Richard Strauss Till Eulenspiegel s Merry Pranks

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2 Richard Strauss Till Eulenspiegel s Merry Pranks

3 Richard Strauss Richard Strauss ( ) was a German composer of the late Romantic and early modern era. Strauss was born into a musical family and composed his first piece of music aged six. He was very famous for his operas and symphonic poems. Richard Strauss composed Also Sprach Zarathustra. The introduction, entitled Sunrise, was used in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Romantic era was a time of interest in nature, history, legends, literature and even the super-natural. There was a revolt against the structures and rules of the Classical era. Composers explored tonality and styles to tell their stories. Romantic Era: Modern Era: 1910 to present

4 Till Eulenspiegel, the story Till Eulenspiegel is the name of a young boy in a fairy story written in No-one knows if Till really existed, but in the legend he was born in Germany in a small village and was a trickster, or someone who played practical jokes on the people in his village. The adults in the village did not like his practical jokes and when things had gone too far, Till was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. Very famous writers and collectors of fairy tales were the Brothers Grimm. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected and published hundreds of such stories including Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Tom Thumb and The Frog King. A fairy tale or fairy story is a short story which began in Europe hundreds of years ago. The stories were often about dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, mermaids or witches. The stories were often violent even though they were meant for children. This was because the stories were told to children to teach them the difference between right and wrong and the importance of consequences for bad behaviour or bad people.

Till Eulenspiegel - The opening The music opens with a motif that has become known as the once upon a time phrase. The theme is first played by the violins. Means comfortably or in no rush in German.

5 Till Eulenspiegel - The opening The music opens with a motif that has become known as the once upon a time phrase. The theme is first played by the violins. Means comfortably or in no rush in German. This phrase announces to the audience that the story has begun and it also appears later in the music between stories to represent the calm before Till starts playing practical jokes again. Theme: A theme is a tune or melody which has an important place in a piece of music Phrase: A phrase is like a musical sentence

represents the boy laughing. Arpeggio uses only the 1 st, 3 rd and 5 th notes of the scale.

6 Till Eulenspiegel s theme Till Eulenspeigel has his own theme or motif. The theme is played by the french horn, and when the horn completes the phrase the whole orchestra plays two notes which represents the boy laughing. Arpeggio uses only the 1 st, 3 rd and 5 th notes of the scale. This is an descending arpeggio in the key of C major. Bass clef: The melody changes from the treble clef to the bass clef for the last three notes of the theme. The three notes are lower in sound than the previous notes. French Horn.

7 Till s merry pranks The clarinet plays the theme representing Till s laughter to introduce the story of his practical jokes on his community. Till rides his horse through the town market upsetting all the market stalls, spilling food and goods everywhere. He chases the girls! He pokes fun at people he meets including his teachers and the church minister. He rides away on his horse but everyone in the village is angry with him. Clarinet: The clarinet is a member of the woodwind family

8 Till is caught! The first theme reappears as Till is riding away. He is thinking that what he has done is funny. Suddenly the music changes. Till has been caught and brought to the judge! To teach Till a lesson, they send him to trial and then sentence Till to death (remember the story was created in 1511 to teach children a lesson). The orchestra plays a funeral march as Till is marched to the gallows in the town square. All the time Till is trying to joke is way out of the situation. Do the people of the village teach Till a lesson and let him off with a warning? There is a drum roll, the clarinet screams to represent Till s scream and the strings pluck their strings representing sharp sounds of the gallows Listen and Watch: Richard Strauss Till Eulenspiegel s Merry Pranks

instruments trill while the violins play a running phrase.

9 The Ending Does Till survive? But then the once upon a time theme reappears and Till s laughter is heard as the woodwind and brass instruments trill while the violins play a running phrase. Then the orchestra plays the two note motif, very loudly, to complete the story. Clarinet. Trill rapid alternating between 2 notes. Running phrase in the strings. Two note motif representing laughter. Clarinet: A clarinet is a member of the woodwind family.

10 Rondo Form Rondo form has a theme (Section A) that begins the work then reappears between different new themes (Sections B, C, D etc.). Till Eulenspiegel s Merry Pranks has been composed in Rondo form. Each story of his practical jokes has a different melody (B,C,D) and they are joined together by a repeating theme (A). Listen and Watch: Rondo form: A B A C A D A or A B A C A B A A song which has a chorus (A) that is placed between different verses (B,C) could be considered as being in rondo form. A song usually starts with a verse (B) and then introduces the chorus (A), whereas music composed for orchestras usually begins with the A section. Mozart Horn Concerto No.4 4 th movement is in rondo form

11 Australian Curriculum Music Elements of Music Rhythm Pitch Dynamics & Expression Form and Structure Timbre Texture Creating Performing Responding Foundation to Year 2 Beat and rhythm Fast/slow Long/short High/low Pitch direction Pitch matching Unison Forte, piano Introduction Same/different, echo patterns, repetition Verse, chorus, round How sound is produced Every voice and instrument has its own sound Melody Accompaniment Drone Creating sounds using voice and instruments Playing instruments in groups Moving to beat and rhythms Years 3 and 4 Tempo changes ostinato Pentatonic patterns Melodic shape Intervals Treble clef and staff Dynamic gradations pp to ff Legato & staccato Question & answer Repeat signs Binary (AB) form Ternary (ABA) form Recognise orchestral instruments by sound in isolations and in combination Patterns occurring simultaneously Rhythms Years 5 and 6 Compound metre Major scales Pitch sequences, arpeggio, riff, Bass clef Staccato, legato accent Theme, motif Phrase Rondo (ABACA) form Ostinato Acoustic and electronic sounds Voice and instrument types Contrast within layers of sound Playing and reading melodic and rhythmic excerpts Years 7 and 8 Time signature Rhythmic devices - anacrusis, syncopation, ties and pause Minor scales Key and key signatures Major/minor chords Ledger lines Dynamic gradations Articulations relevant to style Repetition and contrast Theme and Variation Verse chorus, bridge Recognise instrumental groups Layers of sound and their role. Unison, homo/polyphonic Years 9 and 10 Regular and irregular time subdivision triplet, duplet motif, augmentation/ diminution Tonal centres, Modulation Consonance/ dissonance Chromaticism Rubato, vibrato, ornamentation Motivic development Sonata form Interlude, cadenza Improvisation Identify instruments by name and sound production Horizontal/vertical layers countermelody Sing and play in two or more parts Respond to the stories Historical context Awareness of ensemble

Handale Primary School Music Curriculum Year EYFS ( 4-5 year olds)

Handale Primary School Music Curriculum Year EYFS ( 4-5 year olds) Music at EYFS stage reflects the different ways in which children learn and engage with other people. Many examples of stories, songs