Beaumont School Music Department

I've got loads of better things to do, but I got really excited about this piece of music today and I was compelled to blog about it. Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960) wrote this piece,  The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, in 1994. In the words of the composer: "Eight centuries ago Isaac The Blind, the great kabbalist rabbi of Provence, dictated a manuscript in which he asserted that all things and events in the universe are product of combinations of the Hebrew alphabet's letters: 'Their root is in a name, for the letters are like branches, which appear in the manner of flickering flames, mobile, and nevertheless linked to the coal'. His conviction still resonates today: don't we have scientists who believe that the clue to our life and fate is hidden in other codes?" Notes from the composer continue  here . The piece is scored for string quartet and 'klezmer clarinet', and uses traditional Jewish melodies, including tho...

For Stephen Hawking's 75th Birthday, the Choir Gonville and Cauis, Cambridge (where he has been a Fellow for 52 years) commissioned the composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad  to write a choral piece for him, the theme being the universe.  In the video below, we get a small insight into her creative process and how she set about finding some words to create her musical image of the universe. In the piece, Frances-Hoad uses Newtonian physics, NASA space sounds and a children's poem as her inspiration.  The coming together of the arts, literature and science results in quite an ethereal work. You can read more here about the influences in the piece and watch the two videos below.  You will also recognise our lovely alumna Alice Webster as one of the three soloists, who asks some of the questions which Hawking asks in his Brief History of Time while the choir repeats "Sun, moon, stars".

Please find below some information about Music exams during exam week: Year 7 Your exam will be mainly listening based, with a short written element. You will be asked about: Instruments of the Orchestra Samba Fanfares General listening/musicianship Year 8 Your exam will be mainly listening based, with a short written element. You will be asked about: Riffs The Blues Folk Music New Directions (Terry Riley's 'In C' and Steve Reich's 'Clapping Music') Year 10 Your exam will be a shortened version of a GCSE listening exam. Topics will include Areas of Study we have looked at since the start of the course. How to revise? Listen to music! Links to Spotify playlists for certain topics can be found below: Year 7: Fanfares Year 7: Instruments of the Orchestra Year 7: Samba Year 8: Riffs Year 8: The Blues Year 8: New Directions Year 8: Folk Music DSO KIDS - A great resource for instruments of the orchestra. ...

Lucky you! Every day this month, open a door to our Advent Calendar and listen to a track chosen by Mr Guinane, Ms Doan or Mr Burrett. Most tracks will be seasonal (how about a whistle stop tour through  our carols over the years?!) but we might even slip in music that we simply just love. Click here or below, save the link and get listening. Wishing you a wonderful lead up to Christmas. Mr G, Ms D and Mr B.

Well done everyone, we always love meeting our new GCSE classes. Here is a link to a folder of your recordings, to help with your homework, due Monday. Here is the document outlining the content for each of the four paragraphs. Here is a link to our Twitter account. Here is a link to our book. Thanks guys, Guinane and Doan

On Saturday, Ms Doan will be playing in the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra Concert in St Saviour's Church at 7.30pm. On the programme, every string player's dream: Bach Violin Concerto in E, a Handel Concerto Grosso and some Lennox Berkeley too. If you are in Senior Strings, you will love this. If you are in Year 9, two of the styles you will be studying at GCSE feature in this programme.  Arts Award students will also enjoy this. In actual fact, if you enjoy music on any level, you will enjoy this concert.  Please come. It's £3 for students, and you can buy your tickets in advance by clicking here , or you can get them on the door. Hope to see you there.

Hi all, Stuck on repeat: why we love repetition in music I just wanted to share this article; as a fan of all things repetitive in modern music, this is right up my street. This is 'my jam'. Have a read, and have a listen if something interests you. Cheers, Mr G

Right people listen up. Esteemed alumni Sarah Walker is organising a concert to raise funds for her planned trip to Tanzania and Malawi, where she plans to undertake important work as part of her gap year. It is an amazing project so get involved! When: This Sunday, 15th September, 7pm Where: Cunningham Hill Junior School, Cell Barnes Lane The evening will feature a huge range of performances from ex- and current Beaumont students. It promises to be a fantastic evening full of Music. Entry is FREE but donations to help Sarah fund her trip are welcome! Spread the word, and once again, get involved!

Dear Years 10 and 11, Click here for the link to the BBC's Composer of the Week. This week is John Williams, a god of film music. His credits include Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, E.T., Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, to name but a few. Check it out before it disappears (they will start to become unavailable from Monday I think), or get the Podcast for potted highlights. Highly recommended.

Here is the playlist for our weekly bookends.  If the chosen extract is from a larger work, we will put up the whole work and suggest you have a listen to it!  Subscribe to the playlist for notifications when a new piece added. Don't just play it from this blog post because I don't think the playlist updates once embedded! Here it is to get you going: