February2010 PDF

The William Tell Overture
Gioachino Rossini all part of an opera production.

Born: February 29, 1792 Professional performers take the parts
Died: November 13, 1868 of the main characters and sing all their
lines.
Gioachino Rossini the most
famous Italian composer of his Rossini wrote his first opera in 1810,
time. In his day, no one wrote and, all told, composed 40 such works.
operas better than he. Like many Among his most famous are The Barber
musicians, Rossini learned about of Seville, La Cenerentola (Cinderella)
music from his parents. His father and An Italian in Algiers. His last opera,
played the horn and the trumpet; William Tell, was written when he was
his mother was an opera singer. only 37 years old. This work is based on
Rossini learned to sing and to the legend of a Swiss hero (see the story
play the piano and horn at an below).
early age. Because of his parents,
he also learned a lot about opera. After William Tell, Rossini, for reasons
As a young man, he also studied that are unknown, simply stopped
composition and counterpoint, composing operas. During the rest of his
courses that prepared him well for lifetime, he wrote only a few other
opera writing. minor works for his friends and the
church. He eventually retired to Paris,
An opera is a grand stage where he enjoyed celebrity status and
production in which the story is retirement. He died there at the age of
told entirely with music. Dramatic 76.
plots, beautiful costumes and
elaborate scenery and props are
William Tell
According to legend, William Tell was an expert with a bow

and arrow who lived in the mountains of Switzerland.
At the time, Switzerland was under the control of Austria
and a nasty ruler named Gessler. Gessler thought he was so
important that the citizens should salute him even when he wasn’t
there. So, he put his hat on a pole in the center of town and
commanded the citizens to bow down to it whenever they passed it.
William Tell arrived in town one day with his son and
Gioachino Rossini refused to salute the hat. Gessler was very upset, but instead of
killing William Tell right there he challenged him to shoot an apple
off his son’s head with one shot. If he succeeded, William Tell could
remain free.
William Tell did shoot the apple off his son’s head with a
single arrow. But Gessler noticed that before he tried, Tell had taken
two arrows out of his quiver and asked why. William Tell answered,
“If I had missed, that second arrow would have been headed your
way.” Eventually, William Tell did kill Gessler, an act that started
a Swiss uprising that ultimately forced the Austrian invaders from
After the first trumpet Switzerland.
call introduction there
are five main themes
that come and go. B
See if you can find
them while you
D
listen to the Overture.
Do any of them repeat?
A C E
Listen closely!
WGUC sincerely thanks
The Charles H. Dater Foundation
for its sustaining support since the
inception of
What do you hear? Classics for Kids®.
1. The music begins with a trumpet playing a a. fanfare b. single note

2. The rhythm in the beginning suggests a. horses b. soldiers
3. Theme A comes back a. one time b. three times
4. The percussion instrument you hear most is a. triangle b. snare drum.
5. Dynamics in this music a. change b. don’t change
6. A theme is a melody that you can recognize.
How many different themes are there? a. three b. five
7. Each theme is repeated. a. true b. false
8. The last sound you hear is a. soft b. loud
9. The music below is first heard near the a. beginning b. middle
10. This music makes me feel like a. trotting b. galloping
eA
Them
Color me Expressive
with
Dynamics
ff f
Rossini filled his “William Tell Overture” with
dynamics to help the the music tell the dramatic
events of the story. Dynamics are the degree of p
loudness or softness in music. Composers use
dynamic markings in the music to tell the p p
musicians how they would like their music
performed. To help you learn the different pp
markings, color the picture on the right according
to the given markings. Later, listen to the p
Overture and try to find the different dynamics p
that Rossini used in his magnificent work.
ff yellow fortissimo- very loud mp

f blue forte - loud
mf dark green mezzo forte - medium loud mp mp
mp light green mezzo piano - medium soft
p pink piano - soft
pp orange pianissimo - very soft
mf

February2010 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

February2010 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

February2010 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The William Tell Overture

Gioachino Rossini all part of an opera production.

According to legend, William Tell was an expert with a bow

What do you hear? Classics for Kids®.

1. The music begins with a trumpet playing a a. fanfare b. single note

ff yellow fortissimo- very loud mp

You might also like