Soirées Musicales by Benjamin Britten. Listening and Responding. Add Benjamin Britten to the musical timeline.

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1 Listening and Responding Learning Objectives: Listen with concentration and use imagination Respond to and become familiar with the music to be performed at the concert Begin to develop an awareness of music within historical timeline Resources: Audio File for March and Tirolese (from Soirées Musicales) by Reference to the class musical timeline & related Britten cards Paper and variety of art materials Resource sheet (optional) Add to the musical timeline. In his Soirées Musicales, the English composer based his music on some of the 19 th Century Italian composer Rossini s musical themes. Rossini loved food so much there are several recipes named after him Tournedos Rossini and Eggs Rossini. Rossini was a hugely successful composer and was able to retire aged 32 but still composed for fun. He hosted great dinner parties where his new piano pieces were performed to entertain his guests. He named several of them after foods there are piano pieces about butter, raisins, figs and even anchovies! Activity 1: BAKE OFF! Imagine you are on The Great British Bake Off! You need to prepare two delicious star bakes for Paul Hollywood s Soirées Musicales (or Musical Evenings). The task is to create 2 extra special bakes to go with the music Paul has chosen. (Unlike Rossini who created the music to go with the food!) Paul wants you to create: o 1. An amazing savoury bake (inspired by the March) followed by o 2. a wonderful sweet bake (inspired by Tirolese) Draw both your bakes as you listen to the music. Give your bakes names maybe after yourself or a friend! What flavours will you use? Add descriptive words for each bake think of words to describe the flavours taste and smell Which musical instruments can you identify in each piece of music?

2 Music & Creative Development Learning Objectives: Listen with increasing concentration Feel and begin to understand the difference between the metre of 3 and 4 Create and repeat musical patterns keeping to a steady beat Rehearse, appraise and refine ideas Work and perform with others Resources: Un-tuned percussion Soirées Musicales PowerPoint Audio file for March and Tirolese Key Vocabulary: Rhythm Texture Pulse Strong & weak beats Time signature Waltz time Accompany & Conduct! Strong and Weak beats The March and Tirolese both have a very different musical feel. This is because in the March the basic grouping of the beats is 4 and in the Tirolese the basic grouping of beats is March Listen to the March The march starts with a short fanfare. Ask the class to join in counting 1234 over and over again, keeping a steady pulse by tapping on their knees. (You will need to listen very carefully as the recording slows down slightly at different points so you may need to stop, listen and re-start) Beat 1 can be stressed slightly to show the 4 beats. Accompany the March Organise the class into several smaller groups Appoint a confident leader to be the conductor and to indicate when each group is to join in tapping the pulse, stopping and starting in order to create different textures of sound. When the music is quiet have less groups (or a soloist). Sometimes have silence! Add some untuned percussion instruments to the different groups and repeat. Make sure you can hear the orchestra good listening is key! Conduct the March Have a look at the PowerPoint and talk about the role of the conductor and learn to beat time Conduct the March

3 Further Development Create different patterns using body percussion and 4 beats. Use different sounds/actions with a slight emphasis on beat 1. For example, clap, tap knees, click fingers, stamp feet as follows: o Clap, tap, tap, tap o Clap, click, tap, stamp (harder) Make sure you are able to repeat the patterns keep them simple at first. Which are the most successful? Perform to the rest of the class. Appoint a conductor and ask different groups to perform their patterns at different times. Can you keep the beat going? no gaps! Extension Try with 4 people each performing 1 beat of the 4 beat pattern. You might need a conductor. Remember the beat must remain steady! 2. Tirolese Listen to Tirolese Listen to Tirolese and try counting 1234 at the same time. Why doesn t it work? Do any of the children know? (It is in 3 time) Explain 3 time is also known as waltz time (Um- pa-pa). Waltzes are made up of 3 repeating beats rather than the 4 used in The March. Ask the class to join in with you counting 123, over and over, without gaps and keeping a steady beat. In a waltz the three beats are split up so there is one strong beat ( um ) and two weaker beats ( pa pa ). Practise repeating um-pa-pa several times. Accompany Tirolese Practise the following body percussion pattern and then accompany the orchestra: Knees clap clap (repeated) Um pa pa As in the March, appoint a conductor to bring in the different groups/individuals with the um-pa-pa (knees clap clap) pattern. (NB you will need to listen very carefully as, like the March, the recording slows/speeds up slightly. If the children get out with the recording stop, listen and re-join when you hear the strong um-pa-pa in the music. Conduct the Tirolese Have a look at the PowerPoint and talk about the role of the conductor. Learn to beat waltz time Conduct the Tirolese. Further instrumental development Divide the class into two groups. Sort a variety of untuned percussion instruments into 2 sets:

4 o Instruments that could play the loud and strong beat 1 (UM) e.g. drum, wood block o Instruments that could play the weaker beats 2 & 3 (Pa Pa) e.g. shakers, tambourine Group 1 is UM and Group 2 is Pa Pa Appoint a conductor to indicate to the groups when they should play. Create the waltz pattern again with each group playing on their beat/s For example: Woodblock shake shake UM pa pa Try different combinations of instruments. Perform your untuned waltz Extension For further ideas in creating waltzes using tuned instruments - please BBC Ten Pieces 3 Resources (Waltz of the Flowers)

5 Additional Information was born in 1913 at Lowestoft, Suffolk, England. He began composing at the age of five and used to compose before breakfast then go to school As a young boy Britten enjoyed maths and was captain of the cricket team. When he was eleven, Britten was discovered by the composer Frank Bridge. In 1930 Britten went to the Royal College of Music to study piano and composition. At 21 he wrote music for the General Post Office s documentary film unit. Britten lived in America from Real fame came in 1945 with the performance of his opera Peter Grimes. Britten s music covers a wide range including large and small-scale operas, music for children and amateurs and music for important national occasions. His music is quite simple but he puts the ideas together in such a way that is totally fresh and unexpected. Britten received many prizes and honours and was made a life peer in 1976, the year of his death. March and Tirolese from Soirées Musicales In 1936, Britten was asked to provide music for a documentary entitled Men of the Alps. For this film, he chose to orchestrate five piano pieces by Gioacchino Rossini, the prolific Italian opera composer of a century earlier. Britten later adapted the pieces into the musical suite, Soirées Musicales, or `Musical Evenings, which was used in 1938 as the score for a singular ballet, Soirée Musicale