Tchaikovsky

Why I’m Watching “The Nutcracker” in July

I do have a reason for why I put on the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker last night. Really. And not because I’m celebrating Christmas in July, or because I’m trying to counteract the hot summer weather with thoughts of winter, (at least not entirely), or because I love Christmas so much that I want to celebrate it all year. No, it’s really much simpler than any of that.

You see, the Nutcracker is one of my favorite pieces of music. Not because it reminds me of Christmas. I just really like it. It’s just so beautiful; The Waltz of the Snowflakes–that’s what a snow shower sounds like! It also makes me happy, and relaxes me.

So, why didn’t I just put in the CD you might wonder? Because I do have it on CD. Well, the beautiful recording I have, (and it really is fantastically beautiful), is so long, that it’s split between two discs. So, my choice is to get up and change the disc if I want to hear the end, or miss out on the wonderful last part of the ballet. But the DVD has all of the music in one convenient disc. No decisions, no changing discs, just beautiful music, and, as a bonus, beautiful dancing.

So, you see, it really has nothing to do with the beautiful Christmas sets, or even the costumes. It’s a matter of practicality, really. Perfectly normal.

Christmas School–Day Thirteen

Today was Nutcracker Day! I have loved the Nutcracker since I was a little girl, so I’m always excited to find a way to work it into school.

We listened to a recording of  The Nutcracker on CD while we were doing our Language Arts, as well as while we were doing all of our Nutcracker activities. This is my favorite recording of the Nutcracker, plus the set also has the bonus Symphony Number 4 on it. All four children have really come to appreciate this score, and I love that they can get so excited about classical music!

I picked up another great Dover coloring book, the Nutcracker Ballet Coloring Book. I only got one copy this time, so Turkey and Bunny have to share, but there are so many different pictures, they can both find something they like. They proved how very stereotypical they are today, when I asked each of them what their favorite part of the Nutcracker is, so I could find a good picture for them to color. Turkey said the battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker, and Bunny, of course, said anything with the Sugar Plum Fairy. It was exactly what I expected them to say, and yet I was very amused at their responses.

We also read The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet. This isn’t a particularly fantastic version of the book, but it was cheap, and readily available, so it works. It’s also a good introduction to the basic story of the ballet, so it’s acceptable, just not great. I’m still on the lookout for the perfect print edition of the Nutcracker, the only problem is, I don’t know what that is yet. I’ll know it when I see it, though, so I’ll just keep looking.

Because we all love “The Waltz of the Snowflakes,” we made some pretty crystal-like snowflake ornaments to go with Nutcracker Day. I picked up this set at Hobby Lobby for 50% off, which is one of the main reasons it’s one of my favorite places to buy craft kits. Parts of this activity were a little difficult for Turkey and Bunny, but with a little help from their teacher, they were able to make several new ornaments for our tree.

We rounded out Nutcracker day by watching the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker. I’ve talked about this before–to put it simply, this is the best version of the Nutcracker I’ve ever seen, live or recorded. I love it, the children love it, it’s just completely awesome. We can’t watch it often enough!

Fine Arts Week

I had originally planned this week to be ballet-themed. I wasn’t going to make Turkey and Bunny dance, but I thought it would be good for them to learn about the history of dance, hear the stories behind some of the most famous ballets, listen to some of the music, etc. I found it to be especially timely approaching Christmas–we could spend at least a full day on just the Nutcracker, maybe even stretch it into a day and a half.

As I was planning, however, it quickly morphed into more of a study of fine arts than just ballet. Yes, that was still the primary focus, but we also be studied art and artists (specifically Degas, who did many paintings of ballerinas), music and composers (especially Tchaikovsy, without whom the modern shape of ballet would be very different!), and even a little cooking (not really a “fine” art I suppose, but how can you learn about ballet without taking the opportunity to make a Pavlova?).

I found lots of great resources, so I thought I’d share, in case you’re looking for some good reading, watching, or listening related to fine arts!

Full of information on the history of ballet, basic steps, stories of the ballet, everything. The accompanying CD has excerpts of some of the more memorable parts of many ballets, along with explanations of the music, and hints for what to listen for (the sound of cats meowing in The Sleeping Beauty, for example).

This book had wonderful summaries of some of the most famous ballet stories–we read both The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, and, if we hadn’t already had a storybook of it, would have read the Nutcracker, too. Like A Child’s Introduction to Ballet, it also comes with a CD.

This is part of a great series called “Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists.” While these books are very factual, and full of pictures of paintings, they also have humorous illustrations, and are written in a very conversational style. There seems to be a book for every major artist, too!

I found this book, especially the ending, to be quite moving. In fact, the first time I read through it, I teared up a little.

Similar to the above Degas book, this is part of the companion “Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers” series. I unintentionally chose only ballets by Tchaikovsky to read and listen to, so I thought we should learn about the composer himself. Turkey and Bunny especially liked learning about Tchaikovsky’s fear that his head would fall off while conducting in front of an audience, thereby forcing him to hold onto his beard the entire time. We’re looking forward to reading the Bach installment next year!

My favorite version of the Nutcracker ballet, ever. Helgi Tomasson did an awesome job of choreographing the ballet in a fresh new way, while holding true to the original story. There are also educator materials available on the San Francisco Ballet Company’s website, which are great resources for teaching about this ballet.

Homeschool Review: “The Classical Kids Collection” CDs

One of my favorite things to use in our homeschool this year has been The Classical Kids Collection CD set (specifically volume 2, as well A Classical Kids Christmas).  To be honest, I haven’t yet been able to purchase volume 1 of the set, and I don’t really plan on buying Daydreams and Lullabies (although I am sure it is also excellent), but I love the five CDs we do have!

These CDs don’t just offer music by a composer, they weave the music into a story.  My children aren’t great at listening to stories on the radio, CD, etc., (the American Tall Tales CD we listened to this year was a burden to get through!), but for some reason they were riveted by the Classical Kids stories.  I think this is partly because the music breaks up the narration some, but also because there are children’s voices on the CDs, which they can relate to, and in general, all of the narrative voices are quite pleasant.

Volume 2 contains four CDs, which can also be purchased individually: Song of the Unicorn; Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage; Tchaikovsky Discovers America; and Hallelujah Handel.  The first CD is a compilation of medieval music, while the other three (obviously) focus on works by individual composers.  Tchaikovsky Discovers America was by far our favorite, because it’s an enchanting tale about some children hopping a train with the composer as he attempts to escape his commitment to conduct at the grand opening of Carnegie Hall.  The other CDs in the set were also excellent, but the story on this one captured our attention in a special way.

A Classical Kids Christmas was equally wonderful, using music from different time periods and composers to tell the Christmas story in the form of a Christmas pageant much like children used to participate in.  Different traditions and characters from around the world were shared, and the selections of music were wonderful–some familiar and some completely foreign.  The whole story very much mirrors the St. Charles Christmas Traditions walk that has become such an important tradition in our family.

The Classical Kids Collection volume 1 is on our list to purchase as soon as possible.  Like volume 2, this also contains four CDs, each focusing on a specific composer: Mr. Bach Comes to Call; Beethoven Lives Upstairs; Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery; and Mozart’s Magic Fantasy.

These CDs are a wonderful way to introduce children to classical music–the different composers, different sounds, and all the things to appreciate about this art form.  This is the type of resource that can be instrumental (pardon the pun!) in the development of a life-long love of music in children.