In 1842, Mendelssohn wrote his famous "Scottish Symphony".  This symphony, like much of Mendelssohn's work, portrays the experiences he had in that area.  His motives and themes were influenced by the Scottish culture and landscape.  Other works by Mendelssohn that were influenced by geographic areas are his "Italian Symphony" (No. 4, 1833) and his symphonic poem entitled, "Die Hebriden" or "The Hebrides" (1832).  This piece is also known as "Fingals Hohle" or "Fingals Cave".

    Felix Mendelssohn was born on February 3, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany.  He was an extremely talented composer, and unlike many of the Romantic composers, he wrote mainly in the Classical style.  He was influenced by the works of Bach, Handel, and Mozart.  He wrote many works for all genres and styles.  He wrote 13 symphonies, along with numerous concertos and overtures.  He also excelled in music for the piano.  His "Songs Without Words" (1835), are some of his most famous pieces for piano.  He also wrote a wide variety of vocal and choral music.  His oratorio, "Elijah", is still very popular and performed very often today.

    There are four movements in Mendelssohn's "Scottish Symphony".  The seond movement is called "Vivace non troppo".  This movement is based on two themes that recur many times throughout the movement.  The themes are based on sixteenth notes and dotted eighth and sixteenth notes.  This combination of note values gives this movement its "Scottish" flavor.

    The rhythms in this movement are very repetitive and can be learned easily through the use of  speech patterns, echo-clapping drills, or body percussion scores.  There are three motives which repeat often throughout the movement.  For a lesson plan to teach the rhythms click here.
 
    The form of this piece loosely follows rondo form.  In rondo form, an opening theme is introduced (Theme A) which repeats throughout the piece, interspersed with other themes.  The letter scheme for rondo is ABACABA.  The C theme is used only in the middle of the form, as a transition back to the A theme.  It is a very complete and rounded form.  In the "Vivace non troppo", Mendelssohn uses this form loosely, adding some variations of his own.  One way to learn and introduce the themes is to use a concentration call chart.  This chart outlines the themes of the piece and allows students to follow along while listening to a recording.  You can see a concentration call chart for this piece by clicking here.  You can see a lesson plan for teaching form by clicking here.

    The melodies found in this piece are very singable and easy to learn.  The melody for theme A is challenging, and is very difficult to sing up to tempo with a recording.  For this reason, only themes B and C are outlined with lesson plans.  To view the lesson plans for teaching these themes, click here.   To see a list of National Standards and Behavioral Objectives met by this lesson click here.

    The harmony of this piece is very straightforward.  Medelssohn was trained in a very Classical style and so his pieces, while still showing influences of the Romantic era, all follow logical key schemes.  This movement of his "Scottish Symphony" is in F major, modulating to d minor and C major, but returning to F major in the end.

    Mendelssohn's music was very expressive.  His use of dynamics and musical markings help to shape the piece.  In the "Vivace non troppo," he contrasts many of the different dynamic levels.  He uses the softest dynamic, piano, and crescendos and to the loudest dynamic, forte.  Mendelssohn also uses different stylistic traits to create drama.  At times he has the strings play pizzacato, or play using a tremolo.  These all add to the intensity of the piece.

    To test your knowledge of Mendelssohn and his "Vivace non troppo" from the Scottish Symphony, click here.

To purchase the cd of this symphony