Scheidt: Battle Suite - Budapest Brass Quintet

1/7/2020

I became aware of the German composer Samuel Scheidt through Bruce Charlton's blog - more specifically, this recent post titled More Scheidt for Christmas. Before then, I was completely unfamiliar with the man and his music. I must say, I am rather thrilled to have stumbled upon Scheidt, for two very important reasons:

1. He composed some charming and moving organ and brass pieces.
2. The unfortunate English connotation of his Germanic surname makes me feel a heck of a lot better about the snicker-inducing English connotation of my own Germanic surname.*

The link below offers a spirited recording of Scheidt's Battle Suite played by the Budapest Brass Quintet.

* Fellow blogger William James Tychonievich was quick to offer a consolatory response to my complaint about my surname by pointing out that the record for worst Germanic surname would have to go to the American actor Richard Cox, who was born Richard Zuckerman. Put the two names together, and you get Richard Cox Zuckerman.

I would have to agree - that is far more disastrous a connotation than Berger, or even Scheidt, could ever be.

11 Comments

bruce charlton

1/7/2020 09:23:19

There is a quality of clean, freshness about the harmonies of Scheidt - also Schutz and Schein of the same era, and Buxtehude who makes a link to Bach - that I find very appealing. It brings to mind a whole North German culture of high ideals which I find very appealing.

Francis Berger

1/7/2020 09:33:06

@ Bruce - Yes, I agree. I read that much of this had to do with the northern parts of Germany essentially being cut-off from the influences of Rome/Italy via the Reformation. Do you think that played a part?

William James Tychonievich link

1/7/2020 13:10:00

According to IMDb, his birth name was actually "Richard Cox Zuckerman."

I imagine that when friends used to run into Samuel Scheidt and say, "Hey, Sam, what are you up to?" he would reply, "Oh, you know, Sam Scheidt, different day!"

1/7/2020 13:23:58

Wm - Thanks for the Scheidt joke - it made my day! As for Zuckerman, I stand corrected.

1/7/2020 16:55:01

I remember you once explaining that you chose to go by Francis so as to avoid exacerbating your name’s barbecue connotations by adding “Frank” to “Berger.” Someone should have given similar advice to the Australian footballer Henry Richard Head — who could have called himself Harry or Hank or Rich or Rick but instead opted to go by — well, I’m sure you can figure it out!

1/7/2020 18:59:05

@ Wm - Now there's something I really don't understand. I mean on the one hand, I kind of admire that sort of attitude. On the other hand, I can't help but think that people who purposefully adhere to strange variations of their names when other, less onerous options are readily available are nothing more than masochists.

We have a Richard Berger in the family; needless to say, he goes by Ritchie, not Dick. But can you imagine?

1/7/2020 20:20:43

Well, Mr. Head died in 1940, so perhaps his chosen moniker didn’t have the same connotations it would today. I mean, as recently as Nixon’s day “They can’t lick our Dick” was considered a perfectly okay and not at all funny campaign slogan.

I once had a colleague named Richard Long, and, yes, he did go by Dick. He might have chosen otherwise if his surname had been Little or Short.

Craig Davis

1/9/2020 14:04:14

Here is the US, almost everyone will hear Berger as burger, regardless of the context. As a proper name, though, I tend toward the German and think of the Alps. You should just assume that everyone smiling about Frank Berger is thinking pleasant thoughts about a candid mountaineer.

1/9/2020 19:30:55

@Craig - You are correct on both counts. I had some fun describing the perils of my name in an earlier post. I invite you to take a look at it if you are interested in doing so.

https://www.francisberger.com/bergers-blog/whats-in-a-name-or-how-i-would-have-been-an-absolute-rock-star-of-a-person-had-i-been-born-in-france

1/10/2020 13:23:40

Thanks for the link. I had read that post at the time, but had forgotten many of the details in the interim. I know, shame on me for not memorizing everything you write(kidding).

1/10/2020 21:02:37

@ Craig - I barely remember anything I write on here, so don't worry about it.

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Scheidt: Battle Suite - Budapest Brass Quintet

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