Frère Jacques

[Lionel Mandrake]

Is there anyone who hasn't heard this French nursery rhyme? Here it is in G major, without the repeats.



Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

It is traditionally sung as a round. It is supposed to be bright and cheerful. But Mahler changes it to a minor key and plays it at such a slow tempo that it sounds more like a funeral march. In Mahler's version, it starts as a round, with slightly altered melody, but soon gets complicated.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Mahler's version is quite beautiful...

I hadn't thought of it as being Frere Jacques, but of course I recognized it as soon as you pointed it out.

A much different context...

Thanks for posting this!

[Lionel Mandrake]

2. Yes, it is.

I find Mahler's version not only beautiful, but also interesting to analyze on several levels. Wikipedia has a couple of articles abput this that are worth reading:

(1) Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frere_Jacques_in_popular_culture

A version of the Frère Jacques tune appears in the third movement of the Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler. Mahler presents the melody in a minor key instead of a major key, thus giving the piece the character of a funeral march or dirge; however, the mode change to minor might not have been an invention by Mahler, as is often believed, but rather the way this round was sung in the 19th century and early 20th century in Austria. Francesca Draughon and Raymond Knapp argue that Mahler had changed the key to make Frère Jacques sound more "Jewish" (Mahler converted to Catholicism from Judaism). Draughon and Knapp claim that the tune was originally sung to mock non-Catholics, such as Protestants or Jews. Mahler himself called the tune "Bruder Martin", and made some allusions to the piece being related to a parody in the programs he wrote for the performances. Interpretations similar to this are quite prevalent in academia and in musical circles.

2) And here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahler_symphony_no._1

The third movement acts as the slow movement in the four-movement plan. The extra-musical idea behind it is that of a hunter's funeral and a procession of animals that follows.

The subject is first presented by a solo double bass, followed by bassoon, tuba and, eventually, the entire orchestra. A counter-melody is played over top of the canon in the oboe.

The mood changes, and one of the most distinctive portions of this symphony follows. Mahler uses cymbal, bass drum, oboes, clarinets and a trumpet duo to produce the sound of a small klezmer band; Mahler's use of klezmer is sometimes accredited to his Jewish roots.

After a brief return to the opening round, a third, more contemplative section ensues .... Finally, Mahler incorporates all three thematic elements on top of each other. However, the components and motifs gradually fall apart, and the movement ends with simple alternating fourths in the lower strings ...