Themes To Remember Vol. 1, Classical Magic

This program has NOTHING to do with magic. It has to do with the thrilling power of classical music!

I wish I had had this program in college. In Music Appreciation and Music Literature we had to listen to musical compositions for hours in the library and be prepared to pass a "drop test." (That was the "olden days" when we still had records). We had to identify the composition and its composer just from the tiny bit the professor would play when he dropped the needle on the record! This program would have be an invaluable resource to me, even in college! Your kids will be able to do it effortlessly when they learn the themes to these clever songs.

Classical Magic® is a truly unique classical music program. It begins with Pre-K and may be used through high school and beyond. The author, Marjorie Kiel Persons, has written light-hearted, educational lyrics to 127 of the world’s most beautiful classical music themes. When children sing the lyrics, they automatically learn both composer and composition. The music becomes their own! The best part is that music and words together go into long-term memory so children can have a lifetime adventure with classical music. They will never forget or outgrow classical music.

Each theme has two CD tracks – one with music only and one with music and lyrics. This format is designed for "Name that Tune" games.

Most themes take less than a minute to sing making it easy to include classical music in your daily program. You need no previous music training to use the program successfully. The most important thing is to have FUN. Learn the themes quickly and play games. A love for classical music is one of the most important gifts you can give your child.

All books are organized by musical period – Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern. Piano (a kitty) and Forte (a dog) frolic through the books and introduce each Period dressed in the clothing of that Period. (Piano means "soft" and Forte means "loud" -- dogs are louder the cats!) Books are not organized by grade level, although Volume 1 Teacher’s Guide has a Suggested Order of Learning. Rather than proceeding from front to back of the books, choose the selections that fit with the mood or material you are teaching – or just have fun with selections you love.

Themes To Remember, Volume 1 includes themes from
* Handel’s Messiah,
* Handel’s Water Music,
Click to Hear Sample
Let’s play the Hornpipe
for Handel’s music,
His Water Music,
His Royal Music.
King George is having a ball
He says, "Please come, one and all." ...
(Children learn by listening and repeating. That’s the way they learn a language; music is an abstract "language." Children learn music more quickly and remember it much better if they can sing words with it. Play the CD while they look at the pictures in the book, while driving in the car, or while they are playing quietly. Older children like to read the words in the book and sing along with the CD.)

and Royal Fireworks Music

* Boccherini’s String Quintet
Click to Hear Sample
Oh, let’s dance Boccherini’s Minuet,
Written in a hurry for his mother’s string quintet.
Play it light, Luigi,
Play it right, Luigi...

* Beethoven’s Fifth and Ninth Symphonies,
* Mozart’s Symphony No.40,
* Haydn’s Surprise Symphony,
* Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony
* Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A
(The Trout)
Click to Hear Sample
When Schubert took me fishing,
We saw a giant rainbow trout.
But Schubert caught him easily
And let me pull him out...

* Chopin’s Grande valse brillante
Click to Hear Sample
Taa - Ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta ta ta, ta, ta, ta ta
Play, Chopin, play, valse brillante,
Play, Frederic, play, GO!...

* Gounod’s Funeral March of a Marionette
Click to Hear Sample
Gounod, the march of a marionette,
Gounoud, the march of a marionette,
Gounod, the funeral march,
The funeral march, the funeral march
Keep on Marching!

* Schumann’s Happy Farmer,
* and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.

You’ ll find stories and themes from opera (Carmen, William Tell)
the ballet (Swan Lake),
Peer Gynt in the Hall of
the Mountain King
and much more.

Teacher’s Guides are available. These guides emphasize the importance of introducing children to, and generating enthusiasm for, classical music by first building a theme recognition foundation. The guides then give proposals for using each of the 40 classical music themes in each volume to introduce the relevant music concepts and the appropriate National Music Teaching Standards. This curriculum material is adaptable to any age group.

For a complete listing of themes and composers, see the list below:
Bach--Toccata & Fugue in Dm, Theme 1
Bach--Toccata & Fugue in Dm ,Theme 2
Beethoven--Symphony No. 5, Movement 1
Beethoven--Symphony No. 9, Movement 4
Beethoven--Sonata No. 14 - (Moonlight), Theme 1
Bizet--Carmen, Habanara
Bizet--Carmen, Toreador
Boccherini--Minuet
Brahms--Lullaby
Chopin--grand Valse Brillante
Debussy--Clair de Lune
Dvorak--Symphony No. 9 - (New World)
Elgar--Pomp and Circumstance
Gounod--Funeral March of a Marionette
Grieg--Peer Gynt Suite, Morning
Grieg--Peer Gynt Suite, Solveig’s Song
Grieg--Peer Gynt Suite, Hall of the Mountain King
Handel--Water Music, Alla Hornpipe
Handel--The Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus
Handel--He Shall Feed His Flock
Handel--Royal Fireworks Music, Overture
Handel--Royal Fireworks Music, Minuet
Handel--Royal Fireworks Music, La Paix
Haydn--Symphony No. 94 (Surprise)
Mendelssohn--A Midsummer Nights Dream
Mozart--Piano Concerto No. 21
Mozart--Symphony No. 4
Rachmaninoff--Piano Concerto No. 2
Rossini--William Tell Overture, Theme 1
Rossini--Trumpet Fanfare
Saint-Saens--
Schubert--Piano Quintet in A - (The Trout)
Schumann--The Happy Farmer
Sousa--The Stars and Stripes Forever
Sousa--Semper Fidelis
Strauss--The Blue Danube Waltz
Tchaikovsky--Swan Lake, Theme 1
Tchaikovsky--Swan Lake, Theme 2
Vivaldi-- The Four Seasons, Spring