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The AGOs recent resurrection of the little known
Finnish composer, on the 200th anniversary of his
death, caused a flurry and flutter of research amongst
our Kueer Kultur Review Irregulars who are immersed in
musicological minutiae. The excitement was palpable as
they sat unmoving for days before books, musty with
disuse, piled high around them in the subbasement
stacks of the International Musicologic Society
Library in Canarsie. These bearded and bedraggled
scholars forswore or forgot all food and drink, even
tea, as they diligently pursued the truth from the
dank diasphorous oblivion of obscurity.

Oskar Lybunt was born on a frigid late November
morning to impoverished parents (Lusanka and Oedvarg)
in a peat heated shack behind the fish oil rendering
works in the remote hamlet of Hajukoti. Whether myth
or legend, it is said that the very first sound he
uttered was hideously off key. This resulted in a firm
slap on his bum from Lusanka. Thereafter Oskar kept
his humming to himself; it may well have been, in
fact, that he was a deaf mute (according to the
monastic records of the Abbey of Haakon, he never was
heard to have uttered more than tortured squeaks and
was generally considered to be mad).

Lybunt spent his early years in the thankless drudgery
of emptying slop buckets into the village bog. There
he might have remained had it not been for a
fortuitous accident that brought him to the local
convent for repair of a squashed left foot. There he
was washed off and beneath the grime the nuns
discovered an incredibly fetching youth who drooled
incessantly. And so, days and weeks became months and
years as he was kept on at the convent more or less as
a pet and gardener. It was there that he began, at a
tender age, to compose his monumental works in the
austere atmosphere of faith and sacrifice. Lybunt was,
of course, illiterate all his life; and unable to
communicate more than his basic needs with grunts and
squeaks. But, there was a small pipe organ in the
chapel of the convent; and he was permitted to play
with it when the sisters were at labour. Was the
genius of an idiot-savant discovered and transcribed
by an abbess? Or were these works attributed to a poor
wretch simply out of modesty or perverse humor? Today,
of course, his grand works are known to organ scholars
and convent cognoscenti throughout Scandinavia and his
anti-melodic influence is evident in certain circles
in regions of Antipodean-émigré post-modernist
retro-grunge performance-art.

Among his best known compositions are:

The slopman’s lament, or, feces verba lacrymosa
The sweet delicate sensitivity of this lyrical
nocturne provides an angelic serenity to the
mysterious story of Oskar Lybunt.

Elevation sur le LXIX Tone

In A Monastery Bathroom

Entree Pontificale sur "Hey Look Me Over" - composed
for the enthronement of the MMCLVIII Archbishop of
Haakon Minor, one Ganymede of Sverige.

Messe Basse en forme le Danse Rustique - some scholars
hold that the cantus firmus is none other than "Shake
Your Bootie", but others hold to the theory that it is
"Old McDonald Had A Farm" on account of the imitative
violinistic figures in the right hand.

Ode to an Abbess (dedicated to his patroness, the Most
Rev'd Mother Beulah Bumppe)

Paean to Sisters (Schwester Sonatten), the so-called
"Sister Sonatas," in which he describes the
temperament of each choir nun in turn:

I. Allegro staccato (bitchy)

II. Andante ma non troppo (lazy)

III. Minuetto in stile polonia (crazy)

IV. Adagio serioso (constipated)

V. Presto (high on incense)

A sixth spurious sonata, "Copulatio Prestissimo
Possible" appears in the Bodlein Library Add. Ms.
197,369,054 (b), but scholars now generally agree that
it was the work of Protestant agitators.

Elevation sur le chant "Viagra, viagra, laudamus in
aeternam"

Can’t Chant Cantilation Rhythm (© 2003)

Bedpan rag

Rectory Rhapsody This latter work, in particular,
disrobes his image of youthful innocence and puts his
music in bed with the compositional prowess of certain
monks known for their knowledge of the organ’s
potential to awaken latent homophonic syncopation.

The organ works are registered for the small convent
organ; in the interest of historical performance
practice, the stoplist is reproduced here. The organ
is extant, having been rebuilt successively by Arp
Schnitger (1689), Andreas Silbermann (1730), C.F.
Walcker (1850), Hillborne Roosevelt (1900), E.M.
Skinner (1935), and finally the Danish firm of Sauna &
Sauna Ltd in 1950, following extensive damage during
WWII. As a result, the stop-names are somewhat
eclectic.

Brustwerk (enclosed)

8' Bragedeckt (wood)
8' Flaccidfloete (discant)
4' Reindeer-Horn Flute (original) 
2' Principally Useless (pure tin)
1' XXXV Kleine Breaking Glass Cymbale
16'Kleinevogelscheissenregal (1/4 length resonators,
wood boots)

Hauptwerk

16' Bumbasse
8' 1re Montre
8' 2me Montre (behind 1re Montre, center flat)
8' Tamponfloete (the origins of this stop-name are
obscure, but it is clearly stamped on the pipes)
5 1/3' Fifth de Bourbon
4' Useless (ext. Brustwerk 
2', by mechanical transmission)
2' Blokwerk Mixturen XX (evidently retained from the
earlier medieval organ)
8' Trommet de Dies irae (double trebles)

Pedal

16' Zartenfart

Usual couplers; ventils to Brustwerk Cymbale/Regal,
Hauptwerk Trommet; tracker key action.

The case is distinguished by carved angels holding
various kitchen utensils, which move and clank
dismally when the appropriate stop-knob is drawn.

Sister Mary Priapus has recorded the complete works on
Diabolo, available privately from the Convent.

Although eminently obscure, Lybunt had his moment of
fame in the Summer of 1863 on a concert tour, which
began in Helsinki and continued through the capitals
of Europe. Although this was some 60 years after his
death, the then 22-year-old Lybunt was said to have
been heard and lauded that summer by the royalty of
Europe as well as some of the most well known great
composers -some of then long dead and others not yet
born. Bach, himself, was said to have been astounded.
Both Copland and Camille Saint-Saens were said to have
been amazed by Lybunt’s level of virtuosity. Even
Ludwig was said to have taken great interest when
Lybunt performed at Salzburg, personally inviting him
to Neuschwanstein. What transpired is unknown as
Lybunt never spoke about his visit with the King;
presumably they shared some mutual interests in the
ecstasy of enthrallment with organs.

Some have portrayed Lybunt as a tragic figure. Yet, by
all accounts, he led an extraordinarily lengthy life,
which held his most glorious moments decades after he
died.
 The 16-volume: A Brief Introduction to Lybunt,
(German Edition) will be available from the
Musicologic Society offices in autumn.