Peachtree Street from Cityscape a concerto for orchestra by Jennifer Higdon Higdon (born: Brooklyn, NY, 1962)

2005 GRAMMY Award Winner for Best Engineered Album, Classical

“I listen to all sorts of stuff. Almost never traditional Classical works. Sometimes contemporary Classical (I’ve got about 3,000 CDs of this type) but lots of other things which provide a contrasting soundtrack to what I might be composing during the day. I’ve been listening to the Dixie Chicks a lot lately, Allison Krauss (a real favorite), the new Beatles “Love” remix, Roxanne Panufnik’s choral music, Eminem’s various rap discs, Time For Three’s latest stuff, John Adams’ “Dharma at Big Sur”, Fleetwood Mac, James Blunt, general music from the 60’s, soundtrack to “Road to Perdition,” Peter, Paul & Mary, and Chanticleer’s discs.”

Let’s listen to Peachtree Street as we follow Peachtree Street from a helicopter. tree/footage.htm - clip1

PeachtreeStreet is in Rondo Form ABACADAEAFA Can you find the pattern?

Rondo Form ABACADAEAFAABACADAEAFA A keeps coming back!

THEME Loud, Busy, Calm, Quiet Instruments Theme A Theme B Theme A Theme C Theme A Theme D Theme A Theme E Theme A Theme F Theme A

THEMELoud, Busy, Calm, QuietInstruments Theme A Loud and busyFull orchestra Theme B Theme A Theme C Theme A Theme D Theme A Theme E Theme A Theme F Theme A

THEMELoud, Busy, Calm, QuietInstruments Theme A Loud and busyFull orchestra Theme B Busy and quietstrings Theme A Theme C Theme A Theme D Theme A Theme E Theme A Theme F Theme A You do the rest!

6 groups Let’s get in 6 groups, one for each theme. letter Turn your paper over and write the letter of your theme at the top. Illustrate what you might see on your part of Peachtree Street as you listen again. You do not have to draw the same thing that others in your group are drawing. What might your see?: (here are some ideas) A busy intersection with lots of cars beeping their horns? A café where people are sitting outside sipping iced tea and having lunch? Lots of tall buildings with many people walking on the sidewalks? People sitting in a park enjoying the birds and trees? People out shopping at little shops, stopping to look in the windows? A nice house with a beautiful flower garden and trees?

Now, let’s listen again. This time, come up and show what you drew when you hear your theme.

Here are some sites from around Peachtree Street to see while you listen. Do you think the picture matches the music well? Wait until the music is over to say what you think.

A 0:00-0:49 Full orchestra, loud with trumpet in the background

B 0:50-1:19 Strings, playfully play

A 1:20-1:39 Full orchestra, loud with trumpet in the background

C 1:40-2:12 Woodwinds play then strings join at the end

A 2:13-2:30 Full orchestra

D 2:31-3:05 Percussion plays

A 3:06-3:40 Full orchestra, starts soft, gets loud, then gets soft at the end

E 3:41-4:12 Brass instruments play

A 4:13-4:43 Full orchestra, then gets soft at the end

F 4:44-5:28 Strings, then woodwinds added, then percussion added.

A 5:29-end Full orchestra

What pictures do YOU think matched the music well?