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Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Explore the genre of orchestral program music by learning about Romantic-period composers Hector Berlioz and Camille Saint-Saëns.
• Explore the literary inspirations for program music.
• Identify elements of music, including theme, tempo, and dynamics, and detect their use in music excerpts.
• Write a short story, based on their perceptions of the musical events in a symphony.
• Create group murals, based on their visual perceptions of the musical events in an orchestral tone poem.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

Videos

Teacher Background

Teachers should familiarize themselves with program music, the work of Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns, and the Romantic Period. Teachers should also have a general knowledge of how this music compares to music from other periods.

Print:

Hitchcock, H. Wiley and Sadie, Stanley. The New Grove Dictionary of Music. 4th Edition. London: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Randel, Don Michael. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2nd Edition. Boston: Harvard College, 1986.

Media:

Hector Berlioz. Symphonie Fantastique. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan. DG. 429 511-2

Camille Saint-Saëns. Danse Macabre. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Kyung Wha Chung. DR. 425 021-2

Web:

Hector Berlioz

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with the instrument families in an orchestra, using basic musical terms, and how to practice active music listening skills. They should also be familiar with the literary concepts of exaggeration and hyperbole, simile and metaphor, and personification.

Accessibility Notes

Modify handouts, text, and utilize assistive technologies as needed. Provide preferential seating and captions for visual presentations. Increase scale or use solid (pre-cut) shapes to support vision impairments for mural making. Allow extra time for task completion.

Engage

1. Play the “Comparing Composers” excerpts from slide 2 of the . Lead students in a brief introductory discussion. Ask students, how were the two pieces alike or different? How does music make you feel? What does it make you think of?

2. Present students with an introduction to the genre of program music. Songs that fall under the category of program music typically have a descriptive title and are meant to be accompanied by a program (text) that describes the images or message portrayed in the music (such as a poem, essay, etc.). The genre reached its epitome during the Romantic period. During the Romantic period, composers were greatly inspired by literature and theater and used melodies and themes in their music to represent specific characters, both from fiction and from their own lives.

3. Show students an image of Hector Berlioz on slide 3 from the . Tell them Berlioz was one of the best-known Romantic composers and composed several program symphonies and orchestral works that were based upon the works of dramatists and poets who inspired him. At the time he wrote Symphonie Fantastique, his most famous work, he was fascinated by theater and the works of Shakespeare, particularly Hamlet and Macbeth.

4. Have students read the and listen to the full composition of “Songe d’une nuit du sabbat” on slide 5 from the . Explain the similarities between Shakespeare’s Macbeth (the first scene containing three grotesque witches), and “Songe d’une nuit du sabbat” (“Dream Of A Witches’ Sabbath”).

5. Tell students that Camille Saint-SaÑ‘ns is a famous composer from the Romantic period. Have students read the to gain understanding of the Danse Macabre story and poem. Danse Macabre is a symphonic tone poem, a single-movement orchestral work that expresses an idea or story. The atmospheric, spooky music was inspired by an old superstition common in France for many centuries. 

Build

1. Distribute the handout and review the definitions. Tell students they will use this vocabulary throughout the lesson to discuss emotions and images evoked by listening to haunting music.

2. Using , have students listen again to the full composition of “Songe d’une nuit du sabbat” on slide 5 from the . Pause the music several times and instruct students to jot down adjectives and brief phrases that describe how the music makes them feel. Have students share their descriptors. Write students’ descriptors down on chart paper or an interactive board.

3. Play the full composition of Danse Macabre on slide 7 from the . Explain that this work was inspired by Henri Cazalis’ . The poem is based on an ancient French superstition: each year, at midnight on Halloween, “Death” emerges to play his violin, encouraging the dead to dance for him.

4. Distribute and again listen to the full composition of Danse Macabre on slide 7 from the . Point out particular parts of the poem and story synopsis that correspond to specific elements in the music (theme, tempo, and dynamics). 

5. Engage students in a class discussion using questions from . One of the principles of program music is that a melody, instrument, or theme can illustrate a character or situation. In literary terms, this is called personification. For example, the solo violin in Danse Macabre represents “Death,” the xylophones represent the dancing skeletons, and the oboe represents the rooster crowing to announce sunrise. Discuss with students how these vivid musical pictures, conjured up by unique combinations of sounds and instruments, might translate into pictures.

Apply

1. Explain to students that they will each write a short scary story, inspired by their interpretation of the musical events in or of Symphonie Fantastique. Using the , students can listen to the full compositions from Movements IV and V on slide 5. Encourage students to use figures of speech like exaggeration, hyperbole, simile, metaphor, and personification. Students should also include a description of the setting, mood, characters, problem/conflict, and a conclusion/resolution.

2. Have students begin writing their first draft, using the list of brainstormed adjectives and the . Remind students that their scary story ideas do not have to be completely imaginative and can derive from everyday life experiences. Examples may include experiences from one’s own life, a family or local superstition, or a dream or nightmare. Tell students that if they use their own perspectives or experiences, their stories will be more vivid and original.

3. Have students peer edit the first drafts. Students may find it helpful to listen to the movement their partner chose while editing the draft. Have students separate into small groups, and use peer review for suggestions and additions to their story draft. Remind students that feedback should be positive and constructive. Students will then continue working on their stories, incorporating any peer and/or teacher comments.

4. Once students have completed the final draft, have them compare their original scary stories with the actual story told by Music Director, Leonard Slatkin, in . The clip contains details about the original story that was the inspiration for the music. Engage students in a discussion about the story elements (character, plot, etc.), and have them compare and contrast the actual story with their own short stories.

Reflect 

1. List the main characters (“death”, the skeletons) in Danse Macabre on chart paper or an interactive board. Ask students: What do you visualize when you think of the characters and setting (the graveyard)? Which elements are explained by the music (the wind) and which elements are implied (nighttime)? 

2. Have students work in collaborative groups to create a mural. Explain that each group will create a mural depicting their visual interpretation of Danse Macabre.

3. Have the full composition of Danse Macabre on slide 7 from the . playing in the background as students begin to work in groups on their murals. Give each group several large sheets of paper to begin sketching the image of their mural. Students should only use a pencil at this point. When students are ready, they can use crayons and tempera paint to incorporate color, details, and depth to their murals. 

Tip: for creating “spooky pictures” have students outline their drawn lines in white or black crayon. The paint will not stick to the lines because of the waxy surface, making the lines stand out. This is an effective way to create spooky images because the outlined elements “pop out” in the mural.

4. Encourage students to incorporate imagery and emotion in their images. The images can be realistic or exaggerated. Guide students in discussions about how the placement of each image, color choice, shape, and emotional expression will affect the mural’s emphasis, balance, overall mood, or theme.

5. Once the murals are completed, display them on the walls of the classroom. Have each group present and discuss their mural. Ask students: How are the mural interpretations different, even though they are about the same piece of music, Danse Macabre? What elements of the Romantic Period do you notice in each mural? What characters did you encounter in the story and the mural? What did the characters represent?

6. Assess students using the .

Camille Saint-Saëns

Phaéton

Le Rouet D'Omphale

Danse Macabre

La Jeunesse D’Hercule

Marche Héroique

Full Composition: Danse Macabre

Hector Berlioz

Rêveries

Un Bal

Scéne Aux Champs

Marche Au Supplice

Songe D’une Nuit Du Sabbat

Full Composition: Marche Au Supplice

Full Composition: Song d’une nuit du sabbat