Maiden and the Musicianer" (1863) and "Il Trovatore or Larks with a Libretto" (1880). The operas of Bellini, Bizet, Donizetti, Gounod, Handel, Meyerbeer, Mozart, Rossini, Wagner and Weber were burlesqued.

In a 2003 study of the subject, Roberta Montemorra Marvin noted: "…By the 1880s, almost every truly popular opera had become the subject of a burlesque. Generally appearing after an opera’s premiere or following a successful revival, they usually enjoyed local production runs, often for a month or longer. The popularity of stage burlesque in general and operatic burlesque in particular seems to have stemmed from the many ways in which it entertained a diverse group, and the manner in which it fed and fed on the circus-like or carnivalesque atmosphere of public Victorian London…"

W. S. Gilbert wrote five opera burlesques early in his career, beginning with "Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack" (1866), the most successful of which was "Robert the Devil" (1868). In the 1870’s, Lydia Thompson’s burlesque troupe, with Willie Edouin, became famous for their burlesques, by such authors as H. B. Farnie and Robert Reece, both in Britain and the U.S.

The Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells notes that although parodies of Shakespeare had appeared even in Shakespeare’s lifetime, the heyday of Shakespearean burlesque was the Victorian era. Wells observes that the typical Victorian Shakespeare burlesque "takes a Shakespeare play as its point of departure and creates from it a mainly comic entertainment, often in ways that bear no relation to the original play." Wells gives, as an example of the puns in the texts, the following: Macbeth and Banquo make their first entrance under an umbrella. The witches greet them with "Hail! hail! hail!": Macbeth asks Banquo, "What mean these salutations, noble thane?" and is told "These showers of ‘Hail’ anticipate your ‘reign’". Musically, Shakespearean burlesques were as varied as the others of the genre. An 1859 burlesque of Romeo and Juliet contained 23 musical numbers, some from opera, such as the serenade from Don Pasquale, and some from traditional airs and popular songs of the day including "Buffalo Gals", and "Nix my Dolly".

According to Grove, although "an almost indispensable element of burlesque was the display of attractive women dressed in tights, often in travesty roles … the plays themselves did not normally tend to indecency." Some contemporary critics took a sterner view; in an 1885 article, the critic Thomas Heyward praised Planché ("fanciful and elegant") and Gilbert ("witty, never vulgar"), but wrote of the genre as a whole, "the flashy, ‘leggy’, burlesque, with its ‘slangy’ songs, loutish ‘breakdowns’, vulgar jests, paltry puns and witless grimacing at all that is graceful and poetic is simply odious. … Burlesque, insensate, spiritless and undiscriminating, demoralizes both the audience and the players. It debases the public taste." Gilbert expressed his own views on the worth of burlesque:

The question whether burlesque has a claim to rank as art is, I think, one of degree. Bad burlesque is as far removed from true art as is a bad picture. But burlesque in its higher development calls for high intellectual power on the part of its professors. Aristophanes, Rabelais, Geo Cruikshank, the authors of the Rejected Addresses, John Leech, Planché were all in their respective lines professors of true burlesque.

Gender reversal and female sexuality

Actresses in burlesque would often play breeches roles, which were male roles played by women; likewise, men eventually began to play older female roles. These reversals allowed viewers to distance themselves from the morality of the play, focusing more on joy and entertainment than catharsis, a definitive shift away from neoclassical ideas.

The depiction of female sexuality in Victorian burlesque was an example of the connection between women as performers and women as sexual objects in Victorian culture. Throughout the history of theater the participation of women on stage has been questioned. Victorian culture viewed paid female performance as being closely associated with prostitution, “a profession in which most women in the theater dabbled, if not took on as a primary source of income.”

Gaiety Theater

Burlesque became the specialty of London’s Royal Strand Theater and Gaiety Theater from the 1860’s to the early 1890’s. In the 1860’s and 1870’s, burlesques were often one-act pieces running less than an hour and using pastiches and parodies of popular songs, opera arias and other music that the audience would readily recognize. Nellie Farren starred as the Gaiety Theater’s "principal boy" from 1868, and John D’Auban choreographed the burlesques there from 1868 to 1891. Edward O’Connor Terry joined the theater in 1876. Early Gaiety burlesques included Robert the Devil (1868, by Gilbert), The Bohemian G-yurl and the Unapproachable Pole (1877), Blue Beard (1882), Ariel (1883, by F. C. Burnand) and Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed (1883).

Beginning in the 1880’s, when comedian-writer Fred Leslie joined the Gaiety, composers like Meyer Lutz and Osmond Carr contributed original music to the burlesques, which were extended to a full-length two- or three-act format. These later Gaiety burlesques starred Farren and Leslie. They often included Leslie’s libretti, written under his pseudonym, "A. C. Torr", and were usually given an original score by Lutz: Little Jack Sheppard (1885), Monte Cristo, Jr. (1886), Pretty Esmeralda (1887), Frankenstein, or The Vampire’s Victim (1887), Mazeppa and Faust up to Date (1888). Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué (1889) made fun of the play Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo. The title was a pun, and the worse the pun, the more Victorian audiences were amused. The last Gaiety burlesques were Carmen up to Data (1890), Cinder Ellen up too Late (1891), and Don Juan (1892, with lyrics by Adrian Ross).

In the early 1890’s, Farren retired, Leslie died, and musical burlesque went out of fashion in London, as the focus of the Gaiety and other burlesque theaters changed to the new genre of Edwardian musical comedy. In 1896, Seymour Hicks declared that burlesque "is dead as a doornail and will never be revived." From her retirement, Nellie Farren endorsed this judgment.

AMERICAN BURLESQUE

American burlesque is a genre of variety show. Derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows, burlesque shows in America became popular in the 1860’s and evolved to feature ribald comedy (lewd jokes) and female striptease. By the early 20th century, burlesque in America was presented as a populist blend of satire, performance art, music hall, and adult entertainment, featuring striptease and broad comedy acts.

The entertainment was presented often in cabarets and clubs, as well as music halls and theaters. Performers, usually female, often created elaborate tableaux with lush, colorful costumes, mood-appropriate music, and dramatic lighting; novelty acts, such as fire breathing or contortionists, might be added to enhance the impact of their performance. The genre traditionally encompassed a variety of acts: in addition to the striptease artistes, there was some combination of chanson singers, comedians, mime artists, and dancing girls, all delivered in a satiric style with a saucy[peacock term] edge. The striptease element of burlesque became subject to extensive local legislation, leading to a theatrical form that titillated without falling foul of censors.

Burlesque gradually lost popularity beginning in the 1940’s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by attempting to recreate the spirit of burlesque in Hollywood films from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990’s, and it inspired a 2010 musical film, "Burlesque", starring Christina Aguilera and Cher.

There were three main influences on American burlesque in its early years: Victorian burlesque, "leg shows" and minstrel shows. British-style burlesques had been successfully presented in New York as early as the 1840’s. They achieved wide popularity with productions by Lydia Thompson and her troupe, the British Blondes, who first appeared in the United States in 1868. "Leg" shows, such as the musical extravaganza The Black Crook (1866), became popular around the same time. The influence of the minstrel show soon followed; one of the first American burlesque troupes was the Rentz-Santley Novelty and Burlesque Company, created in 1870 by Michael B. Leavitt, who had earlier feminized the minstrel show with his group Madame Rentz’s Female Minstrels. American burlesque rapidly adopted the minstrel show’s tripartite structure: part one was composed of songs and dances rendered by a female company, interspersed with low comedy from male comedians. Part two featured various short specialties and olios in which the women did not appear. The show’s finish was a grand finale. Sometimes the entertainment was followed by a boxing or wrestling match.

Originally, burlesque performances included comic sketches lampooning the upper classes and high art, such as opera, Shakespearean drama, and classical ballet. The genre developed alongside vaudeville and ran on competing circuits. Possibly due to historical social tensions between the upper classes and lower classes of society, much of the humor and entertainment of later American burlesque focused on lowbrow and ribald subjects.

By the 1880’s, the four distinguishing characteristics of American burlesque had evolved: – Minimal costuming, often focusing on the female form. – Sexually suggestive dialogue, dance, plot-lines and staging. – Quick-witted humor laced with puns, but lacking complexity. – Short routines or sketches with minimal plot cohesion across a show.

The artist and writer Jerome Myers gave a view of burlesque as observed in the working-class neighborhoods of New York in the early years of the 1900’s: "…I have been impressed by the sincerity of the audience. On the runway extending out over the orchestra, the girls would gesture back and forth. It was not always of beauty; yet never that I can remember did these onlooking men, by word or gesture, annoy or belittle the performers. Pitifully inadequate the girls often were for their parts; yet they were working girls, catering to an audience of men who also worked for a living.

Among these imitation actresses, I have seen at times real jewels, featured girls who exercised all their youth and talent, working an enchantment within their narrow limits. There was one young girl who did the so-called strip-tease act. Playfully casting away her garments, she disclosed the full glory of her beautiful figure, her movements unsurpassed in a harmony of action. Had that inspired girl had the benefit of a French or German background of publicity, she would have revealed her art to a top-hat audience. Susceptible artists would have filled their sketch-books, photographers would have vied with one another, books of laudation would have appeared, and a world celebrity would have danced onto the newspaper pages. Yet this audience of ordinary people, in this ordinary burlesque theater, applauded her in their simple way, and for years kept on applauding her as a featured artist, her name up in electric lights…"

Charlie Chaplin (who starred in the 1915 film "Burlesque on Carmen") noted in 1910: "Chicago … had a fierce pioneer gaiety that enlivened the senses, yet underlying it throbbed masculine loneliness. Counteracting this somatic ailment was a national distraction known as the burlesque show, consisting of a coterie of rough-and-tumble comedians supported by twenty or more chorus girls. Some were pretty, others shopworn. Some of the comedians were funny, most of the shows were smutty harem comedies – coarse and cynical affairs".

By the early 20th century, there were two national circuits of burlesque shows, as well as resident companies in New York, such as Minsky’s at the Winter Garden. The uninhibited atmosphere of burlesque establishments owed much to the free flow of alcoholic liquor, and the enforcement of Prohibition was a serious blow. The popular burlesque show of this period eventually evolved into the striptease which became the dominant ingredient of burlesque by the 1930’s. At first soubrettes showed off their figures while singing and dancing; some were less active but compensated by appearing in elaborate stage costumes. Exotic "cooch" dances (similar to bellydancing) were brought in, ostensibly Syrian in origin. Strippers gradually supplanted the singing and dancing soubrettes; by 1932 there were at least 150 strip principals in the US. The transition from traditional burlesque to striptease is depicted in the film "The Night They Raided Minsky’s" (1968).

By the late 1930’s, a social crackdown on burlesque shows began their gradual downfall. The shows had slowly changed from ensemble ribald variety performances, to simple performances focusing mostly on the striptease. In New York, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia clamped down on burlesque, effectively putting it out of business by the early 1940’s. Burlesque lingered on elsewhere in the U.S., increasingly neglected, and by the 1970’s, with nudity commonplace in theaters, American burlesque reached "its final shabby demise".

Burlesque shows on film

During its declining years and afterwards, films sought to capture the spirit of American burlesque. For example, in "I’m No Angel" (1933), Mae West performed a burlesque act. The 1943 film "Lady of Burlesque", although a murder-mystery, spends much of its running time depicting the back-stage life of burlesque performers.

The first motion-picture adaptation of an actual burlesque show was "Hollywood Revels" (1946). Much of the action was filmed in medium or long shots, because the production was staged in a theater and the camera photographed the stage from a distance. In 1947, film producer W. Merle Connell reinvented the filmed burlesque show by restaging the action especially for films, in a studio, where he could control the camerawork, lighting and sound, providing close-ups and other studio photographic and editorial techniques. His 1951 production "French Follies" recreates a classic American burlesque presentation, with stage curtains, singing emcee, dances by showgirls and strippers, comic sketches and a finale featuring the star performer. The highlight is the famous burlesque routine "Crazy House", popularized earlier by Abbott and Costello. Another familiar sketch, "Slowly I Turned" (later famous as a Three Stooges routine), was filmed for Connell’s 1953 feature "A Night in Hollywood".

Other producers entered the field, using color photography and even location work. "Naughty New Orleans" (1954) is an example of burlesque entertainment on film, equally showcasing girls and gags, although it shifts the venue from a burlesque-house stage to a popular nightclub. Photographer Irving Klaw filmed a very profitable series of burlesque features, usually featuring star pin-up girl Bettie Page and various lowbrow comedians (including future TV star Joe E. Ross). Page’s most famous features are "Striporama" (1953), "Varietease" (1954) and "Teaserama" (1955). These films, as their titles imply, were only teasing the viewer: the girls wore revealing costumes, but there was never any nudity. In the late 1950’s, however, provocative films emerged, sometimes using a "nudist colony" format, and the relatively tame burlesque-show film died out.

As early as 1954, burlesque was already considered a bygone form of entertainment; burlesque veteran Phil Silvers laments the passing of burlesque in the musical "Top Banana". "The Night They Raided Minsky’s" (1968) celebrates classic American burlesque.

NEO-BURLESQUE

Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional Burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can range from anything from classic striptease to modern dance to theatrical mini-dramas to comedic mayhem.

Revival

A new generation nostalgic for the spectacle and glamour of the old times has been determined to bring burlesque back. The first neo-burlesque show in NYC was the "Blue Angel Cabaret", 1994. "Le Scandal Cabaret", founded in 2001, is an offshoot of the Blue Angel, and is still currently running in NYC, 2014. This revival was pioneered independently in the mid 1990’s by Billie Madley (e.g., "Cinema", Tony Marando’s "Dutch Weismanns’ Follies" revue) in New York and Michelle Carr’s "The Velvet Hammer Burlesque" troupe in Los Angeles. In addition, and throughout the country, many individual performers were incorporating aspects of burlesque in their acts. These productions, inspired by Sally Rand, Tempest Storm, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dixie Evans and Lili St. Cyr among others have themselves gone on to inspire a new generation of performers.

Modern burlesque has taken on many forms, but it has the common trait of honoring one or more of burlesque’s previous incarnations. The acts tend to put emphasis on style and are sexy rather than sexual. A typical modern burlesque act usually includes striptease, expensive or garish costumes, and bawdy humor, and may incorporate elements of cabaret, circus skills, aerial silk, and more; sensuality, performance, and humor are kept in balance. Unlike professional strippers, burlesque performers often perform for fun and spend more money on costumes, rehearsal, and props than they are compensated. Although performers may still strip down to pasties and g-string or merkin, the purpose is no longer solely sexual gratification for men but self-expression of the performer and, vicariously, the women in the audience; the DIY aspect is prominent, and furthermore the striptease may be used to challenge sexual objectification, orientation, and other social taboos. The revival, however, has been known to run afoul of liquor licensing and obscenity laws, thus raising free speech (as symbolic speech) issues that have led to litigation.

Burlesque scenes

There are modern burlesque performers, shows and festivals in many countries throughout the world such as David Jahn’s Prague Burlesque, as well as annual conventions such as the Miss Exotic World Pageant. Today’s burlesque revival has found homes throughout the United States (with the largest communities located on its East and West Coasts) and in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany and Japan.

Boylesque

Neo-burlesque shows that feature male-body roles have been dubbed as boylesque. The introduction of boylesque elements can be seen as a key difference between neo-burlesque and earlier, exclusively female-body forms of burlesque, which sometimes incorporated drag-queen roles (i.e. male impersonators of female bodies) but did not directly represent masculinity.

Neo-Burlesque organizations

– Burlesque Hall of Fame (formerly the Exotic World Burlesque Museum), which hosts the annual Miss Exotic World Pageant. It is the burlesque museum located on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Formerly known as Exotic World, the museum historically was located on the site of an abandoned goat farm in Helendale, California.

– Coney Island USA It is not-for-profit arts organization founded in 1980 that is dedicated to the cultural and economic revitalization of the Coney Island neighborhood of the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Its landmark building in the heart Coney Island’s amusement district houses a theater in which the organization presents "Sideshows by the Seashore", a showcase for performers with unusual talents that runs continuously during the warmer months, as well as the Coney Island Museum. It is also notable as the organizer of the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade, the first of which took place in 1983.

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