Gerard
Hoffnung (1925-1959)
In the
midst of some rather ineffectual tidying, I came across a little book I’ve had
for many years. It still amuses me.Gerard
Hoffnung was a man of many talents. He was born in Germany in 1925, and came to
live in London as a boy with his parents to escape the Nazis. He presented as a
clown, a person of little seriousness, the epitome of the class jester. In
reality, he was a deeply thoughtful and compassionate man, a thinker, a
musician, a cartoonist, a raconteur, a humourist, a Quaker, and he died far too
young, at the age of thirty-four.What passes through the mind of a soloist?
His most
well-known performance was his monologue to the Oxford Union in 1958. The story
of the Bricklayer was amusing but made much funnier by the manner of his
delivery. It helped that the audience was reputed to be ‘merry,’ and alcohol always
intensifies all emotions. It’s a long piece, about seven minutes, but worth listening
to. Note the cats at the window! The strings for stringed instruments used to be made from animal intestines, particularly those from sheep. Cat intestines were never used, but the rumour persisted that strings were made from catgut. Animal intestines were used for around 6,000 years, but their use largely ceased after the Second World War. Strings are now made from synthetic materials.
The
Hoffnung Companion to Music is a small volume of mainly line drawings. His
drawings are masterpieces of detail, and the humour in them is enhanced by
closer examination.
The next one is a more 'finished' drawing.
The last one is possibly my favourite.
.I love seeing the drum horses on parade.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
