Sand animation - Edvard Grieg, in the Hall of the Mountain King - Video

In the Hall of the Mountain King is a piece for orchestra from a longer suite of music by the Norwegian composer, Grieg. The music may be called ‘incidental’ music or ‘programme’ music (like a soundtrack from a film) because it goes with the play, Peer Gynt by Ibsen. Peer Gynt, the central character, goes on a long, eventful journey! You can download a pdf of the story at the start of this unit. (It's a simplified version - in the complete play, Peer Gynt comes across as a bit of an idiot who goes on to make his fortune by dodgy dealing - you know the type!)

Listening

First tell the story and then ask the children to listen to the music and think about:

• which part of story the music might be describing
• how Peer Gynt was feeling at the time

If space allows, listening while lying down like a starfish helps children to follow their own thoughts without the distraction of seeing others. Encourage the children to share their thoughts about the music, helping them to use the words in context: pitch (very low pitch) dynamics (quiet, becoming gradually louder) and tempo (slow, becoming gradually faster). Ask how it might express the story and also show Peer Gynt’s feelings.

Show and Tell

It would be brilliant if you could persuade a local teacher, musician parent, orchestra, or someone from your Music Service to bring in a horn, cello, double bass or bassoon - so much better than showing pictures!

Movement and Drama (pulse)

Next, the children could make up movement and drama to the music. Choose a (brave!) child to be Peer Gynt, a child to be the King of the Trolls, and the rest of the children are the trolls that give chase. Remember that Peer Gynt escapes and doesn’t get eaten! The way the instruments play sounds like tiptoeing at first - the cellos and double basses play pizzicato, meaning that the strings are plucked instead of played using a bow.

Creative Work (timbre, structure, dynamics, tempo)

In groups, the children make up music that shows how Peer Gynt might have been feeling in a part of the story, for example when he was chased by the trolls or when he returned home after years away. The Feelings task in the Creative Music section of this unit is a good preparatory activity. Listen and give feedback as the children work on their music to help them to structure it and to use instruments that produce a useful timbre (sound) for their feeling. When they have finished making up their music, they perform it for the other children, who try to guess which part of the peer Gynt story their music was about, and say how they decided. Remember to record each group's music for your own evidence and for the children to enjoy listening to it.

Make Hall of the Mountain King Sand Pictures (art link)

If the children were intrigued by the video sand picture, they could make their own sand pictures. You need different coloured sands, paper and glue - simply spread glue and sprinkle the sand to make the picture!