Music Class

In order to further their knowledge of the music of Stephen Foster, the students of the Grade VII music class at Canada’s National Ballet School were introduced to the music of one of Foster’s most enthusiastic fans, the great Czech composer, Antonín Dvořák.  Dvořák was such an admirer of Foster’s music, he wrote an orchestral arrangement of his own Humoresque No. 7 that combined it with Foster’s “Old Folks at Home” (also known as “Swanee River”); an arrangement he later conducted at a concert in New York City. These two pieces of music are often played together and, by listening to them separately and together, the students developed an appreciation for the similarities between Foster’s music and Dvořák’s. 

This examination began by listening to Dvořák’s Humoresque No. 7 played in class on the violin by one of their classmates, Haruto Yamasaki. While he played, the other students imitated his bowing, focusing on the length of the notes and the musical phrasing. Rhythm and musical phrasing were further explored by bouncing and passing Dalcroze balls. The initial hand response was then expanded into a freer movement of the hands than the initial left/right pattern of the bowing allowed. The students’ attention was then turned to the music and lyrics of “Old Folks at Home”.

Once familiar with the two pieces of music, the class was tasked with creating their own vocal warm-up exercise that combined Humoresque, as played on the violin, with the singing of “Old Folks at Home”. As a class, they had to decide when the focus would be on the voice of the violin and when it would return to the class’s singing of the lyrics. As there were a number of repeats in the music, they also had to decide how each repeat would end. Once they had agreed upon the musical arrangement and accompanying hand movements, they used them in class throughout the term for their vocal warm-up.

Click here to view the Grade VII music class, with Haruto Yamasaki on the violin, performing their own arrangement of Dvořák’s Humoresque with Foster’s “Old Folks at Home”. Note that the students are singing “Old Folks at Home” and responding with their hands to the musical line of Humoresque.