Grunt: Pigorian Chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo

"Tempus porco nihil est," or, "Time to a pig means zilch," according to Grunt: Pigorian Chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo, a very funny takeoff on the Gregorian chant craze by Sandra Boynton, the author of Chocolate: The Consuming Passion and other droll volumes. This amusing little book, complete with a well-sung 40-minute compact disc by the Ad Hog Camerata, is a note-perfect send-up of chant and the hype that surrounds it. At the same time, the book presents the musical chronicle of a day in the life of one seriously pretentious farm. Boynton's pictures--from the cover to the "illuminations"--are a delight. The cows speak for record company executives everywhere when they intone, "Non plaudite. Modo pecuniam jacite." (Don't applaud, just throw money.) This would make a perfect gift for a musical friend, and if no one gets it for you, you'd be well justified in buying it for yourself for a quick pick-me-up or chant overdose antidote.