What are we listening to this year?
Our Great Composer study is accompanying the literary and historical themes in our Year 3 curriculum. First, we travel to Tudor England where Thomas Tallis and William Byrd compose sublime liturgical music in the face of religious turmoil. Tallis keeps his Catholic allegiances close to the vest, while Byrd is an outspoken recusant. We turn to another English figure with cryptic affiliations, William Shakespeare - not as a composer but as the inspiration for scores of symphonic works. Mendelssohn writes his Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture at the tender age of seventeen. Listen for the “hee-haw” of Bottom the Donkey midway through the piece. Can you imagine what themes belong to the other characters?
Mendelssohn is the bridge taking us to the wider realm of Romantic Composers, whose work was often bound up with the question of national identity in the industrial, connected, modern age. We take a deep dive into Tchaikovsky and Chopin, with their extensive use of folk material in composition. The wave of national consciousness continues through Dvorak, Sibelius, Liszt, and Smetana. Some of these melodic lines bring one to tears.
For children, the goal is above all enjoyment—since, as Augustine says, we cannot possess a thing until we love it. Allowing the musical forms to become connatural in the soul through repeated listening is the best way to know them (especially through live performance!). Biographies, activities, mini-lessons, etc. should support that end.
These resources, in our humble opinion, are convivial aides to joyful exploration.
Tchaikovsky & CHOPIN
The Story of Tchaikovsky in Words and Music, and The Story of Chopin in Words and Music. For some arcane reason these CDs are not streaming anywhere. The pain of having to order these online and find a CD player or rip them to your computer is well worth it. Order every composer you’re interested in. [Note: we make no money from referrals!] They are narrated in a throwback style of a 1950s documentary, following the composer from birth to death. Full orchestral recordings intersperse the story at relevant points. The whole family can “car school” with these without too much grumbling.
Mike Venezia’s Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Frederic Chopin, and everything else in his Scholastic series, will appeal to the younger set. Sometimes “comic book style” and “Scholastic” are the death knell of children’s books, but it works with these. Venezia’s biographies are meaty but not overbearing, large print, lots of photos, and the comics are actually funny and engaging. They are great for read aloud and early readers.
First Discovery Music has a largely out-of-print series that you can pick up on Ebay and elsewhere for cheap. [Bookfinder is the best place to comparison shop for books, hands down. Helps you avoid you know who.] Here is one on Chopin.
Here is a playlist of Chopin’s work that goes along with the First Discovery Book, in case the CD is missing.
Stay tuned for Year 4! We finally arrive at the American shores for composer study, which will include the greats of jazz alongside symphonic composers.