Programme 4: Classical

After Viewing

Rewind the programme to specific points and ask students to:

• recap the elements of the music in ‘Prinicipia’ (02.55) which have been limited.
• compare the first A section (00.57) with the final one (07.30). How different do they feel? Has the music evolved or remained quite static?
• Review the aspects of the music highlighted by Steve Martland which helps to contrast the A and B section (04.05).
• compare the 4 movements of ‘Indian Dreams”. Although the language of the music is very different than traditional western musical language, the music has common techniques in creating various types of movement and textures. Listen to the beginning of each movement and discuss the structure and techniques used to achieve the different moods, For example:

mov 1 (10.00) the melody and drone accompaniments
mov 2 (12.30) pulse and imitation, musical conversation
mov 3 (14.40) the melodic cycle of the sarod gradually taken up by the cello then viola
mov 4 (16.25) melodic fragments and rhythms thrown around the ensemble, unison playing

Discuss the relationship between the composer and performers in both pieces of music. For example, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each tradition? Think of ways to communicate a musical idea without the use traditional musical notation.