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This post is part of a series designed to help get great classical music in your kids’ ears. I like to think of music seasonally, just like food. Sure you can eat a watermelon in January, but will it be good? The sense of waiting and rotating is part of what makes seasonal produce delicious. Music can be the same, which is why I encourage using these monthly playlists. A little infusion of new music each month keeps things fresh and lively. You enjoy it for a time, and then you enjoy moving on. Find the April list on Spotify here or use the Youtube links below.
Flight of the Bumblebee // Rimsky-Korsakov
This is one of my very favorite pieces for children. It is super short and super easy for kids to catch what the music is intended to represent…the buzzing bumblebee. There couldn’t be a simpler piece to get kids interested in classical music!
Worthy is the Lamb from Messiah // Handel
Most people think of the Hallelujah Chorus as the culmination of Handel’s most famous work, but it is really just the end of Act II. The real end comes here – the finale of entire work.
Easter Oratorio (Sinfonia) // Bach
Bach’s more famous Easter work is the St. Matthew Passion, but I tend to not teach it because it is a little heavy for children. I like the Easter Oratorio – particularly the Sinfonia I have included here. It is joyful Baroque at it’s best.
Hallelujah from Mount of Olives // Beethoven
This is Beethoven’s only oratorio, and it was only moderately received at the time. Much of the work centers around Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. For children, the Hallelujah is great piece – it has buoyant quality kids enjoy.
Daisies // Rachmaninoff
I like to include vastly different pieces of music on each playlist so children’s ears can learn to differentiate between different types of music. This piece skews a little into the jazz world and makes me think of easy, breezy spring days.
Appalachian Spring // Copland
Oh how much I love this piece! Copland took the Appalachian melody Simple Gifts and incorporated it into this work. So beautiful – one of my all-time favorites.
Thunder and Lightning Polka // Strauss
Strauss made an appearance on both the January list (Winterlust Polka) and the March list (Voices of Spring Waltz). He was the it composer of the day when it came to party music. For real.
Flower Duet // Delibes
This piece is used quite often in commercials and movies – I bet you will recognize it. It’s an opera scene where the two main characters go gather flowers by the river. A fun one to act out!
Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) // Beethoven
This piece made the list because it premiered on April 7th, 1805. It has a great historical back story that involved Beethoven dedicating the piece to Napoleon, then rescinding his dedication later on, when things got complicated. Politics, you know. #nothingnewunderthesun
An American in Paris // Gershwin
Finally, a piece in honor of everyone’s dream to visit Paris in the springtime (or is that just me?). Picture yourself strolling by the Eiffel tower, eating a croissant, all to the tune of one of Gershwin’s best.
It’s going to be a great month of music lessons! Check back next week and will get started with lessons. For now, grab the playlist here and infuse your home with great music!
Kristi
