EV1696 (Setter’s Blog)

EV1696

Airy by Chalicea

Setter’s Blog

 

 

Setter’s blog on Airy by Chalicea Enigmatic Variations No 1696

I feared that my ‘Airy’ would be rejected when I submitted it because of the rather unusual requirement for solvers to recognise the German title of the Bach Cantata ICH STEH MIT EINEM FUSS IM GRABEN. We are allowed to include in crosswords all those French words that have sneaked into Chambers and solvers seem to be quite happy with them – but German? I was delighted by the warm, enthusiastic and uncritical response of solvers.

One of my sons is married to a German and the children cope quite easily with education in two languages in a US German/English International School and I frequently hear “Grannie, we don’t say it like that” – especially with regard to word order – and I was particularly taken by the surprising realisation that that Bach Cantata’s name could appear in the two languages in three symmetrical rows. Of course, grid symmetry had to be abandoned as it so often does with an ambitious compilation or one that includes substantial thematic material. But I suspect that most solvers are not worried about that.

The subject was fairly obscure, I felt, so I spelled it out BWV ONE FIVE SIX BACH CANTATA in those extra words in a method I have borrowed from setter Ifor; simply putting those letters into clues with 4, 7 or 8-letter entries. It’s a good way to fit an awkward message into the clues when there’s the wrong number of clues for the required message. When the grid allowed me to use circles to spell out SINFONIA ARIOSO, my joy was complete – and I played that beautiful music all the time I was setting.

What dazzling feats Bach performed, creating those Cantatas on a regular basis. I believe it was one per week for some years. And how lovely some parts of them are. I hoped solvers would be prompted to listen to the ARIOSO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drFcH_WwK7Y

 

 

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A full review of this puzzle can be seen over on fifteensquared.