Student Guide
Goals for Student Learning
At the conclusion of this lesson, you will:
a.) Be familiar with Samuel BarberÕs biographical
information and compositional output.
b.) Be
familiar with various compositional techniques used in the piece.
c.) Be
able to identify the melody and the countermelodies at all times.
d.) Have ideas for how to make sure the melody and
countermelody are evident to the audience.
e.) Be familiar with the changes that must be made
when transferring music from choir to band.
f.) Be able to identify canon and supply examples of
canons that they have heard before.
g.) Be familiar with the text from the song and
analyze the relationship of the text and the music.
h.) Be familiar with the harmonic structure of the
piece and begin to understand their role in various chords.
i.) Be instructed in various ideas and ways to
practice.
j.) Take ownership of their practicing by writing
their own practice etude.
1.) Composer
ÒSamuel Barber (1910 - 1981)
Samuel Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA on
9 March 1910.
His musical ability emerged at an early age and he had
already filled a post as an organist when he was twelve. He studied at the
Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Rosario Scalero for composition,
Isabelle Vengerova (piano) and Emilio de Gogorza (voice). He was later to
return to the Institute to teach orchestration and composition.
He began composing seriously in his late teenage years and
by the age of twenty-three an orchestral work, Overture to the School for
Scandal, was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Orchestral writing was to
become a main feature of his composition and produced the work for which he is
most well known now, Adagio for Strings. He achieved international prominence
as the first American to be performed by Toscanini and the NBC Symphony when
they introduced the Adagio along with Essay No. 1 for Orchestra.
After serving in the Army Air Corp (which commissioned him
to write his Second Symphony) during World War II he returned to live in the
USA, near Mt. Kisco where he shared a house with another great American
composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Most of his post-war works were written here. He
won two Pulitzer prizes in 1958 (the opera Vanessa- text by Menotti) and 1963
(Concerto for Piano and Orchestra). The world premiere of the opera Antony and
Cleopatra opened the new auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera at the Lincoln
Centre for the Performing Arts on 16 September 1966.
Although Barber is most popularly remembered for the Adagio
for Strings, his compositions for voices are a significant part of his work. He
was the nephew of the celebrated contralto Louise Homer and thus had access to
many great singers and songs from an early age, later studying voice himself. This
background is reflected in all his writing. One of the most significant and
memorable qualities of his work is his ability to write sustained and flowing
melodies. Combined with an undoubted skill in orchestration this lyricism
produces an intense, emotional strength in his writing which was sustained
throughout his career.
ÔHis work as a whole is like a living organism with a
clearly stamped individuality, enriching itself as it growsÕ Ò
Notes above by Nathan Broder.
2.) Composition
This is an arrangement of a choral song of the same
name. The vocal work is a
beautiful ballad making use of a great deal. The band arrangement echoes what the choir arrangement does
and offers a great deal of perspective into the work. Both versions open with canon at the third. Then we go into a more complicated
variation of the melody, finally returning to the simpler ending in canon,
fading away to nothing.
3.) Historical
Perspective
Sure On This Shining Night is from Four Songs, Op. 13. It is the third of the set. The songs are not related by text or by
musical themes but rather by vocal ideas that struck a chord with Barber. The song is masterfully written even
though it is relatively early in his career.
James Agee was also early in his short-lived career when he
wrote Permit Me Voyage, the only volume
of poetry he published. Agee was a
divers writer, doing scripts to journalism to novels to poetry. Agee was born in 1909 and died in 1955
at the age of 45.
Assessment
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Assessment will be based on the completion of the
student packet (which should be graded as a worksheet with points given for
correct answers and valid or well-supported opinions.
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The Rubrics for the Web Quest and Practice
Composition are linked. Click
on the word.
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The weight of any assignment is as follows:
o 15
pts. for the first rehearsal
o 20
pts for the first two weeks
o 20
pts. for the 3rd and 4th week
o 30
pts. for the Web Quest
o 15
pts for the Practice Composition
o 100
total points
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In the grading process I feel it is important to grade
more on completion than on accuracy.
Thoughts should be valid and supported, but the emphasis should be on
completing the project, as this will be for many a drastic shift in
policy. If the number of correct
answers is below 80%, students will be asked to correct and resubmit to receive
credit. This means that everyone
should get no less than a B
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Participation in class and completion of any playing
tests will also be factored into the grade.