ThingsPondered

Dictionary of Wilzbach-isms

Since my mother came from a partially German-speaking family, many of our household words were some sort of colloquialisms or creations with a Cherman flavor.  I hope relatives who may remember more of these Wilzbach vocabulary words will add to the list.

I have guessed at spellings.  Generally, in my renditions both a “u” and the “oo” are pronounced as the “u” in “put,” such as “Put the milk back in the refrigerator.”

Bruntz = brunts  (verb) to urinate

Brunser = BRUN-zer  (noun) a boy

Brunshilda = BRUNZ-hil-da  (noun) a large woman or large girl.  Think Valkeries.

Futsnipper = [pronunciation exception: U is pronounced as the “u” in “cut.”] FUT-snip-per  (noun) a person who is delaying things by obsession with minor details.  Literally, it means fart-cutter.

Goonk = gunk (noun) nose mucous

Grootzely = GRUT-sul-lee (adjective) annoyed, irritable, out of sorts

Machs nichts = mox NIX (sentence) it doesn’t matter, it makes no difference

Runtz = runts (noun) a mischievous, joke-playing yet lovable person

Runtzing or runtz  (verb) = making light-hearted mischief

Schlutz cloth = SHLUTS-cloth  (noun)  a blanket used by a toddler for comfort when going to sleep, for accompaniment to thumb sucking.  In the A & T Morgan household, it was a specially designated old, clean cloth diaper.

Schmecks = shmeks (sentence) With voice going up at the end of the word, it is a question: Does it taste good?  Or with voice staying level or dropping at the end of the word, it is a statement:  It tastes good.

Stroobled = STRUB-uld (adjective) messed up, especially for appearance such as hair or clothing

The first item in this list is primo.  After that, I consider the events equally thrilling, so their order does not imply ranking.

1.        Singing a duet with my son Benjamin for a nursing home gig at Christmastime.   He was in junior high, but was already a baritone.  (Ben wryly attributed this precocious vocal development to all the steroids he has endured for asthma.)  It was joyful to me how well our voices blended, and….duh…I guess they should have coming from the same genetic heritage.

2.       Singing a duet of Amen (from 1963 film Lilies of the Field) with Clark Lash at meeting.

3.       Singing The Verdi Requiem (alto chorus member) with orchestra, guest soloists.  The Dies Irae with timpani —- omg!  Icing on the cake was the small, private party afterwards with some good people from Reading Choral Society and bass soloist Brian Gibson.

4.       Teaching the Sunday school song “The Lord Said to Noah” with full motions, standing up, sitting down and so forth to kindergartners at St. Mary’s R.C. School.  I remember  many times singing “Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory” with my arms outstretched to the sky and thinking “I am getting PAID to do this!  Wow!”

5.       Playing one of my choral compositions (AATTBB) on the piano for a Harvard music major and his gasping with delight at one part.

6.       Singing the Queen of the Night “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” aria (from Mozart’s The Magic Flute) in a voice lesson.  I always wanted to do it.

7.       Playing djembe with good, experienced fellow drummers.

8.       Singing in District and Regional choruses in high school.

9.       Teaching and directing the St. Mary parish children’s choir in my composition of the Our Father.  Also, hearing them singing it on the playground for fun because it is lively.                                  (Like God. Duh)

1                – Room for whatever the next biggie will be -

During the wonderful gathering of jazz musicians to the March Mecca in Berks County (also known as Berks Jazz Fest), one of the regularly scheduled concerts is by an armed forces jazz band.  This year it was the Army Jazz Ambassadors, one of the four performing units of the United States Army Field Band.  This tight group of twenty musicians and four roadies pitched an intense, high energy concert.

Professionalism?  Technical competence? They’ve got it. For example, if the score contained alternate double-dotted eighth notes with thirty-second rests, believe me, with this band you would hear the space between each sounded note.  Also, their interpretive and expressive skills are evident, although sometimes a little too controlled.

Each member of the ensemble is headliner proficiency, so all solos are a real treat to hear.  The drummer is worthy of special mention – often leading off a number, he is a perpetual energy machine and great fun to watch.  Also fun to watch were some of the more emotionally expressive band members, with their feet briskly tapping and their faces beaming their delight in the music being made.  

The program covered a variety of the jazz genres and eras, from “I’ll Be Seeing You” to a jazz treatment of “Rainy Days and Mondays.”   I must confess that my favorites for the program were both Mary Lou Williams tunes: “Big Jim Blues” and “Rosa Mae.”

The band’s music director/MC  mentioned their website which includes links for legal downloads to some of the night’s tunes and many others.  I also appreciate its links to the other military service concert bands.  It’s worth checking at www.armyfieldband.com. 

If this band rolls into your area, they’ll provide a stimulating night out.