Young People`s Concert Curriculum Guide

Transcription

Young People’s Concert
Curriculum Guide
WSO Young People‘s Concert is made possible with support from:
Waterbury Arts & Tourism Commission
The Leever Foundation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fantastic Planet
Concert Program……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………. 3
Meet the Conductor………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….…………. 4
Concert Etiquette…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….…….……… 5
What is an Orchestra?............................................………………………………………………………………………...………………. 7
Curriculum Guide Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….…………………………..…..….. 16
A Brief Look at our Fantastic Planet……………………..…………………………………………………………………………………..… 18
About the Composers
Claude Debussy...………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………… 22
Igor Stravinsky……...……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………. 26
John Williams……...…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
Ralph Vaughan Williams….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
Listening Guide
Le Sacre du Printemps (excerpts)………………………….………………………………………………………………………….…… 36
La Mer (excerpts)……...………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….…… 38
Overture from “The Cowboys”……………………………………………………………………………………..……………..….…..… 43
Sinfonia Antaractica (Symphony No. 7)…………………………………………………….………………………………..………. 50
La Mer - The Ocean………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………......…… 54
Make an Edible Coral Reef…..………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………...…… 56
Overture from “The Cowboys”……………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………….. 57
Make a Split-twig Figure……………………………….…………………………………………………………………...…………..……… 59
Sinfonia Antarctica (Symphony No. 7)……...…………………………………………………………………………………….…….…… 60
Make Your Own Weather Station…………………………………………………………………………...………………….……...… 64
Keeping Our Fantastic Planet Fantastic……………………………………………………………………………………………………... 66
Glossary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…………………...………...…… 67
Selected Sources………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…….………...…… 73
Evaluation Forms………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………. 76
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WSO Young People‘s Concert 2011
Waterbury Symphony Orchestra
Young People‘s Concert
TODAY’S PROGRAM
Igor Stravinsky…………….………………………….…... Excerpts from Le Sacre du Printemps
(The Rite of Spring)
Claude Debussy……….….……………………….…….... Excerpts from 3rd Movement La Mer
Ralph Vaughan Williams……...…………………………. Final excerpt Sinfonia Antarctica
John Williams……….…….……………………………… Overture from The Cowboys
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Meet the Guest Conductor
Emil de Cou
Guest Conductor
Conductor
[kuh n-duhk-ter] –noun
a person who directs an orchestra or chorus,
communicating to the performers by motions
of a baton or the hands his or her interpretation of the music.
Position:
Music Director Pacific Northwest Ballet, NSO @ Wolf Trap
(National Symphony
Orchestra, DC) Festival Conductor, Music Director Virginia Chamber Orchestra
Born:
July 9, 1957 Los Angeles California
School:
Cal State Long Beach, Music Academy of Vienna, University of
Southern California, Hollywood Bowl masterclass with Leonard
Bernstein
Current Home:
San Francisco, CA
Age started music lessons: 15
Practices how often:
When I played: everyday / Now: I study music everyday at the
piano
First Instrument:
Favorite Composer:
Favorite Food:
Favorite Movie:
French horn
Tchaikovsky
Mexican, Chinese, and Popcorn (sometimes at the same time)
The last one I saw, in this case “The Kings Speech,” but I also
liked “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Children:
Only imaginary ones .
Pets:
A large collection of stuffed play animals / many many cats, a
snake, lizards, rabbits, mice and a dog when I was a boy.
Accomplishment most proud of: having conducted for over a quarter of a million young people
at the Kennedy Center's Young Person's Concert over the past
decade.
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CONCERT AND SCHOOL ASSEMBLY ETIQUETTE GUIDE
FOR THE BEGINNER AND EXPERT
Feeling out of place? Not sure when to clap? Sense a sneeze coming on? The following tips for novices and
regular attendees alike will satisfy even the strictest minders of manners.
What do I wear?
Chances are, when you come to the performance, the performers will be in formal attire (unless you are attending a school assembly or rehearsal). As an audience member, however, tails, top hats, evening gowns,
etc., are all optional. Many concert-goers will tend to dress up a bit, but they’d probably say that they’re
most comfortable attending a concert that way. So, don whatever you think would make you comfortable in
the setting of a concert hall; a good guide might be a little fancier than what you would normally wear to
school.
Video Games and Other Electronics, including Cellular Phones and Pagers
Electronic equipment was not part of Bach and Vivaldi’s world, nor is it part of a Period-Instrument Orchestra. Step back in time and take a break from the modern world! Please turn off all games, cellular telephones, pagers, and any other audible electronic devices before the concert begins.
How will I find my seat?
You will most likely sit with your class for any in-school performance. Just follow your teacher’s lead.
Even the most experienced audience member may need help with seat locations. We promise you won’t need a
map or a compass. Any usher will be more than happy to guide you.
Late Seating
Chances are you won’t be late for a school assembly.
If you arrive after a performance in a concert hall has begun, the ushers will do their best to seat you during an appropriate pause in the program. However, late seating is not always available at all performances.
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Please try to be on time.
How will I know when the concert is about to begin?
When you first take your seat, you will notice that several of the musicians may already be on stage. Don’t
worry; you’re not late. The musicians are warming up and reviewing their music before the concert begins.
Just prior to the start of the concert, when all of the members of the orchestra are seated, the lights will
dim, and the concertmaster will stand and signal to the first oboe player to play the note A. The rest of the
orchestra will then tune their instruments to match the oboe. If there is a piano on stage, it will be used to
give the pitch from which the orchestra will tune. The next thing that will happen is that the conductor will
enter the stage. He or she will bow to the applauding audience, turn around and begin the concert.
Is it time to clap yet?
Most artists appreciate applause at any time during a performance. Until the late 19 th century and even into
the 20th century, it was customary for audiences to applaud at the end of every section of a given piece, and
some movements were even given an immediate encore if the applause was great enough. Modern audiences,
however, tend to wait until the end of an entire work to clap. Why? Holding applause between movements is
considered to be respectful to the performers’ concentration and mindful of musical continuity.
A good rule of thumb is to count the number of movements for an entire work—usually indicated by different
tempo (speed) markings—and then applaud after the final movement. Some composers are tricky, however,
and do not insert a pause between movements. Beethoven, for example, goes from the third to the final movement of his 5th Symphony without any pause. Perhaps he wanted to be sure there would be no applause at that
moment.
The conductor should let you know, and usually does, when a piece is over. He or she will put his or her arms
down and turn to face the audience. The conductor will also shake the hands of the concertmaster and the
soloist if there is one. If you’re still in doubt, you can always wait until someone else begins to clap and then
join in!
Photographs and Recordings
Please do not take any pictures or record this concert.
Coughing/Sneezing/Eating/Drinking
Neither eating nor drinking is permitted inside most auditoriums. If you are hungry, please have a snack before the concert or during intermission. If you feel the onset of a cold or allergies, please use a cough drop
to ensure that the concert experience is as pleasurable as possible for you—and those around you. Kindly note
the next important step: unwrap them ahead of time.
If you cannot suppress a cough, it is perfectly acceptable, extraordinarily polite even, to excuse yourself
from the Hall until you feel better.
After the Concert
As the applause starts to die down, the performers will put their instruments away, and leave the stage. The
house lights will be turned on. At this point, the concert is over and it is time to go home. Please exit the auditorium or concert hall with the same courtesy you exhibited throughout the concert.
This website is helpful for more information:
http://www.geocities.com/marthabees/etiquette.html
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WHAT IS AN ORCHESTRA?
Basically, an orchestra is a team of musicians led by a
conductor. If you compare an orchestra to a baseball team,
think of the conductor as the pitcher, and the concertmaster as
the catcher. No matter how many strikes a pitcher can throw,
or how well the catcher calls the plays, the team still needs
support from the field in order to win. The same is true of an
orchestra. Every player is critical for a successful performance.
The modern symphony orchestra is the result of centuries of
evolution. Hundreds of years ago there was no central conductor. In the 1600s the conductor stood to one side and literally
beat the time on the floor with a large pole. The composer Lully is rumored to have died of an infection that developed after
he hit his foot with the pole. Conductors often sat at the keyboard, or the concert master (1st violin) lead the ensemble. The
first conductor to turn his back to the audience and use a baton was Louis Spohr in 1820.
The orchestra as it functions today is made up of
four families of instruments who work together as a team to
create a successful performance. The instrument families are
the strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Every instrument in the orchestra is a member of one of these families.
The orchestra has a specific seating chart—most follow
something like the one pictured here. Each player within a
section sits in a specific chair, or place. If a chorus is involved in the performance, the singers usually stand on risers
behind the orchestra. The following offers brief descriptions
of the instruments and how they work.
Orchestra Seating Chart
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STRINGS
Violin
Some musicians call the string family the ―heartbeat‖ of
the orchestra. There are more string players than any other in the
orchestra, and it was one of the first fully chromatic instruments
to be made. The string family is primarily made up of the violin,
viola, cello, and bass. Other members are the guitar, lute, mandolin, harp, and harpsichord, which are built and played very differently from the others in the family. Although strings are the main
source of sound for the piano, it is technically a percussion instrument because the strings are struck with hammers to produce
sound.
The main instruments of the string family are all built
and played in a similar manner. The bodies are made of varnished hardwood (spruce on the front and sides, maple on the
back) and carved into an ―S‖ shape. Ebony is used for the fingerboard, tailpiece, and tuning pegs. A bridge is placed in the center
of the front of the instrument to hold the strings up, and a sound
post is on the inside to add overall stability. Strings (made of gut,
steel, or nylon) are stretched from the tailpiece, across the bridge,
and then wound around the appropriate tuning peg.
Sound is produced in two ways. The primary method is
by drawing a bow (right hand) across a string causing it to vibrate. The vibrations resonate through the body of the instrument
to produce a rich tone. The player‘s left hand presses or ―stops‖
the string at the appropriate point to produce a specific pitch. The
other way to produce sound is to use the bowing hand to pluck
the strings.
String instruments range in size and pitch range. The
violin is the smallest and has the highest notes. Next comes the
viola—not just a big violin, which is like the alto in a chorus.
Both of these are held under the chin to play. The next in the
family is the cello, which has been described as the ―rich uncle‖
of the string family. It has a very full range and rich sound. To
play the instrument, the cellist sits down and places it between
his or her knees. An endpin in the floor helps to anchor the cello.
Finally there is the bass. It is the largest and lowest member of
the family. Players either sit on a tall stool or stand to play it be-
Viola
Cello
Bass
Bow
727 mm
Head
Horse-Hair
8
Stick
Frog
cause it is usually taller than a fully-grown person.
The violin, viola, and cello are all strung in intervals of a fifth. That means that each open string (no fingers pressing on
it) is five notes away from its neighbor. The bass is strung in intervals of a fourth. The open strings vary for each instrument and
are as follows:
Violin: G-D-A-E (treble clef)
Viola: C-G-D-A (alto clef)
Cello: C-G-D-A (bass clef)
Bass: E-A-D-G (bass clef—8ve below the staff)
The bow is most often made of brazilian wood (stick) with ebony and pearl inlay on the frog and tip. The hair is horse
tail hair—mostly Siberian because the hair is stronger. Rosin is used to help keep the bow hair from slipping on the instrument
strings. The hair is tightened and loosened using a turning screw on the end near the frog.
Woodwinds
Basic members of the woodwind family (from left to right):
Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon
The woodwind section has its name because at one
point in time all of the instruments were made of wood. All
woodwinds have three things in common, regardless of their
materials and sound: They are all tubes, have keys and/or holes
for the fingers, and a place for the mouth to blow. Some have no
reeds (small piece of bamboo that vibrates to generate the
sound); some have a single reed, and some have a double reed.
The main instruments in the woodwind section are the flute,
oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. Other instruments include the piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, and the saxophone.
Although most are made of metal (usually silver) today, the flute was originally made of wood. It is one of the oldest instruments in the world. Almost every culture has some sort
of flute as an instrument. Even prehistoric cultures figured out
that they could produce notes by drilling holes into a bone and
blowing down into one end. Early flutes did not have keys,
but modern ones do. Constructed in three separate sections
that slide together, flutes have 16 keys to cover 16 holes.
Some keys are linked so that by pressing down on one, two or
three move together. A flautist (also called flutist) produces
sound by placing his or her lower lip on the lip plate and
blowing across the mouth hole, the same way you can make a
sound by blowing across an empty bottle. Proper breathing is
very important for this little instrument, as is the use of the
player‘s tongue. The flute has a three-octave range from middle C to the C an octave above a high C in the treble clef.
Other types of flutes include the piccolo, which is half the
size of the standard C-flute and plays an octave higher. One
of the most famous piccolo solos is in Sousa‘s ―The Stars and
Stripes Forever.‖
The oboe is another member of the woodwind famiWSO Young People‘s Concert 2011
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ly. It is a double reed instrument that is made of hardwood,
usually African black wood, rosewood, or ebony, although
some modern oboes are made of a hard plastic designed to
look and resonate like wood. Like other woodwinds, the
oboe has metal keys. It is in three separate sections that slide
together. The reeds are made of thin slices of cane that are
tied together. The reeds vibrate when played to produce the
sound. Most oboists make their own reeds and fuss with
them frequently while playing. The reason is that the reeds
are delicate and can make the sound beautiful or terrible.
The oboe has such a unique sound it can be heard over all
the instruments in the orchestra. At the start of every concert, following the concert master‘s lead, the oboe plays the
note ―A,‖ from which the rest of the instruments tune so that
they are all playing the same pitches and sound good together. To find the original ―A,‖ the oboist will use either a tuning fork or electronic tuning device to be sure that his or her
pitch is accurate. Throughout the Baroque era (ca. 1600–
1750) and into the Classical era (ca. 1770–1820), the oboe
was extremely popular. Its popularity surged again in the
20th century.
A lower-pitched cousin of the oboe is the English
horn. It is also a double reed instrument that is larger than
the oboe and isn‘t held as high when played. Its name ―cors
anglais‖ has really been mistranslated, since it is neither
English nor a horn. The literal translation of the French
means ―angled horn,‖ which is much less confusing. Instead
of a bell-shaped bell at the end, the English Horn has a pearshaped bell.
Younger than the oboe is the single reed clarinet.
Invented around 1700, it is one of the ―newer‖ instruments
in the woodwind family. Its name may come from the fact
that its high notes can sound a bit like a trumpet or
―clarion‖; ―clarionet‖ literally means ―little trumpet.‖ The
clarinet is an extremely versatile instrument being able to
play very low and very high notes (low C to high Eb). It is a
transposing instrument, meaning that it sounds at a different
pitch from what a musician sees on the page. For example, a
player using a Bb clarinet will see the note C on the music
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and play that note, but the actual note will sound like a Bb.
In order to be in tune with the rest of the orchestra, the clarinet part will be written in a different key than the nontransposing instruments. The reason for the transpositions is
that there are several sizes of clarinets, each in its own key. It
is easier to change the transposition and keep the fingering
the same than to have to change fingering for each instrument. It is played similarly to the oboe, there is only one
reed, which vibrates against a mouthpiece sending waves
down the body to produce its unique sound. Clarinets are
―cylindrical bores,‖ meaning that it is the same width all the
way down to the bell. It is also made of African blackwood
and has metal keys. The body is in five separate pieces that
slide together. Mozart loved the clarinet, and re-orchestrated
some of his works giving the oboe part to the clarinet. One of
the most famous clarinet solos is the beginning of Gershwin‘s ―Rhapsody in Blue.‖
The largest and lowest member of the basic woodwind family is the bassoon. Like the oboe, it has a double
reed. The bassoon is usually made of maple (a hardwood) in
four sections that join together with metal rings, and it has
metal keys. It is very heavy, and most players attach a sling,
which they sit on to help support the weight. It is played like
the oboe, but is a bit harder. The air needs to pass through the
metal crook (part that holds the reeds), down through one
section, back up through the larger sections and out the bell
at the top. Although it has a reputation of being a bit of a
clown, its role in the orchestra is more than just a supporting
bass line. It adds a rich sound to the low strings when doubling their parts. It also has a very versatile three-octave
range (bass clef-low B♭ to a high tenor clef B♭). The composer Stravinsky used the high range of the bassoon as a solo
line in his ballet ―Le Sacre du Printemps‖ (The Rite of
Spring), literally causing a riot in the theater during the
work‘s premiere. The contrabassoon is essentially a larger
and lower cousin of the bassoon. Its bell faces the floor rather
than the air, and it has a spike on the bottom to anchor it to
the floor because it is too heavy to hold in the air.
The Brass Family
From left to right: French Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba
Brass
The brass family takes its name from the fact that
most of its instruments are made of brass metal. Horns of all
types have ancient origins. Thousands of years ago people cut
off the end of an animal‘s horn and blew into them to create a
sound. Today, one can still hear a shofar (ram‘s horn) blown
for religious purposes in synagogues. In Ancient Rome horns
were used as signaling instruments, often for military events.
These horns were simple long brass tubes that had no valves.
All members of the brass family have a few things in common. They are all long metal tubes that are folded and coiled
around. They would be too long to play if the tubes were left
straight. They all have a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece.
They all have a bell at the end. They also all have a water key
(sometimes called a spit valve) to release the build-up of condensation.
Another commonality is the basic way brass instruments are played. The mouthpiece goes against the player‘s
lips instead of inside the mouth. To create sound on a brass
instrument, the player blows into the mouthpiece, making his
or her lips vibrate. This action creates waves that travel
through the instrument and come out of the bell at the end.
Pitch is determined by the speed of the lips‘ vibration and the
length of the tube. The trombone has a slide (u-shaped tube) to
change notes by altering the total length of the instrument. The
modern horn, trumpet, and tuba all have valves to change the
main tube‘s length and alter the pitch. The valves make even
chromatic notes possible. In the 17th and 18th centuries, horns
did not have valves, and the musicians had to change notes
with their lips and hands. They also had small tubes, called
crooks, to make more notes possible. Composers and conductors had to give players enough time in the music to
change crooks. Outside the orchestra, brass instruments are
often heard in their own ensembles. They sound lovely all
together with all types of music—not just loud.
Trumpet
The trumpet is an ancient instrument. In fact, a
silver one was found as part of Tutankhamun‘s tomb. It is a
cylindrical tube that loops around and widens to the bell at
one end. It has a cup-shaped mouthpiece at the other end,
and three piston valves in the middle to help play different
notes. Trumpet players also change the size of the opening
between their lips (embouchure) to change pitch. Learning
to control one‘s breath is essential to trumpet playing. Many
trumpets are transposing instruments (like the clarinet). The
three most common are in C (non-transposing), D, and Bb.
Like the woodwinds, there are other less common types of
trumpets, including the piccolo trumpet and the cornet. The
piccolo trumpet is very small , has four valves and sounds
best on high notes. The cornet is like a slightly overweight
trumpet. Its sound is less piercing and sounds best in brass
bands or military settings. Different composers wrote for
specialty trumpets as well. For example, Verdi orchestrated
Aida to include a long, straight version with only one valve.
J. S. Bach wrote many pieces for an especially high trumpet,
but no one knows exactly how the instrument sounded. Today those pieces are played on the piccolo trumpet.
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Trombone
Modern trombones are one of the only
members of the brass family without valves. They
are made of one long brass
tube that widens to a bell
at one end. The other end has a cup-shaped mouthpiece.
Instead of valves, the trombone has a slide to change notes.
Even the trombone‘s predecessor, the sackbut, used a slide,
giving it the largest range of notes among the early brass
family. The overall reach of the slide can be up to three
feet, but players need to be accurate within a quarter of an
inch to play in tune. Players hold their instruments almost
parallel to the floor. As with other brass instruments, the
lips are against the mouthpiece, and strong breath control is
needed. Even though there are several sizes of trombones
(alto and bass), they are not transposing instruments. The
trombone sounds at written pitch. Trombones are often
used in operas and symphonies to represent the supernatural. Beethoven was the first to use the trombone in a symphony (Symphony No. 5, Op. 67). They sound best in
groups or with other instruments, and they are not often
heard as solos.
French Horn
French horns were named as such because they
were developed in France. They are not limited to French
music, however. Most often they are simply called horns
and are labeled that way in most scores. The horn is probably the most difficult instrument in the orchestra to play.
Even the best players make mistakes in performances. Its
rich, velvety timbre is somewhere between the woodwinds
and brass. It is capable of lush soft sounds as well as loud
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exuberant sounds. Because of its long association with hunting, composers often use the horn to depict the outdoors. Its
use as a signal in hunting is what gave the horn its round
shape—horsemen were able to place it over their shoulders
when not using it. The horn is made up of many small pieces
of brass tubing to form a round instrument with a lot of internal curls. It has a three valves, a funnel shaped mouthpiece,
and a wide bell. Horn players literally blow a raspberry with
their lips. They also place one hand inside the bell to make
tiny adjustments to the sound, fine-tuning pitch, and even
bending it for special effects. It is a transposing instrument—
most are in F, sounding a perfect fifth below the written
pitch. A well-know relative of the horn is the Wagner Tuba.
Invented by the composer Richard Wagner for his operas,
the Wagner Tuba is shaped like a traditional tuba, but it has a
horn‘s mouthpiece, so horn players usually are the ones to
play it.
Tuba
The largest and lowest instrument in the brass family is the tuba, which was invented in 1835. Because of its
size, one might think that it is only capable of playing slowly, but it can be surprisingly light and quick and has a rich
mellow timbre. Most orchestras only have one tuba. Its primary function in the orchestra is to support and strengthen
the bass line. The tuba is made of an enormous brass tube
that is coiled around. Its large bell points up toward the ceiling. There are three valves and a cup-shaped mouthpiece.
The tuba rests on the player‘s lap, and he or she wraps his or
her arms around it, using the right hand to press the valves. It
is so big that it is difficult to see the player. As one might
expect, it takes a great deal of strength to produce the breath
needed to play this mighty instrument.
Percussion
Percussion instruments are probably some of the oldest in the world, second only to the human voice, which can also
make percussive sounds. They are musical instruments that are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed, or scraped. They don‘t
just play non-pitched rhythms, they can also play melody and harmony. In fact, the piano is technically a percussion instrument
because the strings are struck by hammers.
Percussion is often called the ―backbone‖ or ―heartbeat‖ of a musical ensemble. They work closely with the bass section, particularly the timpani, in an orchestra. Most classical music has at least one pair of timpani to emphasize the bass line
and key of the piece in addition to providing the work‘s rhythmic drive. In the 18 th century Mozart and Haydn, as well as other
composers built the percussion section from mostly timpani, adding many more instruments as they sought to imitate Turkish
Janissary (military) bands. The new instruments included tam-tam, tambourine, glockenspiel, and snare drum, among others.
20th-century composers continued to expand the section, bringing it to the fore and expanding the range of instruments to include those from Africa, Latin America, and the Far East.
Percussionists are the only members of the orchestra who need to play a wide variety of instruments. Their sense of
rhythm needs to be precise, and they need to possess strong musicianship, knowing just how to strike, scrape, or shake in each
piece.
Drums
Drums are the main instrument in the percussion
family. There are both pitched and non-pitched drums.
Drums exist in every culture and come in all different shapes
and sizes. Drums are played with hands, sticks, mallets, and
brushes to create different sounds.
Timpani (Kettledrum)
Timpani (plural for timpano, but the drums are almost always thought of as a pair) are an ancient style of
drum, dating back to a time when people stretched an animal
skin over a wooden frame. Modern timpani are skins
stretched over large copper bowls or kettles. The beaters
used to strike the timpani produce different sounds depending where on the drum they hit and the material they are
made of. They are pitched drums that can be tuned. There is
a foot pedal at the bottom that helps the timpanist tune his or
her instrument before a performance. Each drum can produce
up to eight notes, and some works call for four different timpani—each a different size and pitch. Usually, the timpani
accent and add power to an orchestra‘s sound, playing the
dominant and tonic pitches.
Snare Drum (Side Drum)
The snare drum is also
called the side drum because it was originally a
military instrument that
was worn slung from the
shoulder at the player‘s side. This is still the way it is held in
modern marching bands. In an orchestra, the snare drum is
supported on an adjustable stand. It consists of a cylindrical
wood or metal shell covered at each end with a calfskin or
plastic head. The heads are tied to hoops and secured by
counterhoops (see photograph). Tension is created by threaded rods or ropes. The upper head (playing head) is also
called the ―batter‖ head. The lower or snare head has eight or
more gut, wire, or wire-covered nylon strings (snares)
stretched across it, giving the drum its unique sound.
Bass Drum
The bass drum is the largest
orchestral drum of indefinite
pitch. Its construction is similar to a military snare drum,
but it does not have the
strings across the lower head.
In most North American orchestras, the bass drum has a
diameter of approximately 90
to 100 cm (close to 3 Feet). In an orchestra, the bass drum is
supported on a stand so that it can be played at any angle the
percussionist desires. The mallets are large with felt-covered
heads. In an orchestra, the player usually strikes the head
between the center and the rim, but in a marching band, it is
struck in the center to give a really loud beat to the rest of the
band. The bass drum player needs to have an acute sense of
the beat because the rest of the ensemble will hear it and
follow it.
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Tom-Tom
A tom-tom is a cylindrical drum with no snare. It supposedly
originated in Native American and Asian cultures. The drum
can be single- or double-headed and can be fitted with an
adjustable mounting for a floor stand, bass drum or marching
rig. They are played with hands instead of drum sticks. The
diameters range from eight to 20 inches. The tom-tom was
added to the standard drum kit in the early 20 th century. Jazz
drummers used to tune them using the heat from a match and
water (or whiskey depending on the venue).
Bongos
The bongos are a pair of small Afro-Cuban singleheaded cylindrical drums made of hard wood with a skin or
plastic head. They are made from hollow tree trunks. Each
drum in the pair is
the same height, but
each one has a different diameter. The
larger drum is called
the macho (male),
and the smaller one
is called the hembra
(female). They are attached together by a thick piece of
wood. They are held between the knees and played with the
fingers. Some contemporary classical works call for the bongos to be played with sticks or brushes. Usually, in an ensemble, the bongos are played by the same musician who
plays the cowbell—in Spanish: cencerro—he is called bongocerro.
Other Pitched and Keyboard Percussion Instruments
Timpani are not the only percussion instruments to be tuned
to specific pitches. The marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel,
and vibraphone are all tuned percussion, and are considered
keyboard instruments because they are designed similarly to
the piano keyboard.
the percussion family. The differences are in their construction and materials. Basically, they are all instruments
consisting of two or more
bars of graduated (different)
lengths. They look very
much like a piano keyboard,
(the pattern of black and
white keys), in the layout of
the bars. They are played by striking the bars with mallets.
Whereas the marimba and xylophone bars are made of rosewood, glockenspiel bars are made of steel, and vibraphone
bars are aluminum. Each bar is suspended over a tube resonator, which amplifies the sound. The marimba is the
―grandfather‖ of these instruments, and is African in its
origin. These instruments have a range of 2 ½ to 5 octaves.
The vibraphone was developed in the United States in 1916
as a ―steel marimba‖. Unlike the xylophone, the keyboard‘s
bars are all on one level, making it easier to play chords and
to use three or
four mallets at
once. Each bar
has a resonating
tube that has a
vane or disc inside it. The disc
revolves producing a constant
vibrato (like a
violin or singer‘s voice), giving the instrument its name. The
disc‘s speed, and thus the speed of the vibrato, is controlled
by an electric motor. If no vibrato is desired, then the player
simply turns the motor off. The vibraphone is used extensively in jazz music, and was made popular by jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. In the 1970s, jazz vibraphonist
Mike Mainieri invented an electronic vibraphone called the
Synthivibe.
Handheld, Non-Pitched Instruments
Maracas
Marimba, Xylophone,
Glockenspiel, and Vibraphone
These instruments are all
very similar members of
14
Maracas are simple instruments that
are usually played in pairs. They are
made from a dried gourd shell (cuia)
that is filled with seeds or dried beans.
Maracas can also be made of leather,
wood, or plastic. Frequently, one is pitched higher than the
other in a pair. Their origin dates back to prehistoric America. The word maraca is believed to be from the Tupi language in Brazil, where it is pronounced ―ma-ra-KAH‖.
Maracas are heard in many forms of Latin American, pop,
and classical music. They are characteristic of the music of
Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil.
Cowbell
The cowbell as a tool is its namesake. A bell is placed
around a cow‘s neck to keep
track of the animal. Greek herdsmen often
use several bells
that together produce a
particular
chord that uses the
same tuning as the herdsman‘s
pipe.
Clapperless metal cowbells
are
important instruments in LatinAmerican music. These bells are
struck with a stick. Different tones or
pitches are produced by hitting different
parts
of the bell and by damping (quieting) the
bell with
your hands. In much World Music pairs or trios of bells are
joined together in a way that they can be played separately
or together. In Cuban music the cowbell is called the cencerro and is played by the same musician who plays the
bongos.
Woodblocks
A woodblock is a small
slit drum made from a
single piece of wood, usually maple, that is used as
an instrument. It is struck
with a stick giving it a
distinct timbre. East Asian
music uses woodblocks of
all sizes ranging from
small handheld ones to
some that are so large, they are immovable and struck with
a log. Log drums (also called "slit drums"), made from
hollowed out logs, are used in Africa and the Pacific Islands.
Claves
Claves are basically two wooden sticks (made from hardwood)
that are ten to twelve inches in length and approximately 1 ½ to
3 inches in diameter. In Latin-American dance music the claves
drive the rhythm with their steady, unchanging beat. In order to obtain the clear
sound the player needs to rest one stick
lightly on his or her fingertips in one
hand while the cupped palm acts as a
resonator. The other stick is held in the
other hand between the thumb and first
two fingers. Claves are primarily used in Latin-American dance
music, but orchestral composers have used claves in their works
as well, such as Copland‘s Appalachian Spring.
Tambourine
The tambourine is an ancient instrument, appearing in Babylonian and
Egyptian reliefs dating from 2000–
1500 B. C. Although it has Middle
Eastern origins, the tambourine appears in various cultures around the
world: India, Asia, North Africa,
and even near the Arctic Circle. In
North America and Greenland, the tambourine is said to be the
Inuit‘s only instrument. In most non-Western cultures, the tambourine is the only drum that women play. Technically it is a
drum. It is made from a shallow ring made of wood and covered
on one side with parchment or plastic. Small metal discs, called
jingles, are arranged singly or in pairs inside openings in the
shell. Pop ensembles tend to use headless tambourines as rhythm
instruments. In Classical music Gluck and Mozart were among
the earliest Western European composers to incorporate the tambourine into their works. It was introduced into orchestral works
to lend special effects such as Spanish or Gypsy music within a
piece. Some excellent examples works that use the tambourine
are Rimsky-Korsakov‘s Spanish Cappriccio and Sherherazade.
Usually the tambourine is played by striking its head or frame
with the fingertips, palm (open or closed), or knuckles, or by
shaking it to create a tremolo. Other more unusual playing techniques include flicking and/or brushing the jingles.
WSO Young People‘s Concert 2011 15
CURRICULUM GUIDE INTRODUCTION
By Gail Miller Armondino, Ph.D.
Ecology and conservation are predominant
themes in our culture. From reusable grocery bags to water bottles and hybrid cars, the health of the planet is in
the forefront of our consciousness. Even orchestras are
concerned about preserving our natural and renewable
resources. The natural world has inspired composers for
centuries. One of the first pieces of programme music,
Vivaldi‘s Le Quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons) paints
a musical picture of temporal changes throughout the
year. In this Waterbury Symphony Orchestra concert, all
of the works are from the twentieth century, and are all
inspired in some way by the natural world. Three of the
four were originally a part of other works with a visual
component. Stravinsky‘s Le Sacre du printemps was originally a staged ballet, although today it is mostly performed in concert. John Williams‘s ―Overture‖ for The
Cowboys was originally a film score as was Ralph
Vaughan Williams‘s Sinfonia Antarctica. La mer, however, was designed as an orchestral work. All of these pieces evoke powerful pictorial images from different parts of
the world: primitive Russia, the Grand Canyon, the
Ocean, and the South Pole. All of these places are aweinspiring and need to be protected. With this concert, the
goal is not only to introduce students to classical music,
but also to show how music is an integral part of our
world culture, and planet, all of which need to be preserved and protected.
16
As you read through this interdisciplinary guide,
you will find useful lessons to enhance your students‘
listening experience. There is a brief timeline for each of
the composers presented and a listening guide for each of
the works being played. Moreover, there are lessons regarding the earth‘s ecology.
First and foremost, this is a program dedicated to
orchestral concert music. The program features twentiethcentury composers from Russia, the United States, England, and France, all of whom chose to write music that
evokes images of nature in some way. In addition, there
will be a fiddle demonstration to show this uniquely
American style of violin playing. Some students may already be familiar with orchestral music; others will be
exposed for the first time. Regardless of their levels
lustrate the important concepts of ecology and
of experience, all students can improve their listening
conservation using fun and engaging lessons.
skills, which in turn, helps to develop general critical
Recognizing that time is of the utmost im-
thinking. To aid in this process, we recommend that
portance in the classroom, this guide is broken
you review the Listening Guide included here. It will
up into individual segments for teachers to use
aid your students‘ understanding of the complexities
as they are able. If there is not time to study all
of concert music by breaking down the various com-
of the lessons provided, we ask that teachers
ponents into easier, more manageable segments.
prepare their students for the concert by listen-
Moreover, by increasing their level of un-
ing to the music and encouraging them to dis-
derstanding of the genre as a whole, most students
cuss what they hear. We also ask that you re-
will discover ways in which orchestral music can
view the concert etiquette guide, so students
enhance their own daily experiences. Through read-
will know what to expect and will feel comfort-
ing the artists‘ and composers‘ biographies, as well as
able in the theatre.
interacting with the performers, students will gain
insights into their lives as people. Hopefully these
stories will inspire students to work to realize their
own dreams—musical or not.
―Fantastic Planet‖ is an interdisciplinary
program, which teaches students the role of music in
a larger context. In addition to exploring new melodies and rhythms, this program will use music to il-
A BRIEF LOOK AT OUR FANTASTIC PLANET
Every musical composition played in this concert has an
Earthly association; two of the pieces, La Mer and Sinfonia Antarctica contain direct references. The other two evoke natural
images such as primeval Earth and the American West. Nature
has inspired composers for centuries, and these works are no exception. It is important to explore the beauty of the places depicted in the music, not only to gain greater insight into the composers‘ imaginations, but because these wonders need to be preserved for future generations.
Each part of this section will discuss the natural phenomenon or
locale depicted in the music, giving a few facts about each region‘s geography and history, followed by an interactive lesson.
Le Sacre du printemps
Natural Image: Primitive Earth/Volcanoes
Fumerole
change shape during flight or on impact.
Crater: A deep-sided circular depression formed
either by an explosion or collapse at a volcanic
vent.
Fumerole: A vent or hole in the earth‘s surface
through with volcanic gases escape.
Lava: Magma that has reached the planet‘s surface
through a volcanic eruption.
Lava Tube: A tunnel formed when the surface of a
lava flow cools and solidifies while the still-molten
interior flows through and drains away.
Magma: Molten rock, crystals, and dissolved gases
found deep inside a planet‘s interior
Some Volcano Terminology:
Ash: Fine particles of pulverized rock blown from volcanic opening. Ash may be either solid or molten when
first erupted. Most ash is comprised of glassy particles
formed by gas bubbles bursting through liquid magma.
Volcanic Ash is what rained down on both the Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD, killing roughly 3500 people,
and Mt. St. Helens in 1980.
Bomb: A fragment of molten lava or molten rock (2 ½
inches to several feet in diameter) that is blown out during an eruption. Because of their plastic state, they often
18
Pyroclastic Flow: Lateral flow of a mixture of hot
gasses and solid volcanic material that can move at
high speeds (50–100 mph).
Vent: A volcano‘s opening at the earth‘s surface.
Some fun and interesting facts about volcanoes:
1. A volcano can make an island disappear!––On
August 27, 1883 the volcanic Indonesian island
Krakatoa exploded in one of the most violent eruptions in recorded history. It leveled the island,
which once stood 450 meters above sea level to 250
meters below it. The explosion was heard more than
4500 km away. A tsunami approximately 40 meters
high resulted and devastated nearby coastlines.
2. There are several ways to predict a volcanic eruption: 1)
Measuring the seismic activity in an area. Earthquakes
occur when magma pushes toward the surface. 2) Measuring the gases that flow out of fumeroles. 3) Measuring
ground deformations near a volcano indicating rising magma.
3. The gas cloud that rises above a volcano is actually very
cold—close to freezing. The ash, however, can reach temperatures in hundreds of degrees Celsius.
4. The word Volcano comes from the Roman god Vulcan,
who was said to wield power over volcanic fires.
5. The Russian word for volcano is vulkan (вулкан)
6. In March 2010 Iceland‘s glacial volcano Eyjafjallajokull
erupted. The volcanic ash forced cancellations of flights
over the North Atlantic, stranding thousands of travelers. It
was the volcano‘s first major eruption since 1821.
Volcanic Gas Cloud
Mount Redoubt, Alaska
7. Mount Merapi on the island of Java in Indonesia recently erupted (October 2010). Seismologists and Volcanologists believe that it will be a long slow eruption.
8. The ―Ring of Fire‖ holds over 75% of the world‘s active
and dormant volcanoes. It is a geographic arc stretching
from New Zealand, along the eastern edge of Asia, north
across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and south along the
coast of North and South America.
9. Like the rhythm and harmonies in Stravinsky‘s Le sacre
du printemps, volcanoes can be violent and explosive.
They are also exciting, dynamic, and interesting. And, just
as Stravinsky‘s work forever changed the Western musical
landscape, volcanoes can forever change environmental
landscapes.
Tonga Eruption
New Island Formed
March 21, 2009
Mount Merapi
Indonesia
Nov. 5, 2010
19
One of the best ways to understand how volcanoes work is to build your own model. Instructions for building a volcano and
observing how magma flows beneath the Earth‘s crust are outlined below. Be sure to have proper adult supervision before
embarking on your volcanic expedition.
Gelatin Volcano (Quoted from: http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/GelVol.html)
What you will need:
• Unflavored gelatin, 28 gm (one-ounce) box containing four packages
• Spoon
• Bowls or bread pans, either one 2-liter (or 2-quart) capacity, or
smaller sizes
• Red food coloring, to mix with water in a glass to make "magma"
• Syringe for injecting magma, best to use a plastic variety found at pet
stores for feeding birds
• Peg board, 40 x 60 cm, with 5-mm-diameter holes spaced 2.5 cm apart.
Or you can use a large, disposable aluminum pan that you've punched
holes into.
• Two bricks, 30 cm high
• Large knife to cut through the gelatin model
• Tray, for collecting drips
• Rubber gloves (optional) for protecting hands from food coloring
Directions:
1. Prepare gelatin for the volcano model by mixing two cups of cool water with four packages of unflavored gelatin in a large bowl. Stir for 30 seconds. Then add six cups of boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Transfer mixture to a 2-liter bowl, smaller bowls, or bread pans. Refrigerate gelatin at least three hours or until set.
2. Prepare "magma" by mixing water in a glass with enough red food coloring to make a very dark liquid.
3. Loosen the gelatin by dipping the bowl briefly in a larger bowl of hot water.
4. Transfer the gelatin upside down to the center of the peg board and lift off the bowl. The gelatin cast will settle
somewhat after being removed from the bowl. It should resemble a colorless to milky, shimmering volcano. There
should be no cracks in the gelatin, but it's OK to proceed if one develops during unmolding.
5. Place the peg board on top of the two bricks.
6. Fill a syringe with red water. Remove air bubbles from the syringe by holding it upright and squirting out a
small amount of water. Air tends to fracture the gelatin.
7. Predict what will happen when red water is injected into the gelatin cast. What direction will it go? What shape
will it take? Will it erupt through the surface of the gelatin? If so, where?
8. Insert the syringe through a hole in the peg board into the center of the gelatin cast. Inject the red water slowly,
at a rate of about 20 cc/minute, and watch carefully.
9. Describe how the experimental results compare with your predictions.
20
10. Refill and insert the syringe as many times as possible. Compare magma migration each time. Are there differences in
the direction the magma takes when the syringe is inserted in different parts of the gelatin cast? Describe and explain what
you see.
11. Looking directly down on the gelatin cast, sketch the positions and shapes of the magma bodies. Label your drawing
"Map View."
12. Use a sharp knife to cut through the gelatin cast. Separate the pieces and examine the cut surfaces. Note the traces
made by the magma bodies; these are similar to what we see in highway road cuts or
cliff faces.
13. Sketch the positions and shapes of the magma bodies on a cut face. Label your drawing "Cross-sectional View."
14. Compare what you see in two dimensions on the cut face with what you see in three dimensions looking into the gelatin cast. Which view gives you more information? Why?
15. How and why does magma move through volcanoes?
21
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
1862–1918: BIOGRAPHY/TIMELINE
―Regardless of how one interprets Debussy's music, it undeniably has a subtle
and a magical power over the imagination.‖
♫
Achille-Claude Debussy was born on August 22, 1862 in St. Germain-enLaye, a suburb of Paris, France. He was the eldest of four surviving children. His parents, Manuel-Achille and Victorine, ran a small china shop
that eventually was forced to close during the Franco-Prussian War.
♫
Debussy‘s father wanted him to become a sailor.
♫
Debussy‘s mother did not like young children very much, and often sent
him, along with his siblings to Cannes to visit their aunt, Clémentine. In
1870 it was she who arranged for the young Claude to have his first piano
lessons with the Italian violinist, Jean Cerutti, while the family was living
with her to escape the Franco-Prussian War.
♫
During the war, Manuel Debussy became a captain with the Paris Commune, who tried to seize political power in the spring of 1871. The uprising was suppressed, and Manuel was arrested and sentenced to four years
in prison, but after one year, the sentence was commuted to suspension of
his civil rights. Claude tried to cover up this incident, and never talked
about it.
♫
Once back in Paris, Debussy continued his piano studies with Antoinette Mauté, who also happened to be mother-in-law of
poet Paul Verlaine. She recognized the young Claude‘s talent and persuaded his father to allow him to pursue his talent. Manuel agreed.
♫
Claude was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire in 1872 at the age of ten. He never attended an ordinary school. The Conservatoire, founded during the French Revolution, was the main school for training composers and performers. Between
1875 and 1877 he won several prizes for sight-reading and solfège (do-re-mi), but he did not win a premier prix for piano
performance, making a career as a soloist nearly impossible.
♫
Claude‘s youngest brother, Eugène succumbed to meningitis in 1877. He was three years old.
♫
Debussy was not a great student at the Conservatoire. He hated the long hours of practice required and the diligence needed
for studying. His teachers noted his poor habits in their reports. They also noted that he did not always see eye-to-eye with
his harmony professors who did not always appreciate his creativity.
♫
During the summer of 1879, he took a job at Chenonceaux, a castle in the Loire valley, where his main duty was to play
soothing music on the piano to lull the mistress of the house to sleep.
♫
Debussy finally won a premier prix for accompaniment in 1880, allowing him to remain at the Conservatoire.
♫
Also in 1880 he fell under the patronage of Madame von Meck, the Russian millionaire who was also Tchaikovsky‘s main
benefactor. Debussy traveled with her household for three summers touring the Continent and Russia. He was expected to
give piano and theory lessons to the youngest von Meck children, and to play in a piano trio. By all accounts he was a favorite among the von Meck family, and he thoroughly enjoyed his time with them.
♫
In 1883, after three years of composition lessons with Ernest Guiraud, Debussy entered the Prix de Rome competition, a
famous award given by the French Academy of Fine Arts. That year he won second place. In 1884 he re-entered the competition and won.
22
♫
Debussy was reluctant to travel to Rome largely because of his affair with the young Madame Vasnier (Marie-Adélaide), an
amateur singer for whom he wrote several songs and accompanied at private recitals. It was her husband who convinced him
to go. He was miserable during his two years in Rome, but still managed to complete two works, one of which was his orchestral suite Printemps. He left Rome in early 1887 to return to Paris.
♫
In 1887 he heard Richard Wagner‘s opera Lohengrin in Paris. Although most Parisians hated the performance—some even
hissed—Debussy was enthralled with Wagner‘s ideas. Debussy traveled to Bayreuth over two summers to hear Wagner‘s
operas. He even attempted to compose his own music-drama but gave up. Even so, Debussy felt Wagner‘s influence throughout his life.
♫
1889 saw the World Fair in Paris as a part of its centenary celebration of the Revolution. The newly built Eiffel Tower was
one of the main attractions. Debussy was most interested, however, in the Javanese pavilion and the new kinds of music he
heard there, particularly the delicate percussion instruments and the five-note, pentatonic, scales. At the World Fair he fell in
love with the visual art style now known as ―Art Nouveau‖ with its swirling lines and bold designs, floral patterns, etc. It reflected the new Symbolist poetry that also captured the young composer‘s imagination.
♫
In December 1889 he officially changed his first name from Achille-Claude to Claude-Achille.
♫
During the early 1890s he met Gabrielle Dupont (Gaby), who had come to Paris seeking her fortune as a courtesan. She and
Debussy lived together for seven years before she tired of his constant lack of money, and he sought marriage and greater
respectability. Nevertheless, he described this period of his life as his happiest, writing: ―It was no life of luxury, but even so,
it was the best time of all.‖
♫
After he and Gaby broke up, the only place area of Paris where Debussy could afford to live on his own was in Montmartre, a
working-class district up on a hill. This area was home to many artists, poets, and musicians living a ―Bohemian‖ life style.
Sacré-Coeur, not yet completed then, is in Montmartre as is the famous Moulin Rouge. Debussy captured the essence of the
area with his Suite bergamasque for piano, whose third movement, Clair de lune was considered so suggestive that respectable young ladies were forbidden to play it.
♫
While living in Montmartre, Debussy met and formed friendships with the composer Erik Satie and the wealthy patron Ernest
Chausson. The latter may have inspired Debussy to compose his only string quartet, which turned out to be a great success
when it was performed in 1893. Although his friendship with Chausson did not last, he remained close with Satie for the rest
of his life.
♫
December 22, 1894 saw the premiere of one of Debussy‘s most important and popular works, Prélude à l’après-mide d’un
faune. Although it was given a poor first performance, the work was an immediate success. Many years later, composer
Pierre Boulez wrote of the work: ―From that moment, music began to beat with a new pulse.‖
♫
In 1901 he worked as a music critic under the penname ―Monsieur Croche,‖ writing for the Revue blanche. His articles gave
him the opportunity to develop some of his non-traditional musical ideas.
♫
He completed his opera Pelléas et Mélisande, based on the Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck, in 1895, but it was not
staged until 1902, when it premiered at the Opéra-Comique on April 30th. Although the work has remained in the operatic
repertoire, it was not successful when first performed. The public was openly hostile toward it.
♫
In the late 1890s his relationship with Gaby reached a critical point when she discovered evidence of his infidelities. They
were constantly fighting, which was reflected in his orchestral work Nocturnes, completed in 1899. Even though their relationship ended, he remembered her affectionately.
♫
He married Lily Texier on October 19, 1899. their marriage was not a great one. They had nothing in common, were fraught
with money problems, and Lily was frequently ill.
♫
Debussy was promoted to Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in January 1903.
♫
In the fall of 1903, Debussy met and fell in love with Emma Bardac, who was also married. They ran off together to the island of Jersey in July 1904 causing quite a scandal. He eventually divorced Lily in 1907 and married Emma the following
year, three years after the birth of their daughter Claude-Emma (―Chou-Chou‖).
♫
Although he earned a decent living by this time, Debussy still had debts and financial trouble. He needed to embark on
concert tours in order to make ends meet. These problems, in turn, put a strain on his marriage to Emma, but because of
23
their daughter, they remained together.
♫
In 1905 he completed La Mer and then went on vacation to Eastbourne on the Channel coast of England. He always loved the sea
and never forgot that his father had wanted him to become a sailor.
♫
He wrote mostly piano music between 1906 and 1908, including his famous Children’s Corner for his daughter to play when she
grew older. The last movement of this work, ―Golliwog‘s Cakewalk‖, pokes fun at his former idol, Wagner.
♫
By 1909 Debussy was world famous. He accepted invitations to conduct his own music, and he even wrote two works for the
Conservatoire‘s annual exams: Petite pièce for sight-reading and the First Rhapsody as a test-piece. Moreover, his opera Pelléas
et Mélisande had has much success with performances throughout Europe and the United States.
♫
Diaghilev‘s entry into the Paris art scene in 1909 with his Russian Ballet changed the way audiences viewed the classical dance
form. They loved the exotic costumes, sets, and new style of choreography. Seeking new composers for his company Diaghiliev
approached Debussy who sketched a scenario, but never completed it. Instead, he finished his orchestral work: a set of three Images.
♫
Around 1909 Debussy‘s own health began to deteriorate. He developed early symptoms of cancer and had to take strong medication to reduce the pain. He still kept composing and touring, however, completing his Préludes for piano and embarking on a
successful conducting tour of Vienna and Budapest.
♫
He reluctantly wrote for the ballet in 1911 and in 1912 he finally accepted Diaghilev‘s invitation to write for the Russian Ballet.
The principal dancer Nijinsky was interested in choreographing some of the composer‘s orchestral works. L’après-midi d’un
faune met with much criticism, however. On May 15, 1913, his ballet Jeux premiered to a lukewarm reception. That opening was
quickly forgotten in light of the riotous premiere of Stravinsky‘s ballet Le Sacre du printemps two weeks later.
♫
He traveled extensively for much of 1914 giving concert tours. By August 1 st of that year he was in Paris when the first troops
were mobilized as World War I began.
♫
In September 1914, as the German army advanced, Debussy and his family went to Angers, where they spent a month at the
Grand Hotel.
♫
In October 1914 his publisher, Jacques Durand, began to release new editions of major composers. Debussy agreed to supervise
new editions of Chopin. He later worked on Durand‘s edition of Bach as well.
♫
In March 1915 both his mother and mother-in-law passed away on the 23rd and 29th, respectively.
♫
Because of the war, he and his family stayed in the French countryside at Pourville from July through October 1915.
♫
He continued to compose and was annoyed by the popular success of his Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maison (Homeless
Children‘s Christmas).
♫
He had surgery on December 7, 1915 in an attempt to cure his colon cancer. The cancer could not be removed and left him in
pain.
♫
The following year, despite his professional successes, he was again beset with money problems. His ex-wife, Lily, sued him for
the alimony he owed for six years. He was forced to pay 3600 francs a year.
♫
From September to October 1916 he and his family resided in the Grand Hotel at Moulleau. There Debussy‘s chief complaint
was the number of pianos played by mediocre pianists.
♫
He did slow down as his health continued to deteriorate. He continued to play in charity concerts, however.
♫
By 1918 his illness forced him on continued bedrest.
♫
He died on March 25, 1918. His funeral took place on March 29 th. He was temporarily buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in
Paris and later moved to the Cemetery of Passy.
♫
Sadly, Debussy‘s young daughter passed away from diphtheria the following year on July 16, 1919. She was thirteen years old.
24
Debussy as a baby
Debussy as a young student at the Conservatoire
Debussy and Lily Texier
Deubssy ca. 1893
Chou-Chou Debussy
25
IGOR STRAVINSKY
―I don‘t write modern music—I only write good music.‖
The first time most people learn of Igor Stravinsky‘s music, it is in the context of one of the most infamous premieres in
all of music history: the premiere of ―Le Sacre du Printemps‖ (―The Rite of Spring‖) on May 29, 1913. The music was so different
from what anyone in the audience had heard before that a veritable riot broke out in the theater resulting in the arrest of some of
Paris‘s elite. The event was, and is still, so notable that it deserves a more detailed description in the few pages following the composer‘s biographical outline.
♫
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born on June 17, 1882 in Oranienbaum (now Lomonosov) in Russia. His birthplace is
about 25 miles west of St. Petersburg, his family‘s primary residence. He was the third of four boys and did not get along
well with his two elder brothers, nor was he close to either of his parents. Young Igor‘s closest family relationships were
with his younger brother Guri, the family butler, and his nurse/nanny.
♫
Stravinsky came from a musical family. His father, Fyodor, was the principal bass singer with the St. Petersburg Imperial
Opera. According to the colpolser, his father ―was a very well-known artist in his day. He had a beautiful voice and an
amazing technique, acquired in studying by the Italian method at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, in addition to great
dramatic talent—a rare attribute among opera singers at the time.‖
♫
His earliest musical memories and influences came from his childhood summer vacations in the country. He listened to
peasant women singing and imitated them for his parents, who complimented him. He also listened to an old man who
could not speak, but communicated by clucking his tongue. He put his hand under his armpit and made sounds by flapping his arm up and down like a chicken. Stravinsky‘s parents were not so complimentary when he performed this imitation for them. He also heard his father practice and read his father‘s opera scores.
♫
Stravinsky began piano lessons at the age of nine. He didn‘t always do what he was supposed to do, making up his own
tunes to play or improvising on the music he was supposed to be learning, but he also was a good student and quickly
learned to play works by some of the world‘s most renowned composers.
26
♫
The most influential musical moment in the young composer‘s life, according to Stravinsky himself, came when he spied
the famous Tchaikovsky in the lobby of the theater at a performance of Glinka‘s Ruslan and Lyudmila. Although the two
never met in person, Stravinsky wrote of that moment, ―. . . I was far from realizing that this glimpse of the living Tchaikovsky—fleeting though it was—would become one of my most treasured memories.‖
♫
When Stravinsky was eleven, his parents sent him to a formal school—he was previously home-schooled. He hated going
to class and doing his assignments. He admitted to being a poor student. He also had a hard time fitting in socially. He took
refuge in his music.
♫
After graduating from high school, Stravinsky knew he wanted to pursue a career in music. His parents made him study
law, however. Again, he was a poor student, preferring to study music privately instead.
♫
In the summer of 1902, Igor accompanied his parents to Germany where his father received treatment for cancer. On that
trip, Igor learned that the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was vacationing nearby. Igor and RimskyKorsakov‘s son, Vladimir, were good friends, and so, Igor met the esteemed composer and played some compositions for
him. The young Stravinsky had much to learn, but Rimsky-Korsakov promised to teach him once he had learned more.
That promise was fulfilled three years later.
♫
In 1906 Stravinsky married his cousin Catherine Nossenko. They had four children: Theodore (1907), Lyudmila (1908),
Sviatoslav (1910), and Maria Milena (1914). He was successful as a composer. Having Rimsky-Korsakov as a patron
helped immensely, and Stravinsky was deeply saddened when his mentor passed away in 1908.
♫
Stravinsky‘s orchestral work, Fireworks, had its premiere in 1909. Sergei Diaghilev attended the performance. Following
the performance, Diaghilev wanted to create a Russian ballet company (Ballets Russes) to perform in Paris. engaged the
young Stravinsky to orchestrate some of Chopin‘s piano music for a ballet called Les Sylphides. During this period, Stravinsky also began to work on his own opera, The Nightingale.
♫
In this era when Russian artists turned toward their own national myths and music for inspiration, Diaghilev wanted to produce a ballet based on the Russian legend of the beautifully colored Firebird. He ultimately commissioned Stravinsky to
compose the music. The Firebird was premiered in Paris on June 25, 1910. According to the composer himself, ―The performance was warmly applauded by the Paris public.‖
♫
Following on the heels of The Firebird‘s success, Stravinsky and Diaghilev again collaborated on another ballet, Petrushka, also based on Russian folk tales. The success of these two works rocketed Stravinsky from an unknown composer to
one of the most famous in all of Europe, setting the stage for The Rite of Spring.
♫
When The Rite of Spring had its premiere on May 29, 1913, the audience‘s reaction was vastly different from those who
attended the openings of Stravinsky‘s first two Parisian ballets. In fact, the riot that this new work induced forever secured
Stravinsky a place in music history. (see next page for details).
♫
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Stravinsky‘s life was forever changed.
He could not return to his native Russia, nor did he feel safe in Paris. So, like many other European artists, he moved his
family to Switzerland, a neutral country, for the duration of the war.
♫
After peace was restored, Stravinsky and his family returned to Paris. In 1920 his new ballet Pulcinella premiered. The
work is significant in that it marks the beginning of a new style of composing for Stravinsky, one in which he looks back in
time for inspiration. This style is called neoclassicism, and would remain Stravinsky‘s main compositional approach for the
next 30 years.
♫
In 1921 Stravinsky embarked on a hugely successful conducting tour. He came to the United States in 1925. When his ship
docked in New York, he held a short press conference during which a reporter asked him if he liked modern music. The
composer answered that he hated it, and is remembered for the quote that appears above.
♫
The 1920s and early 1930s were happy and prosperous for Stravinsky. He became a French citizen in 1934. However, in
1938, he met with tragedy when both his wife and daughter Lyudmila died of tuberculosis. His mother also died that same
year.
♫
The 1930s saw Hitler‘s rise to power in Germany, and Europe was again on the brink of war. After Hitler‘s attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, Stravinsky knew that it was only a matter of time before Germany invaded France. So, he took
advantage of an invitation to lecture at Harvard University and set out for the United States.
27
♫
Feeling more at home and appreciated in the USA, Stravinsky decided to settle there permanently, making his home in Hollywood, CA, where he received many offers to compose film scores. Very few of those came to fruition, however. He also
married Vera Sudeykina in March 1940.
♫
Barnum and Bailey Circus commissioned Stravinsky to write for its New York performances in 1942. Circus Polka was
the piece that he wrote. It was a ballet and became an instant hit; the tutued performers were all baby elephants!
♫
In 1945, at the end of World War II, Stravinsky composed his Symphony in Three Movements to celebrate the restoration of
peace time. He also became a U. S. citizen.
♫
He traveled to Chicago in 1947. After seeing an exhibit of William Hogarth‘s comic engravings titled A Rake’s Progress at
the Chicago Art Institute, Stravinsky decided to compose a comic opera on the subject. American poet W.H. Auden and writer
Chester Kallman wrote the libretto. The work premiered on September 11, 1951 at La Fenice in Venice, Italy. It was Stravinsky‘s
last work in the neoclassic style.
♫
Around the time that Stravinsky began his work on The Rake’s Progress, he met Robert Craft, a young musician. Soon
thereafter, Craft became Stravinsky‘s personal assistant, friend, and biographer. It was Craft who introduced Stravinsky to the current compositional style known as 12-tone music.
♫
When Stravinsky was 80 years old, the Soviet Union (Russia) invited him to return. Although he did not like the Communist government, Stravinsky accepted the invitation—he had not been to his birthplace in 48 years. He was welcomed everywhere he went. In St. Petersburg he even saw his old friend Vladimir Rimsky-Korsakov again.
♫
He wrote his last major composition Requiem Canticles in 1966. While he was working on it, Stravinsky moved to New
York because of its superior medical care. He died there on April 6, 1971. He was buried in Venice, Italy near his friend Sergei Diaghilev.
Stravinsky as a baby
28
Stravinsky as a young man
THE RITE OF SPRING: OPENING NIGHT, MAY 29, 1913
Even before its infamous opening night, Stravinsky‘s ballet The Rite of Spring ran into many difficulties.
The members of the orchestra had never seen music like
Stravinsky‘s before. It was rife with unusual rhythms and
harmonies. Pierre Monteux, the conductor recognized that
the music would be difficult, and as such, scheduled 17
rehearsals in two weeks. During the rehearsal process the
musicians kept stopping the conductor to ask if there were
mistakes in the music. It happened so often that Monteux
finally said, ―Do not stop me asking if you have a mistake.
If you have one, I will let you know.‖ One of the orchestra‘s members wrote of the musicians‘ initial impression of
the music,
When we came to a place where all the brass instruments, in a gigantic fortissimo, produces such
an offending conglomeration that the whole orchestra broke down in a spontaneous nervous
laugh and stopped playing. But Stravinsky
jumped out of his seat, furious, running to the
piano and saying, ―Gentlemen, you do not have to
laugh. I know what I wrote,‖ and he started to
play the awful passage, reestablishing order.
The dancers were just as confused by Stravinsky‘s unusual music as the orchestra was. The choreography was tricky and made harder by the complicated
rhythms. The dancers had well over 100 rehearsals to prepare for the first performance.
There was a great deal of hype surrounding the ballet‘s
premiere. So much so, in fact, that many people had al-
ready formed opinions of the work before they even heard the
music or saw the dancing. The opening night audience was full of
Paris‘s elite, for whom the premiere was also a social event of
seeing and being seen. Some of them already had heard that the
work was difficult and hard to understand. They planned ahead of
time to ridicule the choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky during the
performance, after rumors spread that the work was violent, difficult, and incomprehensible. The planned ridicule went much further than anyone could have predicted, however.
The debacle started with the opening measures of Stravinsky‘s music. The solo bassoon played a line pitched well
above the instrument‘s traditional range. One audience member
started to laugh at the unusual sound. Another slapped him. The
scene quickly devolved into what one modern author describes as
―a rock concert gone wild.‖ One man, who became caught up in
the frenzied rhythms of the music, pounded on the head of man in
front of him. Another member of the audience called for a dentist
after seeing socialite Maria Piltz ―with her head resting on her
clenched hands at the start of the Sacrificial Dance.‖ The uproar
continued on. An elderly gentleman tied a white handkerchief to
his cane and waved it in the air in surrender. Fistfights broke out
in the audience.
Amid the chaos, the orchestra tried to play louder in order to be heard. Stravinsky left his seat in the audience and hurried backstage in a rage. Later, wrote: ―I have never again been
that angry. The music was so familiar to me; I loved it, and I
could not understand why people who had not yet heard it wanted
to protest in advance.‖ Nijinsky, the choreographer, was standing
on a chair in the wings shouting the counts to the dancers who
were unable to hear the music over the din. The stage manager
began flashing the houselights to try to calm the audience. He also
kept the house lights on during the introduction to the second scene in an attempt to maintain control. It worked for a while, especially as police officers escorted a few people out of the theater
and placed them under arrest, but as soon as the lights went out,
the riot began again. Somehow, amid all the chaos, the musicians
and dancers completed the performance, which lasted just over a
half an hour.
The Dancers at the Premiere
Choreographic Sketches
29
JOHN WILLIAMS
B.
30
1932: BIOGRAPHY/TIMELINE
♫
John Towner Williams was born on Long Island in February 8, 1932.
♫
He started piano lessons at the age of eight, and after moving with his family to Los Angeles in 1948, continued his studies with pianist-arranger Bobby Van Eps. He attended North Hollywood High School, class of 1950.
♫
From 1951 to 1954 he served in the United States Air Force conducting and orchestrating the music for service bands.
♫
Once he left the military, he moved back to New York. He attended the Juilliard School, and studied with Rosina
Lhévinne. Using the name Johnny Williams, he also played in jazz clubs and recording studios. He also played in bands
for composers, the most notable of whom was Henri Mancini.
♫
He returned to Los Angeles, where he enrolled at UCLA and began private composition lessons with Mario CastelnuovoTedesco and Arthur Olaf Anderson.
♫
In 1956, Twentieth Century Fox hired him as a studio pianist. He was soon writing for TV series‘, such as Gilligan’s Island, Lost in Space, Wagon Train, and Land of the Giants, as well as for low budget movies.
♫
His Oscar nominated score for The Valley of the Dolls (1967) rocketed him to the A list of Hollywood composers. Other
successful film scores included The Poseidon Adventure (1972), which included the popular hit song ―The Morning After,‖ and the score for The Cowboys (1972), starring John Wayne.
♫
His iconic status as a film composer came in the 1970s when he began his long association with Steven Spielberg, scoring
Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
♫
During the 1970s he also began working with George Lucas, scoring the music for Star Wars, a movie that changed a
generation.
♫
He went on write the music for other movies that have since become classics. Those include Superman (1978), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E. T.: the Extra Terrestrial (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983),
Jurassic Park (1993), and Schindler’s List (1993), among others. He has also written the music for other directors such as
Oliver Stone, and he even composed for hit comedies, such as Home Alone (1990).
♫
In addition to his work on movies, Williams composed the music for several NBC series and the Olympics.
♫
His work has earned him five Academy awards (nominated 36 times), and over 30 Grammy awards/nominations.
♫
In 1980 he succeeded Arthur Fiedler as the music director of the Boston Pops, giving him the chance to write music for special occasions and to conduct on many recordings of both classical and film music.
♫
Although he retired from the Pops in 1993, Williams continues to make appearances as a guest conductor both in Boston
and at Tanglewood (the orchestra‘s summer home). He also appears with other major orchestras, ―ranking high among
America‘s most eloquent and representative composers.‖
John Williams—age 25
Cartoon of Williams as a Rock Star
31
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
―The image we have been left of Ralph Vaughan Williams could only be
of an Englishman.‖
♫
Ralph Vaughan Williams was born on October 12, 1872 in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England. As he said, he was
born ―with a very small silverspoon in my mouth.‖ His father‘s family was made up of generations of lawyers, although
Arthur Vaughan Williams, the composer‘s father, was a reverend. His mother was Charles Darwin‘s niece. The Vaughan
Williams family was of a social class one step below that of landed gentry.
♫
Following his father‘s death in 1875, when the composer was only two-and-a-half years old, he moved with his mother and
two older siblings (a brother and sister) to his mother‘s family home, Leith Hill Place in Surrey.
♫
Music was a big part of his serene and happy childhood. His aunt, Spohy Wedgwood, taught him to play the piano. She
also taught him the rudiments of composition. He was not a prodigy like Mozart. In fact, learning to compose did not come
easily to him. But, after years of diligent study, his genius emerged.
♫
He began prep school in Sussex in 1883, at which time he was also acquainted with the violin in addition to piano and organ.
♫
In January 1887 he transferred to Charterhouse School. By that time he was an accomplished arranger of chamber music,
having arranged chamber works for whatever instruments available. He also made the switch from the violin to the viola
and played in the school‘s orchestra. In 1890 he gave a concert at Charterhouse, during which one of his math teachers told
him, ―You must go on.‖ The composer said it was one of the few words of encouragement he received.
32
♫
He attended the Royal College of Music for two years and then Trinity College in Cambridge where he earned a Music
Baccalaureate in 1894, and a BA in history in 1895. He then returned to the RCM for an additional year of musical studies. His teachers were Charles V. Stanford, Sir Hubert Parry, and Charles Wood. During his last year at the RCM, he met
and befriended fellow composer Gustav Holst. They maintained a close friendship until Holst‘s death in 1934. Later, in
1897 and 1908, respectively, he studied in Berlin with Max Bruch and in Paris with Maurice Ravel.
♫
1895 was a busy year for Vaughan Williams. During this period of intense study he met cellist and pianist Adeline Fisher. They became engaged in 1896 and were married on October 9, 1897.
♫
He struggled with composition for a long time, but by 1909/1910 he found his own style, looking toward older English
music for inspiration. He composed both On Wenlock Edge and the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis during these
two years.
♫
With the outbreak of World War I, Vaughan Williams felt it necessary to volunteer to serve his country. Although he was
in his early 40s, he served as a wagon orderly with the Royal Army Medical Corps in France and later as an artillery officer there. After the war ended he became the music director for the First Army of the British Expeditionary Force. His
job in that position was to organize amateur music-making among the troops.
♫
In 1919 Vaughan Williams joined the faculty at the RCM and became the conductor for the Bach Choir, a position he
held for eight years.
♫
From the 1920s on he was increasingly in demand as a composer, and his works were played in festivals all over the
world.
♫
He was invited to Connecticut in 1922 to conduct the American premiere of his Pastoral Symphony.
♫
Starting in 1919 with an honorary Doctorate of Music from Oxford, Vaughan Williams would receive many musical
awards and honors throughout his life.
♫
The 1935 premiere of his Fourth Symphony cemented Vaughan Williams‘s position as a leader of the ―English school‖
of composition. Also in 1935 he turned down a knighthood and other honors because of the obligations that came with
them. He did accept the Order of Merit, however, because it did not come with additional obligations.
♫
He met Ursula Wood, a writer and poet, in March 1938. The two developed a close personal and professional relationship.
♫
Because he was sympathetic to the German refugees during the third Reich, the Nazis banned Vaughan Williams‘ music
in Germany.
♫
During World War II he was the director for the Home Office Committee for the Release of Interned Alien Musicians.
He organized lunchtime concerts and worked for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts.
♫
Beginning in the 1940s he started to compose music for films, which he found to be very exciting.
♫
In 1947, as a part of his venturing into film music, he received a commission from Ernest Irving to write the music for a
film about Captain Scott‘s expedition to Antarctica. Vaughan Williams was intrigued. He greatly admired the crew‘s
courage, even though the expedition was not well organized. RVW completed the film score in the spring of 1948, and
the film was released in December of that year. Vaughan Williams later decided to rework the film‘s score into a fulllength symphony, completing Sinfonia Antarctica (his seventh symphony) in 1952 and had its first performance on January 14, 1953.
♫
On May 10, 1951 Vaughan Williams‘ wife Adeline, who had been in poor health for 30 years, passed away at the age of
80.
♫
He married Ursula Wood on February 7, 1953. The newlyweds signed a 21-year lease on their new home, which the 80year-old composer felt was too short.
33
♫
Later in 1953 the couple visited Italy, and then in 1954, decided to visit America. RVW took a position as a visiting professor at Cornell University. His colleague and friend there, Keith Faulkner, arranged for Vaughan Williams to do a lecture tour across the United States. Before leaving America he was awarded the Howland Prize and Medal from New
Haven University. He was only the third composer to receive this honor.
♫
He began writing his Eighth Symphony in 1953 and finished it in 1955. the work was first performed on May 2, 1956.
♫
RVW‘s last symphony began as a programme piece based on his impressions of Salisbury, including Stonehenge. He
later decided to expand the work into a full symphony and discarded the programmatic elements. This work had its
premiere on April 2, 1958 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
♫
Ralph Vaughan Williams died peacefully in London on August 26, 1958.
Ralph Vaughan Williams as a young man
34
Ralph Vaughan Williams Statue
Dorking in Surrey, United Kingdom
35
The Music: Listening Guides
Le Sacre du Printemps (excerpts) by Igor Stravinsky
Historical Note:
Le Sacre du Printemps was Stravinsky‘s second collaboration with Sergei Diaghilev‘s Ballets Russes. It followed four years after the The Firebird (1909), which was a huge success. By 1913 Parisian audiences were fascinated with paganism in history. The idea of the ―strange, explicit, sexual, and grotesque‖ appealed to Paris‘s elite. On the eve of the First World
War, Parisian taste tended toward primitivism, ―ultra-originality,‖ exoticism, and lively dance. This was the prevailing cultural
attitude in which Stravinsky wrote his ballet. As early as 1910 he claims the idea came to him. He wrote in his autobiography, ―. . .
there arose a picture of a sacred pagan ritual: the wise elders are seated in a circle and are observing the dance before the death of
the girl whom they are offering as a sacrifice to the god of Spring in order to gain his benevolence. This became the subject of The
Rite of Spring.‖ Following the work‘s riotous premiere (outlined in detail with Stravinsky‘s biography), there were several more
performances. Its greatest early success came in April 1914 when it was performed as an orchestral suite at the Casino de Paris,
again under the baton of Pierre Monteux. Although it has been choreographed and staged several times since 1913, Le Sacre du
Printemps has had its greatest success in the concert hall. Nearly a full century since its premiere, this work remains as vibrant and
innovative as it was on May 29, 1913.
Instruments:
Piccolo
3 Flutes (Fl. III = Piccolo II)
Alto Flute
4 Oboes (Oboe IV = English Horn II)
English Horn
Small Clarinet (D, E♭)
3 Clarinets (B♭, A) (Clarinet II = Bass Clarinet II)
Bass Clarinet (B♭) (=Clarinet IV)
4 Bassoon (Bassoon IV = Contrabassoon II)
Contrabassoon
8 Horns (F) (Horns VII, VIII = B♭ Tenor [Wagner] Tubas)
D Trumpet
4 Trumpets (C) (Trumpet IV = E♭ Bass Trumpet)
3 Trombones
2 Tubas
Small Timpani
Large Timpani
Percussion
Triangle
Tambourine
Guiro
Antique Cymbals (A♭, B♭)
Cymbals
Bass Drum
Tam-tam
Strings
Key(s):
The work is polytonal and also uses modal harmonies as well as harmonies based on the octatonic scale. In Le Sacre du
printemps the pattern is as follows:
H-W-H-W-H-W-H-W (i.e., E♭-E♮-F♯-G♮-A♮-B♭-C♮-D♭-E♭).
Tempo and Meter:
(speed and rhythm)
Rhythm is the driving force in this work. The frequent shifts in the meter add excitement and a sense of unpredictability
to the ballet.
The meter in this work shifts frequently, in some places as often as every measure. In the opening measures alone, the
meter changes with almost every measure: 4/4-3/4-4/4-2/4-3/4-2/4/-3/4-2/4. (see example of bassoon solo in Additional
Elements)
In other passages the meter has the same frequent shifts, using less-traditional time signatures: 11/4-5/8-9/8.
36
Form:
Two-part ballet, each divided into sections.
Part I: The Adoration of the Earth
Introduction
The Augurs of Spring [Dances of the Young Girls]
Ritual of Abduction
Spring Rounds
Ritual of the Two Rival Tribes
Procession of the Sage
The Adoration of the Earth (The Sage)
The Dance of the Earth
Part II: The Sacrifice
Introduction
Mystic Circle of the Young Girls
Glorification of the Chosen One
Evocation of the Ancestors
Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)
Additional Elements:
Le Sacre du printemps is structured in cells layered upon one another; each cell is typically made up of three- and four-not
motives. All of its ―modern‖ elements had been heard and used before. Stravinsky‘s innovation with this ballet is derived
from the way in which he used these elements in rapid succession, [Walsh, 44]
The opening bassoon solo is the only folk song that Stravinsky acknowledged to have borrowed, although other borrowings are evident in the work.
There is a four-note ostinato pattern also derived from folk song sources.
37
Questions for the Classroom:
After hearing Stravinsky‘s work for the first time, what do you think of the bassoon solo that started the riot?
How does Stravinsky‘s music make you feel when you listen to it? Does it make you feel like dancing? What other activities would you do to this music?
Can you hear the ostinato? What instruments play it?
________________________________________
La Mer (excerpts) by Claude Debussy
Historical Note:
Debussy had a fascination with the sea throughout his life. His father originally wanted him to be a sailor, and in 1889,
while completing a questionnaire, he replied to the question of what he would be if not himself, he replied a sailor. Some of his earliest compositions used water as a subject and in their titles. Given his love of the ocean, with all of the emotions it can stir, it seems
appropriate that Debussy wrote La Mer during one of the most turbulent periods in his life. At the time he began to compose La
Mer, Debussy was already well-known in Paris society and ―a cause célèbre,‖ largely from the success of his opera Pelléas et Mélisande. Nonetheless, his personal finances were still in disarray. He continued to live a Bohemian lifestyle, preferring to spend his
money on oriental (exotic) art and trinkets, rather than on more practical things like food and rent. Moreover, he met Emma Bardac
(the composer‘s second wife) on December 1, 1903. Once his wife Lilly learned of their affair, she attempted suicide. The entire
episode, and his private life in general, became fodder for gossip and the press; there was even a play written about Debussy‘s marital affairs called La femme nue. Hid divorce from Lilly was an embattled one, and he was involved in litigation for the rest of his
life.
Debussy kept a detailed journal that included sketches of his works. There is evidence that La Mer, especially the
―Dialogue du vent et de la mer,‖ is a metaphor for the breakdown of his marriage to Lilly. The sketches in his journal point to this
work being one of his most deeply personal using his love of the sea and its power as a reflection of his emotional turmoil.
His personal life notwithstanding, Debussy‘s professional life between 1903–05 was also one of turmoil. At the time he
decided to compose La Mer, he also began an operatic setting of a story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Devil and the Belfry. He worked
on the latter for nine years. Both works tell stories of disruption and confusion. Leading up to La Mer, he had already written several
multi-movement works, so a large-scale one was a natural consequence of these earlier pieces. He composed La Mer while landlocked in Burgundy, and he even commented on the irony in a letter dated September 12, 1903. By the time the work was ready for
performance, it had been revised several times. While it seems hard to imagine now, over a century later, the conductor who led the
premiere had difficulty with Debussy‘s ―contemporary‖ score. The concert programs from the first two performances also included
works by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, and Berlioz. The work was not immediately successful, partly because of lingering feelings
about the composer‘s private life. Following performances abroad, Parisian audiences were treated to another concert that included
La Mer. This time it earned its rightful place in the repertoire.
Instruments:
2 Flutes
Piccolo
2 Oboes
English Horn
2 Clarinets in A
3 Bassoons
Contrabassoon (Third movement only)
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in F
2 Cornets in C (Third movement only)
38 WSO Young People‘s Concert 2011
3 Trombones
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion
Cymbals
Tam-Tam
Triangle
Glockenspiel
Bass Drum
2 Harps
Strings
Key:
Introduction: B (Tonal center is around B,not specifically major or minor)
I. De l’aube à midi sur la mer: Continues in B; modulates to a mode based on D♭ (m. 31); Modulates to E major (m.
52); shifts to B♭ major (m. 84); returns to D♭ (m. 122).
II. Jeux de vagues: E major (F♭ major)
III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer: C♯ minor/D♭ major
Tempo and Meter (Movement III, ―Dialogue du vent et de la mer‖):
―Time passing is a fundamental subject of any piece of music. Without the shaping and manipulation of one‘s
sense of time in transit, most or all Western art music would lose its underlying reason for being.‖ (Simon Trezise, Debussy: La Mer, p. 76)
Debussy wrote very detailed tempo markings throughout La Mer.
The first movement, ―De l‘aube à midi sur la mer‖ has seven tempo changes alone. The second movement, ―Jeux de
vagues,‖ has two.
Details for concert excerpt:
III. ―Dialogue du vent et de la mer‖
(Dialogue between the wind and the sea)
Animé et tumultueux)
2/2 (mm. 1–292)
(Lively and tumultuous)
Cedez très légèrement et
(mm. 56–73)
retrouvez peu à peu le mouvement initial.
(Yield very slightly and little by little find the initial tempo again.)
Tempo I
(mm. 76–132)
Très soutenu (Very sustained)
(mm. 133–36)
Retenu au Movement
(mm. 137–56)
Plus calme et très expressif
(mm. 157–59)
(Calmer and very expressive)
Retardez un peu pendant ces
(mm. 159–62)
4 mesures (Ritard a little in these 4 measures)
Reprenez peu à peu
(mm. 163–70)
le Mouvement (Retake the tempo little by litte)
[repeat prior two markings]
En animant (Becoming livelier)
(mm. 187–94)
A Tempo
(mm. 195–98)
Serrez au Mouvemente
(mm. 199–207)
Retenu au Mouvemente
(mm. 210–44)
Au Mouvemente initial en
(mm. 245–69)
laissant aller jusqu‘au très animé
Très animé
(mm. 270–92)
Form:
―In La mer Debussy invented a procedure of development in which the notions of exposition and development co-exist in an uninterrupted stream, permitting the work to be propelled along by itself without recourse to any pre-established model.‖ (Quoted in
Trezise, p. 53).
Form in La Mer does not conform to any prior nineteenth musical designs. The first movement comprises five sections, each with
its own formal design. The second movement is even more complex and continues to be the subject of great scholarly debate.
Overall, ―Jeux de vagues‖ is a loosely structured A-B-A ternary form that also includes A-A-B bar form, A-A‘ strophic form and
rondo form.
39
Details for concert excerpt:
III. ―Dialogue du vent et de la mer‖
General rondo form with two dramatically contrasting themes, representing the wind and the sea, alternating with other
material.
First theme (The wind) group
40
(mm. 1–55)
Second theme (The sea) group
First theme group
Interlude with chorale melody
Second theme group
Climax of second theme
(Note change of tempo here.)
First theme group
Second theme group
with chorale melody
Synthesis of both groups
(mm. 56–79)
(mm. 80–132)
(mm. 133–56)
(mm. 157–94)
(mm. 195–210)
(mm. 211–43)
(mm. 244–69)
(mm. 270–end)
41
La Mer is an example of musical Impressionism. Like its counter-part in visual art, Impressionism in music avoids clear
outlines of form and traditional harmonies. Instead, it tends toward primary intervals, such as fourths, fifths and octaves;
makes use of modal, whole-tone, and pentatonic scales; lighter sonorities in the orchestra; Rhythms tend to avoid a clear
pulse; Formal designs are on a smaller scale. It is a programmatic work, but it creates a general impression, evoking and
images and emotions about the sea, rather than tell a detailed story.
Questions for the Classroom
1. As you listen to the third movement, ―Dialogue du vent et de la mer,‖ (A Dialogue between the Wind and the Sea), can
you figure out what themes represent each of these characters? What does each theme sound like?
2. What instruments did Debussy use to depict the wind? The sea?
3. If you were to compose a work about the sea, or any other natural scene, how would you depict it musically? What instruments would you use? Would the music be loud or soft? Fast or slow? Major or Minor keys?
42
―Overture,‖ from The Cowboys by John Williams
Historical Note:
When John Williams composed the overture to the 1972 movie The Cowboys, he was no stranger to film music. He was 40
years old and had been composing/arranging for the movies and television since for over 15 years. During that time he had written
the music for what we now think of as classic TV shows, such as ―Gilligan‘s Island,‖ ―Lost in Space,‖ ―Wagon Train,‖ and ―Land of
the Giants.‖ As a studio musician he worked on low-budget films. He also had the opportunity to work with some of the greatest
film composers of his day: Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Newman, and Franz Waxman. His big break came with the Oscar-nominated
score for the 1967 movie The Valley of the Dolls. Five years later he composed the score for The Cowboys starring John Wayne and
Bruce Dern. It was this score and his earlier one for The Reivers (1969) that first attracted Steven Spielberg‘s attention; he wanted to
meet ―‗this modern relic from a lost era of film symphonies.‘‖ (Quoted in Mervyn Cooke, A History of Film Music, 461). After this
meeting, Williams would go on to compose some of the most famous scores in modern cinema, including Jaws, Close Encounters of
the Third Kind, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Arc, E.T., and Harry Potter.
Instruments:
Piccolos
2 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Clarinets in B♩
2 Bassoons
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in B♩
2 Trombones
Bass Trombone
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion
Snare Drum
Piatti
Tambourine
Small Headless Tambourine
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Hi-Hat
Bass Drum
Cymbals
Suspended Cymbals
Triangle
Harp
Piano
Strings
Key:
F Major
Tempo and Meter:
♩
Vigoroso = 144; Andante
Several meters shifting from triple to duple (different themes have
different meters):
3/4-2/4-3/4-4/4
Form:
A-B-A‘
A (Tempo I, mm. 1–126) Four primary themes introduced
B (Tempo II, mm. 127–82) New thematic material added
A‘ (Tempo I, mm. 183–end) Synthesis of themes from both
A and B sections.
43
The Cowboys Overture: Theme 1, mm. 1–10
44
WSO Young
Peo-
45
46
47
The Cowboys Overture: B section, Theme 1, mm
48
The Cowboys Overture: A’ Section, Combined Themes, mm. 201–16
49
Williams‘s Overture to The Cowboys, like many of his other film scores, is symphonic in its score and highly Romantic in
its character. He uses leitmotivs (short themes that have specific dramatic references), an operatic technique, to tell his story. This
overture is no exception. The themes from the overture are used throughout the entire movie to enhance the dramatic moments.
Each of his scores shows earlier influences. The Cowboys is reminiscent of Aaron Copland‘s music especially the ballet Rodeo
(think about the ―Beef, it‘s what‘s for dinner,‖ commercial). Like Copland, Williams uses big sweeping melodies to paint his musical picture of the American West. French Horns are used as melodic instruments in the orchestration—not simply as harmonic and
orchestral color. Another influence on Williams‘s music is heard in the fourth theme of the A section. The syncopated dance
rhythms in this theme are similar to those heard in Stravinsky‘s Le sacre du Printemps.
Questions for the Classroom
1. The movie, The Cowboys is about a cattle drive, in which young boys/teenagers learn to be cowboys and act as the team
leading the herd across the plains. Does this music fit the story? Why or why not?
2. Listen carefully to each theme. How are they similar? How are
they different?
3. In what ways do the themes change when the instruments that play them also change? For example, toward the end of
the overture the entire orchestra plays different themes together. Earlier in the piece they were isolated. How do these different ways of playing the same theme alter the way the theme makes you feel?
______________________________________
Sinfonia Antarctica (Symphony No. 7) (excerpts) by
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Historical Note:
Vaughan Williams‘s Sinfonia Antarctica Symphony No. 7) has its origins in the score for the 1948 movie Scott of the Antarctic about the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition of 1912. In what was primarily supposed to be a scientific expedition, Robert Falcon Scott, a British captain, successfully led five men to the South Pole. However, the group all perished from cold, starvation, and
exhaustion on the return journey. Captain Scott kept a journal throughout the trek. His last entry was dated March 29, 1912. In November 1912 a search team discovered the remains of their camp and the last three bodies (the first two having perished earlier) as
well as Scott‘s diary. Once their fate was discovered, the crew immediately became national heroes. In composing the film‘s score,
Vaughan Williams reflected that heroism, although privately, he was said to have been furious over Scott‘s poor planning with the
expedition. Nonetheless, he felt the material to be substantial enough to expand into his Seventh Symphony. Although the symphony itself is not merely an enlarged version of the movie‘s incidental music, Vaughan Williams did include some of its original
themes. Sinfonia Antarctica had its premiere on January 14, 1953 at the Free trade Hall in Manchester. Sir John Barbirolli led the
Hallé Orchestra for this first performance.
Instruments:
Piccolo
3 Flutes
2 Oboes
English Horn
2 Clarinets in B♭
Bass Clarinet in B♭
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
4 Horns in F
3 Trumpets in B♭
3 Trombones
50
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion
Triangle
Cymbals
Side-Drum
Tenor Drum
Bass Drum
Gong
Bells
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Vibraphone
Wind Machine
Celeste
Harp
Pianoforte
Organ
Soprano Solo
Women‘s Chorus (SSA)
Strings
Critics agree that the brilliance of Sinfonia Antarctica lies mostly in its creative orchestration. The human voices ironically is used to
illustrate the inhuman landscape of the region. Even though it is unconventional, Vaughan Williams wanted to keep the wind machine in the symphonic version for dramatic effect.
Themes of Epilogue:
Rather than following traditional tonal relationships, this symphony is thematically based to paint various tonal pictures
In his own writings about the Sinfonia Antarctica, Vaughan Williams himself, did not identify any tonal centers, but instead pointed
to the salient themes.
1. Prelude:
Theme 1 (Main theme—shown here because theme recurs throughout
all five movements)
5. Epilogue:
Theme 1 (Opening flourish)
Theme 2 (March Tune—resembles main theme of Prelude)
The march theme pervades the movement. The rising whole-tone scale the highlights feeling of the unrelenting cold and walking the
scene depicts.
Soprano Solo (textless melody)
Tempo and Meter:
1. Prelude:
Andante maestoso
3/4 (triple meter)
Lento
4/4 (duple meter)
Più mosso
2/2 (duple meter)
2. Scherzo:
Moderato
6/8 (mixed meter)
3. Landscape:
Lento
4/4 (duple meter)
(There is no break between movements III and IV)
4. Intermezzo:
Andante sostenuto
3/4 (triple meter)
5. Epilogue:
Alla Marcia,
4/4 (duple meter)
moderato (non troppo allegro)
51
Form:
One question that remains with Sinfonia Antarctica is whether it is a symphony or a symphonic poem. This work does not
follow conventional symphonic form and development, and it is most definitely programmatic. It is more of a suite of movements
that, in combination, tell the story of the failed expedition to the South Pole. The themes themselves propel the work forward.
Each movement is introduced with a literary quotation reflective of the music:
1. Prelude.
To suffer which hope thinks infinite,
To forgive wrongs darker than death or night,
To defy power which seems omnipotent,
Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent,
This . . . is to be
Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free,
This is alone life, joy, empire and victory.
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound.
2. Scherzo.
There go the ships
And there is Leviathan
whom thou hast made to take his pastime therein.
Psalm 104
3. Landscape.
Ye ice falls! Ye that from the mountain’s brow
Adown enormous ravines slope amain––
Torrents, methinks, that hears a mighty voice,
Motionless torrents! Silent cataracts!
Coleridge, Hymn before Sunrise, in the Vale of Chamouni
4. Intermezzo.
Love, all alike, no season knows, mor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
Donne, The Sun Rising
5. Epilogue.
I do not regret this journey; we took risks, we knew we took them, things have come out against us, therefore we
have no cause for complaint.
Captain Scott‘s last journal entry.
Questions for the Classroom:
What instruments would you use to depict different seasons/weather?
Do you think Vaughan Williams‘ musical painting of the South Pole and its
extreme cold is effective?
What music would you use to tell the story of a great adventure?
52
La Mer
The Ocean
Some Oceanic Terminology:
Aquatic Animal: Any animal that lives in water for most or all of its life (including mammals and amphibians). It may
breathe air through lungs, or it may extract its oxygen from the water through gills or directly through its skin (Also
known as marine animals).
Coral Reef: A complex marine habitat formed from coral polyps (tiny animals that live in colonies). When the polyps
die, they leave behind a hard, stony limestone structure. Living coral provides a habitat for a variety of marine animals.
Many coral reefs are in danger of dying because of manmade environmental hazards and pollutants.
Crustacean: Any animal, usually marine, with a hard exoskeleton, jointed legs, and segmented bodies with bilateral
symmetry. They are invertebrates and have two sets of sensory antennae. The most common examples of crustaceans are
lobsters, crabs, and shrimp.
Estuary: The region between rivers and near-shore ocean waters, where tides and rivers mix fresh and salt water. These
areas tend are nutrient rich and provide good habitats for many species of marine animals, birds, and other wildlife.
Microorganism: An organism that is too small to be seen by an unaided eye (requires a microscope to view it). Many
microorganisms live in the ocean.
Mollusks: Marine invertebrates, such as clams, oysters, and scallops. Octopus and squid, which have interior shells, are
also mollusks.
Photosynthesis: The process that converts carbon dioxide, light, and water into sugar (food for plants) and oxygen. All
plants, including marine plants such as algae go through photosynthesis.
54
Some Fun and Interesting Facts about the Ocean:
1. The Earth has one big ocean with many different basins (North Pacific, South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic,
Indian, and Arctic). It covers approximately 70% of the planet‘s surface.
2. Most of the Earth‘s water comes from its oceans. Oceans are made of saltwater, and its freezing point is slightly lower
than that of fresh water (32º Fahrenheit/ 0º Celsius).
3. Some of the Earth‘s, flattest plains, highest mountain peaks and lowest valleys are beneath the ocean‘s surface. For example, the Mariana Trench in the Western Pacific is 10,911 meters (approximately 22 miles) deep! Hawaii‘s island of Mauna
Kea is one of the tallest mountains in the world, rising more than 10,000 meters above the sea floor.
4. The ocean is connected to all major bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers, and all major bodies of water drain to the
ocean, carrying with them nutrients, sediment, salt, and pollutants.
5. The ocean controls the Earth‘s weather and climate. Rain is formed when the ocean loses heat through evaporation, and
water vapor is released into the air. The vapor condenses as it cools as forms rain. Most rain that falls on land comes from
the tropical ocean.
6. The ocean has had, and continues to have a significant impact on climate change.
7. Photosynthetic organisms living in the ocean provide most of the oxygen in the Earth‘s atmosphere.
8. The first life on Earth is thought to have started in the ocean. There is fossil evidence of oceanic life in areas that are now
deserts.
9. There is a greater diversity of species living in the ocean than there are on land. Most life in the ocean exists as microbes.
Some regions of the ocean support all kinds of life forms, while others are considered deserts. Estuaries provide important
nursery areas for many marine and aquatic species.
10. People are inextricably linked to the ocean. The ocean provides food, recreation, medicine, livelihoods, and inspiration,
among other things. It serves as a transportation highway between continents. Much of the world‘s population lives near the
ocean.
11. Most of the ocean (95%) remains unexplored. Oceanic exploration and discovery is an interdisciplinary process among
biologists, chemists, physicists, geologists, and meteorologists, among others. Their collaboration and a willingness to use
new ideas are essential for learning more about the ocean and its resources.
12. Although vast and complex, the ocean‘s resources are finite and limited. It is everyone‘s responsibility to take care of
them.
Reuse/Recycle/Think Green!
Make an Edible Coral Reef
(Quoted from http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/edufun/book/Makeanediblecoralreef.pdf)
What You Will Need:
 One half sheet cake; if you want to bake your own cake you will need a box of cake mix and other ingredients listed
on the box
 Icing in various colors
 Food coloring
 Marshmallows, licorice whips, small cookies, candy sprinkles, or other edible materials for modeling coral reef animals and habitat features
 Disposable gloves rated for food handling.
Be sure to have an adult help with the baking!
Directions:
1. If you aren‘t familiar
with coral reefs, read the sidebar ―What is a Coral Reef?‖
2. If you plan to bake you own
cake, mix the bat-ter according to
instructions on the box, and bake
the cake in an oversized flat pan
like a broiler pan or turkey roasting pan. Your cake will probably
take less time to bake than the
time stated on the cake mix box,
because your cake will be thinner
than usual.
3. The flat cake is the base of
your model reef. Add the features
you planned in step 1 to complete the model. This is a lot of fun to do with two or three other people, but be sure you
wash your hands and wear disposable gloves so you can safely eat the model later.
4. Show your model to your friends, parents, school, or other groups, and talk about why coral reefs are important, why they are in trouble, and what we can do to help save them. If you are using your model at school, your
teacher may be able to arrange for you to make a presentation about coral reefs to another group of students, perhaps a
younger class. When you have finished your presentation, you can say, ―Now it is time for us to have a direct interaction with this model reef.‖ Which means everyone can eat the cake!
56
Overture, from The Cowboys
Some Geological and Geographical Terms for the Grand
Canyon:
Canyon: A deep valley with steep cliff sides, often with
a river or stream at the bottom; a gorge.
CFS: Cubic Feet per Second—the way river flow is
measured.
Colorado Plateau: A large geologic area lifted up thousands of feet in elevation, covering parts of Arizona,
Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.
Colorado River: A major river in the American Southwest, flowing from its mouth in the Rocky Mountains in
Colorado, through the Grand Canyon, and ending in the
Gulf of California.
Deposit: Anything that is laid down by a natural process, especially the settling of matter, such as minerals.
Erosion: The process by which the Earth‘s surface is
worn away by the action on water, wind, glaciers, etc.
Fault: A break in bedrock along which movement takes
place.
Fossil: The hardened remains of a plant or animal preserved in stone or other material.
Gneiss: A common metamorphic rock similar to granite
in its composition, but in which the mineral grains are
aligned in distinct bands.
Igneous Rock: Rock formed from hot magma that
has cooled then hardened. Granite is an igneous
rock.
Inner Gorge: The steep-walled gorge at the bottom of the Grand Canyon where the Colorado River flows.
Metamorphic Rock: Rock that has been subjected
to high heat and pressure, causing it to change
chemically or physically from its original form.
Unlike igneous rock, metamorphic rock has never
melted.
North Rim: The top of the north side of the Grand
Canyon. It is approximately 8000 feet in elevation—1000 feet higher than the South Rim.
Plate Tectonics: The theory that the Earth‘s surface is made up of moving plates which are responsible for geologic activity, such as earthquakes, mountain range formations, etc.
Sedimentary Rock: Rock formed by deposits of
loose materials being cemented together, usually
by lime or silica, to form layers (limestone, sandstone, shale, etc.). The upper 4000 feet of visible
rock in the Grand Canyon are sedimentary.
South Rim: The top of the south side of the Grand
Canyon. The elevation at the South Rim is approximately 7000 feet.
57
Some Fun and Interesting Facts about the Grand Canyon:
1. No one knows for certain how the Grand Canyon was formed. Several natural forces appear to
have been involved, but the primary force seems
to be erosion, both by water and by wind.
2. The first sedimentary layer of the Grand Canyon, the Bass Formation, was laid down approximately 1.25 billion years ago. Fossil evidence
indicates that the area was coastal at that time.
3. The Grand Canyon is in the state of Arizona.
It is more than 250 miles long and more than one
and a half miles wide.
4. The Grand Canyon is one of the country‘s first
national parks. It was largely unknown until
1869, when John Wesley Powell, a Civil War
veteran, first explored the region via the Colorado River. He was part of a nine-person expedition, including his wife Emma, who was the first
woman to climb Pike‘s Peak.
5. The Paleo-Indians were the first people to settle in the Grand Canyon region approximately 10,000 years ago. Evidence of their presence was discovered by a hiker, who found an arrowhead just off the trail where she was hiking.
6. A report from 2008 states that there is new geological evidence indicating that dinosaurs once inhabited the rim of
the Grand Canyon.
7. As recently as October 2010, geologists have discovered evidence of a large river (California River) from 55 million
years ago which flowed from Arizona to Utah in the opposite direction from the modern Colorado River. Shifts in topography, such as the formation of the Rocky Mountains, are the likely cause for the change in the river‘s flow, forming the Colorado-Green River system.
8. Twig figurines of animals dating back 4000 years have been found in preserved
in the red wall limestone caves at the Grand Canyon. So many have been found
(beginning in 1932) that archeologists have stopped collecting them.
9. The Navajo nation was the last indigenous group to arrive near the Grand Canyon, following the Paiute and Cerbat Indians. The Navajo lived region for 400
years (the current Navajo reservation is in the outlying areas) until the Freemont
culture moved in followed by
the Southern Paiutes. Mormon
settlers migrated to the region in
the 1870s.
10. In addition to human inhabitants, the Grand Canyon is home to a
wide variety of desert plants and animals. Small rodents, coyotes,
big horn sheep, reptiles, and the California Condor are among the
many species living in the region. Plant life ranges from wildflowers
and cacti to the large Engelmann Spruce (often called the perfect
Christmas Tree and is the type of evergreen used at the White House
for Christmas 2010).
58
Make a Split-Twig Figurine
(Quoted from Grand Canyon National Park Human History Lesson Plans)
1. Use several pipe cleaners twisted together to create a three-foot long section or one three-foot piece of wire. Fold it in
half.
2. Bend the fold down to form the back legs.
3. Bend one side down and then straight up, to form the front legs.
4. Wrap the other end around the outside of both legs to form the body.
5–7. Use the remaining end to form the head and neck.
59
Symphony No. 7,
Sinofonia Antarctica
Antarctica
The South Pole
Some Antarctic and Exploration Terminology:
Altitude: The height of an area measured from sea level.
Chronometer: A very accurate time-keeping device used to determine one‘s longitude at sea.
Compass: A device that always points to magnetic north. It is used for navigation.
Compass Rose: A design on a map that shows direction. It points which way is north, east, south, and west, with some
intermittent points as well.
Equator: The imaginary circle around the center of the Earth. It is halfway between the North and South Poles.
Glacier: A slowly moving river made up of snow and ice.
GPS: The abbreviation for Global Positioning System, and electronic device that can locate your exact longitude and
latitude. The device receives its information from orbiting satellites.
Ice Breaker: A ship with a very strong hull and powerful engines to be able to travel in icy waters.
Knot: The way speed is measured on the water. A knot is the equivalent of 1.15 miles/hour (one nautical mile/hour).
Latitude: The angular distance north or south to a specific location from the equator (0º latitude). The South Pole is
90º south; the North Pole is 90º north.
60 WSO Young People‘s Concert 2011
Longitude: The angular distance east or west from the northsouth line that passes through Greenwich, England (0º longitude), to a specific location. The farther east or west of Greenwich you are, the greater your longitude (east or west). The Midway Islands (on the opposite side of the globe from Greenwich,
in the Pacific Ocean) have a longitude of 180º.
Map: A representation of a place.
Nautical Mile: The unit of distance used on the water. It is
equal to 1.15 miles, or one minute (1/60 of a degree) along a line
of longitude.
North Magnetic Pole: The point on the Northern Hemisphere
of the Earth toward which a compass' needle always points; at
the North Magnetic Pole, a compass's needle will stand vertically. It is now located near in northern Canada (its location changes over time).
North Pole: The most northern place on Earth. There is no land, only a think layer of ice on top of the Arctic Ocean around
the pole.
Pole Star: A star that is located almost due north or due south, which makes it useful for navigation. Polaris is the pole star
of the Northern Hemisphere. There is no pole star for the Southern Hemisphere; the constellation Crux, however, is around
the south celestial pole.
South Magnetic Pole: The point on the Southern Hemisphere of the
Earth toward which a compass' needle always points; at the South Magnetic Pole, a compass's needle will stand vertically. It is now located just
off the coast the continent of Antarctica (its location changes over time).
South Pole: The most southern place on Earth. It is located on the continent of Antarctica.
Strait: A narrow passage connecting two larger bodies of water.
Submersible: A small underwater vessel
Trade Winds: Strong easterly winds that blow through the tropics and
subtropics. They blow from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere
and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.
Some Fun and Interesting Facts about Antarctica:
1. The coldest temperature ever recorded was in Antarctica. On July 21, 1983 it was -128º F (-89º C).
2. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest place on Earth. Its average snowfall is only about two inches per year.
3. The South Pole is at 90º latitude. It has no longitude because all longitudinal line/points converge at the poles.
4. Although scientific expeditions travel to Antarctica, there are no permanent human settlements there because of the extreme climate. About 4000 seasonal visitors travel there each year.
5. Antarctica hasn't always been located at the South Pole. It has drifted, like the other continents, and has ranged from the
equator (during the Cambrian period, about 500 million years ago) to the South Pole. During the time of the dinosaurs, (the
Mesozoic Era, about 65–248 million years ago), Antarctica was more temperate and housed dinosaurs and many other life
forms. Now, there is very little indigenous life.
6. Of the 34 meteorites from Mars found on Earth so far, 11 have been discovered in Antarctica.
7. Captain James Cook, a British explorer and astronomer, went on an expedition to Antarctica and Easter Island from 1772
–75). He was the first sea captain to cure scurvy by giving his sailors fresh fruit, giving them the Vitamin C they needed to
combat the disease.
8. Roald Amundsen of Norway was the first person to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911. He was the first person
to reach both the North and South Poles.
9. On his 1823 expedition to the South Pole, Captain James Weddell set an 80-year record the farthest southern latitude
reached (74º15‘ South) on February 20, 1823.
10. Captain Robert Scott led the second expedition to reach the South Pole (1910–12). He died on his second trip there,
which turned out to be a disaster.
11. Penguins are some of the indigenous animals inhabiting Antarctica. All penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere and
live in climates ranging from the tropics to the icy South Pole.
12. The Antarctic is full of life ranging from
tiny zooplankton and Antarctic krill to the
Blue Whale, the largest animal on Earth.
62
Make Your Own Weather Station
As always be sure to have adult supervision before starting your project.
(Quoted from: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/kids/weather_station_rain_gauge.html)
Rain Gauge
What you will need:
 An empty plastic bottle (2 liter soda bottle would be ideal)
 Scissors
 Sticky tape
 Ruler
 Paper
 Pencil
Instructions:
1. Cut around the plastic bottle about two thirds of the way up.
2. Turn the top part of the bottle upside down and place it inside the bottom part - fix it in place using the tape.
3. Make a scale in centimeters on a piece of tape, using a ruler, and fix it to the side of your bottle.
4. Find a place outside to put your rain gauge. It must be open and away from trees.
5. Dig a hole and bury your rain gauge so that the top is sticking out about 5cm out of the ground. This will stop the wind
gauge from blowing down on windy days.
6. Check the rain gauge every day at the same time, measure the amount of rain collected, and empty the bottle.
Remember to write down the amount of rain collected in your weather diary.
Weather Vane
What you will need:
 A ruler
 A pen top
 A plastic soda bottle
 Card
 A knitting needle
 Matchsticks
 A cork
 Sand
Picture hanging putty
Instructions:
1. Draw an arrow 25 cm long on the card and cut it out.
2. Make another arrow by drawing around the first arrow and cutting it out.
3. Place the pen top between the arrows, in the centre, and glue together.
4. Push four matchsticks into the long edge of the cork at right angles to each other.
5. Cut out four small squares of card and label with the four main points of the compass; N, E, S, W. Attach these to the end
of each matchstick with Picture-hanging putty.
64
6. Fill the bottle with sand.
7. Push the knitting needle into the cork and push the cork in the top of the bottle. Now balance the wind vane on top of the
needle.
Choose an open area, perhaps near your rain gauge, to place your wind vane. Ask an adult or use a compass to point the N
label on the bottle towards North.
Thermometer Box (to protect it from the elements):
What you will need:
 A sturdy plastic or wooden box that can stand on its side
 White paint
 A thermometer
 Picture-hanging putty
Instructions:
1. Paint the outside of your box white and wait until it's dry.
2. Stick the thermometer inside the box using Picture-hanging putty.
3. Take the box outside and find a safe, shady place to keep it.
4. Stand the box on its side so that the thermometer is at the back of the box and protected from direct weather conditions.
Now you can take temperature readings at the same time every day.
Keeping Our Fantastic Planet
Fantastic
How Orchestras and Musicians Are Helping the Planet:
♪ Although string players most often use instruments constructed long ago (the most prized instruments date to the
17th and 18th centuries), string-instrument makers are looking for ways to protect and preserve the now-endangered
forests used to construct musical instruments. Organizations such as Soundwood (http://www.globaltrees.org/
soundwood.htm) work with instrument makers to continue their crafts using sustainable resources.
♪ Many orchestras have moved to paperless marketing strategies, advertising their performances electronically.
♪ Several new or newly renovated concert halls are using alternate energy sources for their power and insulation. For
example, as part of its renovations, Lincoln Center in New York included a lawn roof to cover its new restaurant.
In the UK, the Glyndebourne Festival plans to build a 230-foot wind turbine to generate the electricity for its opera
house.
♪ The San Francisco Symphony has hired a bus company that uses soybean oil fuel to transport musicians on tour.
♪ Many music schools are constructing new ―green‖ buildings, using local and recycled materials, and ecologically
friendly heating and cooling systems.
What You Can Do to Help the Planet:
♪ With an adult‘s help, organize a clean-up the neighborhood or park day. Pick up trash and recyclables that are lying
on the ground in your area. Be sure to wear disposable gloves.
♪ Keep a pitcher of cold water in the fridge instead of letting the tap run a long time for cold water.
♪ Take shorter showers and turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
♪ Carry water in refillable bottles instead of using plastic ones. If you do use a plastic bottle, recycle it when you are
through with it.
♪ With your parent‘s permission walk or ride your bike to school, on errands, and/or play dates, instead of driving.
You will use less gas, and get exercise.
♪ Turn off lights when you leave a room. Try to use natural light during the day. Ask your parents to switch to energy
-efficient light bulbs.
♪ Ask your parents to keep the heat in your house turned down. Wear a sweater to keep warm.
♪ Wash your clothes in cold water.
Question for the Classroom:
What other are some other things you can do to keep the planet fantastic?
66
Glossary
Absolute Music
Music that has no literary or pictorial associations. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 is an example of
absolute music.
Acoustics
The total effect of sound (the quality of the sound), especially as it is produced in an enclosed space.
Ballet
A staged work in which dancers, using mime and choreography, perform to music to tell a story or express
a mood. Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps is an example of a ballet.
Basso Continuo
“Continuous bass” in Italian. A group of musicians comprised of one chordal instrument (harpsichord or
lute) and one single-line bass (low sounding) instrument (cello or bassoon).
Bassoon
A conical-bore, double-reed woodwind instrument. Its tubing, or bore, is so long that it must be folded
back on itself in snake-like curves, and the finger holes may be drilled at extreme angles to make them reachable.
The bassoon (also called the contrabassoon) is the lowest pitched member of the woodwind family.
Brass
The instruments of the symphony orchestra are traditionally divided into groups based on the way that
sound is produced. One such group is the brass instruments, all of which consist of a brass or metal tube and a cup
-shaped mouthpiece. Sound is produced when the player blows into the mouthpiece, causing his or her lips to vibrate and air to travel into the tube. Brass instruments in a modern orchestra are the French horn, the trumpet,
the trombone, and the tuba.
Cadenza
In a concerto, an ornamental passage for the soloist that is either improvised or written out. It usually
occurs at the end of a movement, just before the end.
Chord
A combination of two or more notes played simultaneously.
Concertino
The small group of soloists in a concerto grosso
Concerto
A concerto is a piece of music for a soloist to play with orchestra. Sometimes the soloist and orchestra
play separately and at other times they play together. In the best concertos the soloist and the orchestra share
the spotlight equally. Listen not only for the virtuosity in the solo parts, but also for how the solo and orchestral
parts fit together. Most concertos consist of three movements. The first movement is usually the longest and
most serious. The second movement is often called the "slow" movement, while the final movement is often light
and fast with a catchy theme repeated over and over. All concertos, however, will have the following three elements in common: 1) Contrasting groups of sound; 2) A Solo/Large group relationship; and 3) An element of virtuosity.
Consonance
A combination of notes that sounds pleasing. The opening of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 is consonant. Compare with dissonance.
Counterpoint
The musical combination of two or more melodies played or sung together in a way that is coherent and
works well together.
Dissonance
A grating, often unpleasant sound. The first few notes of "Chopsticks" are dissonant. Also, the opening of
The Four Seasons: Winter, in which the strings and continuo play notes found next to each other is another example of dissonance. Compare with consonance.
Fanfare
Music primarily played by brass instruments—other instruments may be used—occasionally with percussion
accompaniment, for ceremonial purposes, especially to call attention to the arrival of a dignitary or public official,
as well as to announce a public ceremony. “Hail to the Chief” to announce the U. S. President is an example of
a fanfare.
Fugue
A type of music that involves "imitation", that is, the playing of the same theme successively by different
instruments or voices. Fugue originated in the fifteenth century, but it was perfected by Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750). The term is used to describe the method of imitative writing, as well as the composition that is
formed when the method is used throughout. It is common to find "fugal" sections in compositions that are not
fugues.
Harmony
In general, harmony refers to the combination of notes into chords. Musicians also use the word to refer
to the study of the way that chords are made and how they relate to one another.
Hemiola
A
rhythmic
device in
which
three notes of equal value occupy the same time as two notes of equal value. Instead of feeling a pattern of LONG
-short-LONG-short, you would feel it as LONG-LONG-LONG. In musical notation it would look like this:
Regular LONG-short-LONG-short pattern
68
Hemiola pattern of LONG-LONG-LONG
Hornpipe
A dance that was popular in England, Wales, and Scotland from the 16 th to 19th centuries. It is related to
the jig, and as a solo dance the hornpipe is often associated with sailors. Most use syncopations with the short
notes falling on the accented beat. The theme for the cartoon “Popeye” is a hornpipe.
Improvisation
Creating music during the course of performance. The performer makes it up as he or she goes along.
March
Music with a strong repetitive beat usually used to accompany orderly military processions and movements.
In the 1800s the functional march declined in popularity giving rise to the stylized marches used in concert performance, such as those by John Philip Sousa
Melody
The term melody refers to a series of tones played or sung one after another, rather than at the same
time (see chords, harmony). To many, the term melody is just a more formal way of saying, "tune." Each tone in a
melody has two characteristics, pitch and duration.
Meter
The organization of the beats of a piece of music into regular units. This organization is made audible by
the emphasis that is placed on the first of each beat of each group. The most common meters are duple meter,
which has two beats in each group counted as 1 2, 1 2, 1 2; triple meter, having three beats in each group and
counted as 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3; and quadruple meter, with four beats in each group counted as 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2
3 4, with the primary emphasis placed on beat 1 in each group of four, and a lesser emphasis placed on beat 3.
Minuet & Trio
Typically, the third movement of a Classical Symphony. It is in a three-part form A-B-A. Each large section is comprised of two smaller sections. Each of those is repeated before moving to the next large section. The
instruments used in each large section are also usually very distinct from one another (i.e., strings for the Minuet
and woodwinds for the Trio). See diagram.
Minuet (A)
Strings
||:a||:b:||
Trio (B)
Woodwinds
||:c:||:d:||
Minuet (A)
Strings
||a-b||
Movement
A movement is a self-contained piece of music that is part of a larger work. Many larger classical works
like symphonies and concertos contain three or four movements, each with its own themes as well as its own character and mood. There is usually a brief pause between movements, as the musicians prepare for the next one.
Musical Painting
Most often associated with Renaissance vocal music, this technique uses music to evoke a visual image. For
example to depict a mountain, the melodic line might get higher and then lower in pitch. A musical sunrise might
start with a solo instrument playing quietly with other instruments entering gradually while the whole piece
gets louder.
Oboe
A conical-bore, double-reed woodwind instrument. It has a high range and looks like a long straight tube
with a flared bell at the end. The modern oboe is a descendant of the Renaissance shawm, but its tone is not as
nasal as its predecessor. Because the oboe is difficult to tune quickly, its A is used for the rest of the orchestra
to match.
Oratorio
An extensive dramatic work (usually unstaged) based on a sacred text with both narrative (recitative) and
contemplative (arias, ensembles) elements. Oratorios have all of the elements of staged operas but place a greater emphasis on the chorus. Handel’s Messiah is an example of an oratorio.
Orchestration
The art of deciding what instrument or instruments should play what part. The orchestration of a piece
plays a large role in how the piece sounds, so composers often adopt favorite ways of using the instruments. More
than anything else, the orchestration influences the color or sound quality of the piece, so that a decision to use
trumpets to play a melody, for example, will yield very different results from a decision to use muted violins, even
though the melody itself is the same.
Percussion
A percussion instrument is one that is hit, scraped, or shaken to produce sound. Percussion instruments
are often divided into two types, those that can produce a definite pitch, such as xylophones and timpani, and
those that do not produce a specific pitch, such as cymbals and snare drums.
Pitch
The highness or lowness of a tone, the pitch of a sound is measured in the number of vibrations the sound
produces in a second. The more vibrations produced, the higher the pitch; the fewer the vibrations, the lower the
pitch. Pitches are referred to by letter names, and sometimes even by the number of vibrations per second; many
modern orchestras, for example, tune to the pitch known
as A=440.
Prodigy
A term frequently used in music and art to describe someone who shows extraordinary talent at a young
age. Saint-Saëns, Mozart, and Mendelssohn were all prodigies.
Program Music
Instrumental music that has a literary or pictorial association. The Four Seasons is an example of program
music. Compare with absolute music.
Quadrille
One of the most popular ballroom dances of the 1800s, consisting of elaborate steps for four, six, or
eight couples. The music was lively and rhythmic with strict eight-or sixteen-measure phrases.
70
Recorder
A woodwind instrument with a whistle-shaped mouthpiece. Usually associated with early music.
Rest
Rest is the term given to a period of silence in music. Rests can be of any length and are indicated by different signs accordingly. The manner in which composers combine silence and sound can be very dramatic.
Rhythm
The organization of movement in time created by a pattern of long and short notes within a phrase, in a
section, or an entire piece of music.
Ripieno
The larger orchestral group in a concerto grosso.
Ritardando
A brief slowing of a work’s tempo. Virtually the same as rallentando.
Ritornello
A short, recurring instrumental passage in a concerto or aria.
Scherzo
A fast, light-hearted piece in triple meter. In the early nineteenth-century, the scherzo and trio came to
replace the minuet and trio as the form for a symphony’s third movement. It is faster and more vigorous than the
minuet and can have abrupt changes of mood ranging from the humorous to the demonic. Beethoven used it to create works with very strong rhythms.
Sonata-rondo
Typically, the form of the finale in a Classical symphony or string quartet. It is identified by the repetition of the first theme, which is played after each of the other themes. The structure is as follows: A-B-A-C-A
or A-B-A-C-A-D-A.
Subject
The melody or fragment of a melody that forms the basis for a composition, such as a fugue. Fugues can
have several subjects, however. Those that follow the first one are known as countersubjects.
Symphony
A large piece, usually in four movements, that varies in tempo (speed) and mood, written for orchestra.
Although opera overtures were sometimes called symphonies in the early 1700s, by 1759 Franz Joseph Haydn began writing pieces that we now recognize as symphonies.
Syncopation
A rhythmic effect created by placing emphasis on beats where it is not expected. While a piece written in
quadruple meter emphasizes beats one and three, a syncopated passage could emphasize two and four instead so
that the standard 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, becomes the syncopated 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4.
Through-composed
Musical work that moves from beginning to end without any long repeated sections.
Timbre
Tone color, or the way a particular instrument sounds; the timbre of a trumpet, for example, is very different from that of a cello.
Timpani
Kettledrums. The most important member of the percussion family, and the only one in the Western art
music that is capable of producing specific pitches.
Tuning
The process of adjusting the frequencies or pitches of an instrument or instruments usually in order to
bring it or them into agreement with a pre-determined pitch such as A440.
Two-Step
A fast ballroom dance that originated in America, largely because of Sousa’s Washington Post. The steps
follow a quick-quick-slow rhythm (6/8) in every measure, and are done in a light, skipping, gliding motion similar to
a polka.
Virtuosity
The technical skill, fluency, or style exhibited by a musician of great talent and skill or a composition that
is very difficult, requiring much skill to play.
Virtuoso
A musician with exceptional ability, technique, or personal style.
72
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE AND READING: ONLINE SOURCES
GENERAL MUSIC
Grove Music Online (by subscription): http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/
http://www.dsokids.com/default.aspx
THE COMPOSERS (BIOGRAPHY)
Igor Stravinsky
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Igor_Stravinsky
http://www.keepingscore.org/sites/default/files/swf/stravinsky/full
Claude Debussy
http://www.notablebiographies.com/De-Du/Debussy-Claude.html
http://www.helium.com/items/990862-biography-claude-debussy
http://www.debussy.fr/encd/bio/bio1_62-82.php
http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/bio.asp?id=16
Ralph Vaughan Williams
http://www.rvwsociety.com/bio_expanded.html
John Williams
http://www.dlwaldron.com/JohnWilliamsbio.html
http://www.johnwilliams.org/
THE MUSIC:
Le Sacre du Printemps
http://www.keepingscore.org/sites/default/files/swf/stravinsky/full
http://igorsrite.blogspot.com/
http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft967nb647;brand=ucpress
http://www.edgreenmusic.org/Stravins-a.htm
La Mer
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105417197
http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/lamer.html
Sinfonia Antarctica (Symphony No. 7)
http://www.agentsmith.com/rvw/guides/symphonynotes.html
http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/v-w/v-wsymoverview.php
Overture, The Cowboys
http://www.johnwilliams.org/
http://www.dlwaldron.com/JohnWilliamsbio.html
THE FANTASTIC PLANET
General
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/education/kids/amazing_facts_065.html
http://www.climatechangeeducation.org/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/
http://www.globaltrees.org/soundwood.htm
Volcanoes
http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/
http://www.stormthecastle.com/how-to-make-a/how-to-make-a-volcano.htm
http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/volcano.php
http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/VolcanologyDoc.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/volcano-video/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/15/g35/earthquakes.html
The Ocean
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/18/gk2/doubiletocean.html
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx?action=browse&subject=38
http://www.theoceanproject.org/resources/conservation.php?category=For%20Kids
http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/edufun/book/
http://www.sarasota.wateratlas.usf.edu/help/glossary.asp
http://www.sarasota.wateratlas.usf.edu/help/glossary.asp
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/literacy/ocean_literacy.pdf
74
Antarctica
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/history_of_the_land_geological-timeline_of_antarctica.htm
http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/antarctica/history.html
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr043.shtml
http://funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/antarctica.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/antarctica.shtml
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/Antarctica/
The Grand Canyon
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grandcanyon/
http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/misc/gc_misc.htm#cfs
http://www.nps.gov/grca/forteachers/lessonplansandteacherguides.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/07/g35/canyon35.html
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/07/g68/canyon68.html
http://www.zionnational-park.com/grand-canyon-history.htm
http://www.t-rat.com/Pages/GeologicalHistGrandCanyon.html
75
Student Feedback Survey
Greetings students, we hope you enjoyed this morning‘s concert and learned a few things about orchestral music. Young People‘s
Concerts are some of the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra‘s favorite concerts to perform, because it gives us an opportunity to open
students‘ ears and eyes to orchestral music. Please respond to the following questions regarding the WSO Fantastic Planet Young
People‘s Concert as honestly and completely as you can.
School Name & City: ____________________________________________________
Before today, had you ever attended an orchestra concert?
Grade Level: __________________
Y
N
Did you enjoy today‘s program? (Circle One)
It Was Fantastic It Was Good
It Was Okay
Not Really
Not At All
What was your favorite part/selection/instrument and why?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Do you play a musical instrument? (Which one?)
___________________________________________________
If not, would you like to? (Which one?)
___________________________________________________
Name one non-musical thing you learned today. (History, social studies, science, language arts, or other academic subject.)
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Did today‘s concert change your perception of an orchestra concert?
Y
N
What did you think of the video portion of the Concert?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Would you like to attend another orchestra concert?
Y
N
Do you have any further comments?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for completing this survey, your opinion is very important to us!
Teachers: Please return completed surveys to:
WSO
YPC Evaluation
P.O. Box 1762
Waterbury, CT 06721
Fx: 203-755-6948
Email: [email protected]
Educator Feedback Survey
Greetings educator, we hope you and your students enjoyed this morning‘s concert and learned a few things about orchestral music.
Young People‘s Concerts are some of the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra‘s favorite concerts to perform, because it gives us an opportunity to open students‘ ears and eyes to orchestral music. Your satisfaction with the WSO concert experience is very important
to us. Please respond to the following questions as completely as you can.
Name (optional): ________________________________________School Name & City:________________________________
Core Education Subject: _________________________________ Grade Level(s): _____________________
The Concert
Before today, had you ever brought students to an orchestra concert before?
Y
N
Please rate today‘s concert on an educational basis.
5-Excellent
4-Very Good
3-Good 2-Average
1-Below Average
3-Good 2-Average
1-Below Average
Please rate today‘s concert on an artistic basis.
5-Excellent
4-Very Good
Do you feel your students enjoyed the concert and gained a new appreciation for orchestral music?
Yes
Possibly Maybe
Probably Not
No
Were the program selections appropriate for your student‘s grade level?
Y
N
Comments___________________________________________________________________
Was the onstage dialog informative and easy to understand?
Y
N
Comments___________________________________________________________________
Concert Preparation and Production
Did you use the Curriculum Guide to prepare your students? If so, what were the most useful parts?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Did you use the listening examples?
Y
N
Was the Logistical Guide helpful and easy to understand?
Y
N
Comments___________________________________________________________________
Was the NVCC Fine Arts Center an appropriate venue for an educational concert?
Y
N
Comments___________________________________________________________________
Was dropping students off and picking them up a relatively easy process?
Y
N
Comments___________________________________________________________________
Were you satisfied with your seats?
Y
N
Comments___________________________________________________________________
Could you hear the music and dialog clearly?
Y
N
Summary
Will you schedule class time for students to complete their feedback survey?
Y
N
Would you like to bring your students to another WSO Young People‘s Concert?
Y
N
Maybe
Do you have any further comments or suggestions?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for completing this survey, your opinion is very important to us!
Please return completed surveys to:
WSO
YPC Evaluation
P.O. Box 1762
Waterbury, CT 06721
Fx: 203-755-6948
Email: [email protected]
WSO Young People‘s Concert is made possible with support from:
Waterbury Arts & Tourism Commission
The Leever Foundation

Young People`s Concert Curriculum Guide

Transcription

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