We had such a good time with so many of you during our Fall Tiny Tots series! Whether you were able to join us and you’d like to have another listen to the music you heard, or if you weren’t able to make it this Fall and don’t want to miss out, we’ve put together a playlist for you of everything we performed at Tiny Tots this month. If you want to take a look back at the program, you can read it online here. And don’t forget, we will have all new music again in the winter!
Find a lot of additional playlists, sorted by mood and activity type, here.
Olympic Fanfare – Leo Arnaud
The proper title of the fanfare that we hear every two years is “Bugler’s Dream.” It has been used as the theme music for the Olympics since the 60s. The version we hear today also has a second theme composed by John Williams for the 1984 games in Los Angeles. Remember the athletes walking in? Kids were asked to walk in place with this music, just like the athletes.
The Love for Three Oranges – Sergei Prokofiev
The Love of Three Oranges is an opera written by Prokofiev based on an Italian opera of the same name. It was commissioned by the Chicago Opera Association and premiered in 1921. Kids were asked to march along with the music.
Sonata in E Major – Domenico Scarlatti
*This video is the original piano version, while we played an orchestra transcription at Tiny Tots
Scarlatti spent much of his life as the court composer for the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He wrote 555 keyboard sonatas during his lifetime. This one was scored for orchestra from centuries after his death. Kids learned that a choreographer is like a puppeteer and dancers are like marionettes, who she helps to move until they take on a life of their own.
Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner
Ride of the Valkyries is taken from the prelude to the third act of Wagner’s opera Die Walküre. In the opera, it is played before the curtains open to a scene of four valkyries perched atop a high mountain. This piece has been used across modern works, from Bugs Bunny to Apocolypse Now.
Toreador from Carmen – Georges Bizet
The Toreador Song is the popular name of the aria “Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre” from the opera Carmen. In this aria, a bullfighter named Escamillo describes the various feats he has accomplished in the bullring and sings about all the fame and fortune that come with it. This piece featured a performer from Central City Opera.
Cinderella Waltz – Sergei Prokofiev
The Cinderella Suite that this waltz comes from is based on the music from Prokofiev’s ballet Cinderella, written in the early 1940’s. This ballet was so popular that Prokofiev arranged three suites for orchestra and three for piano based off of its music. Kids were asked to swing like a swing to this music.
Sleepers Awake – Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed for the first time in 1731, Sleepers Awake is one of Bach’s over 200 cantatas. It is based on a hymn written by Phillip Nicolai in 1531. It is one of Bach’s most well-known cantatas.
Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter – John Williams
You may not have known it was called Hedwig’s Theme, but you most certainly know this tune! This piece is more commonly recognized as the iconic opening theme from Harry Potter. It has been used in the soundtracks of all of the films, and will also be featured in the upcoming movie.
Symphonie Fantastique – Hector Berlioz
*This segment is an excerpt from the fifth movement of the piece. Here the whole movement here
Symphonie Fantastique is a piece that is perfect for the spooky season- it is a programmatic piece that tells the story of a man having frightening dreams and hallucinations. The part we played features Dies Irae, an old hymn that is dated as far back as the 600s, based of an accented Latin poem.
Solveig’s Song from Peer Gynt – Edvard Grieg
In the original Peer Gynt play, Solveig sings this song to Peer who she loves and who abandoned her. She sings that she will wait for him for as long as it takes for him to return, even if he never does. Peer Gynt is one of Grieg’s most popular works, and we have played many different movements from it at Tiny Tots. Kids were asked to imagine their favorite toy or stuffed animal. Conductor Tom had his favorite doll up on stage with him.
Light Cavalry Overture – Franz von Suppe
Light Cavalry is an operetta that takes place in a 19th century Austrian town. Though the full operetta is not well known today, the overture is one of von Suppés most famous works, as it is used frequently in cartoons. Kids imagined that they were riding horses that were walking or slowly trotting around.
Finale from the Overture to William Tell
Gioachino Rossini
Rossini wrote 39 operas throughout his life, and this is the overture to his first opera, William Tell. An overture is a piece of instrumental music that introduces an opera or a play. Thanks to its use in the Lone Ranger TV series in the 1950s, this overture is often associated with cowboys and the wild west. Kids got to pretend to ride their galloping horses off into the sunset.
I Wanna Be Like You – The Sherman Brothers
I Wanna Be Like You is one of the Jungle Book’s, and Disney’s, most iconic songs. When writing the piece, the Sherman Brothers said they were aiming for a jazz sound with a Dixieland style melody. Kids were encouraged to have a little dance party to wrap up their Tiny Tots experience.