On Thursday 16 March, Years 8 and 10 Music students attended an open rehearsal of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in the Perth Concert Hall in the city. There was a pre-talk by the third principal horn player before the rehearsal where students learnt about the piece that they were about to hear and were able to ask questions.

The piece they listened to was Le Chasseur Maudit (The Accursed Huntsman). It is a symphonic poem by César Franck. This work was written in 1883 at the beginning of the Romantic era where composers were starting to write Program Music. Program Music is a musical composition that tells a story. These music stories are also called tone poems. The story of this work is of an arrogant German nobleman who decides to go hunting on the Sabbath. He rides roughshod over a group of peasants going to church, but meets his comeuppance in the forest, where a baleful voice condemns him to an eternity of pursuit by demons.

Students heard the horns echoing the start of the hunt and the rustle of the trees in the forest which were represented by tremolos played in the violins. The use of huge tubular bells represented the call to church. It was mesmerising to see the conductor turn a stage full of musicians into a unified orchestra which brought a musical story to life.

Tammy van der Nest

Director of Music PK-12