Introduction:
This lesson shall explore the how film can represent historical events of the past. Through this section students will see a film clip of “Amadeus” (made in 1984 from the play by Shaffer) and “Immortal Beloved” (made in 1994 by Bernard Rose).
Note: Since the movie Immortal Beloved is rated (R) use caution in showing just the film clip presented in this unit. As a teacher, you might decide not to use this segment in your teaching.
This lesson should take from as long as a single class period to three days depending on the type of class setting and scope of what you are setting out to accomplish. This lesson can also have two sections from Mozart Speaks; views on Music, Musicians, and the world, by Robert Marshall and The Beethoven Companion edited by Thomas K. Scherman and Louis Biancolli.
Goal for lesson:
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The goal of this lesson is to have students:
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1. understand how film can present history as fact.
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2. to have students question what they see on film, is this fact or fiction ?
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3. to have students find different sources of the a historical facts .
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4. to have students identify Mozart’s and Beethoven’s musical style on film.
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5. to have students learn about the musical period of the late 18th century
Note: In the Classical Period, ( 1750-1825 ) there were musical forms that were created such as modern concerto, the standard opera, rondo form sonata form, the string quartet, the modern symphony , and theme and variations. The modern piano was developed from the piano-forte. The piano forte was a modern development of the harpsichord and the clavichord which J.S.Bach played his inventions on.
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6. to have students learn about the musical period of the early 19th century
Note: Beethoven was a composer who was and the end of the Classical period and the beginning of the Romantic period (1825-1900
The Objective for lesson:
Explain to the class that they are going to view three film clips from the film about Mozart “Amadeus” and one film clip about Beethoven “Immortal Beloved”.
Note: The four film clips are:
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when Antonio Salieri is talking with the priest; “Have you heard this tune, it is one of mine” ? ;
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when Mozart is talking to The Archbishop of Salzburg about his opera The Marriage of Figaro
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when Mozart is conducting is opera The Marriage of Figaro and a court messenger stops the rehearsal and starts ripping out pages of music score.
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the Beethoven film clip is where he is at the grand piano and can not hear the sounds made by it, so he starts to bang on the keys.
For homework assign pages 352-354 in Marshall’s book Mozart Speaks by Robert Marshall and pages 484 - 486 from The Beethoven’s Companion, by Thomas K. Scherman and Louis Biancolli.
After viewing the film clips, have a group discussion with the class:
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Note: the amount of film clips shown per class can be divided into shorter segments if desired, i.e. show either one or two clips followed by a group discussion.
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What kind of keyboard instrument did Mozart play on ?
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Did Salieri kill Mozart ? If so, how, and Why ?
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Does the film clip give you any factual information; how do you know what is fact or fiction?
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Did this really happen to Beethoven ? , if you do think so, how do you know this to be so?
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5. Was Beethoven deaf ? , Does the film give you any facts to support your opinion ?
Vocabulary List:
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Romantic Music Era: was a Western music period of time from 1825 – 1900
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Classical Music Era
: was a Western music period of time from 1750 - 1825.
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Point Of View
: is a person’s opinion about a event, thing, or object. This concept is used in film as well as in creative writing.
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Observation
: the act or state of seeing something
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Tempo
: The rate of speed of a rhythm. Such as markings might indicate a fast rate of speed music, a moderate pace, or a slow pace of a musical piece or composition.
Materials Needed for each class or lesson:
VCR, CD, and Marshall’s book Mozart Speaks and The Beethoven Companion, by Thomas K. Scherman and Louis Biancolli.
Summary and Evaluation:
Have students log their observations in their journals along with the homework 3assignment given in the Introduction section.