2016, Term 3, Weeks 1 and 2: Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev

Peter and the Wolf

Some digitally animated pages from an original version of the story.

The story and music of Peter and the Wolf were written and composed by Sergei Prokofiev, a Russian composer. He was born in Ukraine in 1891, and learnt to play the piano at a very young age, with his mother as his first teacher. Like Mozart, he was a "child prodigy", and he wrote his first music at age 5 and his first opera at age 9. When he was 13, he began studying at the St Petersburg Conservatory of Music. 

He was a modern-style composer, but believed that music should be for all people, not just  the rich or those who were were good at it themselves. He travelled to London, Paris and the United States several times and was one of the few artists who continued to live in Russia when many had left after the Russian Revolution in 1917 and other political changes which followed.

Prokofiev wrote Peter and the Wolf in 1936 when he returned to Russia after his travels. He wanted to introduce children to the instruments of the orchestra, and he worked with Natalia Satz, the director of the Moscow Children's Theatre, to create  the characters, and how music would express their personalities. 



Peter is represented by the STRING INSTRUMENTS   Peter's theme music 
The bird is represented by the FLUTE  Bird's theme music
The duck is represented by the OBOE    Duck's theme music
The  cat is represented by the CLARINET    Cat's theme music 
The grandfather is represented by the BASSOON    Grandfather's theme
The wolf is represented by three FRENCH HORNS      The wolf's theme 
The hunters enter to a march tune 
The hunters' guns are represented by the TIMPANI (kettle drum) and BASS DRUM    The gun's theme 

Vocabulary:
Russia - see map
Ukraine - see map
prodigy- a very clever young person
meadow - a field or a paddock
chirp - the sound a bird makes
waddle - to walk like a duck
shrug - to lift and drop the shoulders
stealthily - in a quiet and sneaking way
velvet - a soft material that feels a bit like fur
gulp -  a big swallow
lasso - a rope with a loop in it
triumphant  - feeling very proud after winning
procession - a lot of people walking together like a march
discontentedly - unhappily 
narrated - a story read aloud by someone 

Here is the complete story of Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Peter Ustinov.  There are no pictures - it's much better if you imagine them yourself. 
- Listen for changes in dynamics: when does the music get louder and softer or quieter (crescendo and decrescendo)? 
- Listen for changes in tempo: when does the music get faster and slower?  Which characters' music has a faster  or slower tempo? 
- Listen for changes in pitch:  which characters' music has a higher pitch? Which characters' music has a lower pitch?  
- Listen for the different ways each character's music is played to fit the story. Can you hear changes in the timing, instruments, tempo and tone? How do these changes reflect different parts of the story? 
  

And now for something completely different:  

Add five bar lines to make four bars in 4/4 timing.

A Scottish version of Rachel Platten's Fight Song

This is filmed in  Eilean Donan Castle in Dornie, Scotland - one of the most well-known castles in Scotland. If you don't recognise it, you will the next time you see it. 


More vocabulary: 
bagpipe  a wind instrument, associated with Scotland. 
cello   member of the strings family; bigger than a viola, smaller than a double bass
snare, tenor and bass drums different types  of drums used in Highland bands (with bagpipes) 
grand piano  a big piano with horizontal strings and frames and a lid which can be raised, usually used in concerts
tartan  a pattern of criss-crossed lines on material - usually wool - and associated with Scotland.