Unit 7 – History
Activity 1 – The Romantic Period
The main objective of this section is to introduce children to the music of the Romantic Period. The teacher will encourage the student to explore how the orchestra grew to a much larger size due to the demands of the compositions, and how the now bolder sounds and style moved away from the classical period. Songs (Lied and Chansons) and their performance became popular in the soiree gatherings of Schubert and Schumann among others, all strongly inspired too by the rich output of poetry, literature and art.
This section engages children into discussion, teamwork and creativity with music, acting as a crossing bridge with all the arts.
Prélude a l’après-midi d’un faune – Claude Debussy
Serenade (Ave Maria) – Franz Schubert
La Serenata – Paolo Tosi
Piano Concerto No. 1 – Franz Liszt
Hungarian Dances – Johannes Brahms
It is suggested that the teacher focuses on just one composer during the lesson. During each activity the teacher will display a portait featuring the composer and give some basic information about him/her life and major works. Video excerpts featuring the suggested repertoire will be shown to the children.
Activity 2 – The Romantic Composers
The teacher will start the lesson by revising the Romantic composers carried out in the previous activity. The portraits of each composer is to be displayed whilst playing short excerpts by the composer.
Below you can find ideas on how to develop this activity:
- A student will pick up a flashcard bearing the name of a composer. Another student will find the correct portrait featuring the selected composer. This activity can be carried out in groups or individually.
- Portraits of the composers will be featured in a random order. The children have to identify their name and write it down. Answers will be revealed at the end of the activity. It is suggested that this activity is carried out individually.
- The teacher plays a short excerpt composed by one of these composers without giving any clues. The children have to identify the composer and write it down. This activity can be carried out in groups so that the children can consult between themselves. Answers can be revealed after each excerpt or at the end of the activity.
- This activity can be carried out in the school yard. The chilren are distributed into 2 to 4 groups and gather at one end of the yard. Flashcards bearing the name of composers and their portraits are placed at the other end. The teacher plays an excerpt or gives some hints on the composer (without mentioning the name). The children discuss between themselves and when ready one child from each group will run to pick up the correct flashcard and portrait displaying the correct composer. Each child who picks up the correct flashcard or portrait will get 1 point. The group gets an extra point in case the same child picks up correct flashcard and portrait.
Activity 3 – Opera
The student will be guided to explore how opera reached its peak during the Romantic Period. The Italian audiences especially took to this form of writing where music and drama combined to form a sublime form of spectacle. During this time, the stories depicted in opera took a more realistic form, as emotions and passions were spoken and shown on stage. Opera reached its peak during this time with composers such as Giuseppe Verdi and GiacomoPuccini and Pietro Mascagni.
The teacher will invite the student to follow the story-line of some operas and watch short excerpts of these works. It is recommended that where possible, these excerpts are reproduced in English for the children to understand them better.
Gianni Schicchi – Giacomo Puccini
O Mio Babbino Caro (Oh my dear papa)
Nabucco – Giuseppe Verdi
Va Pensiero also known as the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”
Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) – Engelbert Humperdinck
Brüderchen, komm tanz mit mir (Brother mine, come and Dance with me)
Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) – Giacomo Rossini
Largo al factotum (I’m the factotum) – Figaro’s Aria
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Der Vogel fanger (The Bird-catcher’s Song) – Papageno
Carmen – Georges Bizet
La Garde Montante (The Changing of the Guard) – the children’s scene