SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY

October 25 and 27, 2016 Jacobs Music Center/Copley Symphony Hall

Concert Preparation Guide for the Berton Family Young People’s Concerts

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Thank you for attending the San Diego Symphony’s Berton Family Young People’s Concert entitled “Play Me a Story: The Firebird.” The concert will present music that depicts the elements of a story and connect to English Language Arts. This packet contains lesson plans and a composer biography that are designed to help you prepare your students to attend the San Diego Symphony’s concerts on either October 25 or 27, 2016. We hope the lessons will be useful to both music and classroom teachers. Feel free to adapt or change the lessons to suit the needs of your students depending on their age and ability. It is best to present the lessons in order so that your students can follow the story. Each lesson addresses the following California Visual and Performing Arts Content Stand-ards: 3.0 Understanding the historical and cultural contributions of music. 3.1 Explain the relationship between music and events in history. 4.0 Responding to, analyzing and making judgments about works of music. 4.2 Describe the characteristics that make a performance a work of art. 5.0 Connecting and applying what is learned in music to learning in other art forms and subject areas. If you have any questions regarding this packet please call Adrienne Valencia, Director of Youth Education at (619) 615-3911. We hope you enjoy the concert!

Support for ticket underwriting is provided by the City of Encinitas/Mizel Family Foundation, Nordson Corporation Foundation, WD-40 Company Foundation at The San Diego Foundation, Ellen G. and Edward G. Wong Family Foundation, Advocates for Classical Music, County Employees’ Charitable Organization and the Community Ser-vice Association of San Diego City Schools. The Education & Outreach programs of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra are generously supported by: The City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, County of San Diego, Ashford University, Bank of America, Barney & Barney Foundation, The Berton Family Foundation, Charles and Ruth Billingsley Foundation, David C. Copley Foundation, Samuel I. and John Henry Fox Foundation, Kinder Morgan Foundation, Dr. William and Evelyn Lamden, Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust, Menard Family Foundation, The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foun-dation, Linda and Shearn Platt, Pratt Memorial Fund, Qualcomm Foundation, ResMed Foundation, Ryan Family Charitable Foundation, Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation, SDG&E, Union Bank, US Bank, WD-40 Company Foundation at The San Diego Foundation, Western Alliance Community Foundation.

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Meet Your Conductor Sameer Patel 4 Meet the Orchestra 5 San Diego Ballet 6 Let’s Learn About Folktales 7 Elements of a Story 8 Story Map 9 More Story Ideas 10 Let’s Talk About Music (learning basic vocabulary) 11 What is Ballet? 12 The Story of The Firebird 13 Biography of composer Igor Stravinsky 14 The Firebird Suite (1919) Lesson 1: Introduction 15 Lesson 2: The Firebird and Its Dance 17 Lesson 3: Dance of the Princesses 18 Lesson 4: Infernal Dance 19 Lesson 5: Berceuse (Lullaby) 21 Lesson 6: Finale 22 Concert Manners 24

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Where did you grow up? I grew up in a town called Port Huron in the state of Michigan. It gets pretty cold there during the winter-time, so I’m definitely happy to be here in sunny San Diego! What were some of your early experiences with music? I started playing piano at the age of nine, and two years later I started playing the saxophone in band. Even though I didn’t care for practicing when I started, I became very interested in music in high school because I had really great teachers. I was lucky enough to have my first experiences conducting while in high school, and I have been doing it ever since! Did you study music in college? Yes! I went to the University of Michigan, and to this day I’m a big fan of its football team! Go Blue! What do you like about conducting? It’s incredible how so many people on stage can make such a grandiose sound, and I love the teamwork and creativity that goes into this. I also like that it allows me to get to know our audience members (like you!) through our concerts. What do you like to do when you’re not making music? I’m a very curious person and enjoy learning about a variety of things. I’m constantly reading a book, for instance! I also enjoy exploring San Diego and spending time with friends and family. Do you have a favorite food? I love all types of food, especially ethnic food. We’re lucky that here in San Diego we have so many great restaurants! Do you like to travel? Yes, I love it! I’ve been fortunate to travel extensively throughout Europe and have also been to Asia, Afri-ca, and South America! Do you like animals? You bet! I’m a San Diego Zoo member, and love going to see the different animals there. I also grew up with cats and a dog, and I even help foster an orphaned elephant in Kenya. What is your favorite place in San Diego? I love Balboa Park. I live pretty close to it, so I enjoy running through the park in the mornings or visiting the many museums. I also love being by the wa-ter. Growing up in Michigan, I lived right on Lake Huron, so I’ve always felt a sense of wonder when being near a large body of water. So because of that, I also really enjoy going to Coronado and Sunset Cliffs and being near the Pacific Ocean!

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An orchestra is made up of many musicians (sometimes as many as 100!) who play different instruments that can be grouped together based on how they make sound. The San Diego Symphony consists of FOUR instrumental families.

STRINGS The instruments of the string family include the violin, viola, cello and bass. They are played with a bow that is made of wood and the hair from a horse’s tail. The musicians make sound by drawing the bow across the strings or by plucking the strings with their fingers. The harp is considered a member of the string family.

PERCUSSION Members of the percussion family include instru-ments that make sound by being shaken, struck or scraped (such as tambourine, triangle and guiro). Other percussion instruments have a tightly stretched membrane like the timpani, snare drum, bass drum and bongos.

BRASS The instruments of the brass family include the trum-pet, French horn, trombone, and tuba. These instru-ments are made of brass and they each have a cup-shaped mouthpiece. The players buzz their lips against the mouthpiece, and the instrument amplifies the sound. By the time the sound reaches the audi-ence, it is smooth and beautiful.

WOODWINDS The instruments of the woodwind family include the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. The woodwinds have the most variety among their shapes and sounds. But they all use the breath (or wind) from the musicians to make sound. Some of them have single reeds and some have double reeds.

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No other company in San Diego is quite like San Diego Ballet (SDB). Under the visionary leadership of Javier Velasco, you do not simply see an SDB performance, you feel it. Javier’s distinct choreography redefines what most people would expect from ballet to bring inspired, provocative and thrilling perfor-mances year after year. Javier Velasco has supplied dances for productions at the La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe, and has a long-standing relationship with the San Diego Repertory Theatre, where he has staged productions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, CABA-RET, HAIRSPRAY, TOMMY, IN THE HEIGHTS, and many others. He has enjoyed many long creative relationships, having worked with: Luis Valdez on the 20th Anniversary production of ZOOT SUIT, BANDIDO, and CORRIDOS.; composer Steve Gunderson on the premieres of SUDS (NYC) DIXIE HIGH-WAY, BACK TO BACHARACH AND DAVID (NYC) and the dance/theatre piece THE BRONTES/SECRET PLEASURES,SECRET TEARS; and Douglas Jacobs and Sam Woodhouse, founding directors of the San Diego Rep. He currently serves as artistic director of the San Diego Ballet, having created over 70 original pieces for the company since its inception, including 10 pieces in collaboration with composer David Burge, to commissioned scores. His bal-let set to the poems of Kenneth Fearing, LOVE: 20 CENTS THE FIRST QUARTER MILE, was given the award for Best Choreography by the San Die-go Area Dance Alliance, the third time he was honored by the organization. Most recently, Mr. Velasco wrote and directed THE TOUGHEST GIRL ALIVE, which premiered at Moxie Theatre and had a success-ful run at the New York International Fringe Festival. Mr. Velasco was recently awarded a Creative Cata-lyst Fellowship by the San Diego Foundation to create new work. Touted as a “model in its field,” the San Diego Ballet’s educational outreach program works to reach stu-dents through in-school performances, lessons, curriculum guides for teachers, scholarships and benefit theater performances.

http://sandiegoballet.org/

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A Folktale is a story originating in popular culture, typically passed on by word of mouth.

They usually don’t have one specific author, are told for a long time by a group of people, and feature ordinary characters who have something extraordinary happen to them.

Examples of Folktales that you might know are…

Cinderella

Hansel and Gretel

The Pied Piper

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

Pecos Bill

Brer Rabbit

Davy Crockett

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Also consider the following two elements: Point of View: Who is telling the story? Theme: What is the central idea or belief of the story?

Setting: Time: Place:

Includes place, weather conditions, social conditions, mood or atmosphere.

Characters: The individual in a work of fiction and their attributes or features. It can be a person, an animal or thing. (Think of some of your favorite movies or books: Harry Potter, Charlotte’s Web, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story.) A character is developed by thinking about what he says, what he does, what he thinks, what is said about him by other characters and what he says about himself.

Problem/Conflict: Conflict can be external or internal. There are four kinds of conflict:

Man vs. Man Man vs. Circumstances Man vs. Him/Herself Man vs. Society

Plot: The series of events that the character goes through. The plot includes introduction, rising action, conflict and resolution.

Resolution: How does the conflict get resolved? Is there a happy ending or a sad ending?

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Use this guide with the various lesson plans to help you write a story. A good place to begin is using this sheet to map out the story of The Firebird.

Setting: Time: Place:

Characters:

Problem/Conflict:

Resolution:

Plot/Events:

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Once you’ve learned the basic elements of a story, it might be fun to try one or more of the ideas below. This is just a starting point; try some of your own! ♦ Write a story along with a piece of music. ♦ Improvise music along with a story that is being read. ♦ Create a “progressive story” where each student contributes one line to the plot. ♦ Go to https://www.storyboardthat.com/ to create your own comic strip or storyboard. ♦ Write a story based on another culture. ♦ Create a story about how Igor Stravinsky was commissioned to write The Firebird. Use

information you’ve learned from the composer page in this guide. ♦ Create a different beginning to a popular story. ♦ Create a different ending to a popular story. ♦ Bind all your activities together into a storybook.

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Use this list of new words to talk about the music you’ll listen to. Melody: a string of notes (also called tones or pitches) that are played or sung one right after the other. Rhythm: the alternation of short and long notes. Harmony: two or more different notes played together. Tempo: the speed at which a piece is performed (fast or slow). Dynamics: how loud or soft the music is played. Symphony Orchestra: a big group of musicians playing different instruments. It usually consists of 60-80 people, but sometimes there are more. When it’s a smaller group, it is usually referred to as a “chamber orchestra.” Instrumental Families: Orchestral instruments can be categorized into four families based on how they make sound. The four families are string, brass, woodwind and percussion. String Instruments: instruments that have strings and are usually played with a bow. Examples: violin, viola, cello, bass Brass Instruments: metal instruments that are played by blowing into them while buzzing the lips on a mouthpiece. Examples: trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba Woodwind Instruments: instruments that you play by blowing air into them Examples: piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn, bassoon, contrabassoon Percussion Instruments: instruments that are played by hitting, shaking, rubbing or scraping. Examples: snare drum, maracas, tambourine, guiro, timpani, bass drum Composer: A person who writes music. Example: Igor Stravinsky is the composer featured in this concert. Commission: a formal request to create a special piece of work for payment. Conductor: A person who directs an orchestra. See page 4 for more information about what a conductor does.

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Ballet is a form of dance that uses scenery, costumes, music, and the movements of the dancers to tell a story, express a mood or simply reflect the music. Learning classical ballet takes years of training. Both boys and girls must start training at a young age if they wish to dance at an advanced level. Classical bal-let demands grace and precision, and employs formalized steps and gestures set in intricate, flowing pat-terns to create expression through movement.

Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century. In fact, the word “ballet” comes from the Italian word, ballare, to dance. Noblemen and women were treated to fancy events, especially wedding celebrations, where dancing and music created an elaborate spectacle. Dancing masters taught the steps to the nobility, and the court participated in the performances. As time went on, people added scenery and costumes and standardize the steps. It eventually went from being a casual pastime, to being an art form that required extensive training performed in front of an audience.

Ballet dancers perform many movements that are unnatural for the body, but when these movements are well executed, they look natural. The women often dance en pointe (on the tips of their toes), and the men lift them high overhead as if they were as light as feathers. Ballets are staged and performed by ballet companies. Popular ballets are often based on folktales such as “The Nutcracker” (often performed around Christmastime), “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Cinderella.”

choreographer (cor-ee-og'ra-fer) Someone who makes dances. Originally the word meant someone who records dances, but has come to mean the person responsible for the design of movement in ballet. corps de ballet (core, di, bah-lay') Dancers who appear only in large groups. The corps de ballet is the backbone of every ballet company. jete (zhe-tay') From the French jeter, to throw. This is a jump in which the weight of the body is thrown from one foot to the other. pas de deux (pah-duh-duh') A dance for two people. pirouette (peer-oo-wet') A complete turn of the body on one foot. plie (plee-ay') From the French plier, to bend. In the classic dance, this is a bending of the knees, with the knees wide open and the feet turned outward. port de bras (port, duh, brah') In ballet, the movement or carriage of the arms. releve (ruhl-VAY) From the French relever, to raise. To raise the body on one or two feet. saute (soh-tay') Jumped or jumping. tutu (tew' tew) A skirt used in classical ballet made of many layers of tulle or netting.

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The Firebird is a piece of music written for ballet by Igor Stravinsky. He wrote the music in 1910, then from the ballet, created a concert suite of the music in 1919. The ballet story is based on a famous Russian folktale about a Prince named Ivan who is lost in a magical forest and enters an enchanted garden by mistake. This beautiful garden is owned by an evil ogre named Katschai who is immortal. The secret to his immortality is contained in a magic egg.

Ivan comes upon a brilliant light in a tree of golden apples and sees that the light is actually the beautiful Firebird. He chases her and after a frantic struggle, Ivan captures the Firebird and is amazed to see that she resembles part bird and part woman. The beautiful Firebird pleads with Ivan to set her free. He un-derstands how important her freedom is and gently releases her. In gratitude, she presents Prince Ivan with magic feather from her golden tail that will protect him when he is in trouble. He accepts the feather and sets the Firebird free. Whenever Ivan waves the magic feather, the Firebird will come to his rescue.

Ivan comes across 13 beautiful princesses and instantly falls in love with the most beautiful princess named Elena. Ivan and the princess dance until dawn. But as dawn breaks, the beautiful princesses tell Ivan that Katschai captured them and has them under a powerful and evil spell. They must return to the palace of Katschai before dawn to avoid being noticed.

But Ivan follows the princesses to the palace and in doing so is captured by Katschai's guardian monsters. Ivan remembers the magic feather and summons the Firebird, who puts a spell on the monsters, making them dance in a spectacular display until they collapse in exhaustion on the ground. She then puts them to sleep with a gentle lullaby. At the very end of the lullaby, the Firebird tells Ivan where to find the magic egg in which Kaschei’s soul is hidden. When Ivan breaks the egg, Kaschei is destroyed and everyone who was once held captive, is freed from the enchantment.

Suddenly, the kingdom emerges from darkness, and in the light of the new day, the ballet ends with the joyous marriage of Prince Ivan and Princess Elena.

Watch the ballet here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0MpwTEkzqQ Stravinsky - Ballet "L'Oiseau de feu" - Diana Vishneva

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Igor Stravinsky is known as one of the great composers of the twentieth century (the 1900s). He was born in Russia, the son of a distinguished Russian singer. He later became a citizen of France and the United States. Igor came from a musical family and they wanted him to pursue studies in law. Later as a student at the university in St. Petersburg, he made the acquaintance of composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and studied with him.

At the young age of 28, Stravinsky was commissioned, that is paid to write, a three-act musical interpretation based on the fairy tale, The Firebird. He wrote it in the form of a ballet. When Igor was 63 he composed a shorter version of The Firebird Suite for Orchestra. It was only 29 minutes in length. This new version was used for the New York City Ballet premiere of the ballet choreographed by George Balanchine, a famous choreographer.

Prior to World War I, Igor moved to Europe to avoid political turmoil in Russia. The increasing complexity and Russian influence of his music ended abruptly when he moved to Switzerland, where he produced a group of pieces in a more pared-down instrumental style, frequently eliminating stringed instruments. After the war he turned from a style of eclectic (composed of material gathered from various sources) neo-classicism (a revival of the classical style of music) to composing in the twelve-note technique for which Schoenberg was famous.

In 1939, he emigrated to the United States, where he attempted to write music for films. He was unsuccessful but continued to compose and conduct well into his eighties. Stravinsky was a versatile composer, often changing styles. He could be seen as the musical counterpart of the painter Picasso.

He died in 1971 at the age of 88 in New York City. Because of his contributions to music in Hollywood he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 1987, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Questions to answer: 1. Where was Igor Stravinsky born? 2. What subject area did Stravinsky’s family want him to study? 3. What does it mean to be “commissioned”? 4. Besides Russia, in what countries did Stravinsky live? 5. What does a “choreographer” do? 6. What does “posthumously” mean?

“ A good composer does not imitate; he steals.”

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Answers: 1.) Russia; 2.) law; 3.) to be asked to create a work of art for payment; 4.) France, Switzerland and the USA; 5.) creates the dance steps that a ballet dancer will perform; 6.) literally “after death”.

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Essential Question: How does music create a setting or mood?

Materials: Prep CD (track 1) and CD player

Listening Repertoire: “Introduction: The Firebird and Its Dance” from The Firebird.

Prior Knowledge: The introduction sets the mood for the rest of the piece and gives the listener an idea of what will happen as the plot unfolds.

New Vocabulary: dynamics: how loud or soft a piece is played forte: loud piano: soft or quiet instrumentation: the specific instruments used in a piece of music introduction: to make something known for the first time pianissimo: very quiet program music: music that tells a story tempo: how fast or slow a piece is played.

Background Information: In the beginning of this story, Prince Ivan is lost in a magical forest at nighttime and enters an enchanted garden by mistake. This beautiful garden is owned by an evil ogre named Katschai who is immortal. Stravinsky creates the setting and mood with tempo, dynamics, and instrumen-tation.

Procedures: • Tell students that they will be listening to the first part or movement of a larger piece called The Fire-

bird by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. • This first movement is called the Introduction. The setting and mood is made known for the first time

here. It sets the tone for the rest of the story. • First, read the background information (above) to your students so that they know the part of the story

that this movement depicts. • Ask students to be very quiet. The beginning of this piece is pianissimo (very quiet) and so they will

need to listen carefully from the very start. • Now play the beginning of this piece. (00:00 - 00:36) • Tell the students that the melody has this shape

• Ask students to listen to this melody and mark the shape in the air with their hands • Ask students if they recognize the instruments that are playing this melody at the beginning (the cellos

and basses are playing). These instruments are members of the string family. • Ask students if these instruments play high sounds or low sounds. (low) • Ask students if the tempo is fast or slow. (slow) • Ask students if the music is forte, piano or pianissimo. (pianissimo)

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• Ask students to call out adjectives that describe the way this music makes them feel. Write these words on your chalk/white board. (possible answers could be creepy, scary, fearful, ominous, dark, suspenseful)

• Tell students that the elements of low instruments played softly at a slow tempo all work together to create the mood of the piece.

More Guided Listening: • Tell students that in addition to setting the mood, this movement also introduces some of the charac-

ters of the story. • At 1:40 you’ll hear the French horns play a quick note. That is the prince arriving. • At 1:57 the flute plays the melody. Then the oboe plays the melody. This is the Firebird. • At 2:24, the strings play the same melody. The piece ends with piano playing an upward passage.

(Note that it goes right into the next movement, so you can stop the CD player.) Indicators of Success: • Students will understand that this movement is part of a larger piece of music. • Students will recognize the repeated melody of this piece. • Students will be able to identify which instruments are playing the main melody. • Students will understand how tempo, dynamics, instrumentation and harmony create mood.

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Essential Question: How does music create a character? Materials: Prep CD (track 2 and 3) and CD player Listening Repertoire: “The Firebird and Its Dance” from The Firebird. Prior Knowledge: A character is a person or animal who carries out the plot of the story. New Vocabulary: Program Music: music that tells a story Background Information: In this part of the story, Ivan comes upon a brilliant light in a tree of golden ap-ples and sees that the light is actually the beautiful Firebird. After a frantic struggle, Ivan captures the Fire-bird and is amazed to see that she resembles part bird and part woman. The beautiful Firebird pleads with Ivan to set her free. He understands how important her freedom is and gently releases her. In gratitude, she presents Ivan with one of her brightly colored feathers as a magical charm. Procedures: • Begin by reading the above excerpt of the story (background information) to your students. Ask them

when they have heard of a bird being a character in a book or TV program. Possible answers could be Sasha from Peter and the Wolf, Fawkes the Phoenix or Hedwig the Owl from Harry Potter, Big Bird from Sesame Street, or the Little Red Hen.

• Tell students that one of the main characters of this story is the Firebird. She is a bird with magical powers that can either help or hurt.

• Ask students what elements would be necessary to have in a bird costume? (wings, feathers, beak) • Play track 2 from the CD. This is a 15-second piece of music. What do you think is happening at this

point in the story? • Play track 3 from the CD. Ask students if they recognize the instrument that is representing the bird

(flute). Ask students if they know what instrumental family the flute is from (woodwinds). • Ask students what they think is happening during this part. Students should keep listening specifically

to the flute. Is the piece fast or slow? (fast) What does that imply? (that there’s a lot of quick action going on.)

• What do you think the Firebird is feeling during this movement? • Ask students, “Why do you think Stravinsky chose the flute to represent the Firebird?” Indicators of Success: • Students will be able to name some characters from stories that are birds. • Students will be able to recognize that the flute is representing the Firebird. • Students will be able to say which instrumental family the flute belongs to.

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Essential Question: How can movement and music work together? California State Learning Standards Addressed: Materials: Prep CD (track 4) and CD player, colorful scarves Listening Repertoire: “Dance of The Princesses” from The Firebird New Vocabulary: Dynamics: how loud or soft a piece of music is played Khorovod: A Russian folk dance in which the participants are arranged in a circle. Tempo: how fast or slow a piece of music is played Mood: the general feeling that a listener gets from a particular piece of music Instrumentation: Background Information: In this part of the story, Prince Ivan will next behold the thirteen captive prin-cesses. They dance the Khorovod, a circle dance. Here we hear the love theme between Ivan and Elena, the fairest of the princesses. Procedures: • Play the “Dance of the Princesses” as the students are walking into the classroom. • Ask students the following questions:

♦ Is this piece loud or soft? (soft) ♦ Is this piece fast or slow? (slow) ♦ What instruments do you hear in this piece? (flute, violin and oboe at the beginning, strings in the

middle, flute and oboe at the end). ♦ What mood does this piece evoke? (possible answers could be calm, peaceful, sweet)

• Share the story of the “Dance of the Princesses” with the students. • Engage the students in a discussion of how they can create a dance to go along with the music and

depict the story of the “Dance of the Princesses.” • Divide class in groups of 4 students each. Have students think of adjectives to describe the types of

movements that would be appropriate for this music. (smooth, flowing, circular, slow) What types of movements would not be appropriate? (jerky, angular, fast)

• If there is space outside, have students improvise movements to go along with the music. Indicators of Success: • Students can describe types of movements that go along with this piece of music. • Students use movement to interpret the music.

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Essential Question: How can music depict plot? Materials: YPC prep CD (track 5) and CD player. Listening Repertoire: “Infernal Dance” from The Firebird New Vocabulary: Ballet: a form of dancing. Infernal: fiendish; of the ancient mythological world of the dead. Choreographer: one who arranges movement in a ballet. Composer: a person who creates music. Background Information: In this part of the story, Prince Ivan follows the princesses to the palace and in doing so is captured by Katschai's guardian monsters. Ivan remembers the magic feather and summons the Firebird, who puts a spell on the monsters, making them dance in a spectacular display, stamping their feet, until they collapse in exhaustion on the ground. The Firebird then shows Ivan a magic egg containing the ogre’s soul. This egg is the secret of Katschai's immortality. Ivan destroys the egg and the spell is broken: the princesses are released from the enchantment. Procedures:

• Read the background information so that students become familiar with this part of the story.

• Play the first 10 seconds of the piece. The opening chord is loud and energetic! It might startle your students if they aren’t paying attention.

• Ask the students to identify what it was in the music that depicted the stamping/dancing.

• Tell students that the evil Katschai is depicted by the xylophone at 1:15.

• At about 1:41, there is a major change in the mood of the piece. What do you think is happening there? Continue playing the piece until the end.

• Now refer back to the previous piece - Dance of the Princesses. Compare and contrast the two. Lesson Extension:

• As the students listen again to the selection again, have them draw what a Firebird might look like. Remind them that this was a beautiful bird that had incredible magical powers in her feathers. She is also part bird and part woman.

• Walt Disney included The Firebird in his movie Fantasia. If available, the students might like to com-pare how Disney envisioned this famous ballet.

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Dance of Princesses

Infernal Dance

TEMPO

INSTRUMENTATION

MOOD

OTHER?

As you listen to both pieces, think of how they are the same and how they are different. Fill out the table below with your answers.

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Essential Question: How does a composer use music to depict a mood or scene? Materials: Prep CD (track 6 & 8) and CD player Listening Repertoire: Berceuse from The Firebird by Stravinsky (track 6) Lullaby by Johannes Brahms (track 8) Prior Knowledge: Students should know what a lullaby is. New Vocabulary: Berceuse: cradle song or lullaby; a song that is written to lull a child to sleep Ostinato: a repeated melody or rhythm. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in itself. Background Information: In this part of the story, the Firebird overcomes them and dances a lullaby to put everyone to sleep. At the very end of the lullaby, the Firebird tells Ivan where to find the magic egg in which Kaschei’s soul is hidden. When Ivan breaks the egg, Kaschei is destroyed and everyone who was once held captive, is freed from the enchantment. Procedures: 1. Introduce the word “berceuse” to your students. This is a French word that means lullaby. Ask stu-

dents if they have heard the expression “to lull someone to sleep.” 2. Tell students that lullabies are often simple and repetitive. Ask students why they think lullabies are

repetitive? (It mimics the rocking motion of a cradle.) 3. Ask students to first close their eyes. This helps them focus on listening. Play the first 10 seconds of

the piece for your class and then pause the CD. Ask students if they hear the repetitive melody of the harp. Play it once or twice more so that they really become familiar with it.

4. Tell students that this repeated melody is called an “ostinato.” 5. Then continue playing the CD. You’ll hear the bassoon play a melody that floats over the ostinato.

Ask students to keep listening to the ostinato in the harp. 6. At about 2:25 the piece starts slowing down slightly and continues to until the end. Why do you think

Stravinsky composed it this way? 7. At 3:02, this is where Ivan finds the egg and breaks it. Indicators of Success: • Students understand what a lullaby is. • Students can hear the ostinato played in the harp and other instruments. • Students use the word ostinato correctly. Lesson Extension: • Students may be familiar with the popular lullaby that was written by German composer Johannes

Brahms. Listen to the Brahms Lullaby on the prep CD. (Please note: this piece will not be played on the concert.) Have students compare the Lullaby by Brahms to the Berceuse by Stravinsky.

• If you have good listeners, they might hear that the ostinato is similar to the first few notes of the “Introduction”.

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Essential Question: How does music depict plot?

Materials: Prep CD (track 7) and CD player

Listening Repertoire: “Finale” from The Firebird

New Vocabulary: Crescendo: to get gradually louder Glissando: derived from the French glisser, to slide, this word is used to describe sliding in music from one note to another. Finale: the ending of a piece, literally means “final.”

Background Information: In the ending of the story, the spell is broken and the kingdom suddenly emerges from darkness. In the light of the new day, the ballet ends with the joyous marriage of Prince Ivan and Princess Elena.

Procedures: • Tell class that this movement of the piece represents the end of the story and brings all the characters

together for the finale. • Play the first 32 seconds of the piece. You’ll hear the main melody played by the French horn. Play

that segment again two or three more times. It’s important for the students to really hear and become familiar with this melody because it is used throughout the piece. The melody looks like this:

• Hand out the listening chart and ask students to follow it as they listen to this piece. They should pay special attention to when the harp plays a glissando and when the timpani punctuates the melody.

• Since this piece is only 3:30 minutes long, have them listen more than once. During the second time you play it, have students raise their hands when they hear the glissando played by the harp and then the strings.

• Ask students what feeling this movement conveys (possible answers could be victory, hope, triumph) • Ask students which part of the music depicts the spell being broken and the stone statues coming

back to life? • Ask students which part of the music depicts the prince and princess celebrating their marriage? Indicators of Success: • Students can identify the main melody. • Students can follow the listening map along with the music. • Student can identify the instruments playing the main melody. • Students can hear a glissando played by the harp and strings.

23

Sec

tion

1

(0:0

0 -

00:3

3)

Sec

tion

2

(0:3

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08)

Sec

tion

3 (1

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Sec

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4

(1:2

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Sec

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Num

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Als

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amic

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hart fo

r “F

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om T

he F

irebi

rd

24

Please share this information with all adult chaperones and students.

No audio or video recording or photography

(flash or otherwise) is allowed.

Going to a concert may be a new experience for your students. The following guidelines will help them and those around them enjoy the concert more fully.

• Concert manners begin the moment you enter Copley Symphony Hall in the Jacobs Music Center.

An usher will lead you from the lobby into the chamber. You will be asked to walk in a single-file line to your seating area. Jacobs Music Center is a big place and we don’t want you to get separated from your group.

• After you are shown to your seats, all teachers and students are asked to remain seated. When peo-

ple are standing and talking in the aisles, it takes us much longer to get everyone seated. • At this time, you’ll notice the musicians warming up onstage. Just as an athlete warms up before a big

game, the musicians have to also. Watch them to see if they do anything you don’t expect. • Then the lights will go down and you’ll know the concert is about to start. When the concertmaster

walks onstage, clap enthusiastically! He will help the orchestra tune. • After the concertmaster sits down, your conductor, Sameer Patel, will walk onstage. Again, clap loudly

for Maestro Patel and the musicians. Then get ready to listen. • While the music is playing, listen and watch carefully. Think about things you learned from your teach-

er and that you might already know. Keep your hands to yourself and do your best to sit still. • Sometimes Maestro Patel might ask the audience a question or ask you to clap along. This is your

turn to add to the concert experience. Please answer him so he knows you are listening. When he turns to face the musicians, you should be silent and get ready to listen actively again.

• If a neighbor is talking, try to ignore them or quietly get the attention of your teacher. • After the orchestra plays the last piece, please stay seated until the head usher dismisses you. As

you leave, make sure you have all your personal belongings with you. As you exit the hall, please stay together in a single-file line.

• On your way back to school, talk to your friends about what you saw and heard. Tell them your favor-

ite piece and ask them what their favorite piece was. Maybe your teacher will quiz you on instrumen-tal families. You can write a letter to the musicians or Maestro Patel when you get back to your class-room. Be sure and tell your parents about the concert when you get home.

No food or drink