This week we are listening to Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt.
Though I am not particularly enamored of the Peer Gynt story, I have always loved the music!
Some ideas to enjoy Peer Gynt:
Start out your morning by playing “Morning”. Have the kids imagine a sunrise scene, while listening to it — better yet, wake the kids early enough to watch the sun rise!
“Morning” is also a great piece to play if you happen to be learning about Creation.
Arabian dance is also a fun wake-up, get-up-and-go early-morning piece!
Try to figure out what instruments are playing; play musical statues.
Another great one for dancing: In the Hall of the Mountain King – or make gnome puppets/beeswax figures and make them “dance” while listening.
Beethoven’s Wig Vol. 2 has “It’s the same every verse” in the tune of “In the Hall of the Mountain King”.
The faster songs are great for frog-hopping, and the slower songs for pretending like you are leaves falling from the trees in autumn.
The older kids may want to do a reading/dramatization from Peer Gynt — or do a simplified version of the story and let the little ones join in.
Locate Norway on the map, where Ibsen and Grieg are from. Read about Norway and its mountains and talk about how its landscape inspired the story and the music. Have the children close their eyes and imagine what Norway is like based on the music. Is it warm or cold? Do you “see” mountains or plains? Can you see the ocean, or the forest? Which pieces sound like “daytime”? Which ones sound like “nighttime”?
Listen to Anitra’s Dance, esp. the strings and the woodwinds, and then watch for the triangle — it sounds like a little bell! (This is my personal favorite.)
See how many sad faces you can make as you listen to Solveig’s Song.
An all-in-one album to listen to is “The Stories of Schumann and Grieg” from the Vox classical collection.
And don’t forget Classics for Kids.
There’s also a short bio of Grieg in “Fun with Composers”.
Recent Comments