Puzzles from Wonderland - SATB - DTM015
Puzzles from Wonderland - SATB - DTM015
Puzzles from Wonderland features two whimsical puzzles that Lewis Carroll wrote as part of the world of Wonderland. Both feature humorous wordplay and similarly humorous musical settings that highlight the way that Carroll plays with syllabic stress and words with double-meanings.
The first puzzle, The Box, presents itself as an exchange of gifts between brothers at first, but the solution to the puzzle reveals the double-meaning of the word box – in this case meaning a punch or slap. This is then musically highlighted by sudden clusters on the piano and hand-clapping to simulate the sound of a slap.
The Cat features a piano line that mimics the lazy motions of a cat waking from slumber, and meowing impatiently to be fed. The SSA chorus simulates the voices of the three sisters who each appear to be feeding the cat a different fish. In the solution, it is revealed that the third sister does not feed the cat “herring” as the syllabic stress of the previous poem implies, but rather “her ring”, which the new verse structure makes clear.