Non-Directed Music Listening Program Series III Non-Directed Music Listening Program Script Series III Week 1 Composer: Ludwig von Beethoven (1770 – 1827) Composition: Minuet in G, No. 2 Performance: Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy Recording: CBS Masterworks Dinner Classics: The Viennese Album CBS MFK 45545 Day 1: This week’s listening selection is “Minuet in G, No. 2” by Ludwig von Beethoven. A minuet is a graceful dance. A man greets his partner with a bow then, hand-in- hand, leads her through a series of smooth and delicate movements. It is the small steps and gestures that give the dance its name – minuet which comes from a word that means small or minute. This is quite a contrast to the popular dances of today – such as Texas Line Dancing. Day 2: This week we are listening to Ludwig von Beethoven’s “Minuet in G, No. 2”. Between the 1600’s and the 1800’s, the minuet was the most popular dance in which ladies and gentlemen of the court gracefully moved through a series of small but intricate steps. You were not allowed membership in the king or queen’s court unless you had memorized the steps and patterns to the many different minuets. Today as you listen, think about all the dance moves you know. Would they fit with the music? Can you imagine how the men and women looked as they glided effortlessly across the polished floors? Day 3: This week’s listening excerpt is “Minuet in G, No. 2” written by the famous German composer, Ludwig von Beethoven. Yesterday , you listened to see whether or not the dance steps you know would fit with the “Minuet in G, No. 2”. Most of you probably discovered that the moves you’re familiar with aren’t suitably matched to the music of this minuet. The minuet starts out smoothly with the string section of the orchestra. Listen today for the sound of the double bass. The four-stringed double bass is the grand-daddy of the violin family and its deep voice generally acts as a foundation for the rest of the orchestra. Non-Directed Music Listening Program Script Series III Day 4: This week we are listening to German composer Ludwig von Beethoven’s “Minuet in G, No. 2”. The double bass line starts on the first strong beat you hear but the violins start just before that. Your music teacher has probably talked about something called an anacrusis. An anacrusis, or upbeat, starts a piece on a less emphasized beat. “Ana” means before, “crusis” means on or at the same time. Listen to see if you get the feeling that the violins begin on a less stressed or less important beat than the double bass which starts on the first strong beat. Day 5: Today we are listening to “Minuet in G, No. 2” by Ludwig von Beethoven. Yesterday were you able to hear the anacrusis played solely by the violins at the very beginning of the minuet? It requires good listening skills to perceive that type of musical detail. Many of you probably know a bit about the German composer, Beethoven. He was the composer who lost his hearing. Because he was unable to hear the sounds of the outside world, he was forced to rely on his inner hearing and memory for the last twenty years of his life. Imagine being deaf yet able to compose such beautiful music. Truly he was a talented person. Non-Directed Music Listening Program Script Series III Week 2 Composer: Alexander Borodin (1833 – 1887) Composition: “Polovtsian Dances” Performance: London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti Recording: Weekend in Russia London 417 689 2 Day 1: This week’s listening selection is the “Polovtsian Dances” written by Alexander Borodin. Borodin was captivated by the native music of Russia. His special interest was the southeastern sounds which had a distinctly oriental quality. Listen today to the two contrasting parts of this excerpt. The first is rather haunting and the melody is performed by the human voice whereas part two is entirely orchestral and much quicker. Day 2: Alexander Borodin wrote this week’s listening selection, the “Polovtsian Dances”. The “Polovtsian Dances” are from the second part of Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor”. There are two sections to this excerpt. In the first, the melody is sung and in the second it is played by the orchestra. In the first portion, the voices sing in unison, that means that they all sing the same notes at the same time. What adds interest is that initially they are accompanied by an oboe which plays in unison with the voices. Listen today to see if, at the beginning, you can hear that the voices and the oboe are all ‘singing’ the same notes at the same time – in unison. Day 3: This week we are listening to Russian composer Alexander Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances”. In this excerpt we hear two distinct styles of music yet they are joined together and form part of the larger operatic work, “Prince Igor”. Part one is sung and part two is entirely orchestral. The two portions are joined by one measure or four beats of very quiet repeated notes played by the string section. Listen today to see if you like the way Borodin connected the two dances or do you think, musically, there could be a better way? Non-Directed Music Listening Program Script Series III Day 4: The “Polovtsian Dances” by Alexander Borodin is this week’s listening selection. In the second dance, the music is strictly orchestral. It is considerably faster and the style is radically altered from the first dance. Although it sounds happier, it still has a somberness about it. This melancholy quality arises as a result of Borodin’s use of the Asiatic or more oriental sounds. Listen today to see if you can imagine the Mongolian warriors dancing wildly and spinning around a campfire late into the night. Day 5: This week’s listening selection is an excerpt from Alexander Borodin’s Opera “Prince Igor”, titled “Polovtsian Dances”. Today when you listen, see if you can identify any of the instruments you play in your music class. Very faintly in both sections you can occasionally hear a xylophone. If you play in the school band, you will recognize quite a few familiar instruments, especially in the second part. There is also a long section in dance two where the tambourine plays an important role. Non-Directed Music Listening Program Script Series III Week 3 Composer: Ottorino Respighi (1792 – 1868) Composition: “Tarantella” from “La Boutique Fantasque” Performance: Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy Recording: Greatest Hits of the Ballet, Volume 1 CBS LMLK 45658 Day 1: This week’s listening excerpt is the “Tarantella” from the ballet “The Fantastic Toyshop” by Ottorino Respighi. A tarantella is an Italian folk dance. This particular tarantella is extremely quick. The mood is one of excitement and this feeling never relaxes throughout the entire piece. This tension is maintained using a variety of musical techniques which I want you to listen for today. Those techniques are: 1. Sudden, unexpected bursts of sound from very soft to very loud. 2. Quick shifts from major to minor modes, that is happy to more sad or reflective sounding music. 3. The use of the tambourine to accent certain beats. Day 2: This week’s listening excerpt is the “Tarantella” from the ballet “La Boutique Fantasque” or in English “The Fantastic Toyshop”. The music was written by Rossini and arranged as a ballet by Ottorino Respighi. The dance, the “Tarantella”, is said to have originated from the tarantula spider. Supposedly, if you were bitten, the faster you danced the more likely you were to survive the spider’s deadly bite. It is considered unlucky to dance the tarantella alone so Respighi choreographed the piece for two people. In this ballet, the two dancers happen to be mechanical dolls displayed in a fantastically full and exciting toyshop. The dancers are accompanied by a tambourine. Non-Directed Music Listening Program Script Series III Day 3: Rossini is the original composer of this week’s listening selection “Tarantella”. Ottorino Respighi arranged and choreographed the ballet “The Fantastic Toyshop” using Rossini’s music. The ballet takes place inside a toyshop. One day two families happen to go shopping in the store, simultaneously looking at the mechanical dolls featured there. Upon seeing the two Italian peasant dolls dancing the “Tarantella”, the children from both families begin imitating the dancers and, of course, both sets of parents want to buy the dolls. An argument ensues but it is settled once it is decided that each family will take one doll and thus, break up the pair. They pay the shopkeeper saying that they will return for the dolls the next day. Day 4: This week’s listening excerpt is the “Tarantella” from Respighi’s ballet “La Boutique Fantasque” or “The Fantastic Toyshop”. Yesterday you heard that the pair of dolls that dance the “Tarantella” were purchased but the set had to be split between two separate families. After the shopkeeper puts the dolls away, the shop is closed for the evening. All the dolls and toys proceed to come to life and the Italian peasant dolls who dance the “Tarantella” decide to hide as they don’t want to be sold separately to different families. The next day, when the families come to get the dolls, they open the lids of the boxes and find nothing! They get very angry with the shopkeeper but suddenly the dolls and toys all come to life and drive the customers out.