05 Wind on the Hill - The Music of Don Freund

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Title: Wind on the Hill
Unison treble voices, piano and soprano recorder
Composer: Victoria Ebel-Sabo
Text: A.A. Milne from Now We Are Six
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes, 1955 OCTB6519
Background Information:
From: www.sbmp.com/WebPagesTwo/VictoriaEbelSaboBio.html: Besides being a
pianist, composer and teacher, Victoria Ebel-Sabo is an avid outdoorswoman and travel
adventure traveler. She receives inspiration during her adventures for her compositions.
She and her husband have climbed over 50 mountains and have hiked thousands of miles
– one trek walking 650 miles in France.
From www.kidsread.com: Alan Alexander Milne was born in London in 1882. He wrote
his collection of verses, When We Were Very Young, for his son, Christopher Robin
Milne. Demand for Milne’s work was so overwhelming that he continued writing for
children producing the famous book Winnie-the-Pooh and the sequel The House at Pooh
Corner. The text “Wind on the Hill” is taken from his next publication, Now We are Six
written in 1928.
Musical Elements:
Meter: 6/8
Form: ABA 2 verses
Tonality: e minor
Phrasing and Harmony: Marked in the score
Dynamics: p, mp, mf, f
Vocal Technique Elements:
Range: d# - d1
Tessitura: d#- d1
Pitch set: melody e la: Si1 L1 T1 D R M F S
Rhythm: ç, Ç, ∂, Î , ß , Í
Harmony:
The piano accompaniment provides traditional harmonic functions.
Text:
The whimsical, fantasy text is full of imagery that would appeal to all ages.
Elements Related to Teaching:
Appropriate Grade Level: Advanced 4th – 6th treble – girls chorus 6 – 12th
Difficult Sections: phrases containing f1, leap of the octave, the syncopated
sequence, mm.13-16, and sustaining the long, legato phrases.
Possible Teaching sequence):
Objective: Beautiful cantabile singing –good breath management and open vowel
sounds producing legato phrases.
Motivation: Ask for individuals to speak the first verse of the text dramatically
observing the marked dynamic levels.
Procedure: Echo phrases in rhythm using ss. Echo phrases using text in rhythm.
Mark phrases and breath marks into score. Create sol-fa exercise using difficult
patterns from score. Students find phrases in score and practice. Echo sing phrases
with neutral vowel, repeat using text. Correct any pitch, rhythm, or diction
problems. Look at second verse and repeat process,
The piece would take approximately four to six 15-minute lessons to learn.