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Finale to William Tell Overture/Rossini William Tell Lesson Plan Ideas 1. Read one of the possible children’s literature stories to the class. Then go back to a particular set of pages, perhaps using the illustration, have students choose timbres, dynamics, rhythms, melodies, harmonies or tempos that might carry the meaning of the plot. Follow with how composers of opera do the same thing. Listen to a portion of William Tell or another familiar story like Peter and the Wolf and listen how composers tell a story with their music toolbox. 2. Using the listening chart provided in this booklet, have students point to the instruments heard while they listen. Note that the first instrument shown is an English horn. This is the solo instrument at the opening of our recording. The English horn along with the flute take turns at the beginning. Then as the trumpets and entire orchestra join in, students will point to those. 3. Review a simple rhythm of quarter and eighth notes in two 4/4 measures. Then have students improvise or compose different rhythms that will fill two measures of 4/4 time. Then show the fast rhythm section of the William Tell Overture. Have them practice the rhythm several times first, then add instruments. Once that is mastered, have students increase the tempo until they can play along with the orchestra’s performance. 4. Listen to the entire overture. (Teaching ideas are also listed behind each.) Prelude-a slow passage with low-pitch instruments such as cello and bass. Use this section to describe the string family. Color pictures of the instruments putting small booklets together of the different orchestra families. Storm-energetic and loud sections played by the full orchestra. Integrate an art lesson painting the various moods shown in the beginning, middle and end of this section. Put all of the paintings together into one collage showing the order of the sections of the piece. Don’t forget to include Wassily Kandinsky’s painting The Storm. Ranz des vaches (call to the dairy cows)-features the English horn with quiet harmonies. Since the setting for this is Switzerland, show pictures of the Alpine horns, the Alps, and homes in the Alps. Swiss foods could also be served-chocolate, cheese, etc. Finale-cavalry charge heralded by trumpets. Analyze the form of this section as ABA. Have students create different physical actions for the A and B sections. Then they can model them to the class or as a whole group to show kinesthetically where the sections change. 5. Once the students know the melody and rhythm of the last portion of the overture, listen to another performance of the overture-some in the extreme. Spike Jones made a recording of the song on his compact disc Spike Jones: Greatest Hits (1999 by RCA Records). Though this arrangement is quite different, it shows how melody and rhythm can stay the same, but can change in different styles of music. Be sure to listen to it ahead of time to see if it is appropriate for your 1 Finale to William Tell Overture/Rossini students’ level. 6. The William Tell Overture has also been used in a variety of other media, so show some of them. The first Mickey Mouse cartoon made in color, The Band Concert, features the overture played by many different animals and instruments. Warner Brothers has included it in such cartoons as Wabbit Twouble and Yankee Doodle Daffy. Gioacchino Rossini 1792-1868 Early in Life Gioacchino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 his father had run-ins with the government so he couldn’t serve as the town trumpeter and slaughterhouse inspector parents traveled from city to city, dad playing horn in the orchestra and mom singing in the opera young Rossini stayed with his grandma where he had little schooling, going his own way with little guidance by age 12, Rossini had composed some songs and arias and could play the cembalo (harpsichord), horn, and viola 2 Finale to William Tell Overture/Rossini parents returned setting up home in Bologna, Italy in 1804; young Rossini was enrolled in music school Rossini soon had to leave school to earn money for his family Music Career his first opera, La Cambia di Matrimonio, was used as a substitute for a last minute cancellation; it had been written in three days, but was very successful only three years out of the music conservatory, Rossini was well known and respected in Venice and one of the most famous composers in Italy while in Venice, Rossini composed The Barber of Seville-the first performance wasn’t successful; the second night went much better; Rossini was twenty-four years old at the time Rossini grew tired of Venice, traveling to London there meeting with George IV, ending up in France; there Charles X asked Rossini to be the royal composer Rossini’s William Tell was first performed on August 3, 1829; audiences considered it too long with a drawn out plot; this was his last opera Later in Life with the failure of William Tell, Rossini turned to writing sacred works and piano pieces a collection of 180 piano works was gathered into one book called Peches de Vieillesse which means ‘sins of my old age’ Rossini suffered from neurashenia (modern day chronic fatigue syndrome with anxiety), bed ridden at one point for several years later, on return to France, he was rejuvenated and at the center of social events near the end of his life, Rossini suffered a heart attack; hearing he was very ill, the Pope sent a special nuncio to Paris to be with him Rossini died on November 13, 1868 and was buried in France, later, at the Italian government’s request, he was exhumed and buried in the church of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy His Music major works: choral-many including Stabat Mater, Saul, Petite Messe Soennelle opera-many including The Barber of Seville, Otello, William Tell piano-many including Peches de Vieillesse Rossini often plagiarized his own work, mixing music from an older opera with the ‘new’ one; sometimes he used the entire scores simply changing the words; The Barber of Seville is one example–the overture was used in two other operas, five major numbers were taken from other operas; sometimes he even had other composers write additional pieces 3 Finale to William Tell Overture/Rossini William Tell Basic Facts it was composed as the planned first installment of five operas written while Rossini was the royal composer for Charles X of France; Rossini never completed the other four without any cuts, the opera takes six hours for a performance it was not well received because of its length, long drawn out plot, and contained too many dull stretches The Overture it begins with a slow section of cellos and basses on main theme to show sunrise over the Swiss mountains a fast section follows-the full orchestra building to a full storm next is a slow part - pastorale scene in which the English horn has a gentle Swiss melody called Ranz des Vaches(call to the dairy cows)--this is where our CD begins trumpet fanfares brings the Swiss army it ends with the exciting fiery music now tied to the Lone Ranger theme The Libretto (plot) based on Friedrich Schiller’s drama Switzerland was controlled by the Austrians William Tell wants freedom for his native Switzerland during a party, Gessler (the Austrian leader), puts a hat on a pole and orders people to bow down to it William Tell refuses to bow down Gessler challenges William Tell to the test of shooting an apple off his son’s head; he wins but is still imprisoned William Tell escapes, kills Gessler with an arrow, and frees Switzerland 4 Finale to William Tell Overture/Rossini William Tell Overture by Giocchino Rossini from the opera William Tell 5