2016 Term 1, Weeks 3 and 4: March from the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky

This week we are revisiting the March of the Nutcracker, which was one of the very first lessons we did two years ago. 

  There are many versions of the story of The Nutcracker and the ballet of the same name. In short,  the Nutcracker is a toy given to a young girl at a  Christmas party. When she goes to sleep,  she dreams that the toy comes to life and has a battle with the Mouse King. The Nutcracker toy turns into a prince and takes the girl on a journey where there are lots of different performers before she returns to her bed in time to wake up from her dream.  (Don't expect it to make too much sense; just enjoy the music and the ballet.)

The Nutcracker toy

The nutcracker toy in the ballet

The Nutcracker is one of the most well-known and performed ballets - often at Christmas time.  The music for the ballet was written by Piotr (Peter) Tchaikovsky.

Here is a link to the complete Nutcracker ballet performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, December 2012. The conductor is Valery Gergiev. (Check the settings to select the HD option.) 

- Why do the audience start clapping at the beginning of the performance?
- How do they know when to start clapping?
- What do the conductor and the orchestra do while the audience are applauding at the beginning of the performance?
- Why do you think they do this? 
- Watch the conductor and work out the different kinds of signals he makes to the orchestra. What do you think they mean?
- Why is there no applause after the overture?    

Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky is one of the most well known composers of all time. He was born in 1840 in Russia, and he started to learn the piano when he was five years old. By the time he was eight he could read music as well as his teacher. 

 When his mother died in 1854 he turned to music to help deal with his sorrow, and at this time he made his first serious attempts at composing by writing a waltz in her memory.  His father wanted to extend his son’s interest in music, and he asked a well-known German piano teacher to see what he thought of the young Peter’s ability. The teacher said that Peter appeared to have no potential as a piano player or a composer. So Peter completed his study in law and took a job in the Ministry of Justice - but his love of music remained. 

In 1861, Tchaikovsky began classes with the Russian Musical Society and soon he had a job at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music. His music was very popular and he was in great demand as a conductor.

Tchaikovsky was very much inspired by the English playwright Shakespeare, and in 1869 he composed his first major work: the Overture-Fantasy Romeo and Juliet. In 1891 he travelled to America and was invited to conduct the New York Symphony at the opening of Carnegie Hall. 

Tchaikovsky died from cholera in 1893. 

Listening map for March of the Nutcracker.

Watch the video below and see if you can follow the symbols. Can you tell which instrument is playing?  How do you know when the music is going up or down?


 You can practise your air guitar to this heavy metal version of the Nutcracker March. 

This is a live performance of the Nutcracker March at an outdoor concert.  It is very fast! The conductor is Seiji Ozawa from Japan. 

- What are some similarities and differences between the this conductor and the conductor of the ballet orchestra?

- What instruments can you name? 

 

Extra and Extension: 

Follow this link to find an easy piano score for the Nutcracker March. 

Here's a listening map for the overture of The Nutcracker. Follow the rhythm pattern for the triangle, and keep the beat for the other instruments. 

This is an animated score showing the patterns of the notes as they are played.  How does it show fast and slow, notes that are held and notes that are short, notes going up and down?  

This is another piece of music from the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky It's called Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. This version is from Walt Disney's movies "Fantasia" from 1940. (This was long before the days of computer animation and every single image was dawn and coloured by hand.) Listen very carefully and you will hear an instrument called a celesta or celeste. It is a kind of piano keyboard, but sounds a little bit like a glockenspiel. You can also hear a celeste in the Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter. 

 

And a relaxing breathing exercise  to finish the lesson. 

Year 7 and 8 Homework - due Friday Week 6, 11 March: 
- You can start a title page; don't be in a rush to finish it, as you will want to add to it as we go. 
-  No computer-generated work for this book; all your own work, please. 
- Complete the  3 bullet points (or more if you are keen) of interesting facts about Tchaikovsky
- Tidy up your listening map - put a border around it; it can be ruled or fancy - but keep it relevant.