1. The Gallop William Tell Overture Rossini Programmatic
Music
2. 1. Which instruments play the loud fanfare at the beginning
of the piece? 2. How would you describe the speed of tempo of the
music? 3. What instrument from the string family can you hear
playing in the middle of The Gallop? Listen and Answer these
Questions
3. List instruments and their families Instrument Instrument
family
4. In the 14th century there lived a hunter named William Tell
in Switzerland. The ruler of Switzerland was an angry Austrian man
named Gessler who was a representative of the Austrian Emperor. He
had a hat hanging on a post of a small town. Everyone was supposed
to show bow to the hat as a sign of acceptance to Gessler however
William Tell walked past with his son and ignored it. The
Story
5. William Tell was arrested and told he would be released if
he shot an apple off his sons head from 150 paces. He was
successful and split the apple cleanly in two, he was told to leave
until the guards spotted another arrow in his cloak. William said
the second arrow was to kill Gessler if his son was harmed. The
Story
6. William was arrested and told he would be locked in a
dungeon across Lake Lucerne for the rest of his life. As they
crossed the lake a violent storm arose and William Tells expert
skills safely got the boat to shore. He escaped with his son and
travelled the countryside urging the Swiss to revolt against the
ruler, Gessler. The final portion of the music is titled The Battle
Call. The represents the Swiss rising to overthrow the tyrant
Gessler and the Austrian rule of Switzerland. The Story
7. How does the composer create the image of the story? List
some examples below and discuss. Question