Symphony Listening Program -

What

Symphony Listening Program -

When

11/3/2025

Audio file
Day 1: This week'sfeature composer is William Byrd. The feature composition is quipasse (Kee pASS_eh). William Byrd was a composer who lived in England during the time of kings and queens and castles. It was a time when beautifultapestries hung on the walls and royalty woreclothes made from material with colourful embroidery, even gold thread. It was a time before the piano was invented. Byrdcomposed this music for a harpsichord. The harpsichord has a keyboard like a piano but with fewer keys. The strings are plucked with hooked quills. Byrd knew how to use this crisp but fuzzy sound tocreate music as richly decorated as the tapestries on the castle walls.

Day 2: This week's feature composer isWilliam Byrd. The feature composition is quipasse.    The harpsichord existed before the piano wasinvented. It has a keyboard like a piano but it is smaller and its strings areplucked with hooked quills. Byrd knew how to create beautifulmusic with a crisp but fuzzy sound. Byrd began with a singing melody and asimple accompaniment. Then he decided to decorate his melody with very quick flurries of notes called trills. Then Byrd createdother melodies to be played with his first melody. And then, he decorated them all!

Day 3: This week's feature composer isWilliam Byrd. The feature composition is quipasse. Byrd was a composer-during the time of kings and queens and castles. Hecomposed Qui Passe for the harpsichord. Byrd understood its crisp but fuzzy sound. He began his composition with a simple, singing melody. Thenhe created several melodies that could be played at the same time. Byrd decorated his melody with trills. Byrd's music is like looking at atapestry. We see what the picture is right away and then we start tonotice the decorations and details.

Day 4: This week's feature composer isWilliam Byrd. The feature composition is quipasse. Byrd lived during the time when tapestries hung on castle walls and royalty wore clothing that was sumptuously embroidered. Byrd designed his music the same way. He wove several melodies together, decoratingthem with trills. In this way, he made the music sound like atapestry- full, colourful, and rich.

Day 5: This week's feature composition is qui passe. Can you think of the name of the composer? (short pause.) Are you thinking of William Byrd? Good for you. Byrd knew how to use the crisp but fuzzy sound of the harpsichord to create music as richly decorated as thetapestries that hung on the castle walls.