August 8, International Cat Day
Hello, ailurophiles (cat lovers),
Today, Sunday, August 8, is International Cat Day. I know many of you love these little musical hairballs. On this occasion, I would like to suggest a reading that has profoundly affected me. It is a novel by a German romantic writer and a composer, also a draftsman and lawyer that I like very much, Cat Murr, by Ernst Theodore Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822).The full title is: The wise reflections of the cat Murr interspersed with a fragmentary biography of the Choirmaster Johannès Kreisler presented at random from torn pages. (in original German: Lebensansichten des Katers Murr, nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler in zufälligen Makulaturblättern.) This novel, a true parody of the learning novel (Bildungsroman), launched by Goethe, was published in two volumes, respectively in 1818 and 1821, in its original version.
This novel, often funny, touching, sometimes sad is a real gem of the genre. In short, and perhaps to whet your appetite, Cat Murr tells the «autobiographical» story of a cat... written by a cat. In fact, Murr was the name of Hoffmann’s cat. His name is the onomatopoeia of his purring. It was after his death that the writer had the idea to make him the main character of a novel. As you can easily guess, Hoffmann, in the same way as many writers, adored cats, and especially Murr, to whom he was deeply attached. If you have never had the pleasure of reading this novel, I recommend it warmly.
Also passionate about music, Hoffmann gave up his third name, «Wilhelm», for that of «Amadeus» in homage to Mozart, his model, and became music critic, then composer. He is thus the author of several operas, in particular Ondine, which is taken from a tale of his friend Friedrich de La Motte-Fouqué (1777-1843), as well as vocal and instrumental works.
Today, Sunday, August 8, is International Cat Day. I know many of you love these little musical hairballs. On this occasion, I would like to suggest a reading that has profoundly affected me. It is a novel by a German romantic writer and a composer, also a draftsman and lawyer that I like very much, Cat Murr, by Ernst Theodore Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822).The full title is: The wise reflections of the cat Murr interspersed with a fragmentary biography of the Choirmaster Johannès Kreisler presented at random from torn pages. (in original German: Lebensansichten des Katers Murr, nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler in zufälligen Makulaturblättern.) This novel, a true parody of the learning novel (Bildungsroman), launched by Goethe, was published in two volumes, respectively in 1818 and 1821, in its original version.
This novel, often funny, touching, sometimes sad is a real gem of the genre. In short, and perhaps to whet your appetite, Cat Murr tells the «autobiographical» story of a cat... written by a cat. In fact, Murr was the name of Hoffmann’s cat. His name is the onomatopoeia of his purring. It was after his death that the writer had the idea to make him the main character of a novel. As you can easily guess, Hoffmann, in the same way as many writers, adored cats, and especially Murr, to whom he was deeply attached. If you have never had the pleasure of reading this novel, I recommend it warmly.
Also passionate about music, Hoffmann gave up his third name, «Wilhelm», for that of «Amadeus» in homage to Mozart, his model, and became music critic, then composer. He is thus the author of several operas, in particular Ondine, which is taken from a tale of his friend Friedrich de La Motte-Fouqué (1777-1843), as well as vocal and instrumental works.
4年前
