A MUSICAL TOUR OF BRITAIN FROM NORTH TO SOUTH

New Words: Annual - ежегодный Battle – сражение Ancient – древний Audience – публика Choir – хор Is held – проводится Wedding – свадьба Funeral – похороны Vigorous – сильный, энергичный. Led – вели.

Guess the words: Conductor Soloist National instrument Band Bard Choral music folk

Match the words: Is famous for Enormously popular Colourful Picturesque Cultural event Imaginative lyrics Культурное событие Знаменитый Образная лирика Невероятно популярный Красочный живописный

Great Britain like other countries has its own musical traditions.

We begin our musical tour from Scotland.

In Scotland the national instrument is the bagpipe.

Bagpipers. For centuries bagpipers played at weddings and funerals. To the Scots it is the most exciting music in the world.

The bagpipers also led the soldiers into to the battle.

The bagpipers are still very popular, and every town in Scotland has a pipe band.

Edinburgh International Festival. A vigorous cultural life has as its highlight the annual Edinburgh International Festival, one of the world` s leading cultural events.

Various Parades are held at the Festival.

Russian song-and-dance groups also take part in the Festival.

In the north of England is the land of brass bands. There are many factories and coal mines there and many of them have their own bands. The bands take part in competitions and festivals. Britain` s composers write music especially for them.

Central and southern England Central and southern England is famous for church choirs and folk songs.

But the best choral music is in Wales. The wonderful nature of Wales has been always inspiring musicians and poets. Welsh bards had been known to the ancient world.

Wales Valleys.

EISTEDDFOD. Every year there is a folk festival, held in the town of Langollen which is called “Eisteddfod”. It is one of the most picturesque cultural events in Britain and attracts many tourists.

NORTHERN IRELAND. Folk music is a feature in pubs. Here two musicians are playing the fiddle and the bodhran – a traditional Irish drum.

Aldeburgh Festival. Another popular festival of music and art is annually held in Aldeburgh. It was started by famous British composer Benjamin Britton. Russian conductors and musicians also take part in this festival.

Benjamin Britten. (1913 – 1976) an English composer of the operas “Peter Grimes and “Billy Budd”. He wrote a great deal of music for young people.

MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH From 1977 until 1994 he was musical director and conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington. He was also the director of Aldeburgh Festival.

London. London has a long tradition of classical music. It is one of the great classical music centers of the world. The series of concerts are held at the Royal Albert Hall every year. Musicians, orchestras, conductors,soloists from many countries take part in them.

Russian pop groups “Dialog” and “Autograph” in London.

Russian musicians perform classical music.

Albert Hall, one of the biggest concert halls in London.

The Royal Ballet Company. Leading British ballerina Fiona Chadwick in a performance of “Cinderella”.

THE BEATLES. It is one of the most famous pop groups in Britain, first performing in 1959 in Liverpool.At first the group performed music that was influenced by American rock n roll. Then they composed their own songs with imaginative lyrics and catchy melodies. They soon become very popular. Their records were top of the pop music in the 1960s. The Beatles split up in The song “Yesterday” is the most popular Beatles song.

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, Now it looks as though they`re here to stay, Oh, I believe in Yesterday. Suddenly, I`m not half the man I used to be, There`s a shadow hanging over me,, Oh, Yesterday came suddenly. Why she had to go I don`t know, She wouldn`t say. I said something wrong now I long for Yesterday. Yesterday, Love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away, Oh, I believe in Yesterday.

Look at the map and answer the questions: What festivals are traditionally held in Great Britain? What is the national musical instrument in Scotland? Where one can admire beautiful folk music ? What is the centre of classical music? What is Liverpool famous for? What do you know about Benjamin Britton ? Do Russian musicians often take part in festivals? What British and Russian musicians do you know?

Do you happen to know any Russian Festivals ?

The History of Rock and Pop. “POP” is short for “popular”. And there has always been popular music. But until the 1950s there was no stile of music just for young people. That all changed when rock and roll began.

THE 50 s. Rock and roll began in America. The first rock stars were black – Chuck Berry, Little Richard. They brought “rhythm and blues”. Then, white singers began to copy them. The most popular of them was Elvis Presley. He called himself “The king of Rock and Roll”. He played an electric guitar. Teenagers all over the world fell in love with this new style.

THE 60 s After Elvis, hundreds of new groups and singers appeared. In Britain two groups were more popular than others. One was the Rolling Stones. They played hard, aggressive rock and roll while The Beatles played a mixture of rock and pop. In America Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson Michael Jackson became rock stars. There were stars who mixed folk music with rock and pop styles. The most famous was Bob Dylan. It was the time of rock festivals. The biggest of them took place in 1969 in New York State and was called “Woodstock”.

THE 70s The Sweden s ABBA became very popular. They worked with the latest technology. They made videos.. A new style of music appeared in clubs of London. It was punk rock. The music of these bands was different. They looked poor and angry. They were not good musicians By 1980 it was a fashion.

THE 80 s The most important musical event of the 80 s was “Live Aid”. The man who organized it was Bob Geldof. In July 1985 he organized a huge rock concert. For 16 hours people watched the best of British and American music. The concert raised 100 million dollars for the starving people. Musical technology changed in the 80 s too. Video, compact discs and computers became important in the pop industry.