Reviews+of+Texts

//Here are a few examples of books that I might use to introduce the idea of how music relates to a story. Under each book is a list of musical works that would well with the reading. // //Below, I've attached a lesson plan and my logic for it. Take a look if you'd like. //


 * __The White Ballets__ by Rajka Kupesic **

This is a great way to introduce ballet into your classroom. While there are three different ballets in this book, I am choosing to focus on "Swan Lake". The book begins with each section with a brief history of the ballet, which is beneficial for the teacher who is not a ballet aficionado. Swan Lake itself is the story of Prince Siegfried who falls in love with Odette, but there is a secret. Odette is cursed and must spend day as a swan and only at night is she human. Meanwhile, the Prince is deceived by Odile into marrying her. When Odette discovers this, she esigns herself to death. Think about using this book to talk about motifs and who them may represent. It also gives you a chance to talk about how music can enhance drama (final scene). Try playing a video recording of the ballet without music and then with music. Compare the results.


 * Swan Lake - P.I. Tchaikovsky


 * __The Tale of The Firebird__ by Gennady Spirin **

The Firebird is a classic Russian folk tale about Prince Ivan-Tsarevitch who goes out to seek the most beautiful creature in the world, the Firebird. On the way, the Prince encounters a wolf friend, Baba Yaga and her chicken-footed cottage, battles the evil Prince Koshchei and finally rescues the Princess Yelena. Spirin combines multiple Russian tales in this rendition of a classic story. The book is beautifully illustrated and written so that it comes to life as you go. The Firebird is a great programmatic piece of music that you could discuss with you music appreciation classes. Think about the way that Stravinsky portrays each scene in his ballet/suite. How would you have a class choreograph the Firebird without using Stravinsky's music as a template? How would it change if you used the Stravinsky ballet?


 * The Firebird - Igor Stravinsky


 * __Linnea in Monet's Garden __ by Cristina Bjork and Lena Anderson **

 This story explores the day in the life of Linnea, a Swedish girl who, with the help of her neighbor Mr. Bloom, goes to visit Monet's home in Giverny. They plan the trip while Mr. Bloom subtly slips in historical facts about Monet and Impressionism. While this book is not about music, it tackles the main artistic principles of Impressionism. It could be used as a foray into the musical Impressionism of Debussy and Ravel. Consider how Debussy's music 'looks' like a Monet painting. How would an Impressionist painting sound? Explore the ways that students can relate the story that a musical work portrays to scenes in nature.


 * La Mer - Claude Debussy
 * Nuages - Claude Debussy
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Jeux d'Eau - Maurice Ravel

__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Arabian Nights **__ **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">translated by Richard Burton **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Arabian Nights is a story within a story within a story. It begins with the tale of Scheherazade, a harem who will be killed in the morning.To stall the King, she tells him a story with an ending that leads into another story. His curiosity is peaked and each day he puts off her death to hear the newest addition to the tale. Arabian Nights includes the stories of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thievesand Aladdin. Compare Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" to that of Ravel. How are they similar/different? Do they depict the sameScheherazade and if not, what musical devices do they use? Does our concept of Arabian music remain constant or do we see a change?


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Scheherazade - Rimsky-Korsakov
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Scheherazade - Maurice Ravel
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">The Nutcracker "Coffee - Arabian Dance" - P.I. Tchaikovsky
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Theme from "Lawrence of Arabia" - Maurice Jarre

__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Leaves of Grass **__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> by Walt Whitman **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Leaves of Grass is Whitman's seminal work. It includes the famous "O Captain, My Captain" about Abraham Lincoln but also contains the text of dozens of famous musical works. This could culminate a semester of study on text/story/music relationships in the form of writing a mini-opera or song cycle. It also is a way to explore how composers take a preexisting text and set the music to it, as opposed to the other way around. Explore how different composers set his texts; one of my web resources can help with this ([|Recmusic])


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">"Reconciliation" from Dona Nobis Pacem - Ralph Vaughan Williams
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">When Lilacs Last In the Dooryard Bloom'd - Paul Hindemith
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">A Dirge For Two Veterans - Gustav Holst
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">A Sea Symphony - Ralph Vaughan Williams

media type="custom" key="21672738" width="50" height="50"

media type="custom" key="21672724" width="50" height="50"