Great Works, Composed by and for Cats!

The sheer beauty of cats has inspired artists to paint their portraits, photographers to capture their essence and poets to muse on their charming behaviors. If it weren't for musicians smitten by the feline species, a huge chunk of our musical repertoire would have never been written.

The French composer, Maurice Ravel, was passionate about Siamese cats. A cat duet was featured in his opera, "L'Enfant et les Sortileges." Frederick Chopin loved the melody his cat made while walking across his piano keys so much that he used the theme to write "The Cat Waltz". Camille Saint-Saens featured a lion in his introduction to "The Carnival of the Animals."

The musically-gifted cat, Pulcinella, who belonged to the composer, Domenico Scarlatti, composed the opening bars of the "Fugue in G Minor," commonly known as the "Cat's Fugue" by strolling on the harpsichord keys, "Cats" was the longest running musical in history with 20 years in London and nearly 18 on Broadway.

One of the most charming and famous musical tributes to felines, is "Duetto buffo di due Gatti", written in the mid-1800s. While the duet is commonly attributed to Gioachino Rossini, some musicologists claim that it was actually penned by the English composer, Robert Lucas Pearsall, who died in 1856. It is a "mewsical" duet between two cats, generally performed by two women.

The piece has captured the hearts of cat lovers to such a great extent that YouTube users have inundated the site with videos using the music. But paws down, the video uploaded by Diavidia, with its enchanting feline photographs, is the most delightful presentation.

So sit back and enjoy a few minutes of great music, set to magnificent cat images.

How do your cats inspire you? Leave a comment and let us know.

Image Source: Jo Singer