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December 2009 Teachers' Guide and Resources

 

Benjamin Britten:
Britten did not write much piano music, but there are several pieces students can listen to, and a few intermediate pianists will be able to play. We recommend a recording of Britten's piano music: Britten: Holiday Diary, The Music for 1 and 2 Pianos (EMI Classics), performed by Stephen Hough and Ronan O'Hora  Contents: Holiday Diary Suite, Op. 5 Character Pieces Waltzes Lullabies for 2 pianos Pieces for 2 Pianos, Op. 23 Variations on a Theme for Piano. You can listen to excerpts here: http://www.amazon.com/Britten-Holiday-Diary-Music-Pianos/dp/B000059QFI 

Sonatina Romantica is the most popular of Britten's piano pieces. It is a work for intermediate pianists. Britten was sketching the piece for an amateur pianist, but after revising it several times, he abandoned the project altogether. However, in 1986 two of the movements were published: Moderato and Nocturne.
Moderato: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4vtc8NOSwY
Nocturne: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=128142584182180182# or: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fENrI8gNAg 

You can also download an MP3 of it here (played by Allison Lovejoy):
http://www.amazon.com/Britten-Nocturne-From-Sonatina-Romantica/dp/B0013QZXWA

Britten wrote many choral works. For more information about his Ceremony of Carols (see kids' page for links) go to  http://www.musicweb-international.com/britten.htm

Answers to Puzzles in this issue:
Holiday Tunes (page 7) 1. Deck the Halls  2. Jingle Bells   3. Joy to the World
Intervals (page 10) 1. 4^th  2. 6^th  3. 7^th  4. 3^rd
Quiz (page 15) 1. a   2. various answers   3. b   4. b   5. b
Word Search (page 12)
1. orchestra   2. posture   3. Benjamin   4. metronome   5. interval  
6. England   7. Purcell  8. melody  9. a cappella