Monday, April 23, 2007

Musical Quiz from 1947


This quiz comes from A Treasury of Games, Quizzes, and Puzzles by Phyllis Frazer and Edith Young. My husband Michael refers to stuff like this as coming from "the dowdy world." Some of the questions are ridiculously simple, but some are pretty odd--especially the last one. Notice that this quiz is not labeled "classical music quiz," but simply "Musical Quiz," suggesting that general 1947 party folk in search of a good time would have considered the substance of this quiz "popular culture." (Do you think that anyone talked about "popular culture" as opposed to the other kind of culture in 1947?) At any rate, this quiz is a lot more friendly than that theory game.

You can find the answers here or leave some alternative answers (if you dare) in the comments.

3 comments:

MICHAEL MONROE said...

SPOILER ALERT! I've got to admit I didn't see where they were going with #10; that certainly shows a different perspective on history, but obviously the meaning of 'modern' changes with time. Still, someone needs to let this person know that Bach did not invent equal temperament, even if he once was the unofficial FOMM. As for the other questions, I know a lot of hymns, but not the 'very famous one' of #4. Nor was I able to answer #6. #2 is oddly phrased; I got Cole Porter right, but I guessed "The Whiffenpoof Song" which is possibly less wrong than the answer provided. So, I didn't do very well, but at least I knew about the lost chord.
[NOTE: By accident, I originally posted this comment with the answers.]

Elaine Fine said...

I like the fact that this quiz is nearly google-proof. I couldn't get #6 either. Maybe we need a revival of that Deems Taylor opera. I looked it up here and found that it only had 14 performances in 1927.

Then again, maybe we don't!

Liz said...

Cool quiz....was actually able to google question #6. But the college song one...not at all. (I'm CDN so don't know *any* college songs not even my own.)

Also thought Schoenberg would have been the Father of Modern Music(although he did write an essay on the modernism of Brahms)....never would have guessed Bach.