Not long after Araucaria’s Wagner / Verdi themed bank holiday special, we have a high quality Wagner / Poulenc themed puzzle from Crucible, timed close to the 200th anniversary of Wagner’s birth, which was on Wednesday. We found this rather tough, largely due to missing Poulenc knowledge and some tough clues like 1a. However, there was lots of entertainment along the way – a very nice puzzle overall.
Across
1. Moo from lower player in duet? (7)
SECONDO
This requires splitting “Moo”: SECOND = “Mo” + O
Definition: “lower player in duet?”
5. Playing harmoniously, wasting hours with this support (7)
ALIMONY
An anagram of HARMONIOUSLY without HOURS
Definition: “support”
10. Band’s [WAGNER] [OPERA]s (4)
RING
Double definition: “Band” and “Wagner Operas”
11. Two ways round tackling complex issues in evening wear (5,5)
DRESS SUITS
ST + DR = “Two ways” reversed, all around (ISSUES)*
Definition: “evening wear”
12. Risk engaging nationalist composer (6)
WAGNER
WAGER = “Risk” around N = “nationalist”
Definition: “composer”
13. What’s down-at-heel Solti upset about? Not odd members of sextet (8)
STILETTO
(SOLTI)* around [s]E[x]T[e]T = “Not odd members of sextet”
Definition: “What’s down-at-heel”
16. Reportedly studies vibrators for [OBOES] (5)
REEDS
Sounds like “reads” = “studies”
Definition: “vibrators for [OBOES]”
17. Some are possibly taken aback by 12’s work (5)
OPERA
Hidden reversed in “ARE POssibly”
Definition: “[WAGNER]’s work”
19. One very wealthy nearly packs [OPERA] house of equal dimensions (9)
ISOMETRIC
I = “One” + SO = “very” + RIC[h] = “wealthy nearly” around MET = “[OPERA] house”
Definition: “of equal dimensions”
23 Lead in [WAGNER] [OPERA] and much else, including Tannhäuser overture (8)
DUTCHMAN
(AND MUCH)* around T[annhäuser] – the anagram indicator, “else”, is somewhat unusual
Definition: “Lead in [WAGNER] [OPERA]”, referring to The Flying Dutchman
24. [WAGNER]’s Irish girl lives with former principal of ensemble (6)
ISOLDE
IS = “lives” + OLD = “former” + E[nsemble] = “princiapl of ensemble”
Definition: “[WAGNER]’s Irish girl” referring to Isolde from Tristan and Isolde
26. It ends with huge outburst? Bless you (as 12 put it) (10)
GESUNDHEIT
An excellent clue: (IT ENDS HUGE)*
Definition: “Bless you (as [WAGNER] put it)”
27. Test allegro finale with rallentando intro (4)
ORAL
[allegr]O = “allegro finale” + RAL[lentando] = “rallentando intro”
Definition: “Test”
28 Harry Potter stripped etc for group (7)
OCTETTE
([p]OTTE[r] + ETC) – “Harry” is the anagram indicator
Definition: “group” (I think I’m more used to the “octet” spelling)
29. Tenor is German — managed houses for 24’s lover (7)
TRISTAN
T = “Tenor” followed by IST = “is German” in RAN = “managed” – it should be read “‘is German’ [that] ‘managed’ houses”
Definition: “[ISOLDE]’s lover”
Down
2. Music publisher fixed price in Dubai, say (7)
EMIRATE
EMI = “Music publisher” + RATE = “fixed price”
Definition: “Dubai, say”
3. German in African port stops there (5)
ORGAN
G = “German” in ORAN = “African port”
Definition: “stops there”, referring to “organ stops”, the knobs on a pipe organ’s console
4. Encyclopaedist in Germany tried miserably to grasp [RING] (7)
DIDEROT
D = “Germany” followed by (TRIED)* around O = “[RING]”
Definition: “Encyclopaedist”
6. 18’s sextet, minus 9 (3,3)
LES SIX
A clever clue, but rather hard – this was my last one in: LESS = “minus” + IX = “9”
Definition: “Poulenc’s sextet”
7,14. In piece by [POULENC], Euterpe, volume and tempo vary, new for old (9,9)
MOUVEMENT PERPETUEL
An anagram of EUTERPE VOLUME TEMPO, but with N = “new” instead of one O = “old”
Definition: “Poulenc”
8. Having scored, doze off touring gallery (7)
NOTATED
NOD = “doze off” around TATE = “gallery”
Definition: “Having scored”
9. Arrange tie-ins and mergers to produce [WAGNER] work (13)
MEISTERSINGER
(TIE INS MERGERS)
Definition: “[WAGNER] work” (in a common abbreviation of its name)
15. First note after Bach prelude removed, cut out? What a let-down (9)
PARACHUTE
[b]ACH = “Bach prelude removed” + UT = “First note” all in PARE = “cut”
Definition: “What a let-down” – a definition that made me smile
18. Lemmon finally appears in The Odd Couple as barman (7)
POULENC
A lovely surface reading for this clue: (COUPLE)* around [lemmo]N = “Lemmon finally”
Definition: “barman” – a composer writes bars of music
20. It’s more moving, hence state of audience’s eyes? (7)
MOISTER
(IT’S MORE)*
Definition: “state of audience’s eyes?”
21. Supreme leader underpins popular state (7)
INDIANA
DIANA = “Supreme leader” (referring to Diana Ross of the Supremes) underneath IN = “popular”
Definition: “state”
22. Ringed in a cloud shrouding climax to Siegfried (6)
AMIDST
A + MIST = “cloud” around [siegfrie]D = “climax to Siegfried”
Definition: “Ringed”
25. They’re played by [RING] blowers regularly (5)
OBOES
O = “[RING]” + B[l]O[w]E[r]S = “blowers regularly”
Definition: “They’re played” (or the whole clue)
Thanks, mhl. I found this reasonably tricky, music not being my strong point. The cluing was very fair, though, so no complaints.
Really though, the only clue that required a bit of specialist musical knowledge was SECONDO, which was clued by Puck back in January and the word had stuck in my brain because of the equally devious clue: “Contralto’s last bit is the lower part of two.”
When I checked 7,14 the title was shown in the plural. Somebody more clever than I can perhaps elucidate: is the title a collection of pieces and thus the singular form clued by “piece by POULLENC”?
NeilW @ 1 – there are three movements to the ‘mouvements perpetuels’. Any of these could be the relevant piece, and would quite reasonably be described as ‘the third (for example) mouvement perpetuel’
I hope this clarifies.
W.
I really enjoyed this puzzle. There is something immensely satisfying in solving a themed crossword without knowing anything about the theme – the cluing was incredibly fair. I found it difficult (it took me about 6 hours overall) but it was an absolute pleasure.
(I loved the Diana Ross reference. I must admit that I solved the clue from the crossing letters before I parsed it – that doesn’t take away from the wit of the clue though!)
I failed to solve 5a & 7/14 ( I had the correct anagram fodder but I cold not solve this clue, even though I looked at a complete list of Poulenc compositions in Wikipedia).
My favourites were 13a, 21d, 6d, 11a, 26a.
I was unable to parse 15d, 1a.
Thanks for the blog, mhl.
Many thanks mhl & Crucible, this was very challenging and very enjoyable.
I usually fall asleep when watching an opera but certainly not on this occasion.
Fortunately, my knowledge of German, French and Italian was helpful.
It was some time after completing the puzzle before the penny dropped regarding DIANA – I’ve got so used to finding the other one.
Michelle @ 4, I too had to resort to Wikipedia for assistance here. Trois mouvements perpétuels for 9 instruments, FP 14 (1946) is the 13th entry under the Chamber/Instrumental section of the List of Compositions.
Biggles A@6
Thanks – I just had another look, and I realise that I missed it as I was looking for a composition with only two words. It might have helped if I had tried harder to solve 5a and then I would have had the starting letter of 7/14….. Hopefully I’ll be smarter next time! Congratulations to you for solving this clue.
You are kind Michelle but the congratulations should be directed to Wikipedia!
Pleased that, with the help of my Mum, I managed to complete this last weekend. She was the one who spotted the parsing of DIANA. My sister played the oboe, so we got REEDS quite quickly. We had to Google the POULENC piece, but did realise what it must be.
One of the last in for us was SECONDO, as we thought it must be that, but could not work out the parsing, so thanks mhi. Our tenuous reasoning involved a duet for ‘Old MacDonald had a farm’ with the SECONDO part being the second MOO . . . .
I am back at home in Cheshire now and about to start exam marking so no more crosswords for me for a while. I hope I don’t get withdrawal symptoms!
Agree with the other comments – tough but fair clues. Like Michelle, I could not (fully) parse 1a or 15d. 26a was the only one that defeated me though, despite, I now recall, having seen octette previously with that spelling.
Thanks for the blog.
I thought this was a mixed bag. “Not again!” was my reaction when I saw Wagner as I immediately expected to find Ring, Opera, Tristan and Isolde, and was disappointed to do so.
There were some good clues though. Supreme leader made me laugh.
I failed to get 7,14 beyond accumulating the correct letters for the anagram. Unfair to give an 18 letter anagram of a foreign title by a lesser known composer, I think … impossible for those of us who prefer to solve without the help of the Internet.
At least there won’t be any more Wagner puzzles till his 250th. 😉
Thanks, mhl, for the blog. I completed this (eventually) all bar 1 across, which completely stumped me. I even wondered about SECONDO, even though I didn’t know the term, from the crossing letters, but simply couldn’t make anything of ‘Moo’. Harumph.
Thanks, mhl, for the blog.
A friend and I worked on this on the coach on a day trip to York, and managed most of it, very enjoyably, on the way there [trusting that there was an African port called ORAN]. As so very often happens, after some time away from it, we were able quite quickly to enter the remaining answers on the return journey – apart from, most annoyingly, 7,14, where we had all the anagrammed letters and knew it had to be French but it just wouldn’t come. Our fault, not Crucible’s, so huge thanks to him for adding considerably to the enjoyment of an enjoyable day out.
Thanks Crucible and mhl
Found this very hard going across many sessions going through a range of emotions from “oh no, not another Wagner”, then frustration and finally a sense of real achievement when ALIMONY went in last.
I parsed a couple differently – with RING being one of the cycle of four operas that make up the total and had RD and ST both turned round with ‘tackling’ suggesting that they were on each side of (ISSUES) to give DRESS SUITS.
Many neat clues and a lot of hard ones in what turned into a very good Prize challenge. Interesting selection of the two composers with Poulenc, as a member of Les six, whose music was regarded by some as a reaction to the style of Wagner.
Thanks mhl.
Seems I’m in a minority – I managed to figure out ‘mouvement perpetuel’ from the anagram, but had to resort to the internet for ‘Poulenc’ (sounded vaguely familiar once I found it, but just wouldn’t come from the letters in front of me). Also failed to parse parachute – had forgotten about ‘ut’, which is one of those words that I only ever come across in crosswords.
I simply wanted to say what a pleasure this was. I can´t really single out any particular clue, but the overall quality was top-shelf. I jotted down SECONDO? but needed the explanation provided here. 21d also made me think of Diana from the 1980s TV series ?V? though I think she was more of a deputy or a military commander rather than the Supreme Leader.
The Wagner-Poulenc theme was a little too easy to crack. Once cracked the related clues were also too easy.
Although enjoyable not IMO tricky enough for a prize puzzle as it was done and dusted well within the hour.
Thanks to mhl and Crucible