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et530 · 4 years ago

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Exploring the Representation of Death in Children’s Literature and Picture Books.

Illustration from Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, 2011 Illustration by Quentin Blake.

Death in “unavoidable” (Poling, Deveraux 2008) for all living things.

When typing in ‘Death Children’s Books’ into amazon, over 400,000 search results arise.

Several children’s picture books that focus these three main death concepts “(a) irreversibility, (b) unavoidable and (c) nonfunctionally...” (Poling, Deverauz A:Hupp, 2008) :

Death: I Miss You (A First Look At) by Pat Thomas and Lesley Harker (2009)

Badgers Parting Gifts by Susan Varley (1987)

We Had To Say Goodbye Before We Even Met, by Irene Teague and Gainne Knox (2020)

Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, by Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake (2011)

Illustration from Badgers Parting Gifts by Susan Varley (1987)

While researching into the presentation of death within children’s literature, I have found several articles I would like to explore further within my research.

Death Sentences: A Content Analysis of Children’s Death Literature. Poling, Deveraux A;Hupp, Julie M; National Library of Medicine. 2008.

“…The components of children's death concepts include beliefs that (a) dead things cannot become alive again (irreversibility), (b) death is ultimately unavoidable for all living things (inevitability or universality), and (c) all bodily functions cease after death (nonfunctionality)

“…children must also work out the subtleties and full implications of what death really means. Such subtleties extend beyond biological facts to include cultural beliefs and practices and emotional processes of grieving.”

“…younger readers invite a social construction of knowledge as parents and children engage in mutual interaction with the material (Fletcher & Reese, 2005), whereas storybooks targeted to older children may be read in the absence of collaborative communication with an adult.”

“The majority of the books we evaluated were fiction (85%) and dealt with human death (65%).” ~ Interesting that over 50% of books evaluated for this study were regarding “human death”. Perhaps there is an interesting juxtaposition between the way human death and animal death is presented in children’s literature.

Global Perspectives on Death in Children’s Literature ed. By Lesley D. Clement and Leyli Jamali (review), 2019

“and by perceiving "death as a permanent state," which denies the deceased the ability "to reunite annually with the living"…” – Discussing about how certain literature topics discuss text using cultural ideas about death, including” suggesting that the Day of the Dead is "a variation" of Halloween”.

“"western constructions of death, children, and childhood have infiltrated many corners of the globe" (Flying Kites and Other Life-Death Matters, Clement)

“ by perceiving "death as a permanent state," which denies the deceased the ability "to reunite annually with the living"…)

“The Last Resort: Death and Liminality in Children's Picture Books on Emily Dickinson," Clement considers how paratexts, liminal spaces and text-image interactions act as invitations for children to read representations of death in picture books on Emily Dickinson.”

“Global Perspectives on Death in Children's Literature concerns itself with depictions of death within the context of games and play.”

Rosana Kohl Bines looks at Brazilian folk rhymes—specifically, the content, form, and the dynamics of the playground game Tangolomango—to discuss how this "never-ending cycle of verses" brings to fore the resilience of childhood and illuminates the interrelationship between life and death.”

Death themes in literature for children ages 3-8 By Seibert, D; Drolet, J.C (1993)

“death themes are presented in a positive, realistic way that promote healthy development. Because of its positive presentations, children's literature is recommended as a leaching tool for death education.”

Summer’s End and Sad Goodbyes: Children’s Picturesbooks About Death and Dying. By Wiseman, Angela (2012)

“Unfortunately, people of all ages experience death; however, it can be particularly difficult for young children...”

“ How can picturebooks, particularly written for young children, support children’s grief when someone dies? How do the illustrations and text of picture books express and convey the aesthetic and emotional experience of loss.”

Children’s grief reactions, the way that they respond to their loss, are dependent on the child’s sociocultural context and individual development. As a result, children demonstrate multidimensional ways of perceiving and reacting to the experience (Slaughter and Griffiths, 2007; Willis, 2002).

The Harvard Child Bereavement Study (Worden and Silverman, 1996)….documented children’s responses to loss into adulthood, reported two significant findings related to children’s responses to death. First, many children often immerse themselves in everyday activities as a response to their overwhelming feelings about grief ….the reality is that they may need more emotional space to process their feelings and therefore mourn for longer periods of time (Koehler, 2010). Second, the study revealed …children have delayed reactions to their loss that spans their lifetime. For some children, their sadness is intensified years after the death … they think about the role that the person could have played at various times in their lives (Howarth, 2011)

Young Children's Understanding of Death By Slaughter, Virginia (2007)

Death in Children's Literature By Judith P. Moss (1972)

References

Bieber, A., 2017. Global Perspectives on Death in Children's Literature. Eds Lesley D. Clement and Leyli Jamali. International Research in Children's Literature, 10(1), pp.102-104.

Poling, D. and Hupp, J., 2008. Death Sentences: A Content Analysis of Children's Death Literature. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 169(2), pp.165-176.

Rosen, M. and Blake, Q., 2011. Michael Rosen's sad book. London: Walker.

Seibert, D. and Drolet, J., 1993. Death Themes in Literature for Children Ages 3-8. Journal of School Health, 63(2), pp.86-90.

Slaughter, V. and Griffiths, M., 2007. Death Understanding and Fear of Death in Young Children. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 12(4), pp.525-535.

Teague, I. and Knox, G., 2020. We Had To Say Goodbye Before We Even Met:A book for children who have lost a sibling through pregnancy or early baby loss..

Thomas, P. and Harker, L., 2020. Death: I Miss You (A First Look At). Highlands Ranch, CO: B.E.S. Publishing.

Varley, S., n.d. Badger's Parting Gifts.

Wiseman, A., 2012. Summer’s End and Sad Goodbyes: Children’s Picturebooks About Death and Dying. Children's Literature in Education, 44(1), pp.1-14.

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andrewtheconqueror-blog · 7 years ago

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Blog No. 6

Group Performance of the Kings of Classical Music (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven)

Group Mates: Eva Cuenza, Mareal tumanda, joshua Gramaje, Ruzzel Santos, and Trixie Dayrit

Franz Joseph Haydn, (Born March 31, 1732, Rohrau, Austria—died May 31, 1809, Vienna); Austrian Composer

Over the course of his 106 symphonies, Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn became the principal architect of the classical style of music.

Synopsis

Franz Joseph Haydn was among the creators of the fundamental genres of classical music, and his influence upon later composers is immense. Haydn’s most celebrated pupil was Ludwig van Beethoven, and his musical form casts a huge shadow over the music of subsequent composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

Early Life

Franz Joseph Haydn was recruited at age 8 to the sing in the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he went on to learn to play violin and keyboard. After he left the choir, he supported himself by teaching and playing violin, while studying counterpoint and harmony.

Haydn soon became an assistant to composer Nicola Porpora in exchange for lessons, and in 1761 he was named Kapellmeister, or "court musician," at the palace of the influential Esterházy family, a position that would financially support him for nearly 30 years. Isolated at the palace from other composers and musical trends, he was, as he put it, "forced to become original."

The Mature Artist

While Haydn rose in the Esterházy family's esteem, his popularity outside the palace walls also increased, and he eventually wrote as much music for publication as for the family. Several important works of this period were commissions from abroad, such as the Paris symphonies (1785-1786) and the original orchestral version of "The Seven Last Words of Christ" (1786). Haydn came to feel sequestered and lonely, however, missing friends back in Vienna, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, so in 1791, when a new Esterházy prince let Haydn go, he quickly accepted an invitation to go to England to conduct new symphonies with German violinist and impresario Johan Peter Salomon. He would return to London again in 1794 for another successful and lucrative season.

Already well known and appreciated in England, Haydn's concerts drew huge crowds, and during his time in England the composer created some of his most popular works, including the "Rider" quartet and the Surprise, Military, Drumroll and London symphonies.

Later Years

Haydn returned to Vienna in 1795 and took up his former position with the Esterházys, although only part-time. At this point, he was a public figure in Vienna, and when he wasn't at home composing, he was making frequent public appearances. With his health failing, his creative spirit outlasted his ability to harness it, and he died at age 77.

Haydn is remembered as the first great symphonist and the composer who essentially invented the string quartet. The principal engineer of the classical style, Haydn exerted influence on the likes of Mozart, his student Ludwig van Beethoven and scores of others.

Works

Haydn is credited as the 'father' of the classical symphony and string quartet, and also wrote many piano sonatas, piano trios, divertmenti and masses, which became the foundation for the Classical style in these compositional types. He also wrote other types of chamber music, as well as operas and concerti, although such compositions are now less known. Although other composers were prominent in the earlier Classical period, notably C.P.E. Bach in the field of the keyboard sonata (the harpsichord and clavichord were equally popular with the piano in this era) and J.C. Bach and Leopold Mozart in the symphony, Haydn was undoubtedly the strongest overall influence on musical style in this era.

The development of sonata form into a subtle and flexible mode of musical expression, which became the dominant force in Classical musical thought, was based foremost on Haydn and those who followed his ideas. His sense of formal inventiveness also lead him to integrate the fugue into the classical style, and to enrich the rondo form with more cohesive tonal logic, (see sonata rondo form). Another example of Haydn's inventiveness was his creation of the double variation form, that is variations on two alternating themes.

Structure and character of the music

A central characteristic of Haydn's music is the development of larger structures out of very short, simple musical motifs, usually devised from standard accompanying figures. The music is often quite formally concentrated, and the important musical events of a movement can unfold rather quickly. Haydn's musical practice formed the basis of much of what was to follow in the development of tonality and musical form. He took genres such as the symphony, which were, at that time, shorter and subsidiary to more important vocal music, and slowly expanded their length, weight and complexity.

Haydn's compositional practice was rooted in a study of the modal counterpoint of Fux, and the tonal homophonic styles which had become more and more popular, particularly the work of Gluck and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, of the later Haydn wrote 'without him, we know nothing'. He believed that the search for an appropriate melody was essential to the creation of good music, and carefully constructed his around countrapunctal devices, so that it could be overlayed with itself in a variety of ways, and the fragments could be worked with individually, and still retain some degree of unique character.

Haydn's work became central to what was later described as the sonata form, and his work was central to taking the binary schematic of what was then called a 'melodie'. It was a form divided into sections, joined by important moments in the harmony which signalled the change. One of Haydn's important innovations, one which was adopted by Mozart and Beethoven, was to make the moment of transition the focus of tremendous creativity, instead of using stock devices to make the transition, Haydn would often find inventive ways to make the move between two expected keys.

Later musical theorists would codify the formal organization in the following way:

Introduction: If present in an extended form, a slower section in the dominant, often with material not directly related to the main themes, which would then rapidly transition to the

Exposition: Presentation of thematic material, including a progression of tonality away from the home key. Unlike Mozart and Beethoven, Haydn often wrote expositions where the music that establishes the new key is similar or identical to the opening theme: this is called monothematic sonata form.

Development: The thematic material is led through a rapidly-shifting sequence of keys, transformed, fragmented, or combined with new material. If not present, the work is termed a 'sonatina'. Haydn's developments tend to be longer and more elaborate than those of Mozart, for example.

Recapitulation: Return to the home key, where the material of the exposition is re-presented. Haydn, unlike Mozart and Beethoven, often rearranges the order of themes compared to the exposition: he also frequently omits passages that appeared in the exposition (particularly in the monothematic case) and adds codas.

Coda: After the close of the recapitulation on the tonic, there may be an additional section which works through more of the possibilities of the thematic material.

During this period the written music was structured by tonality, and the sections of a work of the Classical era were marked by tonal cadences. The most important transitions between sections were from the exposition to the development, and from the development to the recapitulation. Haydn focused on creating witty and often dramatic ways to make these transitions, by delaying them, or by having the occur so subtly that it takes some time before it is established that the transition has, in fact happened. Perhaps paradoxically one of the ways in which Haydn did this was by reducing the number of different devices for harmonic transitions between, so that he could explore and develop the possibilities he found in the ones he regarded as most interesting. This is perhaps why more than any other composer, Haydn is known for the jokes that he put into his music. The most famous example is the sudden loud chord in his 'Surprise symphony|Surprise' symphony, No. 94, but others are perhaps funnier: the fake endings in the quartets Op. 33 No. 2 and Op. 50 No. 3, or the remarkable rhythmic illusion placed in the trio section of Op. 50 No. 1.

Haydn's compositional practice influenced both Mozart and Beethoven. Beethoven began his career writing rather discursive, loosely organized sonata expositions; but with the onset of his 'Middle period', he revived and intensified Haydn's practice, joining the musical structure to tight small motifs, often by gradually reshaping both the work and the motifs so that they fit quite carefully.

The emotional content of Haydn's music cannot accurately be summarized in words, but one may attempt an approximate description. Much of the music was written to please and delight a prince, and its emotional tone is correspondingly upbeat; this tone also reflects, perhaps, Haydn's fundamentally healthy and well-balanced personality. Occasional minor-key works, often deadly serious in character, form striking exceptions to the general rule. Haydn's fast movements tend to be rhythmically propulsive, and often impart a great sense of energy, especially so in the finales. Some characteristic examples of Haydn's 'rollicking' finale type are found in the 'London' symphony No. 104, the string quartet Op. 50 No. 1, and the piano trio Hob XV: 27. Haydn's slow movements, early in his career, are usually not too slow in tempo, relaxed, and reflective. Later on, the emotional range of the slow movements increases, notably in the deeply felt slow movements of the quartets Op. 76 Nos. 3 and 5, the Symphony No. 102, and the piano trio Hob XV: 23. The minuets tend to have a strong downbeat (and upbeat!) and a clearly popular character. Late in his career, perhaps inspired by the young Beethoven (who was briefly his student), Haydn began to write scherzi instead of minuets, with a much faster tempo, felt as one beat to the measure.

Symphony No. 94 in G Major, 2nd Movement (”Surprise”)

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Symphony No. 94

The story of the Surprise Symphony starts with the death of Haydn's great patron, the Austrian prince Nikolaus Esterházy, in 1790. While Haydn's music had been spread across Europe (and even to the Americas in the hands of music aficionado Thomas Jefferson), Haydn himself hadn't left Austria in decades. His music was already popular in England, so a new patron appeared after the death of Esterházy and asked Haydn to come to London for two seasons. An agreement was stuck where Haydn would live in London and compose a total of six symphonies to be performed there.

Symphony No. 94 in G Major was one of these symphonies, which debuted in London on March 23rd of 1791. As the crowd quickly found out, it was full of surprises, showcasing Haydn's wit and ability to play with audiences' expectations.

Haydn knew how to play with audience expectations during a concert

The total work is broken into four movements, a symphonic structure of Haydn's that was still relatively new at the time. The first movement was written in the wrong key, according to the traditions associated with the 4-movement symphony, thus setting up one surprise from the beginning. The first and third movements have a lively feel that was more associated with outdoor concerts than with concert halls. This was especially true of the third movement, a minuet, which was basically the predecessor of the waltz. The second movement contrasts these with a gentler and softer tone, while the fourth escalates it, racing toward its conclusion with a march-like beat.

Overall, Symphony No. 94 in G Major is about 23 minutes of expectation subversion, interplay between tempos and sections of the orchestra, and some very demanding technical sections that reveal Haydn's confidence in the London orchestra. It was one of the works that helped Haydn's 4-movement symphony become the standard that would define orchestral music for generations.

The Surprise

Symphony No. 94 is lively, fun, and full of quirks, but not much more so than any other of Haydn's works. So, why was this one nicknamed the Surprise Symphony? That name actually refers to a single moment in the second movement. In this movement, the pace is gradual, peaceful, and tranquil. The melodies are passive and unencumbered, listing lazily along when out of nowhere BAM! The audience is hit with a jarring and loud chord that crescendos without warning. Surprise!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756–5 December 1791)

Mozart was one of the most influential, popular and prolific composers of the classical period. He composed over 600 works, including some of the most famous and loved pieces of symphonic, chamber, operatic, and choral music.

“Music is my life and my life is music. Anyone who does not understand this is not worthy of God.”

– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Short Biography of Mozart

Mozart was born in Salzburg to a musical family. From an early age, the young Mozart showed all the signs of a prodigious musical talent. By the age of five he could read and write music, and he would entertain people with his talents on the keyboard. By the age of six he was writing his first compositions. Mozart was generally considered to be a rare musical genius, although he was also diligent in studying other great composers such as Haydn and Bach.

During his childhood, he would frequently tour various palaces around Europe playing for distinguished guests. Aged 17, he accepted a post as a court musician in Salzburg; although this did not suit him very well, the next few years were a time of prolific composition. In 1781, he moved permanently to Vienna where he stayed for the remainder of his life. In Vienna, he became well known and was often in demand as a composer and performer.

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.”

– Mozart

However, despite his relative fame he struggled to manage his finances and moved between periods of poverty and prosperity. This difficulty was enhanced when, in 1786, Austria was involved in a war which led to lower demand for musicians. In 1782, he married against the wishes of his family; he had six children but only two survived infancy.

The work of Mozart is epic in scope and proportion. There were few branches of music Mozart did not touch. He composed operas, symphonies, concertos, and solo pieces for the piano. His work spanned from joyful light-hearted pieces to powerful, challenging compositions which touched the emotions. In the beginning of his career, Mozart had a powerful ability to learn and remember from the music he heard from others. He was able to incorporate the style and music of people such as Haydn and J.S. Bach. As he matured he developed his very own style and interpretations. In turn, the music of Mozart very much influenced the early Beethoven.

Mozart was brought up a Roman Catholic and remained a member of the church throughout his life.

“I know myself, and I have such a sense of religion that I shall never do anything which I would not do before the whole world.”

Some of his greatest works are religious in nature such as Ave Verum Corpus and the final Requiem.

Mozart was very productive until his untimely death in 1791, aged 35.

“I never lie down at night without reflecting that young as I am I may not live to see another day.”

In the last year of his life, he composed the opera The Magic Flute, the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B-flat), the Clarinet Concerto K. 622, a string quintet (K. 614 in E-flat), the famous motet Ave verum corpus K. 618, and the unfinished Requiem K. 626.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “Biography of Mozart”, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net, 28th May 2008 Updated 3rd October 2017

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major ("Alla Turca") K. 331 (K. 300i)

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Musical Analysis

Apart from its foreign influences, the last movement has two other interesting features. The first of these concerns its structure; the movement is a rondo but, unusually, the first theme occurs only twice (traditionally, in rondo form the first theme is presented most frequently in the piece). Therefore, the A major idea from bar 25 becomes the more important as the movement progresses, occurring three times and forming the basis of the coda. Also, Mozart extensively repeats melodic ideas within sections. For example, in bars 8-16 the same melodic idea occurs four times (the second two times transposed down a minor third), and the A major passage at bars 25-32 consists of a repeated motif, with the ending modified on the repeat to allow a perfect cadence to close the phrase. This is a recurrent feature, especially in the coda.

The form of the rondo is A-B-C-D-E-C-A-B-C-coda, with each section (except the coda) being repeated twice.

A: This section, in A minor, consists of a rising sixteenth note melody followed by a falling eighth note melody over a staccato eighth note accompaniment. It is nine measures long.

B: This section introduces new material in a melody in thirds and eighth notes before varying the A section with a cresendo before falling back to piano.

C: A forte march in octaves over an arpeggiated chord accompaniment. The key changes to A major.

D: A piano continuous sixteenth note melody over a broken chord accompaniment.

E: A forte scale-like theme followed by a modification of section D.

Coda: A forte theme consisting mostly of chords (arpeggiated and not) and octaves. There is a brief piano restatement of the theme in the middle of the coda. The movement ends with alternating A and C-sharp octaves followed by two A major chords.

It is worth noting that each movement of the sonata is based around the tonality of A. This is unusual as there is typically a change of key for the second movement to provide a necessary tonal contrast. One can only presume that Mozart considered the huge diversity of material presented in the piece to be sufficient to dispense with this need.

Bar 1-24 The opening theme consists of rising turn-figures which outline an a minor arpeggio. The use of ornamentation continues in bar 5 with grace notes helping to accent the first beat of the bar. A brief diversion to C major in bars 9-12 is short-lived, since it is followed by a return to the tonic. The repeat of the opening idea in bars 17-20 leads to a tonic cadence in a minor, following the reharmonisation of the top C in bar 20 with an Italian 6th chord. This opening section (A) is in itself a miniature ternary form. A surprising number of keys are used at this early stage; a minor, e minor (bar 5) and C major (bar 9) before a return to a minor (bar13). Bars 1-8 have a natural rhythmic accent on the first beat of the bar.

Bar 25-32 A sudden change to the tonic major starts a brash, loud passage which provides an immediate contrast to the preceding passage. The LH uses arpeggiated grace notes for percussive effect. See the background notes for the influence of Turkish music evident here.

Bar 32-56 Once again, a sudden contrast is created through a change of key (f-sharp minor), sudden reduction in dynamics, thinning of texture and bubbling semiquaver passages in the RH. The LH reverts to the texture found at the movement’s opening. In bar 38 the key changes to c-sharp minor to bring the phrase to a close; however, the music then leaps into A major for some scalic RH features that carry on the stream of semiquavers. The f-sharp minor passage returns in bars 48-56, although the second half of this is modified to keep the music in that key and closes with a perfect cadence. This is the ‘C’ section of the structure. The RH melodic cells that open this section contrast well with the a minor theme at the beginning of the movement, since their general shape is an inversion of the turns in the a minor theme. They also start in a descending series, whereas the a minor theme consists of ascending motivic cells.

Bar 56-64 Repeat of bars 24.2-32.1 (the ‘B’ section)

Bar 64-88 Repeat of bars 1-24 (the ‘A’ section)

Bar 88-96 Repeat of the ‘B’ section again, but with the RH octaves broken into pairs of octave-leaping semiquavers. This RH change adds to the percussive, brash nature of the original.

Bar 96.2-127 The coda consists of four presentations of the same A major phrase (bars 96.2-102), with subtle changes, variations in ornamentation and, in bars 109-115, a different texture in the LH accompaniment (an Alberti bass). Other than this , the LH utilises the percussive figure from the previous A major theme. The chord progression in this repeated figure is a very strong I – IV – I – V (resolving onto the tonic to start the next version of the phrase). The last six bars of the piece consist of an affirmation of the tonic A major harmony, bringing the work to a rousing and boisterous close.

"Queen of the Night" aria from "The Magic Flute" by Mozart

The Queen of the Night sings this aria to express her fury and longing for revenge (‘rache’). Mozart chose the key of D minor for this aria. It is a key often associated with tragedy, and prevalent in the Requiem that Mozart was writing, that would dominate his thoughts in the weeks following the premiere of Die Zauberflöte.

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The aria contains marked dynamic contrasts, accents land on and off the beat and the vocal line is often highly chromatic. Rather unexpectedly, after the opening bars the music suddenly moves to F major, the relative key of D minor. Gaining in confidence, the Queen scales the vocal heights. The Queen tells Pamina that if she does not kill Sarastro as the mother has asked then she will no longer be her daughter, and sings a series of repeated notes on a high C before climbing even further to several dizzying top Fs. Nothing, it seems, can stop her.

After Sarastro’s thoughtful hymnic aria ‘O Isis und Osiris’, the Queen’s virtuosity is all the more staggering. And however hollow her threats will prove – she clearly does not know her daughter’s moral strength – the aria could not make its point any clearer. The recurrent gestures, manic twists and turns and final ferocious D minor cadence place a thrillingly thunderous cloud of wrath over the proceedings.

Sources:

“Franz Joseph Haydn.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 5 Jan. 2017, www.biography.com/people/franz-joseph-haydn-9332156.

“Franz Josef Haydn.” Prince Biography, www.8notes.com/biographies/haydn.asp.

Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/haydns-surprise-symphony-analysis.html.

https://www.biographyonline.net/music/mozart.html

https://sensq.com/blog/story-of-rondo-alla-turca-turkish-march

#ClassicalKings!

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