Clef and Libretto

After the matter of German Unity Day, there was still the matter of Unity within the Muller house. Lines were drawn between Frau Muller and ßilver, but they still fought over shared territory. ßilver found his sleeping spot right next to the heating duct in the piano room. Unfortunately, the piano room was the same place Frau Muller played her piano every morning after the boys went to school.

“Hund, if you think you’re going to keep me from my piano, you are sadly mistaken,” she said.

The little gray dog looked at her with puppy dog eyes. His eyebrows flittered as she stared at him.

“All right, but you have to make some space for me.”

Frau Muller moved ßilver out of the way as she sat on the bench. The little gray dog watched as she played Pachelbel’s Canon in D on the piano. The furnace kicked on again. When air from the furnace blew out of the heating vent, ßilver moved into position under her bench. Frau Muller had been too busy to notice.

After she finished, she scooted the piano bench backwards. The little gray dog remained in his spot, just next to Frau Muller’s feet. She lifted the top of the piano bench, revealing a drawer inside the seat. As she sorted through sheet music, ßilver raised his head for a moment, then rested it upon his paws.

She shut the lid to the piano bench and sat down on the bench again. Her left heel caught the little gray dog by the paw.

“Arf!” he yelped.

“Hund!” she barked at him.

ßilver darted into the kitchen with his tail between his legs. Frau Muller returned to her music. She moved on to one of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, a soft lullaby that drifted from note to note. The little gray dog rested his head near the heating vent in the kitchen. Each note vibrated through the metal heating vent, thumping softly in his ears.

Just as she moved to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Max came through the front door.

Dum-dum-dum-dum…went the piano as Frau Muller pressed the keys.

“Dum-dum-dum-dum!” replied Max as he rounded the corner, interrupting Frau Muller’s piano playing.

“How was school?” she asked.

“It was good, mama dear.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. How much homework do you have?”

“I have to write a one-age report about how we celebrated Unity Day.”

“That’s all?”

“Tomorrow is Music Day. Last week, Herr Dieckmann talked about the Baroque composers. Do you know what Baroque means?”

“It’s a type of music,” replied Frau Muller.

“He said the Baroque Age was the time of Italy.”

“Some of the great Baroque composers were German. Did he say anything about Handel, Pachelbel, or Bach?”

Max nodded.

“They were all German. One of my favorite songs is Pachelbel’s Canon.”

She played the a song on her piano. It was instantly familiar to Max. He hummed along as she gently played each note.

“This week, he’s going to talk about the Classical composers. He said the Classical Period was the beginning of the great German composers. Do you know who the Classical composers were?”

“It’s not who they were, but what they were,” replied Frau Muller.

“What do you mean?”

“Classical composers, like Mozart, played during the 1700s.”

“Herr Dieckmann said Beethoven also played during the Classical Age.”

“I thought he was one of the Romantic composers,” replied his mother.

“His music doesn’t sound Romantic. It sounds…heavy”

“You mean this?” Frau Muller repeated the most famous of Beethoven’s musical phrases, the first four notes of his fifth symphony: dum-dum-dum-dum. She held her finger down on the last note. The sound vibrated in Max’s chest.

“Yes, that.”

“It evokes an emotion, doesn’t it?”

Max nodded.

“That’s why Beethoven was considered one of the inventors of Romantic music. Composers like Liszt and Chopin were also Romantic Composers. The Romantics created new music styles. They also used more keys.”

“Don’t all pianos have the same number of keys?”

“During the classical period, composers only used keys in the middle of the piano. They considered the middle range of notes beautiful and often ignored the notes like the first four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth.”

She adjusted her bench and began playing again. After the first eight notes of the symphony, Frau Muller immediately moved to the right end of the piano. She repeated with the dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum. The high notes accentuated the first notes that rumbled out of the piano.

“I get it!” exclaimed Max.

Max went to his bedroom and wrote his Unity Day report for History class. He spent the remainder of the day listening to his mother playing the piano. He figured he knew all he needed to know. The next morning, he realized he was very wrong.

After Max turned in his Unity Day report, it was time for Music Class. The children always knew when class was about to begin. Herr Dieckmann pushed his old piano from class to class. The old metal wheels clacked along the tile floor.

“Guten Morgen, klase,” he greeted the children.

“Guten Morgen, Herr Dieckmann!” the students responded.

Fraulein Gerdau made way for Herr Dieckmann, just like she did every Wednesday morning. Herr Dieckmann moved his piano into the classroom. He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the class.

“Does anyone remember what we’re talking about this week?”

Children raised their hands. Herr Dieckmann picked Max.

“We’ll be talking about classical music.”

“That’s half-right. We’re talking about one type of classical music, which is from the classical period.”

“There’s a difference?”

“The classical period featured music that was different than the Baroque period. It featured very clean and simple music. Mozart and Beethoven were both composers during the Classical period.”
Max raised his hand.

“Yes, Max?”

“My mom said that Beethoven was a Romantic composer.”

“Half-right again, Max. He was a Romantic composer, but he also defined the end of the classical period. His musical style helped to introduce the Romantic Age.”

The children waited as he sat down at his piano.

“We will start with a piece by Mozart. I want you to listen to the music. Think about how it sounds like Baroque and how it is different, too.”

Herr Dieckmann’s fingers danced across the keys. The sound twirled about quickly, just like Baroque, but it also swayed while the song went along.

“Can anyone tell me how it was different than Baroque music?”

“Listening to Baroque is like watching a rainstorm. It’s fast and constant. Classical music seems to dance slowly in the air, like a feather,” said Petra.

“That’s a good way of putting it, Petra. Melody was the difference between Baroque and Classical.”

Herr Dieckmann adjusted his chair, placing his hands carefully on the keys. His fingers now rested upon several of the black keys, known as flats and sharps.

This time, he played a piece from the Romantic period. The wide range of melodies was even deeper than the music from the Classical period. At times, the notes poured from his piano like rain. At other times, their sound floated like a feather. Still, at other times, it was like the feather was being carried in a rainstorm, gentle, but complex.

“Germans have been lucky musically. Musical geniuses like Pachelbel, Mozart, Beethoven, and Wagner introduced us to the wonderful world of music. Famous Operas, like Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’and Richard Wagner’s ‘Ring’ are known world-wide.”

Petra raised her hand.

“Was ‘The Magic Flute’ a fairy tale?”

Herr Dieckmann rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“I suppose it was a fairy tale. Whomever played the magic flute could change men’s hearts. ‘The Ring’ was the same way. It involved three water sprites, called ‘Rhinemaidens’, that fought over a treasure called ‘the Rhine’s Gold.’”

Images of mermaids swam through Max’s thoughts when Herr Dieckmann mentioned the Rhinemaidens. Max thought about the Rhinemaidens as he walked home. He also thought of the great number of German composers. As soon as he opened the door to his house, he heard his mother playing the piano.

“Allo, mama dear!”

“Allo, Maxie!”

ßilver came out into the living room to greet Max. Max patted ßilver on the head and went into the piano room to see his mother. ßilver, of course, was not far behind. The little gray dog bravely returned to his spot under the piano bench.

“Hund…” she warned him.

The dog looked up at her.

“I think I need to find a solution to you.”

Frau Muller stood with her hands on her hips, sizing up the situation.

“Maxie, Grab an end of the this piano and help me move it to the corner.”

“Okay.”

After they moved the piano, Frau Muller moved the bench. The heating vent now sat to one side, out of the way.

“Danke Schöen, Maxie.”

The little gray dog had watched the piano movers at work. As Frau Muller thanked Max, ßilver carefully walked toward the air vent. Frau Muller reached out a hand and patted the dog on the head. He laid down beside her. Now, the two kings could share the piano room peacefully.