Music For A While
Wednesday May 31st, 2023 with David Cavlovic
An aperitif of Lully and a Table d'hôte of Beethoven

There are plenty of statues of Jean-Baptiste Lully. Such was his fame. But there is a story (could be apocryphal but who cares) told of a practical joke Lully played (and Lully's humour was apparently quite bawdy) on Louis XIV. The Sun King's garden was festooned with nude statues in the Greek style. Lully had himself painted up as one such statue. He had himself placed on top of a pedestal in the garden, completely in the noodle (...), and remained in a statuesque pose until the King walked by. Lully then jumped off the pedestal, gave the King a big kiss, and ran off laughing hysterically... Something tells me Lully would have fit in quite well amongst today's University and College students, but I don't really know these things.