Edvard Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain

Edvard Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain King Primary classroom lesson plan Written by Rachel Leach

Lesson outcomes After this lesson, pupils will be able to: • listen and reflect on a piece of orchestral music • invent their own musical motifs and structure them into a piece • perform as an ensemble • learn musical language appropriate to the task Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 2

Curriculum checklist Learners will: • play and perform in ensemble contexts, using voices and playing musical instruments • improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the interrelated dimensions of music • listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 3

Glossary of music terms Term Definition Accelerando gradually getting faster Coda another word for ending Crescendo gradually getting louder Pitched percussion instruments that can play different pitches – xylophones, glockenspiels, chime bars etc. Unpitched percussion instruments that can only make a limited number of sounds – drums, shakers woodblocks, tambourine etc. Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 4

Lesson 1 Watching and listening Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Background – the composer Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907) • Norwegian composer and pianist • Wrote folk-inspired Romantic pieces often describing a story or place • Is still extremely famous and beloved in Norway LESSON 1 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 6

Background – the music ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ § Written in 1867 to accompany a play called ‘Peer Gynt’ § The play by Ibsen tells a twisty story of Peer Gynt’s journey through life § This piece is by far the most famous thing that Grieg wrote LESSON 1 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 7

Watch the orchestral performance https: //www. bbc. co. uk/programmes/p 02 b 5 bwl LESSON 1 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 8

Draw one of these a) The Hall of the Mountain King – i. e. his grand palace b) The Mountain King himself – i. e. a scary, ugly monster c) Peer Gynt running away down a twisty path d) The full story, featuring all of the above! LESSON 1 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 9

Lesson 2 In the Hall of the Mountain King Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Footsteps A sneaky tune LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 11

Create a piece using scales LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 12

Link your pieces • • Switch back and forth between two tunes – can you alternate without stopping in between? Gradually get faster and louder as you progress. Can you do that too? LESSON 2 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 13

Lesson 3 The gruesome ‘coda’ Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Grieg uses… bang crash sped up tune rumble LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 15

Did you spot them? LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 16

Coda LESSON 3 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 17

Lesson 4 Peer Gynt’s other characters Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Drawing Ase and Anitra a) How old are they? b) What mood are they in? c) Why might they be in that mood? LESSON 4 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 19

Listen Peer Gynt Suite No 1, Track 1: Morning LESSON 4 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 20

Lesson 5 Storytelling Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Recap • • • Peer Gynt His mum, Ase His girlfriend, Anitra Sunrise The scary Mountain King in his ‘palace’ LESSON 5 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 22

Create a story Group 1: Ase Group 2: Anitra Group 3: Sunrise Group 4: Peer Gynt LESSON 5 ? ? ? Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 23

Lesson 6 Tell the whole story! Copyright Rachel Leach & BBC

Let’s perform! LESSON 6 Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 25

Taking it further – cross-curricular activities LISTENING: Grieg created a 2 nd suite of music from Peer Gynt which introduces two new characters. Repeat the ‘face’ exercise to find out about Ingrid (Peer Gynt Suite 2 No. 1 and Solveig Peer Gynt Suite 2 No. 4) LITERACY: Peer Gynt wrote fantastical letters to his mother as he travelled around the world. Many of his adventures were invented to make his life sound more exciting than it was. Write your own fantastical letters to your mums filled with made-up stories DRAMA: Add acting to your musical story Copyright : Words - Rachel Leach, Design - BBC 26