HECTOR BERLIOZ AND LUMINARIES

Music appreciation is extremely important to me. I want my children to grow up to love and experience all kinds of music (including the classics). Amy, my friend, feels the same way. So we decided that on Fridays, I would teach a small music appreciation class for our six kids.

One thing I love is the tremendous ability that music has to affect emotions. Emotional content of music is very subjective, but during this time of year there is some fabulous music that lends itself to spooky fun!

Hector Berlioz

This week, in honor of Halloween and "scary" music, I decided to introduce the kids to Hector Berlioz. Hector Berlioz is a 1800's French composer who was supposed to be a doctor like his father, but instead choose to study music. His symphony, Symphonie Fantastique, has five movements (instead of the normal four). And the last two movements are kinda eerie. I explained to the kids that it's fun to be a LITTLE creeped out, if we use our imagination. I told them that when he wrote the music he imagined someone going to the gallows and then a huge dance in a graveyard with all the witches, goblins, skeletons, etc. (The actual story is much darker... but some of Amy's kids are VERY young.)

By the time I finished telling them the story of the music, they were really excited to hear it. So I told them we would listen to it, while we made luminaries for our graveyard dance! We then painted jars to look like pumpkins and Frankensteins. The kids did a fantastic job! Even Apple Pie, Amy's 3 year old, painted with us.
When our crafts were drying, Apple Pie, Kotten Kandy, Nut, Marmalade and I decided to "act" out the music. We danced to movement number 5 like we were witches and goblins. Kotten Kandy also decided to be a zombie. It was tons of fun!
Everyone loved learning about Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz. And we all loved our luminaries. (Amy and her husband especially liked that we used battery operated candles to light them!)
Music and art! Is there any better combination?!

From left to right: Kotten Kandy, Marmalade, Nut, Juice, Apple Pie and Key Lime Pie