June 26 - Leopold Koželuch (New Musical Birthday Series)

Leopold Koželuch (26 June 1747 – 7 May 1818) was considered one of the leading composers of Europe in the late 18th century.  Even today he has been given the full Bärenreiter Urtext treatment.


This is a double dactyl, a genre of biographically inspired humorous poem with very strict structural rules.  Here are links to two definitions for those who are curious.  The first from the Poetry Foundation is clearer but less accurate than the second, from Wikipedia.  Take your pick.  The classic statement is the book Jiggery-Pokery:  A Compendium of Double Dactyls by Anthony Hecht and John Hollander (New York, 1967).

Higgledy piggledy

Leopold Koželuch,

Rival of Mozart and

Beethoven too,

Served as the Emperor’s

Kammer-Kapellmeister,

Giving Herr Koželuch

Something to do.



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