The Cats Meow
By Joshua Berrett
I am a dog more than a cat person, perhaps because our family had a dog, Blackie, when I was growing up. However, our grandkids’ cat won my heart when she overcame her shyness (that’s why they named her Sneaker) to jump into my lap and rub her cheek against mine. We have become firm friends and now I eagerly listen for her welcoming “meow” when we visit.
That brings me to some of the current memes about cats and cat ladies being passed around. Let me introduce you to a charming melodic mash-up encapsulated in the simple sound: “meow.”
How lovely is that cat sound—how relaxing and life-affirming! Try imitating it yourself. Take it nice and slow -- that initial “m” is akin to the Hindu “um” — feel the vibe in your head and chest -- and then the comforting exhale on “eow.”
To enhance your experience, let’s compare two performances of "Duetto buffo di due gatti," the “Cat Duet,” with two soprano divas “meowing” in friendly feline competition.
The first one features Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, the celebrated Maori coloratura soprano, and Norma Burrowes, an Irish soprano associated with the music of Handel and Mozart. This footage is from a 1982 BBC program. Their rendition, a relatively straight one, runs to 2:41.
By contrast, watch a more recent version from around 2020. Here Sopranos Chinwe Enu and Adrienne Webster, from the Washington, DC and Maryland areas, treat the material with more relish and freedom, stretching the duet out to 4:35.
And yes, this music has a backstory.
It is actually a pastiche – a series of patches consisting of the “Katte-Cavatine” of an obscure Danish composer, Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse.
This is followed, strangely, by two excerpts from Gioachino Rossini’s 1816 opera Otello -- a duet for Otello and Iago plus an aria for Rodrigo (“Ah, come mai non senti ?” or ”Ah, how come you don’t hear?”) This is a repertoire where the opera singer often reigned supreme, relatively free to improvise and embellish.
Credit for all the stitching is given to one G. Berthold, the pseudonym of Robert Lucas Pearsall, scion of a wealthy Quaker family from Bristol, England.
Talk about mish-mashes – what a splendid one
About Josh
I’m Joshua, Berrett, a musicologist, published author, public speaker, and practicing musician. Now, in retirement, I create deep listening programs for a wide range of music lovers, from college students to lifelong learners.
I hope you will enjoy my insights into the surprising interconnections between, for example, classical music and jazz. I focus on specific pieces and people and give you links to listen to as you read. I talk about music that has engaged me over a blessedly long life: from classics and jazz to the Great American Songbook, movie soundtracks, world music, and more.
An Invitation
Many thanks to Josh for sharing his reflections on cats and the many roles they play in our live and music. We’d love to have you join us by sharing some of your own experiences in nature as a poem, Chat Walk, photo or a short essay.
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Very whimsical and absolutely delightful! Thank you for sharing
Awesome! I haven't heard this since I was young. I think my mom played it for me.