The document provides information about several lighthearted musical works intended to educate children about orchestral instruments: - Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra introduces each instrument family through variations on a Purcell theme. - Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf uses different instruments to represent characters in a story about a boy who catches a wolf. - Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals features 14 short movements depicting different animals, each represented by specific instruments. It also discusses Maurice Ravel's famous Bolero, noting its simple repeating motif and how different instruments join over time in the lengthy crescendo.

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Las guías orquestales
Guía a la orquesta para jóvenes oyentes (Benjamín
Britten).
Hablaremos ahora de la Guía de orquesta para jóvenes oyentes, de
Benjamín Britten (1913- 1976), es una pieza de carácter didáctico
dirigida a todos aquellos que se inician en el pasatiempo de la música
clásica. El nombre completo es “Variaciones y fuga sobre un tema de
Purcell, Op. 34”. Fue compuesta en 1946 para una película educativa
titulada: Los instrumentos de la orquesta.
La música es una suite de 13 variaciones, de media hora de duración,
inspiradas en una danza de Purcell “Abdelazar, o la venganza del
moro”.
Comentarios:
1. Benjamín Britten es uno de los compositores ingleses más
importantes del siglo XX.
2. Una obra básica para todos aquellos que, sin ser músicos, queremos
apreciar los sonidos de la orquesta clásica. Permite a aprender de
forma amena los distintos timbres de los instrumentos de la
orquesta. El narrador (generalmente el director de la orquesta) hace
una presentación de cada instrumento indicando sus características
de timbre sonoro y las posibilidades expresivas del mismo. Es una
exposición bastante amena, sazonada de mucha chispa y humor.
3. Al final de las variaciones hay una fuga en donde participan por
turnos todos los instrumentos.
The Young Person's Guide to the
Orchestra
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, opus 34, is a musical
composition by Benjamin Britten in 1946 with a subtitle "Variations

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and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell". The work is one of the best-known
pieces by the composer, and is one of the three popularly used scores in
children's music education, together with Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of
the Animals and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.
This work, in composer's own words: is affectionately inscribed to the
children of John and Jean Maud: Humphrey, Pamela, Caroline and
Virginia, for their edification and entertainment.
Instrumentation
The work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat and
A, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba,
percussion (timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, side
drum, wood block, xylophone, castanets, tamtam and whip), harp and
strings.
Structure
The sections of the piece and instruments introduced by the variations
are as follows.
Theme: Allegro maestoso e largamente
Tutti, Woodwinds, Brass, Strings, then Percussion
Variation A: Presto (Piccolo and Flute )
Variation B: Lento (Oboes)
Variation C: Moderato (Clarinets)
Variation D: Allegro alla marcia (Bassoons)
Variation E: Brillante: alla polacca (Violins)
Variation F: Meno mosso (Violas)
Variation G: - (Cellos)
Variation H: Cominciando lento ma poco a poco accel. al Allegro (Double
Basses)
Variation I: Maestoso (Harp)
Variation J: L'istesso tempo (Horns)
Variation K: Vivace (Trumpets)
Variation L: Allegro pomposo (Trombones and tuba)
Variation M: Moderato (Percussion)
Fugue: Allegro molto
The work is based on the Rondeau from Abdelazar1, written by Henry
Purcell. In the introduction, the theme is initially played by the entire
orchestra, then by the individual sections of the orchestra: first the
woodwinds, then the brass, then the strings, and finally by the
percussion.
1
Z570 Incidental Music (1695) Abdelazer -or- The Moor's Revenge [Aphra Behn]. Z570/1:Overture,
Z570/2-9: Suite (Rondeau/Air/Air/Minuet/Air/Jig/Hornpipe/Air); Z570/10 (Song: Lucinda is bewitching
fair)

3. 3
After this introduction to the different families of the orchestra by
repetitions of the theme, there is a more in-depth look at the different
instrument families with variations on the theme played by individual
instruments. Although it starts by featuring the piccolo and flutes, the
underlying harmonic structure is maintained by the harp and strings.
Each member of the woodwind family is then introduced in turn,
highlighting the unique sound of each instrument. This is the reason it
is called the young person's guide to the orchestra: because of the
repeating theme with different instruments showing how each
instrument sounds.
This format is then copied by the strings in turn, and then by the brass
and percussion, travelling through their individual variations.
After the whole orchestra has been taken in pieces, it is reassembled
using an original fugue which starts with the piccolo, followed in by all
the woodwinds, strings, brass and percussion in turn. Once everyone
has entered, the brass are re-introduced with Purcell’s original melody
while the remainder continue the fugue theme until the piece finally
comes to an end after building up to a fortissimo finish.
Narration
A narration was written by Britten's friend Eric Crozier, intended to be
spoken by the conductor or a separate speaker during a performance.
In fact, the composer arranged two versions of this piece for playing:
with narration, or without. The one without narration is more often
recorded. The commentary often alters between recordings.
Pedro y el lobo (Prokofiev)
Hablaremos acerca de otra obra didáctica proveniente de Rusia: Pedro y
el lobo Un cuento musical para niños OP. 67.
¿Conoces a Pedro y el Lobo? Es un cuento musical donde los niños
aprenden a reconocer algunos instrumentos de la orquesta. Es una
pieza bastante popular y que ha sido grabada en casi todos los idiomas.
Contiene temas y melodías de encantadoras, que la hacen atractiva
desde la primera audición.
Esta obra musical narrada fue escrita por Serge Prokofiev (1891-1953),
y presentada por vez primera en Moscú, en el Teatro para niños, en
1936. Corresponde al período del compositor de mayor productividad,

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que se inicia con su regreso a la Unión Soviética en 1932, después de
varios años de un exilio voluntario. Se establece entonces una
colaboración con el estado para difundir la música clásica en amplios
sectores de la población. Cada personaje del cuento viene representado
por un instrumento. Así tenemos:
Pedro y el Lobo
1. Flauta . El Pajarito.
2. Clarinete bajo. El gato.
3. Oboe. El pato.
4. Cuarteto de cuerdas – Pedro.
5. Fagot. El Abuelo.
6. Tres cornos – El Lobo.
7. Percusión, Timbales, bombos y platillos. Los cazadores.
Bolero (Ravel)
El Bolero es sin duda, la composición más popular del músico francés
Maurice Ravel ( 1875-1937). Es un prolongado crescendo que se origina
a partir de un motivo bastante simple, el cual es ejecutado por los
diferentes instrumentos de la orquesta. Resulta ser una obra bastante
pedagógica, pues permite conocer los timbres de los distintos
instrumentos a medida que van entrando en acción dentro de la ora. El
resultado es una música cautivante que hipnotiza al oyente, desde el
principio hasta el fin, durante 15 minutos y lo atrapa con su ritmo
misterioso de carácter español.
Bolero de Ravel
Intrumentos Flautín

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Flauta
Clarinete
Clarinete alto
Oboe d’amore
Saxofón
Corno Inglés
Saxo soprano
Fagot
Contrafagot
Corno
Trompetas
Trombón
Violines, violas, violoncellos, contrabajos.
Percusión : caja, arpa,
Comentarios:
1. ¿Por qué le gusta tanto a la gente el Bolero? Quizás sea por su ritmo
tan marcado y su melodía pegajosa. El ritmo del bolero es constante
en toda la pieza. Es un ritmo de ¾. Sin embargo el son del
redoblante es el que más nos interesa por su poder de atracción.
2. El motivo melódico en La menor, es una línea ondulante que se
proyecta hacia delante con mucha fuerza. Se repite 18 veces a
medida que se incorporan más instrumentos a la orquesta. Es un
obstinato de dimensiones colosales, quizás sin parangón dentro de la
música clásica. Cuando el motivo cesa, entonces el ritmo del tambor
aumenta de volumen para mantener el interés del oyente. Hacia el
final la tonalidad cambia de manera sorpresiva a mi mayor, para
luego retornar a La mayor.
3. El Bolero es una demostración practica de lo que se puede lograr
con los instrumentos y sus combinaciones para crear nuevos
timbres, enriqueciendo la paleta del compositor. En algunas de las
entradas se repiten los instrumentos, siguiendo la misma melodía,
pero tocando en distintas tonalidades y entonces se escuhan
“instrumentos nuevos”. En este sentido es una guía orquestal
musical mucho mas sofisticada que la de Britten.

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4. La historia del Bolero es un ejemplo de cómo una idea muy simple
puede originar una obra genial sin tanto esfuerzo. La bailarina Ida
Rubinstein le pidió a Ravel una obra escrita expresamente para ella.
Un ballet de carácter español. Ravel intenta tomar prestado un tema
de la suite Iberia de Isaac Albeniz, para orquestarlo. Pero luego se
entera que director español Enrique Fernández Arbós tenía la
exclusiva para orquestar las obras de Albéniz, por lo cual abandona
el proyecto. Entonces decide tomar un ritmo de Bolero, que es una
danza española para su composición. Ravel había visitado España y
estaba familiarizado con su música y folklore. La obra fue todo un
éxito desde su presentación. Con el paso del tiempo se ha convertido
en la pieza clásica más popular del siglo XX. Los derechos de autor
han reportado más de 27 millones de Euros!
5. Irónicamente, cuando se estrenó la pieza por ves primera el 20 de
Noviembre de 1928, fue incomprendida, a tal punto, que una dama
gritó desde su palco: “Agarren a ese loco”. Ravel, con su habitual
sentido del humor, comentó después de la función “ Ella era la única
persona que se dio cuenta de la verdad”
The Carnival of the Animals
Le Carnaval des Animaux (The Carnival of the Animals) is a
musical suite of fourteen movements by the French Romantic composer
Camille Saint-Saëns. The orchestral work has a duration between 22
and 30 minutes.
History
Le Carnaval was composed in February 1886 while Saint-Saëns was
vacationing in a small Austrian village. It was originally scored for a
chamber group of flute/piccolo, clarinet (B flat and C), two pianos, glass
armonica, xylophone, two violins, viola, cello and double bass, but is
usually performed today with a full orchestra of strings, and with a
glockenspiel substituting for the rare glass armonica.

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Saint-Saëns, apparently concerned that the piece was too frivolous and
likely to harm his reputation as a serious composer, suppressed
performances of it and only allowed one movement, Le Cygne, to be
published in his lifetime. Only small private performances were given
for close friends like Franz Liszt.
Saint-Saëns did, however, include a provision which allowed the suite
to be published after his death, and it has since become one of his most
popular works. It is a favorite of music teachers and young children,
along with Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Britten's The Young
Person's Guide to the Orchestra. In fact, it is very common to see any
combination of these three works together on modern CD recordings - a
handy tool for class work.
Movements
There are fourteen movements:
I- Introduction et marche royale du Lion (Introduction and Royal March
of the Lion)
Strings and two pianos: The introduction begins with the pianos playing
a bold tremolo, under which the strings enter with a stately theme. The
pianos play a pair of scales going in opposite directions to conclude the
first part of the movement. The pianos then introduce a march theme
that they carry through most of the rest of the introduction. The strings
provide the melody, with the pianos occasionally taking low runs of
octaves which suggest the roar of a lion, or high ostinatos. The
movement ends with a fortissimo note from all the instruments used in
this movement.
II- Poules et Coqs (Hens and Roosters)
Strings without cello and double-bass, two pianos, with clarinet: This
movement is centered around a pecking theme played in the pianos and
strings, which is quite reminiscent of chickens pecking at grain. The
clarinet plays small solos above the rest of the players at intervals.
III- Hémiones (animaux véloces) (Wild Asses; quick animals)
Two pianos: The animals depicted here are quite obviously running, an
image induced by the constant, feverishly fast up-and-down motion of
both pianos playing scales in octaves.
IV- Tortues (Tortoises)
Strings and piano: A slightly satirical movement which opens with a
piano playing a pulsing triplet figure in the higher register. The strings
play a maddeningly slow rendition of the famous 'Can-Can' from
Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, as mentioned below.

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V- L'Éléphant (The Elephant)
Double-bass and piano: This section is marked Allegro Pomposo, the
perfect caricature for an elephant. The piano plays a waltz-like triplet
figure while the bass hums the melody beneath it. Like "Tortues," this is
also a musical joke - the thematic material is taken from Felix
Mendelssohn's Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream and
Hector Berlioz's Dance of the Sylphs. The two themes were both
originally written for high, lighter-toned instruments (flute and various
other woodwinds, and violin, accordingly); the joke is that Saint-Saëns
moves this to the lowest and heaviest-sounding instrument in the
orchestra, the double bass.
VI- Kangourous (Kangaroos)
Two pianos: The main figure here is a pattern of 'hopping' fifths
preceded by grace notes
VII- Aquarium
Strings without double-bass, two pianos, flute, and glass armonica:
This is one of the more musically rich movements. The melody is played
by the flute, backed by the strings, on top of tumultuous, glissando-like
runs in the piano. The first piano plays a descending ten-on-one
ostinato, while the second plays a six-on-one. These figures, plus the
occasional glissando from the armonica—often played on celesta or
glockenspiel—are evocative of a peaceful, dimly-lit aquarium. According
to British music journalist Fritz Spiegl, there is a recording of the
movement featuring virtuoso harmonica player Tommy Reilly -
apparently he was hired by mistake instead of a player of the glass
armonica.
VIII- Personnages à longues oreilles (Characters with Long Ears)
Two violins: This is the shortest of all the movements. The violins
alternate playing high, loud notes and low, buzzing ones (in the manner
of a donkey's braying "hee-haw").
IX- Le coucou au fond des bois (The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods)
Two pianos and clarinet: The pianos play large, soft chords while the
clarinet plays a single two-note ostinato, over and over; a C and an A
flat, mimicking the call of a cuckoo bird.
X- Volière (Aviary)
Strings, piano and flute: The high strings take on a background role,
providing a buzz in the background that is reminiscent of the
background noise of a jungle. The cellos and basses play a pick up

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cadence to lead into most of the measures. The flute takes the part of
the bird, with a trilling tune that spans much of its range. The pianos
provide occasional ping and trills of other birds in the background. The
movement ends very quietly after a long ascending scale from the flute.
XI- Pianistes (Pianists)
Strings and two pianos: This movement is a glimpse of what few
audiences ever get to see: the pianists practicing their scales. The scales
of C, D flat, D and E flat are covered. Each one starts with a trill on the
first and second note, then proceeds in scales with a few changes in the
rhythm. Transitions between keys are accomplished with a blasting
chord from all the instruments between scales. After the four scales, the
key changes back to C, where the pianos play a trill-like pattern in
thirds while the strings play a small part underneath. This movement is
unusual in that the last three blasted chords do not resolve the piece,
but rather lead into the next movement, with a pattern similar to the
chords that lead from the second to the third movements of
Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.
XII- Fossiles (Fossils)
Strings, two pianos, clarinet, and xylophone: Here, Saint-Saëns mimics
his own composition, the Danse Macabre, which makes heavy use of the
xylophone to evoke the image of skeletons playing card games, the
bones clacking together to the beat. The musical themes from Danse
Macabre are also quoted; the xylophone and the violin play much of the
melody, alternating with the piano and clarinet. The piano part is
especially difficult here - octaves that jump in quick thirds. Allusions to
"Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" (better known in the English-speaking world
as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), the French nursery rhymes "Au Clair de
la Lune" and "J'ai du bon tabac", the popular anthem Partant pour la
Syrie as well as the aria Una Voce Poco Fa from Rossini's Barber of
Seville can also be heard. The musical joke in this movement is that the
musical pieces quoted are the fossils of his time[citation needed].
XIII- Le Cygne (The Swan)
Two pianos and cello: This is by far the most famous movement of the
suite, often performed solo and is used to showcase the interpretive
skills of the cellist. The lushly romantic cello solo (which evokes the
swan elegantly gliding over the water) is played over rippling sixteenths
in one piano and rolled chords in the other (representing the swan's
feet, hidden from view beneath the water, propelling it along).
XIV- Finale
Full ensemble: The Finale opens on the same tremolo notes in the
pianos as in the introduction, which are soon reinforced by the wind

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instruments, the harmonica and the xylophone. The strings build the
tension with a few low notes, leading to glissandi by the piano, then a
pause before the lively main melody is introduced. This movement is
somewhat reminiscent of an American carnival from the middle of the
twentieth century, with one piano always maintaining a bouncy eighth
note rhythm. Although the melody is relatively simple, the supporting
harmonies are ornamented in the style that is typical of Saint-Saëns'
compositions for piano; dazzling scales, glissandi and trills. Many of the
previous movements are quoted here from the introduction, the asses,
hens, and kangaroos. The work ends with a strong group of C major
chords.
Musical references
As the title suggests, the work follows a zoological program and
progresses from the first movement, Introduction et marche royale du
Lion, through portraits of elephants and donkeys ("Those with Long
Ears") to a finale reprising many of the earlier motifs.
Several of the movements are of humorous intent:
• Poules et Coqs uses the theme of Jean Philippe Rameau's
Harpsichord piece La Poule ("The Hen") from his Suite in G major,
but in a quite less elegant mood.
• Pianistes depicts piano students practicing scales
• Tortues makes good use of the well-known Can-can from Jacques
Offenbach's operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, playing the usually
breakneck-speed melody at a slow, drooping pace.
• L'Éléphant is Hector Berlioz's Ballet des sylphes played in a much
lower register than usual as a double bass solo. The piece briefly
quotes the Scherzo from Felix Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's
Dream." It is heard at the end of the bridge section.
• Fossiles quotes Saint-Saëns' own Danse Macabre as well as three
nursery rhymes, "J'ai du bon tabac", "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman"
(Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star) and "Au Clair de la Lune", also the
song Partant pour la Syrie and Rossini's aria, "Una voce poco fa"
from The Barber of Seville.
• The Personnages à longues oreilles section is thought to be directed
at music critics: they are also supposedly the last animals heard
during the finale, braying.
The Dying Swan
The ballet The Dying Swan, performed by Anna Pavlova, was
choreographed years later to the music of the section The Swan.

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Ogden Nash verses
In 1949, Ogden Nash wrote a set of humorous verses to accompany
each movement for a Columbia Masterworks recording of Carnival of the
Animals conducted by Andre Kostelanetz. Recited on the original album
by Noel Coward, they are now often included when the work is
performed. The conclusion of the verse for the "Fossils", for example, fits
perfectly with the punchline-like first bar of the music:
At midnight in the museum hall
The fossils gathered for a ball
There were no drums or saxophones,
But just the clatter of their bones,
A rolling, rattling, carefree circus
Of mammoth polkas and mazurkas.
Pterodactyls and brontosauruses
Sang ghostly prehistoric choruses.
Amid the mastodontic wassail
I caught the eye of one small fossil.
"Cheer up, sad world," he said, and winked-
"It's kind of fun to be extinct."
Throughout the long-running Carry On Films, the elephant was used as
the signature tune for the characters played by Hattie Jacques, when
they first appeared on screen.
In 1976, Warner Brothers produced a television special directed by
Chuck Jones featuring an abridged version of The Carnival of the
Animals with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck playing the piano duo (it
opens with Bugs and Daffy arguing over the pronunciation of the
composer's name—Camille Saint-Saëns [Bugs] or Camel Saynt Saynes
[Daffy]). The live-action orchestra is conducted by Michael Tilson
Thomas. "The Turtle", "The Mule", "The Cuckoo", "The Pianists" and
"The Swan" are omitted, and the verse for "The Mule" is tacked onto the
verse for "The Jackass".
Fittingly, both "Weird Al" Yankovic and Peter Schickele have recorded
new versions of the Carnival of the Animals, both also as "b" sides of
new versions of Peter and the Wolf. Yankovic's version, on his album
Peter and the Wolf recorded in 1988, is titled "Carnival of the Animals,
part II," and features new poems in the style of Ogden Nash written and
read by Yankovic, and with new music in the style of Saint-Saëns
composed and performed by Wendy Carlos. Schickele's version,
recorded on "Sneaky Pete and the Wolf" in 1993, keeps the original
Saint-Saëns' music, but has new poems written and read by Schickele.
In 1992, Dove Audio released an all-star cast recording (Dove 30560
{cassette}/30700 {CD}) performed by the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra
conducted by Lalo Schifrin:

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• "Introduction" - read by Arte Johnson
• "The Royal March of the Lion" - read by Charlton Heston
• "The Cocks and Hens" - read by James Earl Jones
• "The Wild Animals " - read by Betty White
• "The Turtle" - read by Lynn Redgrave
• "The Elephant" - read by William Shatner
• "The Kangaroo" - read by Joan Rivers
• "The Aquarium" - read by Ted Danson
• "The Mule" - read by Lily Tomlin
• "The Cuckoo in the Wind" - read by Deborah Raffin
• "The Birds" - read by Audrey Hepburn
• "The Pianists" - read by Dudley Moore
• "The Fossils" - read by Walter Matthau
• "The Swan" - read by Jaclyn Smith
• "The Grand Finale" - read by Arte Johnson
(In a special Dove's Kids Children's release (Dove 30550), Arte Johnson
was replaced by Fred Savage.)
Part of the proceeds from the sale of this recording were contributed to
Actors and Others for Animals, American Oceans Campaign, American
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other charities.
In 1999, Walt Disney Feature Animation incorporated the Finale into
Fantasia 2000. In the film, a flock of flamingos (the Snooty Six) is
annoyed by another flamingo playing with a yo-yo and attempt to make
him fall into step with their dance routines. The music was recorded by
James Levine conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with the
preceding narration done by James Earl Jones.
A surf-rock version of Aquarium covered by Dick Dale was used as the
theme song of the Space Mountain roller coaster at Disneyland in
California from 1996 to 2003. This same version was featured in the
game Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour
The Swan is used in the 2005 film My Summer of Love by P.
Pawlikowski. Tamsin performs it on her cello when Mona visits her
house for the first time.
Aquarium is featured in the trailers for the 1994 film Only You, the
1974 film The Godfather Part II, the 2006 film Charlotte's Web and the
2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and appears to be one
of the influences on the main theme in Walt Disney's Beauty and the
Beast and is especially prominent in the cue titled "The West Wing". It is
also the opening theme music to the 1978 film Days of Heaven and the
opening and closing theme in the 1992 film documentary, Visions of
Light. Aquarium is played throughout the Simpsons episode "The Wife
Aquatic," and can be heard in the The Ren and Stimpy Show episode
entitled, "Rubber Nipple Salesmen." It is also heard in the video game

13. 13
Crash Tag Team Racing, and along with "Swan" is part of the
soundtrack of the video game Burnout Paradise (2008 edition).
Australian/British classical crossover string quartet Bond remade a
version of the Aquarium movement on their album Born, although
Camille Saint-Saëns is uncredited[1].
The theme from the "Royal March of the Lion" was used as the musical
motif for the Dreyfus Fund commercials which aired on American
television. This pairing of the music and the Dreyfus Lion was used for
many years starting in the early 1950s.
Roland Petit's ballet Proust ou les intermittences du cœur uses the
Ouverture to open both acts.