Listening

Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head - choral video
 * Christmas**

Kathleen Bragle Tuesday, June 26, 2012
 * Music K8**

There has been much talk about classroom routines lately. Here is one that I want to share. Perhaps the most important thing I did for my students was to provide:

TIME for them to stop and listen - relax - digest - assimilate -

TIME to not have to think, or write, or organize

TIME to chill and stop and LISTEN!

I always spent a few moments in every class (in all grade levels) with some music on. My beautiful classroom had spotlights all around (in addition to the flourescent lights) and I called them "the listening lights". THEY would be put on and the flourescent lights were turned off. Kids found a spot around the room and stretched out and listened. The kids loved it and I loved seeing all their stress and tension disappear. Yes, we sang and danced a lot; we played the recorders, orff instruments and learned how to read music. THE most important thing I could do for them - when push comes to shove - was this quiet time. THIS is what they will take with them - on a terrible day on the job as adults, they will remember stretching out and listening to some beautiful music in their elementary music class. It is - bottom line - a life lesson. My mantra - if something is important, then you will FIND the time to do it.

Please do find the time to do this! Here is a list of some of the music I loved to play:

Mozart - anything and everything but my favorites are:

Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola Requiem Any of the piano concertos especially K.414, K.595 and the "Coronation Concerto" Any of the Symphonies - especially #34 slow mvt. Don Giovanni, Magic Flute excerpts String Quartets Violin Concertos Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
 * If you can, try to grab ANYTHING of Mozart conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. NOONE today conducts Mozart as he did. If you are lucky enough to get something, listen to his slow mvts. It is absolutely incredible!

Brahms - anything and everything but my favorites are : Symphony #1 last mvt. Alto Rhapsody (could it be that my daughter is a mezzo?) Piano Concerto #2 - Claudio Arrau, soloist (this is what I played in my senior year in college) String Quartets String Quintets and the Clarinet Quartet

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Rutter and the Cambridge Singers) Tom Paxton CDs and also Tom Chapin's Stokowski conducts Bach Tchaiowsky - 1812 Overture Barber - Violin Concerto, Elmar Oliviera-violin and also his Adagio for Strings of course! Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water Fasch - Trumpet Concerto ( preferably Maurice Andre) Pachelbel - Canon Any Gregorian Chant but especially those from the Monks of Solemnes (kids are fascinated by chant I have found!)

James Galway CDs: Annie's Song and Other Favorites (if you are new at doing this, buy this CD FIRST!) Celtic Minstrel Music For My Friends (Yo Yo Ma and others!) A Song of Home(with Jay Unger and Molly Mason!) James Galway and the Chieftans in Ireland James Galway and Phil Coulter - Legends

Great American Songwriter (Laser Light Series) Rodgers and Hart Cole Porter George and Ira Gershwin Irving Berlin

Richard Stotzman CDs (clarinet) Dreams Inner Voices (with Judy Collins)

Diana Krall CDs Judy Collins - Colors of the Day- The Best of Judy Collins Bette Midler - Some Peoples' Lives Pearl Fishers (excerpts) with Bjoerling and Merril The Chieftans Beethoven Symphony #4 and #5, Piano Concertos - all of them

Another one for those of you who have never done this: The Most Beautiful Melodies of.... (another Laser Light production)

Joe Cool's Blues - Marsalis Mendelssohn - Piano Concertos performed by Rudolph Serkin (electrifying!!) and Italian Symphony Vivaldi - Four Seasons Glen Gould performing Bach Mark O'Connor's Hot String Trio - "In Full Swing" William Bolcom - Rags Scott Joplin - Rags Any collection of Opera Overtures Saint-Saens - Organ Symphony - last mvt. Copland - Appalachian Spring, Rodeo and Billy the Kid Suite The Power and the Mighty - Essential Choral Classics One and All - the Best of Cherish the Ladies Harvest Home - Jay Unger and Molly Mason Songbird - Eva Cassidy Heartland - An Appalachian Anthology (Ma, O'Connor, Meyer and Bell) Tierney Sutton - Something Cool Lalo - Cello Concerto Bruch - Scottish Fantasy, Violin Concerto and Kol Nidrei Ein Straussfest - Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Callipe Dances - A Rennaissance Revel

Steve Schuck CDs Crossing the Water Wellspring: Live at the Folkway Trees of Life

Orff - Carmina Burana Bernie Williams - The Journey Within

George Winston CDs Linus and Lucy - The Music of Vince Guaraldi Forest December

Vaughn-Williams - A Sea Symphony Chamber Music Classics (St. Clair) Boccherini - Cello Concerto Brubeck - Jazz Impressions of New York Hayden - Cello Sonatas and String Quartets (!!!!) Handel - Water Music

Come to the Ceildh Let's Have Another Ceildh (These are from my cousin's group, the Pictou County Old Time Fiddlers Assoc. recordings - Nova Scotia of course:)