RIDE of the VALKYRIES by WAGNER TEACHER PAGES

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TEACHER PAGES RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES BY WAGNER http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034s31d

CONTEXT

The Valkyrie is a Music Drama performed in an opera house. The Ride of the Valkyries is the descriptive orchestral prelude which sets the scene for Act III. The scene takes place on a mountain top : the music describes the arrival of a group of female warriors riding on horseback – these are the Valkyries who carry the bodies of fallen heroes to Valhalla, the home of the Gods.

Wagner wanted to create dramatic works in which each of the arts contributed equally, as in Ancient Greek theatre. Wagner rekindled this tradition by choosing themes from mythological Nordic sagas for his music dramas – ancient Viking tales that underpin German culture.

MUSICAL INGREDIENTS

Pitch  Major and minor contrasts  Leitmotif (mainly triadic)  Motivic development  Fanfare  Dramatic, expectant trills and tremolando effects

Timbre  Full romantic orchestration including Wagner Tubas  Prominent brass

Rhythm  Compound time  Dotted compound ‘galloping’ rhythms

Texture  Thick homophonic texture

LEARNING ACTIVITIES SUMMARY

Active Listening challenge: ‘Thought Bubbles’ and ‘Musical Jigsaw’ Performing challenge: Round of the Valkyries Composing challenge 1: Composing a funeral march Composing challenge 2: Alternative creative approach

KEY LEARNING

Knowledge of musical dimensions: major and minor contrasts Skills development: composing - motivic development

RELATED LISTENING EXAMPLES

‘Ride of the Valkyries’ staged with voices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aKAH_t0aXA ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ performed by the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8_rf_MzMJ0 ‘Siegfried’s Funeral March’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXonlYzpT-0 ‘Short ride in a fast machine’ by Adams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LoUm_r7It8 ‘Troika’ from Lt Kije Suite by Prokofiev: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GUzJ7fQBtg&list=RD7GUzJ7fQBtg#t=11

KS3 CURRICULUM LINKS

 Opera & Music Theatre  Programme Music  Film Music  Romanticism  Fanfare

SUGGESTED LINKS WITH OTHER SUBJECTS

Drama: Greek & Nordic Mythology Languages: German language and culture Art: Romanticism History: Hitler and the Nazis

LEARNING ACTIVITIES – TEACHER NOTES

ACTIVE LISTENING CHALLENGE: THOUGHT BUBBLES and MUSICAL JIGSAW

Pupil resources found in the pack:  Ride of the Valkyries: Thought bubbles  Ride of the Valkyries: Musical Jigsaw

Task:  To elicit an individual response of general thoughts and observations about the piece  To structure group discussions focusing on the musical ingredients of the piece

Suggested approach  Using the ‘Thought Bubbles’ sheet, play the music and ask pupils to record their thoughts, observations and any imagined scenarios.

 Share individual responses, asking the class: What do they think the music expresses?  Next, elicit a more detailed musical response using the ‘Musical Jigsaw’ approach i.e:  Organise the class into groups of 5.  Explain the Listening Challenge: that individual group members, guided by the Focus Sheet with its list of key musical dimensions, will each adopt a ‘specialist’ role.

 Pupils now reform into specialist ‘teams’ to discuss their particular focus in depth.  Finally, reassemble into original groups so that ‘specialists’ can report back and help their group to build a ‘big picture’ of the musical ingredients (completing the Musical Jigsaw).  Regroup the class into their original musical focus groups.  Give each group the Listening Challenge: ‘Group Focus Sheet’ and allocate each member a specialist musical focus from the sheet.  Each member reports back to the group, sharing outcomes of discussions in specialist teams, to

build a big picture of the musical ingredients of the piece (completing the jigsaw).  Extension: groups could make a record of their observations by creating a mind map of the piece.

PERFORMING CHALLENGE - ROUND OF THE VALYKRIES

Teacher Resource:

 Round of the Valkyries: Teacher Score - Instrumental and vocal and instrumental versions  Midi file: Wagner – Round of the Valkyries (optional backing track)

Pupil Resource found in the pack:  Round of the Valkyries: Instrumental version  Round of the Valkyries: Vocal & Instrumental version

Suggested approach: This whole class ensemble piece is based on themes from The Ride of the Valkyries presented as two versions: (a) instruments in A minor (b) voices accompanied by instruments in E minor. Parts can be taught quickly by a combination of rote learning and individual practice time using the pupil worksheet as a prompt. NB: chord symbols have not been included. They are:  A minor instrumental version: Am / / Am / / C / / C / /

 E minor instrumental and vocal version: Gm / / Gm / / C / / C / / Rehearse each part separately. Discuss whether keyboard or voices would be most appropriate for each of the parts. Perform the piece together as a class.

COMPOSING CHALLENGE 1 - COMPOSING A FUNERAL MARCH

Pupil resources found in the pack:  Who were the Valkyries? Information sheet  Composing Challenge: Compose a Funeral March for Siegfried, the slain hero. There are two versions provided: A&B i.e. o a) containing Wagner’s original leitmotifs or o b) containing the melodic outlines of Wagner’s original leitmotifs)

Task:  Compose a funeral march for Siegfried, the slain hero (an event related later in the Nibelung Saga)

Suggested approach:  Decide which composing task to use i.e. A or B. Version A requires pupils to use Wagner’s original leitmotifs. Version B provides the melodic outlines of Wagner’s original leitmotifs only allowing more freedom to compose their own melodies.  Read and discuss the summary of main events in opera: ‘The Ring of the Nibelung’, using the information sheet: Who were the Valkyries? (A simplified synopsis.)  Introduce the Composing Challenge sheet (A or B) explaining that their task relates to a second highly dramatic episode from the Nibelung Saga.  Outline some of key characteristics and conventions of a march that are not made explicit on the sheet. Discuss how these conventions would have to be modified for a funeral march.  Explain that the sheet is a composer’s notepad with a series of sketches and notes from which pupils can select to develop their own compositions. Importantly they do not have to include every aspect, only those that they feel have potential for development.  Explore together as a class the leitmotif melodies provided. NB: Version A contains three of Wagner’s actual leitmotifs representing different aspects of Siegfried i.e. his personal motif, his fanfare and his sword (Nothung). Version B provides the melodic outlines only. o Analyse these together. o Ask what pupils notice about the shape of each leitmotif? (triadic/fanfare like) o What do they tell us about the character of Siegfried? o Model different ways in which they could be developed for use in a funeral march. Allow pupils time to experiment with, and develop the leitmotifs.  Remind pupils that they can decide to reject these and compose their own funeral melody - fit for a hero.  As a class, consider other ideas on the notepad and model how each might be developed as an idea for a funeral march.  Allow pupils to work individually, exploring and developing ideas from the notepad.  Organise pupils into pairs or groups and ask them to develop each idea further and complete their piece  Listen to Siegfried’s Funeral March from Act III of Götterdämerung, which contains the same leitmotifs. The same active listening approach, described above, could be used for pupils to appraise the piece, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXonlYzpT-0

COMPOSING CHALLENGE 2: ALTERNATIVE CREATIVE APPROACH

In the BBC Ten pieces Secondary introduction to the Ride of the Valkyries, Christopher Eccleston describes the piece as:

 a musical stampede with flying galloping rhythms  a hope versus evil, life versus death, ‘run for your life’ fanfare

Pupil resources found in the pack: N/A

Task  Compose a piece that either has the same purpose and broad characteristics as The Ride of the Valkyries or explores a musical gesture taken from the piece

Suggested approach Listen to and discuss The Ride of the Valkyries with pupils e.g. using the Listening Challenge outlined above. Ask students to identify (a) single musical idea, gesture or broad feature, or, (b) perhaps two or three, which really stand out for them e.g.:  Expectant, thrilling opening with trills and tremolando  Robust and heroic fanfare melody sweeping through orchestra  String scales swooping up and down  Galloping compound time rhythmic motifs  Mixing major and minor modalities to create contrasting strong, ‘warlike’ effects

Encourage pupils to experiment with an idea (or ideas) taken from the piece and adopt these to form the basis of their own piece.

To support pupils in developing initial ideas, set them a series of short exploratory challenges to kick- start the composing process, for example:

Consider:  Playing ideas in different registers: what affect is achieved?  Fragmenting their fanfare melody before playing it complete?  Changing from the minor to the major: how does this alter the feeling of the melody/piece?  Adopt a rhythm to be: (a) used as an ostinato (b) developed into a heroic melody, or (c) used as a rhythm for a simple chordal accompaniment?  Support the fanfare melody with chords or ostinato?

Pupils then develop ideas into a composition that has similar characteristics to the Ride of the Valkyries but reflects the intention, interests and style of the individual.

ROUND OF THE VALKYRIES

TEACHER SCORE – INSTRUMENTAL VERSION

ROUND OF THE VALKYRIES TEACHER SCORE – VOCAL & INSTRUMENTAL VERSION

SECONDARY 10 PIECES PLUS!

RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES by WAGNER

PUPIL PAGES

ACTIVE LISTENING CHALLENGE: RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES THOUGHT BUBBLES

ACTIVE LISTENING CHALLENGE

RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES – MUSICAL JIGSAW

STRUCTURE

DYNAMICS & TEMPO

RHYTHM

PITCH / MELODY

TEXTURE

ROUND OF THE VALKYRIES INSTRUMENTAL VERSION

ROUND OF THE VALKYRIES VOCAL & INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE VERSION

WHO WERE THE VALKYRIES?

Richard Wagner was fascinated by Norse Mythology and composed a series of four operas called The Ring of the Nibelung, based on the Nordic Nibelung Saga. The Ride of the Valkries sets the scene for the third act of the second opera called The Valkyrie. The following summary picks up the story from this point:

Brunnhilde is a Valkyrie warrior and daughter of the chief god, Wotan. She tries in vain to protect her favoured warrior, Siegmund, from being slain by his enemy Hunding, defying her father’s command that, as a matter of honour, Siegmund should not be protected. Unable to save Siegmund, Brunnhilde carries his partner, Sieglinde to safety on her horse, Grane, joining other Valkyrie warriors at the place where dead heroes are laid to rest (accompanied by the music of the Ride of the Valykries!). Sieglinde, who is carrying Siegmund’s child, is told to flee into the forest to escape and to take Sigmund’s shattered sword with her.

Siegmund’s orphaned son, Siegfried, is discovered with his dying mother, Sieglinde, in the forest and is adopted and brought up by Mime, an evil Nibelung dwarf. Siegfried grows up to be a fearless warrior whose only vulnerability is his back. (Siegfried never turned his back on his enemies). When he comes of age, Siegfried re-forges his father’s sword called ‘Nothung’ and prepares to leave the hated Mime.

Having observed how fearless and strong Siegfried has become, Mime tricks him into killing a huge dragon that sits on a vast hoard of gold. With the dragon dead, Mime attempts to poison Siegfried and take the gold for himself. Realising that he has been tricked, Siegfried kills Mime and takes just two pieces from the hoard, a golden ring which gives him power over all others, and a helmet that makes him invisible. He sets off into the world. Battling through a ring of fire he discovers Brunnhilde, who has been put to sleep by her father, Wotan, for disobeying his wishes when she attempted to protect Siegmund. They fall in love.

Unbeknown to Siegfried, others want to own the golden ring because of its legendary power. On his journeys, Siegfried is welcomed into the royal court of a race called the Gibichungs. The Gibichung king is Gunther, who is protected by his evil half-brother, Hagen. They conspire to kill Siegfried and claim the golden ring for themselves. Siegfried is given a love potion so that he immediately falls in love with Guthrune, sister of Gunther and forgets his past life. They marry. Without Siegfried’s protection, Brunnhilde is vulnerable and is captured by Gunther as a prospective bride for himself.

Brunnhilde is brought to the royal court of the Gibichungs to be confronted by Siegfried and his new bride, Gutrune. She thinks Siegfried has betrayed her and is furious, so much so that she reveals that the only way of killing Siegfried is to stab him in the back. Hagen listens and organises a hunt. During the hunt he stabs Siegfried and kills him. But before Siegfried dies, he remembers his past and proclaims his love for Brunnhilde. Brunnhilde listens and sets in motion the end of the world, igniting a vast funeral pyre for Siegfried, claiming the golden ring and hurling it into the depths of the river Rhine. The saga ends with flames engulfing Valhalla, home of the gods.

COMPOSING CHALLENGE(a) COMPOSE A FUNERAL MARCH FOR THE SLAIN HERO SIEGFRIED

COMPOSER’S NOTEPAD

Siegfried’s leitmotifs – melodies fit for a hero! Major and minor contrast

Develop one as the main march tune - use others as fanfares

G minor:

G minor chords idea D Bb G major: G

Bb G

G BRASSY!! Eb C Meter: Keep it in 6/8 or change to common time (and modify Heroic! A the leitmotifs?) F# D

Slow tempo (must have a steady Heavy block chords: Gm Gm Eb Eb Cm Cm D D …? march rhythm e.g.)

COMPOSING CHALLENGE 1(b) COMPOSE A FUNERAL MARCH FOR THE SLAIN HERO SIEGFRIED

COMPOSER’S NOTEPAD

Siegfried’s leitmotif outlines – melodies fit for a hero!

Develop one as the main march tune - use others as fanfares?

Siegfried’s leitmotif:

Siegfried’s sword ‘Nothung’ motif:

Siegfried’s fanfare motif:

G minor:

G minor Chords idea G major: D Bb G

Bb G Meter: 6/8 or 2/4? Eb

G BRASSY!! Eb

Slow tempo (must have a steady C march rhythm e.g.) Heroic! A F# D Heavy block chords: or 15 Gm Gm Eb Eb Cm Cm D D …?