2015 SCHOOLS NOTES A FRENCH CELEBRATION

Transcription

1 2015 SCHOOLS NOTES A FRENCH CELEBRATION Image: Gary Heery Schools Notes: Matthew Law

2 ACO Schools Notes 2015 Program Title Repertoire YouTube Recording links for repertoire Ravel - Piano Trio in A minor Respighi - Il tramonto Not included in this resource pack: Ravel Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé Franck Piano Quintet in F minor Ravel - Piano Trio in A minor Yehudi Menuhin Violin, Gaspar Cassado Cello, Louis Kentner Piano IMSLP page, to download scores and recordings Respighi - Il tramonto Henschel String Quartet with Magdalena Kozena A score is included as a video. IMSLP page, to download scores and recordings Included in this pack Scores Lesson ideas for before and after the concert This resource is written in reference to the Draft Australian Curriculum: The Arts, for years 7-8 and Lesson ideas are labelled to identify links to the following aspects of the Australian National Curriculum: The Arts where applicable: (i) (ii) (iii) General capabilities Cross-curriculum links and priorities Viewpoints Use the Australian Curriculum Reference Page on the ACO website for a comprehensive outline of the areas above.

3 Programming Themes and Ideas This program is a celebration of French music from the turn of the 19 th to the 20 th century, with works by Ravel and Franck dominating the program. The intimate selection of works feature Mezzo-Soprano Susan Graham, a world renowned vocalist and specialist in the French School. Susan Graham is a decorated American singer, having received numerous awards, including the Chevalier dans l Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, or the Chevalier of the Orders of Arts and Letters. This award is one of France s most prestigious awards, and was conferred to her in 2001 for her passionate commitment to French music. Also included in the program is Ottorino Respighi s Il tramonto. Reportedly, this Italian composer was so moved by Percy Bysshe Shelley s gothic poem The Sunset, that he set it to music. The poem, written in 1816, speaks of young love, sunset and death. This work is one of three Shelley poems set to music: Arethusa (1911), Il Tramonto, (1914) and La Sensitiva, (1915). See activities in Before/After you see the concert to further explore some of the ideas mentioned above and their connections to the Draft Australian Curriculum: The Arts.

4 INTRODUCTION Teachers Analysis Guide Respighi - Il tramonto SECTION Musical features/ideas. One of three Percy Bysshe Shelley s poems Respighi set to music, this is by far the most popular of the set. It is interesting to note that Il tramonto has close ties to a few different art forms of the period. First, it has close ties to Lieder, a German tradition of setting romantic poems to music, popularized by Beethoven and Schubert. Indeed, Il tramonto is even classified as Lieder in some contexts, with the definition of Lieder broadening to mean art song and therefore encompassing poems set to music in other languages. The work has other links to the German tradition of Lieder, such as Il tramonto being part of a Song Cycle, one of a set of poems. While there are many similarities, this analysis resists the classification of Il tramonto as Lieder, despite sharing so many stylistic qualities. Secondly, this work shares many similarities to the tone poem or symphonic poem. Granted, a tone poem is usually written for full orchestra rather than a quartet and singer, but many stylistic parallels remain. For example, Il tramonto s strings often illustrate the text of the poem, as in programmatic music. It is also structurally similar as it is written in one continuous movement. Respighi famously wrote The Pines of Rome, a symphonic poem depicting different locations in Rome, which lends credence to the argument this work falls more closely toward a symphonic poem, rather than Lieder. Regardless of its classification, some stylistic elements of both remain. Contextually, Percy Bysshe Shelley s poem is about love, the sunset and death, which is illustrated throughout the piece by programmatic elements of Respighi s writing.

5 ANALYSIS Teachers Analysis Guide continued SECTION Musical features/ideas. Bar First Stanza Il tramonto begins with a passionate introduction of romantic angst, reflecting the themes of love and longing in the text. The strings then soften for the singer s entry in bar 8, the third bar of A, and the beginning of the first stanza of the poem. The first stanza describes a young couple walking in the summer air at sunset, beginning with an almost recitative section. The first swell of music appears three bars before the moderato on the text la morte, an example of the music s close links with programmatic music. The music begins to quicken in the 2/2 section as the music describes the love of the young couple. Ten bars before the Andante, the mezzo-soprano moves upward toward the high E of Palpitar, where the text throbs with emotion. The music then becomes more lyrical as the poem describes the beauty of the sunset. There is a brief interlude at figure G, where presumably our young couple walk and take in the sunset described in the first stanza. Bar Second Stanza The second stanza begins 13 bars after G, at first keeping the sweet tones of the first stanza. In the third bar of H however, the music once again becomes dramatic as Isabel, the young lady described in the poem, finds her young partner dead. The rising chromatic melodic figures and swelling crescendo reflect her swelling emotion in the second stanza. The dissonance of the complex harmonies in this section also reflect Isabel s suffering, which contrasts to the beautiful, lyrical and consonant harmonies of the first stanza. Bar 182 End Third Stanza The short third stanza begins two bars before N and describes Isabel s sorrow and suffering as she, too, hopes for the peace and rest of death. The peace and rest of death here is reflected in a sweet and peaceful melody that begins this section, emphasized by the unaccompanied high E at figure P, pace, meaning peace. This work is through composed, holding to no structure other than that of the poem, an attribute shared by both lieder and tone poems.

6 MODERE INTRODUCTION Teachers Analysis Guide Ravel - Piano Trio in A minor SECTION Musical features/ideas. While writing this Piano Trio, Ravel was heavily influenced by his Basque heritage and the Basque community of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in which he composed. While writing the Trio, Ravel was also working on a Piano Concerto Zazpiak Bat, another heavily Basque-influenced composition that was left unfinished. The first world broke out in August of 1914, the year in which he wrote the Trio, which spurred Ravel to finish this composition so he could serve in the French army. While heavily influenced by Basque music, this trio remains true to traditional musical form, with four movements in a standard format. Because of the nature of the work, in that there are few clearly delineated sections; analysis of this works tends to vary. Bars 1-4 The Basque influences are seen most clearly in the first movement, with each 8/8 bar subdivided in The first movement begins with a short four-bar introduction, where the subdivision is established in the right hand of the piano. The left hand, however, seems to work against the Basque subdivision with a standard four-beat pattern. Bars 5-51 The exposition begins in bar 5 with the violin and cello establishing the main thematic material. The violin and cello are similarly in subdivision, however the right hand of the piano remains stubbornly in a four-beat pattern until the 5 th bar of figure 1, where the music becomes more animated and the piano changes to semiquavers. In figure 2, the tempo increases once again and the introduction of techniques such as pizzicato, with a crescendo building to a fortissimo in the third bar. Even in the virtuosic and difficult writing of this section, the subdivisions still remain at an underlying pattern. Both Figure 3 and 4 see tempo changes; in fact, there is a tempo change at every rehearsal mark to the end of the movement. Bar The development begins at figure 6, layering the expositional material between the parts. Bar 67 - End The recapitulation begins at figure 8 with the subtle restatement of the first theme. The return of the second subject from figure 4 solidifies the recapitulation at figure 10 and is quickly followed by the first subject again, appearing in the underneath the second subject at figure 12. The Recapitulation finishes the movement in C Major rather than A minor, with thematic material fading to nothing in the final bars.

7 FINAL PASSACAILLE PANTOUM Teachers Analysis Guide SECTION Musical features/ideas. A pantoum is poetic form of Malaysian influences, in which a series in quatrains are interwoven. The melodies in this movement are similarly interwoven, reflecting the title. The movement begins in A minor and follows a Ternary structure common to a Scherzo and Trio second movement. Bar numbers are not used due to the multimetric nature of the work. Section A, the Scherzo, is in 3/4 time and begins with a staccato piano melody. This is contrasted to the more connected violin and cello melody at section 1. Melodies are interwoven in this first section, reflective of the title, Pantoum. Section B begins at the 5 th bar of figure 10 with a change into 4/2 in the piano part. The string parts however, do not change, and there are two metres working against one another here, again reflective of the title of the movement and Malaysian influences. At figure 14 the metres are reversed briefly, with the violin and cello in 4/2 and the piano in 3/4. Section A begins again at figure 16 as the trio returns, with some thematic material between the piano and strings reversed. Particularly of note in this section is the extreme range of the violin and cello parts and the way the composers uses harmonics, pizzicato and other techniques on the string instruments to create a difficult and compelling finish to the second movement. The third movement is a Passacaglia, a form that is built around an ostinato. The piano opens with an eight bar melody that forms the basis for this movement. This melody is the ostinato and continues throughout the movement in some form. The cello takes over the melody at figure 1, as does the violin at figure 2. It returns to the right hand of the piano in figure three and is developed in figure 4 before returning 4 bars later. The movement builds to a climax at figure 6 before a decrescendo and transition to the final movement. Bar 1-41 The fourth movement begins in 5/4 and includes a variety of metres, as we have come to expect from this work, influenced by Basque rhythms. The final movement is also in sonata form, with the exposition beginning in the first bar with the first theme. The violin plays arpeggiated figures while the piano introduces the first the first subject. The second subject begins at figure 4, with the violin and cello sustaining trills at the limits of their register. Bar The development begins at figure 5 with the first subject in the left hand of the piano contrasting with the trills of the second subject. Bar 73- End This section finishes with a false recapitulation at figure 9, before the actual recapitulation at figure 10.

8 PROGRAMMING & THEMES Before you see the concert To explore the themes of this ACO program, students should research one of the topics below, either in groups or individually, then make a presentation to the class. RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION GC - LIT, ICT, CCT, EU, PSC, ICU Cross curricular links: English, History, Civics and Citizenship, Language, Humanities and Social Science Activity 1 - To explore the themes of this ACO program, students should research one of the topics below, either in groups or individually, and then make a presentation to the class. Chevalier dans l Ordre des Arts et des Lettres: Focus questions: What is the Chevalier dans l Ordre des Arts et des Lettres? What does the order recognize? How often is the order given? What other prominent figures have received the order? Research the following terms: Trill Tremolo Harmonics Glissando Arpeggio Find an example for each technique. Il tramonto was written in 1914, as was Ravel s Piano Trio in A minor: Focus questions: What was happening in Europe in 1914? What was about to happen? What had happened in the decade prior? Do you think this might have influenced the composers? If so, how? The Zortziko: Focus questions: What is a Zortziko? From where does it originate? What is Ravel s heritage? How might his heritage have influenced Ravel? The Pantoum: Focus questions: What is a Pantoum? How might it have influenced the structure of the second movement of Ravel s Piano Trio in A minor? Passacaglia: Focus questions: What is a Passacaglia? Where did it originate? What is the connection between the Passacaglia s country of origin and Basque, where the Zortziko originated from?

9 RHYTHM RHYTHM Before you see the concert This series of activities explores themes presented in Ravel s Piano Trio and Respighi s Il tramonto, scaffolding understanding of the works to build on the active listening skills students developed in the last unit. RAVEL & RESPIGHI This series of activities has cross curricular links to English, Technologies, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Language. GC - ICT, CCT, PSC, ICU Activity 1 - Students listen to the third movement of Ravel s Piano Trio. Students are asked to tap the beat with their pens, or clap the beat. Easy! Well done everyone. Students listen to a Zortziko - The teacher asks them to clap or tap the beat again. Students will (probably) become confused this beat is not regular, like the first excerpt they experienced. Students again try to tap the beat. Some may succeed. Structured questioning: How is this beat different from the first? Is one beat longer than the other? Questioning should lead to the discovery that the beats are lopsided, one is longer than the other. Again the class listens and taps/claps until understanding is shown. At the teacher s discretion, the teacher may structure a discussion of subdivision, and ask the class to subdivide the underlying structure of the beat (students say, One, two, three, one two, as they clap/tap.) GC - ICT, CCT, PSC, ICU Activity 2 - The teacher should recall the lopsided beats from the previous lesson. The teacher hands out the score, paying particular attention to Ravel s melody in his first movement. As discussed in the Teachers Analysis, the first movement of Ravel s Piano Trio draws inspiration from the Zortziko, a Basque dance form with a characteristic rhythm. Ravel uses a pattern in his first movement; to give students experience with this lopsided rhythm, ask students to sing the melody and clap the rhythm as a class, to structure an understanding of irregular groupings.

10 PERFORMANCE COMPOSITION LISTENING Before you see the concert RAVEL & RESPIGHI GC - LIT, NUM, ICT, CCT, ICU Activity 3 - A structured listening activity of Respighi s Il tramonto. While reading a score or watching the youtube video with included score, students listen for elements of programmatic music, symphonic poems and Leider, where the text of the poem is illustrated in the music. The teacher should point out examples of this as students listen and promote class discussion. Particularly of note are those sections mentioned in the Analysis: - The opening, which begins with a passionate introduction of romantic angst, reflecting the themes of love and longing in the text. - The first stanza of the poem describes a young couple walking in the summer air at sunset, beginning with an almost recitative section and lyrical, warm accompaniment. - A swell of music three bars before the moderato on the text la morte - The music begins to quicken in the 2/2 section as music describes the love of the young couple, reflecting their excitement. - Ten bars before the Andante, the mezzo-soprano moves upward toward the high E of Palpitar, where emotions are high. - The music then becomes more lyrical and warm as the poem describes the beauty of the sunset. - The third bar of H, where the music becomes dramatic as Isabel finds her young partner dead. The rising chromatic melodic figures and swelling crescendo reflect her swelling emotion in the second stanza. The dissonance of the complex harmonies in this section also reflects Isabel s suffering, which contrasts to the beautiful, lyrical and consonant harmonies of the first stanza. - The third stanza describes Isabel s sorrow and suffering as she hopes for the peace and rest of death. The peace and rest of death here is reflected in a sweet and peaceful melody that begins this section, emphasized by the unaccompanied high E at figure P, pace, meaning peace. GC - LIT, NUM, ICT, CCT, ICU Activity 4 - Just as Respighi did, students find their own poem, or may write their own. Students select two stanzas, and based on the observations from the last lesson, students choose one word per line to illustrate with music. In groups or individually, students use instruments (Orff instruments, keyboards or their own choice) to create musical representations of these words. GC - LIT, NUM, ICT, CCT, ICU Activity 5 - Students recite (or improvise a sung melody) of the poem, complete with their own musical accompaniment which illustrates the poem. Positive, constructive feedback is given by the teacher and class. Discussions of each performance by the teacher analyze the use of instruments to illustrate each idea in the text. Discussions should lead back to how Respighi illustrates his text and active listening strategies for when students attend the live performance.

11 PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME MUSIC MELODY & ACCOMPANIMENT RHYTHM NOTATION REVIEW After the concert CONCERT REVIEW GC - LIT, NUM, PSC, CCT, ICU Discussion Groups - Students break out into discussion groups and report back to the class on the following questions: - What did you hear in Respighi s poem? How did Respighi illustrate the text? - What Basque influences did you hear in Ravel s Piano Trio in A minor? - Where did you hear the Zortziko influences in Ravel s trio? - Where did you hear the trill, tremolo, harmonics, glissando? What effect did each of these create? If it what you had expected? Why/why not? - How did Susan Graham s interpretation of the works differ from those recordings you have heard? What effect did this have on the experience? Further Exploration These activities extend Activities 4 and 5 into written composition tasks. As such, it has the same starting point, but the composition here is scaffolded more thoroughly. This section has similar cross curriculum links to the activities above, linking to English, Geography, History, Language, Technologies and Civics and Citizenship. COMPOSITION GC - LIT, NUM, ICT, CCT, ICU Activity 1: As a class, students choose a poem and two stanzas which will be written to music. Students clap a slow beat, and say each line of the text in time, as a class. The class collaborates to extrapolate the natural rhythms of speech in the stanzas chosen. The teacher notates the rhythm for each stanza, which the students copy. GC - LIT, NUM, CCT Activity 2: Using the rhythm devised by the class, students create their own melody. Students may use a pentatonic scale, or if more confident, a major or minor scale. Students also create simple accompaniment for the melody. GC - LIT, NUM, CCT, ICU Activity 3: Students choose one word or idea from each line to illustrate with music, just as Respighi did. The musical illustrations may take the form of a trill, tremolo, harmonic, or any other extended technique. Students devise their own score notations for their unique musical illustrations. GC - LIT, NUM, CCT Activity 4: Students exchange compositions and attempt to decode their peer s illustrations. Students perform their new compositions for the class, with constructive class discussion of score direction for each piece.