Lesson 14: Sleeping Beauty

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (painting by Nikolai Kuznetsov)

Though we recently heard the Russian composer Vasily Agapkin (when learning about marching bands), I couldn't leave Russia just yet.  Many children have already been exposed to quite a lot of classical music, without even being aware.  They didn't know it yet, but the kids knew a lot of Tchaikovsky.

Dancers at 1890 debut of Sleeping Beauty. (Aurora is in the middle.)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed both The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.  The music from Tchaikovsky's ballet "Sleeping Beauty" sounds familiar to many of us, even if we are not quite sure why or have never set foot in a dance studio.  Sleeping Beauty was composed in 1889 and debuted at the Mariinsky Theater in St Petersburg.  Act I: "The Spell": 6. Valse is a dance of the Villagers waiting to greet the young princess.  It is also sometimes called "The Garland Waltz" (you can see the garlands in the video link below). 

Next, I played a song that I knew many of the kids were familiar with: Once Upon a Dream from Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959).  This duet between the Sleeping Beauty and her Prince is based on the Garland Waltz, and arranged by American composer George Bruns.  It was recorded in Berlin, Germany due to a musician's strike in Hollywood at the time.  

After playing both, I replayed the Garland Waltz and encouraged the kids to sing along with me, showing them that the song was really the same.  We had a lot of fun!

Sleeping Beauty- Ballet Op. 66, Act I: “The Spell”: 6. Valse, Tchaikovsky

Once Upon a Dream, from Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty”, Tchaikovsky, arranged by George Bruns

Find the lesson plan here.

Find the slide show here.

Find the drawing pages here.

Enjoy!