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Blabbermouth! (A Musical Joke) - Polka, Op.245
Josef Strauss (1827-1870)
Blabbermouth! (A Musical Joke) - Polka, Op.245
We can safely assume that the Plappermäulchen Polka - the title of which translates literally as “Blabbermouth” and which is not to be confused with another polka by Josef Strauss called Die Schwätzerin or “Chatterbox” - was not intended as a homage to Queen Victoria or, indeed, anyone of royal status. It is actually a “musical joke” written for the Viennese Carnival season of 1868 and, with its amusing instrumental repartee and its percussion rattling on, is a characteristically ingenious example of the novelty polka. Instead of the abrupt ending adopted in most performances, incidentally, the version to be heard today restores the original coda.
From Gerald Larner’s files: “Plappermäulchen”