Lullabies and Anthems
"La Mantovana" and Her Many Offspring.
I have several heavy-duty pieces in the works, including one on the enormous damage done by that most thoughtful of eugenicists—Alexander Graham Bell. There’s another on how people value costly medical procedures with tiny probabilities of success. These essays aren’t ready today, however, so here’s a bit of lighter fare to tide us over.
During the early COVID lockdowns, I entertained myself and my friends by giving short musical performances and musicology lectures on my YouTube channel. Here’s one of my favorites. In eight minutes, I explain how an Italian Renaissance song about a woman from Mantua (“La Mantovana”) became a rhapsody by Camille Saint-Saëns, an anthem of Czech nationalism by Bedřich Smetana, and the Israeli national anthem. Plus, I suspect, a famous French children’s song, a Mozart suite, a whole bunch of European Christmas songs, three of the best-known lullabies in the English language, and more.
Since recording this, I’ve found other sites that confirm my suspected connection between “La Mantovana” and that second group of songs, which most prominently includes “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” (Commenters making this connection include this page by Rebekah Maxmer, a Canadian piano teacher and this page by The Bagpipe Society in the U.K.) Hoping you enjoy this brief ride through musical history.
Robert F. Graboyes is president of RFG Counterpoint, LLC in Alexandria, Virginia. An economist, journalist, and musician, he holds five degrees, including a PhD in economics from Columbia University. An award-winning professor, in 2014, he received the Reason Foundation’s Bastiat Prize for Journalism. His music compositions are at YouTube.com/@RFGraboyes/videos
