Dear Teachers, The musicians and staff of the Fort Worth Symphony are eager to share our love of symphonic music with you and your students this school year! Through the Folk Songs & the Symphony program we ll learn about folk music and how composers have used it in symphonic music, all while hearing folk music from around the world. The program includes the following works: Traditional: When Johnny Comes Marching Home Traditional: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, I. Adagio, Allegro molto (excerpt) Bartok: Rumanian Dances, V, VI and VII Holst: St. Paul s Suite, IV. Finale Alomía Robles: El Cóndor Pasa (excerpt) Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, IV. Finale (excerpt) After the concert, we encourage students to tell us about their experience! Have students write a letter to the conductor and/or to the musicians telling them about their favorite piece on the program or their favorite instrument in the orchestra. Get creative and make a class poster describing how the music made your students feel or the experience of attending a symphony performance have each student contribute their own adjective or memory of the performance. When you re finished, send your letters to us at: FWSO Education, 330 E. 4th Street, Suite 200, Fort Worth 76102 or take a picture and share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #FWSOeducation. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you and your students at the performance! Lindsey Stortz Branch Director of Education & Community Programs Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Association 817.665.6500, ext. 102 LBranch@fwsymphony.org
Welcome Letter 1 Table of Contents 2 When Johnny Comes Marching Home 3-4 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot 5-6 Dvorak Symphony No. 9 7-8 Rumanian Dances 9 St. Paul s Suite 10 El Cóndor Pasa 11 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 12-13 Instruments of the Orchestra 14-17 These materials are for educational use only in connection with the Adventures in Music program of the Fort Worth Symphony 2
When Johnny Comes Marching Home Patrick Gilmore (1829-1892) The Civil War threatened to split the United States in the early 1860 s. Songs from this period celebrated victories or mourned defeats; they told of patriotism and hope for freedom. Other songs were for pure enjoyment. The song When Johnny Comes Marching Home was sung by soldiers on both sides of the war. At the end of a battle, survivors would sing the tune as they marched back to their camp. The lyrics to When Johnny Comes Marching Home were written by the Irish-American bandleader Patrick Gilmore while serving in the Union army during the Civil War. The tune came from the song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye. Its first sheet music publication was deposited in the Library of Congress on September 26, 1863, with words and music credited to Louis Lambert. It s not clear why Gilmore wrote under this pseudonym, though it was popular for composers during his time to use different names. Patrick Gilmore: Patrick Gilmore was born in Ballygar, Ireland. He started his music career at age 15 and was a very good cornet player. Gilmore founded two music festivals in Boston after the Civil War: the National Peace Jubilee in 1869 and the World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival in 1872. He lead the celebration for the dedication of the Statue of Liberty and also started the tradition of ringing in the New Year in Times Square, New York. 3
When Johnny Comes Marching Home When Johnny comes marching home again, Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll give him a hearty welcome then, Hurrah! Hurrah! The men will cheer and the boys will shout, The ladies they will all turn out, And we'll all feel glad when Johnny comes marching home. The old church bell will peal with joy, Hurrah! Hurrah! To welcome home our darling boy, Hurrah! Hurrah! The village lads and lassies say, With roses they will strew the way, And we'll all feel glad when Johnny comes marching home. Get ready for the Jubilee, Hurrah! Hurrah! We'll give the hero three times three, Hurrah! Hurrah! The laurel wreath is ready now, To place upon his loyal brow, And we'll all feel glad when Johnny comes marching home. Let love and friendship on that day, Hurrah! Hurrah! Their choicest pleasures then display, Hurrah! Hurrah! And let each one perform some part, To fill with joy the warrior's heart, And we'll all feel glad when Johnny comes marching home. 4
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Spirituals Spirituals are religious folk songs created and first sung by African Americans in slavery. Spirituals were sung by the slaves to pass the time during their working day, to strengthen the bonds of their community, and to relay important information that needed to be kept secret from their masters. Many spirituals have a call and response structure they are meant to be sung back and forth between a leader and the rest of the group. Coded Songs and the Underground Railroad Many spirituals were also signal songs. On the surface, signal songs seemed to be music of praise, which was allowed and encouraged. On another level, the songs held hidden messages communicated by code words that meant one thing to whites and another thing to the enslaved. Messages of support, unity and revolt, even directions for how to escape on the Underground Railroad, were contained in the songs. Most signal songs had references to Biblical people (Moses, Jesus), places (Egypt, Promised Land) and stories (Jews led out of Egypt). The main theme in signal songs and other spirituals was escaping from slavery by striving toward freedom. Match these code words with their hidden meanings: 1. Moses 2. Egypt 3. Pharoah 4. River Jordan 5. Red Sea 6. Chariot or train 7. Shoes A. Atlantic Ocean B. Means of escape C. Conductor who led slaves to freedom D. Personal decision to escape E. The North and freedom F. Ohio River this river separated the north from the south G. Plantation owner or slave owner 5 Answers: 1.C 2.H 3.G 4.F 5.A 6.B 7.D 8.E
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was a signal song. The chart below explains the coded meaning. Lyrics Literal meaning Hidden meaning Swing low, Come down from above, Come into the slaveholding states, sweet chariot, heavenly vehicle, the "Underground Railroad," Comin' for to carry me home... I looked over Jordan and what did I see? Coming to take me to heaven... I looked over the River Jordan (in Biblical Israel) and what did I see? Come to take me to freedom in the North or in Canada... I looked over the Mississippi River (or the Ohio River) and what did I see? ("Jordan" is the code word for the Mississippi or Ohio rivers.) A band of angels A group of angels The workers of the Underground Railroad 'comin after me... coming to take me to heaven... helping me to reach the North 6
Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) Antonin Leopold Dvořák was born in the Bohemian village of Nelahozeves, near Prague. He studied music from the age of six his father was a professional musician and encouraged his young son. Dvořák studied organ at the Prague Organ School, as well as viola and violin. By age 20 he was a very accomplished musician he played in many local bands and taught piano lessons. At age 32, Dvořák moved to Prague to take a job as Organist in St. Adalbert s church. This was a prestigious position that also gave him plenty of time to compose his own music. It was around this time that he also befriended the famous composer Johannes Brahms. Dvořák enjoyed much success and popularity during this time. He traveled extensively and his works were well received everywhere he went. In 1892, his growing fame caught the attention of Jeanette Thurber, the founder of the National Conservatory of Music in America. Dvořák was offered $15,000 per year to be director of the conservatory. At the conservatory his main goal was to to discover/define American music. Dvořák felt that the music of the Native Americans and the African Americans was the base on which a truly American musical style would be built. He wrote Symphony No. 9 From the New World with these ideas in mind, incorporating musical ideas from both cultures. Though Dvořák enjoyed his time in America, he was always homesick. He spent his summer vacations in the Czech village of Spillville, Iowa. He was happy to return to Prague when funding for the conservatory position dried up in 1895. Dvořák continued to compose, focusing on opera and chamber music. In 1901, he became the director of the Prague Conservatory, a position that he held until his death in 1904. 7
Symphony No. 9 From the New World Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) In 1892, Antonin Dvořák and his family arrived in the United States of America: the new world. Dvořák had come to the country to take a job as director of the National Conservatory of Music. When the Dvořák s arrived the country was celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus s landing and the entire country was celebrating. Dvořák was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of this new world and wrote to a friend: Thousands upon thousands of people, and an everchanging sight! And you should hear all the kinds of music!... Well, America seems to have demonstrated all it is and all it is capable of! I haven't got enough words to describe it all. Dvořák was fascinated when he first heard spirituals. He was convinced these melodies were the ultimate American music and wanted to build a school of classical music based on the melodies. When the New York Philharmonic commissioned (hired) him to write a symphony, he used several types of American music for inspiration, including the music of Native American and African American cultures. Dvořák uses several spiritual melodies in his Symphony No. 9 From the New World, including Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. His blending of American music with the music of his homeland (Czechoslovakia) resulted in a uniquely American symphony, the first of it s kind. 8
Rumanian Dances Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Béla Bartók was born in Hungary and began playing piano at an early age. As a young man, he studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Budapest. In 1904, Bartók overheard a young nanny singing folk songs to the children in her care and was intrigued by what he heard. In the following years, he would travel to remote villages throughout Eastern Europe collecting folk songs. He recorded and notated thousands of original songs and in doing so, he preserved the music of these cultures. Bartók travelled to Hungary, Romania, Transylvania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, as well as North Africa. The Rumanian Dances are based on melodies Bartók heard and recorded while working in Transylvania. He then wrote the Rumanian Dances, first for piano and later for orchestra. What is ethnomusicology? Ethnomusicology is the study of music of different cultures. It examines the society and culture in which the music was made and the significance of music in the community. Bela Bartók is regarded by many as the father of ethnomusicology. Field study: Bartók used an Edison recording phonograph to record folk songs. He then transcribed the songs into modern notation. Once the songs had been collected and notated, Bartók would rework them or use them as is in his original compositions. 9
Finale from St. Paul s Suite GUSTAV HOLST (1874-1934) Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham, England in 1874. He played piano, violin and trombone and began composing music when he was 12. While he was a student at the Royal College of Music, he became friends with another composer named Ralph Vaughn Williams, who introduced him to folk songs and to plainsong hymns. At this time there was an interest in recovering English folks songs and many composers, including Holst and Vaughn Williams, used them in their works. Holst wrote St. Paul s Suite for string orchestra in 1912. The piece was composed for and named in gratitude to the St. Paul s Girls School, where he was the music director from 1905 to 1934. Greensleeves Holst used the popular English folk song Greensleeves in the Finale of the St. Paul s Suite for string orchestra. The tune was written sometime in the 16th century. It s believed by many that Henry VIII wrote it for his second wife, Anne Boleyn. This is unlikely though as the song has Spanish or Italian origins that didn t reach England until after Henry VIII s reign. The Christmas carol What Child is This, written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix, uses this tune. Vaughn Williams also used the tune for his piece Fantasia on Greensleeves. 10
El Cóndor Pasa (The Condor Passes) Daniel Alomía Robles (1871-1942) Daniel Alomía Robles was born in Huánuco, Peru in 1871. In the early 1900 s, Alomía Robles traveled throughout remote villages in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia and complied folk music of the Amazon jungles and the Andes mountains. He notated and compiled over 700 folk melodies. Alomía Robles piece El cóndor pasa is based on one of these melodies. The melody is from a cachua, a courtship dance in which men and women alternate singing verses. Alomía Robles composed nearly 240 of his own works. In 2006, his family donated the original manuscripts of all his compositions to the Catholic University of Peru. The Zarzuela: A zarzuela is a Spanish musical play that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, as well as dance. The zarzuela, El Cóndor Pasa ( the condor passes ), was composed in 1913. In the zarzuela, the Andean condor stands as a symbol of freedom in a conflict between a Peruvian miner and his European boss. It was a huge hit at a time of emerging national identity and ran for some 3,000 performances. The song El cóndor pasa is heard as the finale of the zarzuela. 11
Finale from Symphony No. 4 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed numerous well-known works including The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and the 1812 Overture. He was a composer during the Romantic period an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that began in the second half of the 18th century. During the Romantic period, art, literature, and music focused on the individual and was characterized by expression and feelings. Prior to this time, art was defined by reason and function and was meant to be refined and elegant this was known as the Classical period. Programmatic music, or music that was meant to tell a story, was popular during the Romantic period. Tchaikovsky wrote his Fourth Symphony without a program; however, when the wealthy patron who supported him asked him to explain the work, he wrote one. Tchaikovsky envisioned a village scene with peasants celebrating and singing at the beginning of the final movement. He uses a Russian folk song called In the Field Stood a Birch Tree to help create the scene. 12
In the Field Stood a Birch Tree Standing in the field, little birch tree Waving in the breeze, little birch tree Loo-lay-loo, little birch tree Loo-lay-loo, little birch tree See the lovely birch in the meadow, Curly leaves all dancing when the wind blows. Loo-lee-loo, when the wind blows, Loo-lee-loo, when the wind blows. Oh, my little tree, I need branches, For the silver flutes I need branches. Loo-lee-loo, three branches, Loo-lee-loo, three branches. From another birch I will make now, I will make a tingling balalaika. Loo-lee-loo, balalaika, Loo-lee-loo, balalaika. When I play my new balalaika, I will think of you, my lovely birch tree. Loo-lee-loo, lovely birch tree, Loo-lee-loo, lovely birch tree. 13
The string family is the largest section of the orchestra. String instruments are all made of wood. The bodies of the string instruments are hollow inside to allow sound to vibrate within them. The strings on the instrument are most often made of nylon and steel, and are played by drawing a bow across them. Sometimes string players use their fingers to pluck the strings. The VIOLIN is the smallest of the string instruments and can play the highest notes. You play the violin by resting it between your chin and left shoulder. Then you press down on the strings with your left hand to change the pitch, while your right hand moves the bow or plucks the strings. The VIOLA is slightly larger than the violin and plays lower notes. The strings on a viola are also thicker. You play the viola the same way you do the violin. The CELLO is much larger than the violin and the viola. You play it sitting down with the body of the cello between your knees and the neck of the instrument on your left shoulder. The body of the cello rests on the ground and is supported by a metal peg. The DOUBLE BASS is the largest string instrument and plays the lowest notes. This instrument is so large that you have to stand up or sit on a tall stool to play it. Like the cello, the body of the instrument stands on the ground and is supported by a metal peg. 14
Woodwind instruments produce sound when players blow air into them. All of these instruments were originally made out of wood, which is why they are called woodwinds! Today, they are made of wood, metal, plastic or some combination. The FLUTE is made of metals such as silver, gold, or platinum. You play the flute by holding it sideways with both hands and blowing across a hole in the mouthpiece. You change notes by pressing down on round, metal buttons called keys. The OBOE makes sound when the player blows air through a mouthpiece containing two cut pieces of bamboo that have been tied together called a double reed. You play the oboe by holding it upright and pressing down on the keys to change the pitch. The first oboist is also responsible for tuning the whole orchestra before each concert. The CLARINET looks a lot like the oboe, except for the mouthpiece, which uses a single reed. You play the clarinet as you do an oboe, by holding it upright, blowing through the reed, and using your fingers to press the keys and change the pitch. The BASSOON is the largest of the woodwind instruments. Like the oboe, the bassoon uses a double reed. You play the bassoon by holding it upright and blowing through the double reed. The air travels down a long pipe, then makes a U-turn, and goes out the top. 15
Brass instruments got their name because they are made of brass! This family of instruments plays louder than any other in the orchestra. Brass instruments are long tubes that are bent into different shapes and widen and flare out at the end. The TRUMPET is the smallest brass instrument and can play the highest notes of all the brass instruments. You play the trumpet by holding it horizontally, buzzing your lips into the mouthpiece, and pressing down the valves to change the pitch. The HORN is a very long tube that is twisted and curled into an instrument about one foot wide. If you untwisted the tube, it would be 18 feet long! You play the horn by holding it with the bell curving downward and buzzing into the mouthpiece. Your left hand plays three valves. You can change the type of sound by the way you place your right hand in the bell. The TROMBONE is the only brass instrument that does not use valves. Instead, the player moves a curved tube, called a slide, back and forth in order to change notes. You play the trombone by holding it horizontally, buzzing into the mouthpiece, and using your right hand to push or pull the slide. The TUBA is the largest and lowest sounding instrument in the brass section. If you uncoiled it, it would be 35 feet long! You play the tuba sitting down with the instrument on your lap and the bell facing up. The you blow and buzz into the mouthpiece and use your hand to press down on the valves which changes the sound. 16
Percussion instruments include any instrument that makes a sound when it is hit, shaken, or scraped. One of the most commonly used percussion instruments is the TIMPANI. They are also called kettledrums. Timpani are big copper pots with drumheads made of calfskin or plastic stretched over the top. The timpani are played by striking the covering with padded sticks called mallets. Timpani are tuned instruments, which means they can play different notes. Other percussion instruments that are struck by a mallet or stick are the SNARE DRUM, BASS DRUM, TRIANGLE, XYLOPHONE, GONG, and CHIMES. A few other percussion instruments are CYMBALS, CASTANETS, MARACAS, and TAMBOURINE. The PIANO is also considered a percussion instrument. You make sound on the piano by pressing down on a key with your finger, which lifts a hammer inside the piano that then strikes a steel string. 17