Grunt: Pigorian Chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo [With 28-Minute]

by Sandra Boynton

Book Overview

A delightfully silly, good-natured parody of the recording phenomenon Chant and other works that put Gregorian music on the charts, Grunt is a book and CD set that combines Sandra Boynton's inimitable way with farm animals and a satirical sense that comes deliciously out of left barn. In a far-off valley live the obeisant Domoinkan Pigs of Snouto Domoinko de Silo. Here, twelve times a day, these simple swine grunt the unadorned, ethereal music of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761105948
• ISBN13: 9780761105947
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Workman Publishing
• Length: 28 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.8" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Funniest thing ever!

My Mother first shared this with me and it is one of the most cleverly funny things I have ever experienced. I belong to a medieval reinactment group (SCA) and I really love putting it on as background at meetings and seeing if anyone catches on. It works both as normal music (if you arn't paying attention it sounds just like regular chant), and as a fabulous IN JOKE. I think you have to have a certain kind of twisted humor to really enjoy it though... and don't buy it if you don't enjoy chant. You'll get bored otherwise... but I love it and hope to share it with many others.

Ore-snay, ore-snay!

I received this book/CD combo as a gift. The giver requested that I listen and read immediately. Howl! From start to finish, I laughed! The chant (grunt) is authentic, and true to Gregorian modes. The musicians are first rate, though I am not sure how they recorded this without laughing! Basically, what Boynton and her cohorts have done, is spoof the ever-so-popular "Chant" recordings. It details the day in the lives of some barn animals. The humor is subtle, and it would almost be worth it to learn Latin all over again. After studying the Chant form for a semester in college, I am sure that I find the humor funnier than the average non-music major. Still, it is a great parody that everyone should hear at least once.

Fun stuff

If you weren't paying attention to the words, you'd think you were listening to a true Chant CD. The music is beautiful, but from the text, you know that they don't take themselves too seriously. It's a hoot! two hooves up!

Hilarious!

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. If you just listen to the music, you'd be fooled into thinking this is real Gregorian chant. But if you listen carefully or if you take a peek at the lyrics in the illustrated booklet, you're in for a real treat! This is wonderful satire of the Gregorian chanting phenomenon. Would make a great gift for Latin scholars!

Quality Music with quality humor

As others have noted, this book gets most of its humor value from the parody of the current trendy "Gregorian Chant for new age yuppies" albums, but the underlying concept is fun for anybody who knows a little Latin, grew up Catholic, or just likes erudite barnyard animals. And, unlike the P.D.Q. Bach works, no real knowledge of classical music is needed to appreciate much of the humor here. The real prize in this package is not the book, but the CD. This is good-quality music done by real musicians, who don't let the humorous content of the chant distract them from their skills. The text, where the pigs sing Pig Latin while the other animals sing Latin, is full of Latin translations of English idiom, and the snide comments of the chickens, delivered by angelic, ethereal female voices, win out-loud laughter from everyone for whom I've played the disc