How I wonder what you are!
Above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky!
Shine shine little star
How I wonder what you are! … “ Website design By BotEap.comOf all the nursery rhymes and nursery rhymes for children, this is one of my favorites. I have sung it to my children many, many times. Although it is a commonly sung lullaby, it is perhaps less well known that the melody and lyrics were not written together, not even with each other, and that this lullaby was NOT written by Mozart. The melody is from the French melody “Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman” (believed to have been first published in 1761). And the text is from an early 19th century poem titled “The Star” by Jane Taylor (first published 1806). Website design By BotEap.comMany composers have used the melody “Ah! Vousdirai-je, Maman” as inspiration for their compositions. For instance: Website design By BotEap.com1. Camille Saint-Saens in The Carnival of Animals (1886), movement number 12 entitled “Fossils”.
2. Franz Liszt in Album Leaf: “Ah! I’ll tell you, Mom” (1833).
3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 12 variations in C major on “Ah, you say me, mama” (1781-82). Website design By BotEap.comFor a time it was believed that Mozart composed his variations for piano while residing in Paris between April and September 1778, where he would have been exposed to French song. Mozart may have heard it during that time, but Mozart’s manuscript analysis of Wolfgang Plat’s composition indicates that Mozart probably did not compose its theme and variations until 1781-82, when he was in Vienna. Website design By BotEap.comMozart’s 12 spectacular variations on the theme “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman” have become enormously popular and have been used in commercial, educational and artistic endeavors. And, with the Internet, it has become relatively easy to find cases where Mozart variations have been used, and more especially when it comes to videos. For example, the “Baby Einstein” videos (Disney) have used this work in their videos. Additionally, YouTube hosts a variety of recital performances of this work. Website design By BotEap.com“… When the scorching sun is gone,
When nothing shines on him
Then you show your little light
Shine, shine, all night
Shine shine little star
How I wonder what you are! … “