The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34
Benjamin Britten
Outline
| 0:00 | Theme | a. Full orchestra | |
| 0:41 | b. Woodwind section | ||
| 1:11 | c. Brass section | ||
| 1:42 | d. Percussion section | ||
| 2:07 | e. Percussion section | ||
| 2:26 | f. Full orchestra | ||
| 3:00 | Variation 1: | Flutes | |
| 3:30 | Variation 2: | Oboes | |
| 4:33 | Variation 3: | Clarinets | |
| 5:16 | Variation 4: | Bassoons | |
| 6:13 | Variation 5: | Violins | |
| 6:58 | Variation 6: | Violas | |
| 7:38 | Variation 7: | Cellos | |
| 8:34 | Variation 8: | Double-basses | |
| 9:32 | Variation 9: | Harp | |
| 10:23 | Variation 10: | French horns | |
| 11:03 | Variation 11: | Trumpets | |
| 11:38 | Variation 12: | Trombones and tuba | |
| 12:39 | Variation 13: | a: Timpani; bass drum and cymbals | |
| 13:06 | b. Tambourine and triangle; snare drum (side drum) and Chinese block (a hollow wooden block that is struck with a drumstick) | ||
| 13:28 | c. Xylophone | ||
| 13:40 | d. Castanets and gong | ||
| 13:49 | e. Whip (two hinged pieces of wood that are slapped against each other) | ||
| 13:54 | f. Entire percussion section; xylophone and triangle | ||
| 14:32 | Concluding section | a. Unaccompanied piccolo, lively new tune, tune played in turn by flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, crescendo. | |
| 15:42 | b. Lively tune played in turn by 1st violins, p; 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double-basses, woodwinds accompany, crescendo; quick decrescendo introduces | ||
| 16:11 | c. Harp, lively tune, crescendo in strings and woodwinds. | ||
| 16:22 | Lively tune played in turn by French horns, ff, trumpets, trombones and tuba, orchestra accompanies. | ||
| 16:41 | Percussion, f, accompanied by orchestra, p, crescendo to | ||
| 16:50 | Main theme in brasses, ff, together with lively tune in high woodwinds and strings. Full orchestra, percussion , sustained closing chord, fff. |
Voice and Instrument Examples
Voices
Soprano
Kathleen Battle:
Mezzo-soprano
Marilyn Horne (for fun):
Tenor
Luciano Pavarotti:
Bass
From Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”
Instruments
Strings
Kronos Quartet: Purple Haze: http://youtu.be/UP7rjppeRA0
Kronos Quartet YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/kronosquartet1
St. Lawrence Quartet plays Haydn: http://youtu.be/o-INgPJwVZA
Woodwinds
“Ugros” performed by the Borealis Wind Quintet http://youtu.be/D743z4wOJrA
Brasses
Canadian Brass – “Tocatta and Fugue in d minor” – J. S. Bach http://youtu.be/pX0Jhk6e2Uw
Percussion
Rollins Percussion Ensemble – Super Mario Medley” http://youtu.be/TkamVRYBkfg
Gamelan Gong Kebyar http://youtu.be/ldPMifPbngc
Keyboard
Harpsichord: Comparone plays Scarlatti http://youtu.be/71iUAFFQ8ik
Organ: Toccata and Fuge in d minor http://youtu.be/_FXoyr_FyFw
Electronic
Clara Rockmore performs “Habanera” by Ravel: http://youtu.be/uuKBPEDU-W0
Dan Mitchell 