Showing posts with label oliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oliver. Show all posts

Friday, May 17, 2013

LIONEL BART: COMPOSER OF THE MUSICAL "OLIVER"


CHARLES DICKENS: AUTHOR OF THE NOVEL "OLIVER TWIST"

1812-1870









"Oliver Twist was enormously influential in bringing to light the atrocious treatment of paupers and orphans in Dickens's time. The novel is not only a brilliant work of art but also a tremendously important document in social history." (http://classiclit.about.com/od/olivertwistcdickens/fr/aa_olivertwist.htm)
http://www.facts-about.org.uk/arts-literature-charles-dickens.htm



Charles Dickens: 
A Tale of Ambition and Genius
From A & E
BIOGRAPHY presents the life and times of one of the world's greatest literary geniuses, Charles Dickens. Born in London in 1812, Charles Dickens would become the most read novelist of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Dickens's characters have become part of the world's common culture, recognizable and universal. BIOGRAPHY looks at both the literary giant and the man, whose work is perhaps the strongest social commentary on the polemic conditions of the industrial revolution. Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius would be useful for classes on Literature, English History, Culture, and Writing. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.
Vocabulary
Discussion Questions

  1. The tales of Charles Dickens have been popular for over a century. What is it about Dickens's work that makes it so enduring and memorable?
  2. Charles Dickens's work coincided with the height of the Industrial Revolution. How did this historic era influence Dickens's life and work?
  3. How did Dickens's relationship with his parents and his boyhood influence his writings?
  4. Charles Dickens created some of the most memorable characters in the history of the written word. How did Dickens get the ideas for these characters? Are they purely fictional?
  5. The first works of Dickens were published as serials. How did this method of publication contribute to Dickens's popularityand success as a writer?
  6. Today the Yuletide traditions of Christmas trees and gift-giving are well established. But in they were just becoming popular in nineteenth century England. How did Dickens's endearing work, A Christmas Carol, contribute to the establishment of Yuletide traditions?
  7. Charles Dickens's success was everything he had dreamed of as a boy and more, yet he was an intensely unhappy man. What made Dickens so unhappy? How did his melancholy influence his work?
  8. How did Dickens internalize the world around him?
  9. What is the legacy of Charles Dickens? How did his life change the world?
Extended Activities

  1. Charles Dickens's gift for description has created some of the most memorable characters in the world. Choose your favorite Dickens character, and using Dickens's description of this character, create an artist's rendering of what this character might look like.
  2. Compare any of the many films based on Dickens's novels with the actual novel. What are the differences? Is literary license employed to adapt Dickens's work to the screen? Which do you find a more satisfying experience-reading the book or seeing the movie? Why?

MUSICAL REPORT: "OLIVER"



Complete all sections subtitled in "green." Help for some of your answers are written in the color "red." Sections 10a and 10b are to be completed explaining your personal opinion.


01a. Title: “Oliver” 

01b. Date Composed: 1960


02a. Composer: Lionel Bart

02b. Lyricist: Lionel Bart


http://www.ask.com/music/artist/Lionel-Bart/35025 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Bart http://www.queens-theatre.co.uk/biographies/lionelbart.htm http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-lionel-bart-1085282.html http://music.msn.com/music/artist-biography/lionel-bart/ http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Lionel_Bart#encyclopedia http://wapedia.mobi/en/Lionel_Bart http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/05/theater/lionel-bart-68-songwriter-created-the-musical-oliver.html http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famousbrits.php?id=505 http://www.show-and-stay.co.uk/biography-information/lionel-bart.html
http://eastlondonhistory.com/lionel-bart/ http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/bart/2612170 

03a. Historical event, story, and/or novel on which this musical is based: 
Novel: “Oliver Twist”

04a. What the story is about:
A runaway orphan finds refuge with a gang of pickpocket thieves in Victorian England (1840's) http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/synopsis.htm http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_o/oliver.htm

05a. Where the story takes place (ex: name of city, country, etc.): 
London, England

05b. Name possible clues in the movie that tell you this location (ex: famous landmarks, speech accents, etc.): 

English accents and English slang, English money terms used, row houses, London Bridge (London Bridge: Until 1750 London Bridge was the only bridge over the Thames in London. A bridge at this site dates from Roman times. The first stone London Bridge was built in 1176. This bridge eventually had houses, shops, and a church built upon it until they were removed in 1763. In 1831 it was replaced by a granite bridge designed by John Rennie. The Rennie London Bridge was replaced in 1972 and Rennie's bridge was dismantled and rebuilt in Lake Havasu, Arizona.) http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/havasu.htm 

06a. Setting of the story (ex: farm, big city, slums, affluent neighborhood, etc.): 
Big city slum and affluent areas http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/London-life19th.jsp 

07a. Time frame the story takes place in:
1840’s England

07b. Name possible clues in the movie that tell you the time frame (ex: style of clothes and hair, types of transportation, modern inventions, etc.):
Use of horses and carriages, open air market places, street vendors, clothing (top hats, mop caps) 

08a. Names of main characters and short descriptions of each (ex: John Smith-salesman, Mary Smith-wife of John Smith, etc.): 

(In the world of the novel, external appearance usually gives a fair impression of a person’s inner character.) 

Oliver Twist: Runaway orphan (main character)
Oliver is born in a workhouse where he is mistreated by Bumble, the beadle (Quote: 'Please, sir, I want some more'). He is apprenticed to Sowerberry, the undertaker, and runs away to London where he falls in with Fagin and his band of pickpockets. Oliver is charged with theft, actually committed by the Artful Dodger, and later cleared. The object of the theft, Mr. Brownlow, takes Oliver into his home. He is recaptured by Nancy and returned to Fagin's band. Nancy later tries to help Oliver and is murdered. At the end of the story of Oliver's real parentage is revealed. http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/char_t-z.html#twist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Twist_(character) His last name “Twist,” though given by accident, alludes to the reversals of fortune that he will experience. Oliver’s face is also singled out for special attention at multiple points in the story. Mr. Sowerberry, comments on its particular appeal, and his resemblance to the portrait of Mr. Brownlow’s niece provides the first clue (foreshadowing) to Oliver’s true identity. 

Mr. Bumble: Head of the orphanage/workhouse (called a Beadle) where
Oliver is born.
He mistreats the residents in his care and becomes the symbol of Dickens' distaste for the workhouse system. Mr. Bumble’s name connotes his bumbling arrogance. http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/char_a-b.html#bumble

Artful Dodger: Head boy of the pickpocket ring.
His original name being Jack Dawkins; he is the most successful and interesting of Fagin's thieves. He shows Oliver the ropes of the pickpocket game. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artful_Dodger http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/char_c-d.html#C

Fagin: The adult who lead and taught the boy pickpockets.
A crafty older man who runs a thieves’ school of pick pocketing. Oliver falls in with Fagin's band when he runs away from the undertaker, Sowerberry.. Fagin was based on real-life fence (receiver of stolen property), Ikey Soloman (1758-1850). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagin http://www.fidnet.com/~dap1955/dickens/char_e-g.html#fagin 

Bill Sikes: Fagin’s partner who committed the more serious crimes.
He was a vicious thief working on the fringes of Fagin's band of pickpockets. He uses Oliver in an attempt to burglarize a home. When Nancy tries to help Oliver she is found out and Sikes murders Nancy. While fleeing police after the murder he is shot. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Sikes 

Nancy: Bill Sikes’ girl friend.
A bar maid and a member of Fagin's band of thieves, she befriends Oliver and is eventually murdered by Sikes trying to help Oliver escape. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_(Oliver_Twist)

Mr. Brownlow: An old, rich gentleman who befriends and wants to adopt Oliver after Oliver is charged with pick pocketing him. He later establishes Oliver's true identity. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Brownlow

09a. Inner messages within the story (ex: morals, ethics, etc.) and explain the message you think the author of the movie (or story) is trying to convey:
This story deals with child abuse http://www.workhouses.org.uk/, non-existent child labor laws http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/olivertwist/ei_downandout.html ( Dickens targets the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 which stipulated that the poor could only receive government assistance if they moved into government workhouses. So basically they established the rule that all poor people should have the alternative of being starved by a gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it.), conditions of the poor versus the rich (and the importance education plays in this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6169731/Poverty-is-not-the-only-thing-poor-children-suffer-from.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/olivertwist/ei_downandout.html, spousal abuse, women treated as second class citizens (”the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction”), murder, greed, and dishonesty. Oliver Twist is full of thievery. Some of it is committed by criminals like Sikes against respectable people, while some of it is committed by “respectable” people like Mr. Bumble against the poor. 

10a. Personal opinion in a few sentences (your ENJOYMENT factor: why you liked or disliked the musical): 

10b. Personal opinion on the QUALITY OF THE ARTISTRY in this musical in a few sentences: (ex: how well acted, quality of the singing voice(s), cinematography, memorable melodies, etc.): 


11a. Terms used in the movie that are new, unusual to you, and/or not often used:

Gruel: A semi-liquid food made by boiling meal in water or milk. Gruel, to make one pint—Oatmeal, 2 oz; treacle, ½ oz; salt and sometimes allspice; water. The fixed (and often basic and monotonous) diet prescribed for workhouse inmates. The dietary specified the food to be served to each class of inmate (male/female, adult/children etc.) for each meal of the week, often including the exact amount to be provided. http://www.workhouses.org.uk/
Guinea, Pound, Shilling, Farthing, Crown: English Money
http://www.wilkiecollins.demon.co.uk/coinage/coins.htm 
Cherrio: An English “good-bye” or farewell remark.
Esquire: A title of respect placed after a person's name. 
Magistrate: A public official with the power to administer and enforce the law (a judge). 
Gallows: A framework typically consisting of two or more upright beams supporting a crossbeam, used for executing a condemned person by hanging. 
Togs: Clothes.
Wretch: A base, vile, or contemptible person.
Plague: Any great evil or calamity.
Avaricious: Greedy or miserly.
Impertinent: Rudely bold.

12a. Song titles (hint: listen for repeated words or phrases in the song and guess the name of the song if you don’t know the name):

“Food Glorious Food”
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/foodgloriusfood.htm
http://www.youtube.com/user/maiza#p/u/9/hEQDllvuy1I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Glorious_Food

“Oliver”
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/oliver.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlJugdk4OGc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/maiza#p/u/8/nlJugdk4OGc


“Boy for Sale” 
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/boyforsale.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4CVZnGJIzQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/maiza#p/u/7/M4CVZnGJIzQ


“Where is Love?” 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Is_Love%3F
http://www.thebroadwaymusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/whereislove.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjJDekSculo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/maiza#p/u/4/WjJDekSculo 

“Consider Yourself” 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consider_Yourself
http://artists.letssingit.com/oliver-lyrics-consider-yourself-t2ss3dj
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd1iIqL6ijM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/maiza#p/u/5/_LzmdovYoAI


“You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket” http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/youvegottopickapocketortwo.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFSHmbNHtY8&feature=related
http://http://www.youtube.com/user/maiza#p/u/3/-HazQlWgdzg


“It’s a Fine Life”
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/itsafinelife.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXRPxv77gN0&feature=related

"I'll Do Anything"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27d_Do_Anything_(song)
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/iddoanything.htm

“Be Back Soon” 
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/bebacksoon.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsB6Uij8im4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/maiza#p/u/0/a6K9J4G6pgM

“Who Will Buy” 
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/whowillbuy.htm 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4gzmoUHrQ4&feature=related

“As Long As He Needs Me” 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_Long_as_He_Needs_Me
http://www.lyrics007.com/Oliver%20Lyrics/As%20Long%20As%20He%20Needs%20Me%20Lyrics.html

“I’m Reviewing the Situation” http://www.lyrics007.com/Oliver%20Lyrics/Reviewing%20The%20Situation%20Lyrics.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwK1uzyDgw8&feature=related

“Om Pah Pah” 
http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oliver/oom-pah-pah.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJewTSUzNM&feature=related

ADDED INFORMATION:

More "Oliver" Terms 
(Many of these words are found in the lyrics of the songs.) 
Airs: Affected manners intended to impress others
Avaricious: Greedy or miserly.
Banister: A handrail, especially on a staircase.
Bank Notes: These are promissory notes of a bank. It is a promise on behalf of the bank to pay money upon presentation of such a note. This was the only form of paper currency in England then.
Beak: A slang term for a magistrate (judge).
Beadle: A minor parish official whose duties include ushering and preserving order at services and sometimes civil functions. Some parishes hired them to run the workhouse after the 1834 New Poor Law was passed as was the case with Bumble, the beadle in Oliver Twist.
Befitting: Appropriate to.
Bill of Fare: Menu.
Bow Street Runners: Detective force organized by novelist Henry Fielding and his brother John in 1850. The Runners worked for fees and rewards. They went out of existence in 1839 when Robert Peel organized London's first police force. 

Cadge: Mooch; ask for and get free.
Cherrio: An English “good-bye” or farewell remark.
Claridges: Is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, central London.

Consolation: Comforting; affording comfort or solace.
Crown: English money; a sum of 4 shillings and two sixpences. It was a monetary unit equal to 5 shillings or 60 pence. 

Crumpet: A light muffin, usually served with tea.  
Daffodil: Are botanically named narcissus having yellow flowers and a trumpet shaped corona; the national flower of Wales
Decorum: Appropriate social behavior.
Duchesses: Duchess is a rank of nobility, the female equivalent of Duke (a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch).
Earl: A British peer ranking below a marquess and above a viscount.

Esquire: A title of respect placed after a person's name.
Estate: An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property.
Farthing: English money; worth a quarter of a penny. It was a monetary unit worth 1/4 pence. The term was sometimes used to denote anything worth practically nothing. 

Fisticuffs: Fistfight; a fight with bare fists.
Flounces: Frills; strips of pleated materials used as decorations or trims.
Furbelows: Ruffles, frills.
Gallows: A framework typically consisting of two or more upright beams supporting a crossbeam, used for executing a condemned person by hanging.
Gent: Informal abbreviation of `gentleman.'
Gluttony: Habitual eating to excess
Graces: Are skills used to interact politely in social situations. They include manners, etiquette (the specific accepted rules within a culture for the application of universal manners), deportment and fashion.
Gruel: A semi-liquid food made by boiling meal in water or milk. It was a cheap food made by boiling a small amount of oatmeal in a large amount of water. A dietary staple in the workhouse, this is what Oliver Twist asks for
more of.
Gum Tree:
Name for the eucalyptus tree in Australia.
Gratis: Is the process of providing goods or services without compensation. It is often referred to in English as "free of charge" or "complementary."
Grouse: To grumble; complain
Guinea: English money; It was considered a more gentlemanly amount. People paid tradesmen, such as a carpenter, in pounds but gentlemen, such as an artist, in guineas. It was a monetary unit equal to 1 pound 1 shilling.
Half-a-Crown: A British coin equal to 2-1/2 shillings, or 30 pence. 

Impertinent: Rudely bold. Implore: To beg for urgently.
King’s Ransom: A very large treasure.
Larder: A food storage area.
Lodgings: A place to live.
Lurking: To hang out or wait around a location, preferably without drawing attention to oneself.
Magistrate: A public (civil) official with the power to administer and enforce the law (a judge).
Mate: Informal term for a friend of the same sex.
Melancholy: A feeling of thoughtful sadness.
Mute: A funeral mute; a person whose function was to stand around at funerals with a sad, pathetic face.
 
Pays the Piper: Something that you say which means that the person who provides the money for something can decide how it should be done
Pence: Penny pence - penny; 1 pound equaled 240 pence. 

Plague: Any great evil or calamity.
Pounce: To attack suddenly
Pound: English money; the basic monetary unit English monetary unit, equaling 240 pence or 20 shillings. Using this system the pound could be exactly divided into halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, sixths, eighths, tenths, twelfths, fifteenths, sixteenths, twentieths, twenty-fourths, thirtieths, fortieths, forty-eightieths, sixtieths, eightieths, and one-hundred-and-twentieths.
Prudes: People who are excessively proper or modest in speech, conduct, dress,
Punch and Judy: A popular puppet show during the Victorian era for children. 

Reeling: Sustained noise, as from hammering.
Rogue: A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
Saveloy: A highly seasoned dried and smoked pork sausage, sold ready to eat.

Shilling: English money; a coin equal to 1/20th of an English Pound. It was a monetary unit equal to 12 pence; 20 shillings equaled 1 pound.
http://www.predecimal.com/forsale/es/shilling1834a.jpg  
Sixpence: An English coin worth six pennies.
Skimping: Subsisting on a meager allowance.
Station: Place: proper or designated social situation.
Steadfastly: Firm; with resolute determination; with conviction.
Stout: Thick, sturdy, not slender; portly, excessively fat.
Straight-Laces: People who are excessively strict in conduct or morality; puritanical; prudish.
Sweep: A chimney sweep was common in nineteenth century London. Sweeps often hired small boys that could fit in the chimneys, a very dangerous business. An 1842 law made it a crime to force anyone under 21 to enter a chimney, or to apprentice sweeps under 16. In Oliver Twist, this was taking place before this law was passed. 
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chimney_Sweeper
Subscribe: To pledge; pay (an amount of money) as a contribution to a charity or service, especially at regular intervals.
Supping: Supping is the ingestion of a liquid food by a spoon or by drinking.
Tatters: Ragged clothing
Timbuktu: A city in the West African nation of central Mali near the Niger River; formerly famous for its gold trade.
Toddies: An alcoholic drink made of sugar water, a distilled spirit, and either ice or hot water to which is added clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, or lemon peel.
Togs: Clothes.
Trials and Tribulations: Tests of one's patience or endurance.
Trounce: This term means to flog; beat severely with a whip or rod.
Undertaker: A mortician; one whose business is the management of funerals.
Unprecedented: Something never before seen or done.
Utterly: Completely, entirely, to the fullest extent.
Vittles: This is a slang word meaning food; edible provisions.
Wipes: This is a slang term for handkerchiefs.
Workhouse: A workhouse was a publically supported institution or place where people, who were unable to support themselves, could go to live and work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workhouse  After the English New Poor Law was passed in 1834 the workhouse became little more than a prison for the poor. Civil liberties were denied, families were separated, and human dignity was destroyed. Workhouses usually had a prescribed dietary menu (a meager diet) which prompted Charles Dickens to quip that the poor were offered the choice of "being starved by a gradual process in the house, or by a quick one out of it." http://www.heatons-of-tisbury.co.uk/ackerman.htm
Wretch: A base, vile, or contemptible person.

MORE WEBSITES TO LOOK AT:
http://www.puzzles.ca/wordsearch/oliver_twist.html 
http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Movies/Oliver-214236.html 
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz7965ecaa0.html 
http://www.great-quotes.com/cgi-bin/viewquotes.cgi?action=search&Movie=Oliver+Twist http://www.astramusical.com/web/CurrentShow/SynopsisofOLIVER/tabid/63/Default.aspx http://charlesdickenspage.com/characters.html 
http://www.photographersdirect.com/stockimages/o/oliver_twist.asp

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/OliverTwist


MUSICAL THEATRE: MUSICAL OLIVER: What is Gruel?




Gruel, made famous by Oliver Twist asking for more of it in Charles Dickens’ novel, is a type of porridge or hot cereal. Gruel has historically not been known for its flavor but rather as a rather bland staple often used as sustenance during difficult times.

The porridge can be made of rye, corn, wheat, rice, millet, barley, oats, or other grains which are boiled either in milk or water. Occasionally, when there are no other ingredients available, gruel is made of chestnuts or acorns.

Especially popular with peasants because of its inexpensive ingredients, gruel can be thick, like oatmeal, or extremely watery. Some gruel is eaten with a spoon with other types are drunk as a beverage. Most cultures have at least one type of gruel that is common, whether it be Chinese rice porridge, Irish oatmeal, or Mexican atole. Other ingredients can be added to flavor gruel, like vegetables, fruits, sweeteners, or meat.

http://food.qandas.com/in-the-kitchen/what-is-gruel.html


Authentic recipe for gruel

Ingredients:
16 oz oatmeal

8 pints water
Salt or treacle (optional depending on mood of workhouse master or guardians)

Method:
Boil - Leave in warm place overnight!
Serves six

Historic note:
This recipe was used at Aberystwyth Workhouse in 1884
http://www.llangynfelyn.org/dogfennau/tloty_bwydlen.html
To Make Water-Gruel:

You must take a pint of water and a large spoonful of oatmeal; then stir it together and let it boil up three or four times, stirring it often; do not let it boil over; then strain it through a sieve, salt it to your palate, put in a good piece of fresh butter, brew it with a spoon until the butter is all melted, then it will be fine and smooth, and very good: some love a little pepper in it.
~The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, 1796~

Recipe for Oatmeal Gruel:

1/3 cup rolled oats
1 pint water
1 pint or more hot milk
1¼ teaspoons salt

Add the salt to the water, and bring to a boil in the inner cup of a double boiler. Stir in the rolled oats. Boil over the fire two or three minutes, then set the inner cup in the outer cup of the double boiler which contains boiling water, and continue the cooking for three hours or longer. Then rub the oatmeal through a strainer. Add hot milk to make of the proper consistency for gruel. Barley gruel, cornmeal gruel, or rice gruel may be made by the same recipe, using one-third cup pearl barley, one-fourth cup cornmeal, or one-fourth cup rice, instead of the rolled oats. And in making cornmeal or rice gruel one hour's cooking of the cereal is sufficient.

It may be necessary to cook the barley four or five hours. It may sometimes be desirable to make the gruel entirely of water.
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine/page.ihtml?pid=343&step=4

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theappetizer/archive/2009/01/13/victorian-food-for-hard-times-free-gruel-handed-out-in-london.aspx

Thursday, March 3, 2011

WHAT WE DID TODAY (SEMESTER #2-22): THURSDAY; MARCH 3, 2011

GENERAL MUSIC PERIODS 2,3,6
COMPOSER: BACH DOUBLE VIOLIN CONCERTO 


Movement 1
Performed by Menuhin and Oistrakh


Movement 2


Movement 3


OBJECTIVE: MUSICAL "OLIVER"
1. QUOTE AUTHOR: GIAN CARLO MENOTTI
.....a. A composer from the 20th Century who was famous for writing modern operas.
.....b. One of his most famous operas was called "Amahl and the Night Visitors" about the Christmas story of the 3 kings 


Amahl and the Night Visitors PART 1

Amahl and the Night Visitors PART 2


Amahl and the Night Visitors PART 3



First Hallmark Hall of Fame: Amahl and the Night Visitors


Amahl and the Night Visitors: An Opera Preview

.....c. He recently passed away; he was in his nineties
2. SOLFEGE: DO-RE-MI
.....a. Each student sings the pattern and hand signs to...
teacher: "Did you finish your quote/" Student reply, "Yes I did."
3. MUSICAL OLIVER: OVERVIEW(see detailed information on this BLOG)
.....a. Musical written by Lionel Bart
.....b. Story based on novel by 19th Century English author: Charles Dickens called "OLIVER TWIST"
.....c. We discussed living conditions in England during the time period the story took place
..........1)Poor versus rich and educated versus non educated
..........2)Laws that did not protect children's rights (including working conditions for children: workhouses, orphanages, the selling of children for slave labor )
..........3)Social attitudes and morals; how they differ from today
..........4)Lack of sanitary living conditions and poor medical care (especially for the poor)
..........5)Communication devices and the speed of the transfer of information
..........6)The importance of this novel; how a piece of literature can change a society
.....d. Discussed the term overture
..........1)orchestra playing an introduction made up of short, instrumental and musically connected excerpts or passages from the melodies that will be heard later.
.....e. We watched the beginning of the musical (we heard the first 3 songs)
...........1)GRUEL: a term heard in the film...I explained what it was; please see section in this BLOG about this and there is also a recipe if someone would like to try making it.

DUE TO THUNDERSTORM AND RESULTANT TIME CHANGES IN PERIOD 3 I WILL NOT REQUIRE THE WRITTEN QUOTE ON FRIDAY TO BE DONE. ANYONE WHO DID IT WILL RECEIVE EXTRA CREDIT. SO, THIS WEEK THERE ARE 3 REQUIRED QUOTES COUNTED TOWARD THE GRADE.

BEGINNING VIOLIN PERIOD 5:
OBJECTIVE: Bowing on Open Strings
1. TUNE
2. SILENT BOW ROCKING for arm levels at the MB (middle bow)

3. CYCLE OF STRINGS 4x each string UH
4. CYCLE OF STRINGS 4x each string 8x UH
5. CYCLE OF STRINGS 2x each string to rhythm: "My sis-ter Marc-y" (slow-fast-fast-slow-slow) using same amount of bow for each syllable but bow speed changes UH
3. CYCLE OF STRINGS 4x each string lifted, short down bows MB then at UH (tip) for articulation practice
4. "OPEN STRING WALTZ" open string note reading piece in 3/4 time

.....a. Explained about half notes (2 beats) and dotted half notes (3 beats) by relating them to money
..........1)half note=half dollar, 50 cents, or 2 quarters
..........2)dotted half note=half dollar and a quarter, 75 cents, or 3 quarters)
..........3)RULE OF THE "DOT": a dot placed next to the right side of a note adds half the value on to that note; so if a half note is worth 2 beats, 
            the dot added to it will be worth 1 beat, so a dotted half note is worth 3 beats 
....b. Reviewed note names and sang them with the recorded music
....c. Played song on violin while singing notes out loud (bowing at UH)
....d. Learned a new bow technique called "tremolo" and played it on the last note of the song.
5. "BLAST OFF" review song and tremolo technique from yesterday
.....a. Reviewed that at the repeat students need to "LIFT" the bow and restart the repeated section "DOWN" bow
5. Reviewed "Little Bitty"
.....a. Reviewed that there are many LIFTED DOWN bows in this piece; bows to be lifted where indicated (during the quarter rests)
.....b. Reminded them of the term RITARDANDO (Italian meaning to retard or slow down "RIT." for short) written into the music

ADVANCED VIOLIN PERIOD 4:
OBJECTIVE: Preparation for Harvest Day performance on October 28th/Hoedown music
1. TUNE

2. MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND NIGHT IS TONIGHT: I passed back the permission slips given me and students need to take them with them to the high school in order to go on the bus

3. DE COLORES
.....a. Started working on melody parts with the violins

..........1)We sight read through the part
..........2)We circled passages that were similar and chose certain passages to practice on first
..........3)The passages we worked on were played while the recorded accompaniment was on but the parts we had not worked on yet were left out and 
             just watched. This is a practice technique which teaches continuity (being able to play the parts you know and not letting the parts you don't    
             know throw your focus off).           
.....b. Reviewed harmony parts with cellos, guitar, and piano
.....c. Started the process of connecting the parts together.
QUIZ ON THE DIFFICULT 4-NOTE PASSAGE OF ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL POSTPONED UNTIL I RE-ANNOUNCE IT