Origin
The work was written sometime between 1785 and 1787. On 2 September 1788, Mozart entered it into his personal catalog of works as part of a set of ten canons. Although some of the canons in the set of ten have serious (that is, religious) lyrics, K. 560a was meant for fun, a gesture of mocking, scatological humor directed at a friend of Mozart's, the baritone Johann Nepomuk Peyerl (1761–1800). The canon begins
- O, du eselhafter Peierl
- O, du peierlhafter Esel
("Oh, you asinine Peierl; oh you Peierline ass"). Later, the lyrics include "O leck mich doch geschwind im Arsch" ("Oh lick me real quick in the ass (arse)"), a favorite expression in Mozart's scatological works. For further examples and discussion, see this encyclopedia's articles on Mozart's other scatological canons: "Leck mich im Arsch", "Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber", "Bona nox", and "Difficile lectu (Mozart)"; as well as Mozart and scatology.
"O du eselhafter Peierl" was originally intended to be sung immediately following "Difficile lectu". For the tale of how these two canons originated, see "Difficile lectu (Mozart)".
Read more about this topic: O Du Eselhafter Peierl (Mozart)
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