MDP-Music History [listening guide]

~~Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns~~

Level 1 - Music History/Appreciation

Movements: The Elephant; Kangaroos; Aquarium; The Swan
Listening Focus: featured instruments; relationship of music to the descriptive titles

~~Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev~~

Level 1 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: featured instruments; musical depiction of the story line and characters

~~Twelve Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman” (“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”), K 265 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart~~

Level 2 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: changes to the theme (for example, melody, rhythm, accompaniment)

~~Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat Major, K 495 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart~~

Level 2 - Music History/Appreciation

3rd Movement: Rondo
Listening Focus: overall shape and design (return of opening theme)

~~Menuet in G Major, BWV Anh. 114 by J.S. Bach / Christian Petzold~~

Level 3 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: character of each dance (for example, tempo, meter, rhythmic features)

~~French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 817 by Johann Sebastian Bach~~

Level 3 - Music History/Appreciation

Movements: Gavotte; Gigue

Gigue movement sound track is here

Listening Focus: character of each dance (for example, tempo, meter, rhythmic features)

~~The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten~~

Level 4 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: families and instruments used; instrumental range and color

~~The Nutcracker by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky~~

Level 4 - Music History/Appreciation

Movements: Waltz of the Flowers; Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy video is here

Listening Focus: families and instruments used; instrumental range and color

~~“Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah by George Frideric Handel~~

Level 5 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: oratorio; chorus (soprano, alto, tenor, bass)

~~“Queen of the Night” (“Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”) from The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart~~

Level 5 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: opera; aria

~~“Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz by Harold Arlen~~

Level 5 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: verse–chorus structure

~~Invention in C Major, BWV 772 by Johann Sebastian Bach~~

Level 6 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: invention; polyphonic texture; motive; sequence

~~Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050 by Johann Sebastian Bach~~

Level 6 - Music History/Appreciation

1st Movement
Listening Focus: concerto grosso; polyphonic texture; motive; sequence

~~Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart~~

Level 6 - Music History/Appreciation

1st Movement
Listening Focus: chamber music; homophonic texture; sonata form (exposition–development–recapitulation)

~~Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn~~

Level 7 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: program music; concert overture

~~Etude in C Minor, op. 10, no. 12 (“Revolutionary”) by Frédéric Chopin~~

Level 7 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: étude; nationalism; chromatic harmony

~~Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky~~

Level 7 - Music History/Appreciation

First Tableau: “The Crowd Revels at the Shrovetide Fair”
Listening Focus: ballet; polytonality; rondo form; pentatonic scale

~~Dripsody by Hugh LeCaine~~

Level 7 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: electronic music

~~Ko-Ko by Duke Ellington~~

Level 7 - Music History/Appreciation

Listening Focus: jazz; twelve-bar blues

~~Ordo Virtutum by Hildegard von Bingen~~