Year 7 slideshow using William Tell Overture as an example of program music.

1. The Gallop
William Tell Overture –Rossini
Programmatic Music

2. 1. Which instruments play the loud fanfare at
the beginning of the piece?
2. How would you describe the speed of tempo
of the music?
3. What instrument from the string family can
you hear playing in the middle of The Gallop?
Listen and Answer these Questions

3. List instruments and their families
Instrument Instrument family

4.  In the 14th century there lived a hunter named William
Tell in Switzerland. The ruler of Switzerland was an
angry Austrian man named Gessler who was a
representative of the Austrian Emperor. He had a hat
hanging on a post of a small town. Everyone was
supposed to show bow to the hat as a sign of
acceptance to Gessler however William Tell walked
past with his son and ignored it.
The Story

5.  William Tell was arrested and told he would be
released if he shot an apple off his son’s head from
150 paces. He was successful and split the apple
cleanly in two, he was told to leave until the guards
spotted another arrow in his cloak. William said the
second arrow was to kill Gessler if his son was
harmed.
The Story

6.  William was arrested and told he would be locked in a
dungeon across Lake Lucerne for the rest of his life.
As they crossed the lake a violent storm arose and
William Tell’s expert skills safely got the boat to shore.
He escaped with his son and travelled the countryside
urging the Swiss to revolt against the ruler, Gessler.
The final portion of the music is titled “The Battle
Call”. The represents the Swiss rising to overthrow
the tyrant Gessler and the Austrian rule of
Switzerland.
The Story

7.  How does the composer create the image of the
story?
 List some examples below and discuss.
Question