Accessibility for kids

Benjamin Britten wrote the score to Instruments of the Orchestra, which would become the concert work, Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra. The theme to the score was based on a hornpipe from Purcell’s Abdelzer. Britten commented to the producer, Basil Wright, that “I was never really worried that it was too sophisticated for kids – it is difficult to be that for the little blighters.”

The film was made with the London Symphony Orchestra/Malcolm Sargent. First shown 29 Nov 1946.

Source: Classic FM, April 2010, p.65.

Posted

in

by

Greg

Tags:

,

Featured Content

A mystery instrument created
Mozart’s Magic Flute uses a glass harmonica or keyed glockenspiel to represent a set of magic bells. “Mozart’s original score for the 1791 opera The Magic Flute called for a glass harmonica or keyed glockenspiel to represent a set of magic bells. The instruments were obscure even in Mozart’s day but more than 200 years after his […]
Difficult music is the easiest to play
Scriabin’s fiery D#-minor Etude, with its relentless triplets and huge leaps, used to just fall under my fingers, while the Lento final movement of the Copland Sonata was a minefield of wrong notes. Why is that? Is it just because we practice hard music 20 times as much as easy music, or is it psychological, […]
Ravel on Satie
In 1928, Ravel delivered a lecture in Houston Texas. He mentioned the influence of Satie: Another significant influence – less than unique and derived in part from Chabrier – is that of Satie, who had a notable effect on Debussy, on myself and, to tell the truth, on the majority of modern French composers. Satie […]
The Lord Has Done Great Things For Us – Psalm 125 (126)
Title: The Lord has done great things for us Text: Psalm 125 (Psalm 126). R. v.3 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and organ     Related products:     – SATB, woodwind, brass, and organ Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:
A man is not a failure until …
What is luck?  Is it being in the right place at the right time?  I think it is something more.  Luck is the active process of creating the life you want.  So don’t just sit back and hope that good things will happen to you.  Be courageous and go after what you want.  Commit to […]
The James Bond theme
John Barry did not get the chance to see any footage and he had not read any of Ian Fleming’s books when he was called in to work on the music for the first James Bond film, Dr No (1962), for which Monty Norman had originally been commissioned to write the score.  “I was just […]
George Gershwin on American music
George Gershwin, a pioneer of the fusion of jazz, musical theater and classical idioms, wrote two essays on the significance of jazz for American music: THE great music of the past in other countries has always been built on folk-music. This is the strongest source of musical fecundity. America is no exception among the countries. […]
Quiet minds
“Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.” Robert Louis Stevenson, author  
Determination not to be hurried
“Nothing can be more useful to a man than the determination not to be hurried.” – Henry David Thoreau
The musical memory
“Of course, almost anybody can memorize things, especially music. It’s like the ABCs and, for most, fun to do. I’ve taught music in middle school programs and have been surprised at the hefty repertoires of popular music that 12- to 16- year olds commit to memory. To boot, they knew when I made a mistake […]