Canons, Quotes and Musical Jokes

Composer’s Note

Dedicated to the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, Eric Tuan, Artistic Director, with happy memories of our many years of making music together.  PEBCC includes 300 singers in 15 groups ranging from small children to high school recent graduates. This work consists of fifteen very short canons and catches alternating with short humorous quotations from famous people. The latter are all homophonic, often for solo singers with the punch line given to the chorus. Some of the catches are for beginners. They are an excellent way to introduce part-singing to children: everyone learns the same tune, but each part begins to sing at a different time: voila, instant harmony and counterpoint.

Some of the texts are from Mother Goose. Others are  more sophisticated and will interest the older singers as well as adults.