TheseParticularCircumstances-BCMGsLearning.PDFVIP

These Particular Circumstances – Sean Shepherd In this resource the young people will take each of the seven episodes of These Particular Circumstances by Sean Shepherd and create their own music responses to each one (Circling, Spinning, Floating, Grinding, Sinking, Teetering, Soaring) Page 1 – Programme Note These Particular Circumstances is a twenty-one minute piece by Sean Shepherd composed in 2009 for the New York Philharmonic. He describes it thus: ‘The piece, in seven episodes, is a collection of contrasts: different characters and kinds of music are stitched together in time, without pause. Although each of the individual parts may well stand on their own, they surely don’t; my specific intention sways toward putting each episode to use in service of the whole work, not unlike ingredients in a sauce. Its a chicken-and-egg scenario for me to remember which came first: did the name Grinding—the title of the fourth episode—describe the music I had written, or did I decide to write music that must grind? While I worked hard to form each episode around its own musical concerns and personality quirks, I bent and warped each as I saw fit toward my main objective: telling one twenty-minute tale, not seven short anecdotes. I viewed the large shape of the work as simply as I could: a waveform; or: up-down-up. Sean Shepherd Page 2 – Introduction In this resource, the children will take each of the seven episodes in These Particular Circumstances by Sean Shepherd and create their own musical responses to each movement. Some composing activities will be for the whole group, some for small groups and others for individuals. The activities will create the building blocks for a complete seven movement piece. Don’t worry if your group’s piece ends up having less movements. Learning objectives  To create a piece of music inspired the seven episodes in These Particular Circumstances by Sean Shepherd  To develop a greater unde