Used with permission of Elizabeth Raum.
Teaching-Learning Experiences for Section Four
The Shadows of Dusk
Movement 5 of Symphony of Youth by Elizabeth Raum
Canadian Music Centre (R246sy5)
"Print and bind" copies may be purchased through:
Composer Services, Canadian Music Centre, National Office,
20 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON M4Y 1J9
Learning Outcomes (Refer to page 41.)
1. Develop an awareness of phrasing (varying lengths, staggered breathing technique). (Musical Literacy)
2. Develop an awareness of word emphasis and its role in conveying the composer's expressive intent. (CCT)
3. Develop an understanding of programme music. (IL)
4. Compare your choir's performance of this composition to an exemplary performance by another Saskatchewan high school choir. (CCT)
5. Develop an awareness of the balance between the sections of the choir and explore techniques which may be employed to improve the balance. (Aural Skills) (C
CT)
Preparatory Exercises
1. Sing the solfa syllables/numbers in the musical example below. Also, transpose up so that doh/1 equals C#, D, and Eb.
2. Sing the solfa syllables/numbers. Also transpose down to Ab, G and F#.
Creative/Productive
1. Introduce the material in this order:
- page 6, measure 82, meno mosso to the end
- beginning through to page 2, measure 19
- page 2, measure 20 through to page 4, measure 47
- page 5, measure 70 through to page 6, measure 82
- page 4, measure 48 through to page 5, measure 69.
2. Only breathe where punctuation marks occur in the text. For certain phrases, it will be necessary to employ staggered breathing in order to accomplish this. For each phrase, the students should be aware of and provide appropriate emphasis on the key word(s).
Cultural/Historical
1. Write a biographical sketch of Elizabeth Raum.
Elizabeth Raum was born in Berlin, New Hampshire in 1945. She became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1985. She received her initial musical training in Boston on oboe and piano. She earned her undergraduate degrees at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. From 1968-1975 Ms. Raum was principal oboist with the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She moved to Regina in 1975 and shifted her focus to composition. She obtained a Master's degree from the University of Regina, studying composition with Thomas Schudel. Compared to most other contemporary composers, Ms. Raum's music is traditional and thereby accessible to a wide audience. In addition to her prolific work as a composer, Elizabeth Raum, in 1986, assumed the position of principal oboist with the Regina Symphony Orchestra.
Source: Kallman & Potvin (Eds). 1992. Encyclopedia of Music in Canada (Second Edition), University of Toronto Press.
2. The Shadows of Dusk is programme music. That is to say, the music evokes non-musical images, in this case pictorial scenes. Elizabeth Raum has said that in composing Symphony of Youth, she wanted to "paint an aural picture of the wind across the Prairie, and express with song the feelings and philosophy of the people". Choose a piece of music from your own audio library which is programmatic. Play it for the class and analyze the musical devices which the composer employed to evoke images.
Critical/Responsive
1. Videotape your choir singing this composition. Compare and contrast your performance with that of the Campbell Collegiate Concert Choir and the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra on the video produced by Sharper Image Film and Video Productions, Inc., entitled Symphony of Youth.
2. Listen to an audiotape of your choir singing from the beginning until page 2, measure 19. Assess the balance. Re-record this material and determine the degree to which the balance has been improved.