Geographical Fugue
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The Geographical Fugue or Fuge aus der Geographie is the most famous piece for spoken chorus by Ernst Toch. Toch was a prominent composer in 1920s Berlin, and singlehandedly invented the idiom of the "Spoken Chorus".
The piece was a sensation when it was first performed, and remains Toch's most-performed work, although the composer himself has always dismissed it as an unimportant diversion.
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Construction
It is written in strict fugal form, and consists of four voices, each enunciating various cites, countries and other geographical landmarks in true contrapuntal fashion. It ends with a climactic finale using the word "Ratibor!" ("Trinidad"), the first word of the subject. Voices enter in the order of: soprano, alto, tenor, bass.
The Text
Translation
Although written originally in German ("Ratibor! Und der Fluss Mississippi und der Stadt Honolulu und der See Titicaca..."), it was later translated into English and received wide acclaim.
The full part text in English is reproduced below.
Sopranos' text
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- the Popocateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Yes, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet,
- Nagasaki, Yokohoma, Nagasaki, Yokohoma
- What to do to die today at a minute or two till two
- A thing distinctly hard to say, yet harder still to do
- For he'll beat a tatoo, at twenty till two
- With a rat-tit tat-tat-tit tat-tat-tit t-to
- And the dragon will come, when he hears the drum
- At a minute to two, to two today
- At a minute to two, to two
- Bee-Bah Bee-Bah, tee-tee-tee
- Bee-Bah Bee-Bah, tee-tee-tee
- Bee-Bah Bee-Bah, tee-tee-tee, SSSSSSssssaaaaaa
- Bee-Bah Bee-Bah, tee-tee-tee
- Bee-Bah Bee-Bah, tee-tee-tee
- Bee-Bah Bee-Bah, tee-tee-tee, SSSSSSssssaaaaaa
- Aluminum, Lynolium, Aluminum, Lynolium, Aluminum, Lynolyium
- Toy boat, Toy boat, Toy boat, Toy boat, Toy boat
- Red leather, yellow leather, Red leather, yellow leather, Red leather, yellow leather
- Cinnamon, Synonym, Cinnamon, Synonym, Cinnamon, Synonym
- Unique New York
- Unique New York
- Unique New York
- Unique New York
- Woo-Wah-War-Wow
- Woo-Wah-War-Wow
- Wooooooo-Wahhhhh-Warrrrr-WOW!
Tenors' text
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- the Popocateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Yes, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Nagasaki, Yokohama, Nagasaki, Yokohama.
- Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet
- [pause]
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- the Popocateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Yokohama, Honolulu, Mississippi, Titicaca
- Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Nagasaki, Yo-ko-hama, Tibet, Tibet
- the Popocateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
- Nagasaki, Nagasaki
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Canada Canada Canada Canada Malaga Malaga Malaga Malaga
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca, :Titicaca.
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- the Popocateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
- Canada Canada Malaga Malaga Canada Canada Malaga Malaga
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- and the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca
- Mississippi Honolulu Titicaca Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi :Mississippi Mississippi
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi, Trinidad! Trinidad! Trinidad! Trinidad! Trinidad! Trinidad!
Bass' text
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- the Popocateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Yes, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Tibet, Na-gasaki, Naga-saki.
- [pause]
- Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Yokohama, Honolulu, Mississippi
- Titicaca, Titicaca, Titicaca, Titicaca, Titicaca, Titicaca
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- Titicaca, Titicaca, Nagasaki, Naga-saki!
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca.
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- the Popocateptl is not in Canada, rather in Mexico, Mexico, Mexico!
- Canada Canada Malaga Malaga
- Trinidad! And the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca,
- and the big Mississippi and the town Honolulu and the lake Titicaca
- Mississippi Honolulu Titicaca Mississippi Mississippi
- Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi -sippi
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi, Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi, Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi
- Canada Malaga Rimini Brindisi, Trinidad!