Ah! vous dirai-je, maman
"Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" is a popular children's song in France, which has had numerous lyrics on different themes since its composition in the 18th century. This song was popularized in Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
History
According to Henri-Irénée Marrou, the origin of the melody is an anonymous pastoral song dating from 1740, with children's lyrics added relatively recently.[1] The melody was first published in 1761.[2] In 1774, the earliest known printed publication of the lyrics together with the music was in volume two of Recueil de Romances by M.D.L. (Charles de Lusse) published in Brussels, under the title "La Confidence naïve".[3]
La confidence
The words of the nursery rhyme are a parody of an anonymous love poem, "La Confidence" (The Confidence).
Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman, |
L'autre jour, dans un bosquet, |
Étant faite pour charmer, |
Je rougis et par malheur |
Je n'avais pour tout soutien |
Nursery rhyme lyrics
Melody
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Ah ! Vous dirai-je maman |
Oh! Shall I tell you, Mommy |
Appearances of the melody
Many songs in various languages have been based on the "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" melody. In English, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", the "Alphabet Song", and "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" are all based on this melody.
The German Christmas carol "Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsmann" with words by Hoffmann von Fallersleben, also uses the melody, as does the Hungarian Christmas carol "Hull a pelyhes fehér hó", the Dutch "Altijd is Kortjakje ziek", the Spanish "Campanita del lugar", and the Turkish "Daha Dün Annemizin".
Several classical compositions have been inspired by this tune:
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" (K. 265 / K. 300e) (1781 or 1782)
- Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je maman" in G major (Wf XII: 2) (BR A 45) (1st publ. ca. 1880)
- Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 94 (Surprise Symphony), second movement (andante) (1791)
- Jean-Baptiste Cardon (1760–1803), Variations for harp on "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman"
- Theodor von Schacht, 3rd movement (Allegretto con variazioni) of his clarinet concerto in B flat major
- Franz Liszt, Album Leaf: "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" (1833) (S.163b)
- Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck, Variations and finale for organ on "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman", op. 90 (pub. 1828)
- Adolphe Adam, Bravura Variations from the opera Le toréador (1849)
- Camille Saint-Saëns, The Carnival of the Animals (1886), 12th movement (Fossiles) quotes the tune
- Ernő Dohnányi, Variations on a Nursery Tune, Op. 25 (1914)
- Erwin Schulhoff, Ten Variations on "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" and Fugue
- John Corigliano, The Mannheim Rocket
References
- ↑ Henri Davenson, Le livre des chansons, Neuchâtel, Éditions de la Baconnière, 1944, p. 567.
- ↑ George List, "The Distribution of a Melodic Formula: Diffusion or Polygenesis?", Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council, v.10, (1978), pp. 33–52
- ↑ The chronology is based on an account by Bob Kosovsky, librarian at the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 2001 Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.