1820 -1870 1600 -1750 chopin mozart debussy brahms

1600 -1750DEBUSSY

HAYDEN

BEETHOVEN

MOZART

BACH

HANDEL

VIVALDI

1870 -19101750 -1820

WAGNER

CHOPIN

BRAHMS

1820 -1870

TCHAIKOVSKY

RAVEL

Name:

Grade/Class:

Copyright © MMXIII, by QuaverMusic.com, LLC All rights reserved.

Composers In Music History Project Book

Project Overview Welcome!Welcome!

Composers & Music History Project Book • page 2

Great composers are great for a reason – they write amazing music! Com-posers were the rock stars and celebrities of their day and they were often the talk of the town.

This project explores those composing greats and the musical periods they come from (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionist Periods). Like all of us, famous composers had trials, triumphs, and challenges. The Compos-ers and Music History �nal project involves selecting one of these life les-sons by combining acting, musical knowledge, art, and video to create your very own Bach’s Brain. It’s going to be totally boom chicka boom!



Project Overview Project GoalsProject Goals


Goal 1:Research and write a composer profile about the life and music of a composer of your choice. Focus on what makes this person’s musicstand out, as well as interesting facts about that composer.

Goal 2:Choose a simple story from your composer’s life to produce a Bach’s Brain video.

Goal 3:Create an outline for the video including script, props, and action sequences.

Goal 5:Present your composer profile and Bach’s Brain video.

Goal 4:Film the video using technology available in the classroom.

Project Overview RubricRubric


Teamwork All group members worked evenly on the entire project.

Most members worked evenly on the entire project.

Some members worked evenlyon the entire project.

Group did not work well together on the project.

EXEMPLARY(10 points)

PROFICIENT(8 points)

PROGRESSING(6 points)

Not MeetingExpectations

(4 points)

ComposerProfile

Research was organized and well-written.

Research stayed completely on topic and explored various

aspects of the topic.

Research was mostly well-written (1-2 errors) and organized.

Research stayed on topic and explored di�erent areas

of the topic.

Research was sometimes di�cult to follow (3-4 errors).

Research did not stay on topic or did not explore various

aspects of the topic.

Research was poorly written (5+ errors) and unorganized.

Research did not stay on topic or only addressed one aspect

of the topic.

Bach’s BrainVideo Script

Script was well-written with a clear story line, a focus on a

speci�c aspect of the composer’s life, and a moral to the story.

Script was mostly well-written with a fairly clear story line, a general focus on a speci�c aspect of the compos-

er’s life, and a moral of the story.

Script was somewhat well-written with a fairly clear story line, a

general focus on a speci�c aspect of the composer’s life, and a moral

of the story.

Script was not well-written.

Story line was di�cult to follow.

No focus on the composer’s life.

No moral of the story.

Bach’s BrainPresentation

Acting was energetic and entertaining and easy to

understand.

Great use of props.

Video was well-edited with well-chosen music.

Acting was mostly energetic and entertaining and easy to

understand.

Good use of props.

Video was fairly well-edited with well-chosen music.

Acting was somewhat energetic and entertaining, but not always

easy to understand.

Use of props limited or inconsistent

Video was somewhat well-edited with music that was not related to

the composer.

Acting was not energetic or engaging.

No use of props

Video was not edited well, with poorly chosen music or with no

music at all.

Video was unprepared for presentation.

CreativityStudents created a unique presenta-tion that e�ectively communicated biographical and musical informa-

tion about the composer.

Students created a highly ornamented presentaion that

included extra material.

Students created a presentation that included

moderate ornamentation with little extra material.

Students created a presentation with no ornamentation or extras, containing only the biographical

information of the composer.

OverallImpression

You’re ready to take this show on the road!

With a bit more practice, you’re ready for the recording studio!

You’ve got the basics, but not quite ready to make an album. We know you can do better!



LESSON 12 Listening MapListening MapBach • Toccata and Fugue in D MinorBach • Toccata and Fugue in D Minor



LESSON 12


Composer Facts and Critical ThinkingComposer Facts and Critical ThinkingBaroqueBaroque

BACH FACTS:1. Was fond of incorporating the numbers 14 and 41 into his musical work.2. Wrote over 1,000 pieces.3. We know of Bach’s music because Felix Mendelssohn, who recognized the genius of his work, organized concerts of his music.

CRITICAL THINKING: Bach was sponsored by the church. How do you think this a�ected his writing? What if you were sponsored by someone else in order to pursue your dream? Explain how it would, or wouldn’t, change the way you pursued your dream.

VIVALDI FACTS:1. Su�ered from acute bronchial asthma throughout his life.2. Vivaldi was ordained into the Catholic Church at the age of 25 and was soon given the nickname “il Prete Rosso” (the Red Priest).3. Wrote 86 solo and trio sonatas, a large amount of vocal music, 46 operas, and over 500 concertos – about 800 works total.

CRITICAL THINKING: Vivaldi su�ered from asthma for most of his life. How do you think living with a medical condition a�ected Vivaldi’s life? What is a struggle you have had in your life? How did/are you working through it?

HANDEL FACTS:1. Known to order enough dinner for three people when eating out.2. Born in Germany, but spent a good amount of his career in England, where he was made the musical director of the Royal Academy of Music.3. During the �rst London performance of Handel’s Messiah, King George II stood up as soon as the Hallelujah chorus kicked in.

CRITICAL THINKING: Handel was made musical director of the Royal Academy of Music. What pressures do you think he endured as a result of this responsibility? Discuss a responsibility you have been given in your life. How did you handle it? How are responsibility and accountability connected?


LESSON 13


Composer Facts and Critical ThinkingComposer Facts and Critical ThinkingClassicalClassical

MOZART FACTS:1. Started playing the harpsichord at age three.2. Began composing music at age �ve. His father had to write down his music, as Mozart did not know how to write music.3. Began a European concert tour with his sister and father when he was seven.

CRITICAL THINKING: Mozart’s musical career began at a very early age. What are the bene�ts of exclusively pursuing one talent from an early age? What are some sacri�ces you think need to be made in order to achieve a goal?

HAYDN FACTS:1. Known as Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet.2. Unlike many other composers of this time period, he became very wealthy from composing music.3. Symphony No. 96 got its nickname, the “Miracle” Symphony, because a huge chandelier fell from the ceiling during the performance, but no one was injured.

CRITICAL THINKING: Haydn was known as the Father of the Symphony. What type of pressures do you think “living with a label” has on a person?

BEETHOVEN FACTS:1. By the age of 26, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.2. There were actually three versions of his opera, Fidelio, premiering over a span of nine years.3. His Symphony No. 9 is the �rst example of a major composer using voices in a symphony.

CRITICAL THINKING: Beethoven su�ered from hearing loss. How do you think living with a disability a�ected his life? Why do you think Beethoven’s hearing loss drove him to compose even more emotional pieces?


LESSON 14 Beethoven’s 5th MotifBeethoven’s 5th Motif


& bbb 42 ‰ œ œ œƒ

˙U ‰ œ œ œ ˙

U ‰ œ œ œp

˙‰œ œ œ

& bbb ˙‰ œ œ œ ˙ ‰ œ œ œ ˙

‰œ œ œ ˙

‰ œ œ œ

& bbb ˙ ‰ œ œ œ ‰̇œ œ œ ˙

‰ œ œ œ ‰̇œ œ œ

& bbb ˙‰ œ œ œ œœ.> Œ

ƒœœb .>

Œ ˙̇n>U


LESSON 14


Composer Facts and Critical ThinkingComposer Facts and Critical ThinkingRomanticRomantic

TCHAIKOVSKY FACTS:1. In addition to his native Russian, Tchaikovsky could speak German and French by the age of 6.2. His father didn’t think music was a suitable career, so he sent Tchaikovsky to law school.3. To support his musical career, he worked as a music critic.

CRITICAL THINKING: Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest composers ever, but he worked a second job to supplement his income. Would you be willing to work a second job

Do you think you can be famous and be a good role model at the same time?

WAGNER FACTS: 1. Had his own concert hall built just for his operatic masterpieces. The Bayreuth Festpielhaus (Festival Theatre) is still used today.2. Queen Victoria’s daughter choose Wagner’s Bridal Chorus for her wedding. This led to the popularity of other brides using it.3. He worked on composing the Ring Cycle from 1848-1874, but it wasn’t premiered until 1876.CRITICAL THINKING: Wagner was considered a rock star during his time. What types of pressure come along with being famous?

CHOPIN FACTS: 1. He was composing music at age six and gave his �rst public performance at age eight.2. Was very fond of Bach and would encourage his piano students to practice Bach every day to strengthen their �ngers.3. Most of his works are written for a solo piano.

CRITICAL THINKING: Chopin’s forté was the piano. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being excellent at just one thing?Discuss one strength and one weakness you have.

BRAHMS FACTS:1. He reportedly wrote his �rst composition at the age of eleven.2. He was such a perfectionist that he destroyed several of his pieces because they were not satisfactory.3. In 1889 he was visited by a representative of Thomas Edison and made the earliest recording ever done by a major composer.

CRITICAL THINKING: Brahms was known for being a perfectionist. What are the advantages and disadvantages of needing everything to be perfect? How can being a perfectionist a�ect your views of success and failure?


LESSON 15


Composer Facts and Critical ThinkingComposer Facts and Critical ThinkingImpressionistImpressionist

DEBUSSY FACTS:1. Two of his un�nished opera projects were based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe.2. Did not like being labeled an “Impressionist” composer.3. He began composing the Suite Bergamasque (which contains Claire de Lune) in 1890, but didn’t publish the work until 1905.

CRITICAL THINKING: Debussy was known for thinking outside of the box. Describe a time in your life when you had to think “outside of the box.” How challenging was it? Were you met with any resistance?

RAVEL FACTS:1. Very meticulous about his appearance.2. Carefully studied every musical instrument to discover their possibilities.3. Spent World War I as a truck driver at the Verdun front (Northeastern France).

CRITICAL THINKING: Ravel studied every musical instrument in detail. How do you think that helped with his composing? Name an area of life you’re interested in. List the levels of detail you could study to improve your knowledge of that subject.


LESSON 16 Bach’s Brain • Student ScriptBach’s Brain • Student Script


Moral:Story:

Punchline:

ScriptNARRATOR ACTOR PROP


LESSON 16 Bach’s Brain • Quaver Script ExampleBach’s Brain • Quaver Script Example


Moral:Story:

Punchline:

ScriptNARRATOR ACTOR PROP

Think before you react.

When something happens that upsets you or you weren’t expecting, think before reacting because if you don’t, you could end up looking like a fool.

George Frideric Handel is a great composer, but he had a very short temper. Hisnerves were so touchy that he couldn’t stand to hear the instruments of the orchestra tune, so it had to be done before he arrived at the performance. During one particular performance, a practical joker detuned all of the instruments. When the conductor’s baton dropped, a terrible sound emerged from the orchestra! Handel lost his temper and stormed through the orchestra, losing his wig in the process.

Have you ever got really, really wound up? Like, when someone kicked you during a soccer game?

Costume: Soccer Uniform

Props: Lunch box, video game controller

Costume: Bach outfit

Or when your little brother hid your video game controller?

What do you do? Something you know you shouldn’t do? Or count

to 10 and keep it cool?

[ SOCCER KID ](grimacing)Owwww!

[ LITTLE BROTHER ](opens lunch box)Muuuuhahaahaha!

[ SOCCER KID ]...8, 9, 10...it’s alright,

I’ve got another arm.


LESSON 16 Composer ProfileComposer Profile


Composer Name:Instruments played:Born in: Date Born: Date Died: List three interesting facts about his/her childhood and how he/she started a musical career.1.2.3.List three of his/her famous pieces.1.2.3.What was it about this composer’s life that interested you? (Research suggestions: lifestyle, relationships, and work)

What elements of his/her music led you to choose this composer? What makes the composer’s work unique?

List three interesting facts about this composer. (Note: Must be new, researched facts not covered in this project.)1.2.3.


LESSON 16 Composer Profile (example)Composer Profile (example)


Composer Name:Instruments played:Born in: Date Born: Date Died: List three interesting facts about his/her childhood and how he/she started a musical career.1.2.3.List three of his/her famous pieces.1.2.3.What was it about this composer’s life that interested you? (Research suggestions: Lifestyle, Relationships, and Work)

What elements of his music led you to choose this composer? What makes the composer’s work unique?

List three interesting facts about this composer. (Note: Must be new, researched facts not covered in this project.)1.2.3.

I was fascinated with the way he took life by the horns, even symbolizing that in his piece, Un Rhinocéros et un Lion sur un Safari. He had a passion for life. He channeled his life-long struggle with stuttering into his music. Sometimes the words didn’t come out of his mouth correctly, but the notes on the page were as crystal clear as the lake near his home. Instead of running from obstacles, he pushed through them.

His flowing melodies. For example, you can sense his love for his wife and children in his piece, Das Reh und das Kitz (The Doe and the Fawn). There is a repeated motif for both his wife and his children that plays throughout the piece. He was a big fan of brass and dynamic percussion, as evident in Un Rhinocéros et un Lion sur un Safari (A Rhinoceros and a Lion on Safari). The trumpets shine out triumphantly as the lion stands proudly and the rhino’s charges are spelled out via the low brass and timpani.

Jürgen Spuvanavik Rhantéban

Father was a clockmaker. Mother was homemaker. He was the oldest of five children.

Schmetterlingsküsse auf dem Rasen des Schlosses (Butterfly Kisses on the Lawn of the Castle)

He enjoyed building miniature buildings (houses, huts, castles, forts, and so on).

In addition to being well-known as a composer, he was also a world champion fencer (sword fighter).His most famous piece, Schmetterlingsküsse auf dem Rasen des Schlosses (Butterfly Kisses on the Lawn of the Castle), was commissioned by King Ludwigstein for his daughter upon the completion of Schmetterling Schloss (Butterfly Castle).

Un Rhinocéros et un Lion sur un Safari (A Rhinoceros and a Lion on Safari)

Il Sole Sorge sul lato est di West (The Sun Rises on the East side of West)

He saw a traveling piano and violin duet perform when he was four−years−old and immediately fell in love with music.

Began taking piano lessons at the age of five. Wrote his first composition at age nine.

Piano, Trumpet, and GlockenspielPlarence, Germania August 3, 1777 Februray 7, 1859


LESSON 16 Composer AnecdotesComposer Anecdotes


Vivaldi’s PietàMoral: Never judge a book by its cover.

Story: Antonio Vivaldi may have composed one of the greatest pieces ever written in The Four Seasons, but did you know he wrote it while he was the music director at a girl’s orphanage? In 1703, Vivaldi became the “maestro di violino” (master of violin) at an orphanage in Venice, Italy called the Pio Osped-ale della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy). The Pietà was an orphanage for girls, many of whom were unwanted daughters of the city’s wealthy and powerful men. Because the orphanage was well-funded by conscience-stricken parents, it produced a choir and orchestra that people from all over Europe would come to see. Visitors couldn’t get enough of young girls playing everything from the stereotypical violin to the more masculine kettledrums (timpani). Remember, this was still a time when women, let alone young girls, were to be seen and not heard. In addition, these were technically orphans, another step way down on the social ladder. These young women overcame a mountain of stereotypes and surprised everybody.

Berlioz’s FailureMoral: If at �rst you don’t succeed, try again.

Story: Hector Berlioz showed a passion for composing early in life, but his father, Louis, did not approve. Louis was so against music, Hector was not allowed to have a piano. Berlioz’s father, a prominent doctor, wanted Hector to be a doctor, too. Despite the lack of Louis’ support, Hector honored his father by studying medicine, eventually graduating with a medical degree. After medical school, Hector dove head �rst into composing. He entered a piece in the 1827 Prix de Rome, an annual composition prize that provided a �ve-year stipend to the winner. He was eliminated in the �rst round. He entered again in 1828 and 1829, both times being eliminated. He enter again in 1830 and advanced to the second round. Before he could complete the second round, a riot broke out in Paris. Berlioz kept his cool and stayed in his room, completing his composition, as bullets sailed over the roof and hit the wall outside his window. Berlioz even-tually won the 1830 Prix de Rome. And the piece that won, Symphonie Fantastique, is still his best-known composition.

Bach’s PassionMoral: If your work is good, it will stand the test of time.

Story: Have you ever heard of Johann Sebastian Bach? Sure you have. But do you know why? Bach was moderately well-known during his lifetime, but most of his works were never actually printed and the rest were stored away in church libraries. After his death in 1750, his works became less and less popular. Many believed his works were “old-fashioned” compared to the emerging musical style that would become Classical music. The world would have to wait for 75 years to hear from Bach again. A fourteen-year-old Felix Mendelssohn received a manuscript copy of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion from his grandfather in 1824. His grandfather had ironically obtained the copy from Mendelssohn’s piano teacher. Mendelssohn was immediately taken in by it. In 1829, he was able to put together a performance of the piece in Berlin, Germany. The audience loved the piece and wanted more! A search for more of Bach’s works began immedi-ately. Today, Bach is known as one of the most famous composers ever to live. All because of what one man saw in Bach’s passion.

Dvořák’s WorldviewMoral: Inspiration can come from anywhere.

Story: Antonín Dvořák’s most famous piece, New World Symphony, was inspired by his brief visit to the U.S., a journey he almost didn’t make. In 1891, he was o�ered a salary of $15,000 (unheard of at the time) to teach at the new National Conservatory of Music in New York City. After much deliberation, he and his family moved to the States in September 1892. He taught composition to small classes of students which included several African-Americans. After the �rst year, he and his family went to visit extended family in Spillville, Iowa for the summer. Dvořák was struck by the beauty of America and its openness. He was fascinated by American folk songs, spirituals of African-Americans, and the songs of the Native Americans. This appreciation led to the inspiration for his New World Symphony, composed in 1893. It is widely considered his most famous piece. Dvořák’s stay in the U.S. wasn’t long. He and his family returned to the Czech Republic in 1895, taking with him a composition that probably would have never been written if he hadn’t taken a leap of faith.


LESSON 16 List of Composers By PeriodList of Composers By Period


BaroqueJohann Sebastian Bach

Arcangelo Corelli

George Frideric Handel

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Claudio Monteverdi

Johann Pachelbel

Henry Purcell

Jean-Philippe Rameau

Domenico Scarlatti

Georg Philipp Telemann

Antonio Vivaldi

ImpressionistClaude Debussy

Maurice Ravel

ClassicalCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Ludwig van Beethoven

Muzio Clementi

Christoph Willibald Gluck

Joseph Haydn

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Antonio Salieri

Modern

RomanticHector Berlioz Gioachino Rossini

Georges Bizet Camille Saint-Saëns

Johannes Brahms Franz Schubert

Frédéric Chopin Robert Schumann

Antonín Dvořá Johann Strauss

Edvard Grieg Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Franz Liszt Giuseppe Verdi

Felix Mendelssohn Richard Wagner

Sergei Rachmanino� Carl Maria von Weber

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Female ComposersAmy Beach (Modern)

Cécile Chaminade (Modern)

Jennifer Higdon (Modern)

Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (Baroque)

Libby Larsen (Modern)

Fanny Mendelssohn (Romantic)

Thea Musgrave (Modern)

Clara Schumann (Romantic)

Germaine Tailleferre (Modern)

Joan Tower (Modern)

Joan Trimble (Modern)

Samuel Barber

Béla Bartók

Leonard Bernstein

Benjamin Britten

John Cage

Aaron Copland

George Gershwin

Philip Glass

Paul Hindemith

Gustav Holst

Charles Ives

Scott Joplin

Gustav Mahler

Sergei Proko�ev

Arnold Schoenberg

Richard Strauss

Dmitri Shostakovich

Igor Stravinsky


LESSON 18 & 20 EvaluationEvaluation


Write two paragraphs about the process of researching your composer. Include the following (use the back side of page, if needed): • Evaluate your own outcome. • What was successful? • What could have been done better?

Group 1Positive #1

ConstructiveCriticism

Positive #2

Group 2

Group 3 Group 4Positive #1


Positive #2

Positive #1


Positive #2

Positive #1


Positive #2


SESSION 11-20 Keywords • DefinitionsKeywords • Definitions


Write the de�nition of each term below as you cover it in a lesson.

Medieval Period

Renaissance Period

Baroque Period

Classical Period

Romantic Period

Impressionist Period


Journal Lesson 11 & 12Lesson 11 & 12

JournalJournal

SketchesSketches

JournalJournal

SketchesSketches



Journal

JournalJournal

SketchesSketches

JournalJournal

SketchesSketches

Lesson 13 & 14Lesson 13 & 14



Journal

JournalJournal

SketchesSketches

JournalJournal

SketchesSketches




LESSON 36 EvaluationEvaluationStudent Name:


Teamwork

Composer Profile

Bach’s Brain Video Script

Bach’s Brain Presentation

Creativity

Overall Impression

Total

Teacher Evaluation

Teacher Comments:

1820 -1870 1600 -1750 chopin mozart debussy brahms

Documents