![]() ![]() Listen closely to the music, a constant element in this scene, and you will be rewarded with greater insights into the dramatic structure of The Wizard of Oz. Watch that scene where Dorothy pleads for Toto’s life again and listen to how subtle and effective the music is, establishing characters, enhancing the constantly shifting mood, amplifying psychological intentions, and foreshadowing upcoming events in the film. There are other composers whose names are a little more famous, but here is Stothart’s masterful underscore helping The Wizard of Oz to move along convincingly from beginning to end and I bet you’ve never heard his name, even if you love the movie. ![]() Herbert Stothart is a great example of an unsung film music hero of Hollywood’s golden age. I haven’t watched the whole movie lately, but I bet you will hear it in a couple other places when you see Toto running in the opening black and white scenes. I don’t know why he thought to use Schumann’s song, but it fits pretty well, doesn’t it? A good leitmotif for Toto. Unfortunately this clip doesn’t go on for much longer, but it’s enough to hear Schumann’s tune, written into the score by composer Herbert Stothart, and souped up in grand orchestration to fit the tone of the glittery, fast-moving film. Did you hear it? It starts right at 2:30, just as Toto hops out of the basket. When I started learning The Happy Farmer I could have sworn I had heard it before. ![]() I was not Suzuki trained myself, but many violin teachers pull music for their students from the Suzuki books even if they don’t use the precise method. I learned to play it in middle school while my violin teacher guided me through some of the Suzuki books. Many violinists, pianists and cellists know this song as “The Happy Farmer” as that’s how it is titled whenever it appears in the repertoire of the Suzuki Method. Can you imagine the exhausted but happy serf of the title tripping briskly down the road, back to his home, whistling a happy tune? This particular piece is roughly translated as “The merry peasant returns from work”, although you see various translations in different places. It’s called Album for the Young, and he published it as his Opus 68. This little piano piece, written by the German composer Robert Schumann in the late 1840s, is part of a collection of short, easy pieces that he wrote to help his daughters learn to play the piano. Smartandsoulful on Music About Snow, Day 4…Įlizabeth Saunders on Music About Snow, Day 4… Smartandsoulful on Weekend Gems #2 – Robert…
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