The Listening Room Podcast for Kids S03E01 Extension – www.KidsListen.net

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Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Academy of Ancient Music

The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) carefully studies music that is
more than about 200 years old.
One of their discoveries was that Handel’s orchestras played the pieces
much faster than we thought.
They used a higher tempo.
Listen to this version.

The AAM have musical instruments that can be 300 or 400 years old – and their new instruments are not modern, they are excellent copies of the old ones.Have a look at the instruments being used in this video. Many look different to modern instruments.

Clarinets and trumpets don’t have keys. Check out the long necked guitar (it’s called a lute). Even today, people who make guitars, or violins, or other similar stringed instruments are called luthiers.

And the piano – where is it? That “little “piano” is a harpsichord. It is a harp, turned on its side, stuck in a box with mechanical bits that pluck the strings connected to a keyboard.

Handel’s Harpsichords

Academy of Ancient Music

Recorders

Hear what recorders can really sound like.
Recorder superstar Lucie Horsch previews concerts with the Academy of Ancient Music

And watch Lucie play the arrival like you have not heard it before …

See if you can find pictures of old “original” instruments on the internet and compare them to instruments used by modern orchestras.

Messiah

Australia also has a world class orchestra that plays old “original” instruments –
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

Listen to this piece from Handel’s Messiah.
Notice here that the tempo is also much quicker than might be expected.

Hallelujah Chorus at the BBC Proms

Trevor Pinnock, conductor of The English Concert, talks about the Hallelujah Chorus.
One of the most famous traditions is the performance of the The Hallelujah Chorus every year at the BBC Proms.