At the end of a busy term, P7B have just finished listening to an  incredible album by Shetland fiddling sisters Jenna and Bethany Reid.

Upon reading the true story of the WW2 Norwegian resistance fighter,  the sisters decided to write a suite of music which tells the story very emotively and in such a thought provoking way. On the album, Phil Goodlad, also from Shetland originally, tells the dramatic and chilling story of Jan’s journey, and each piece of music that follows, brings the story alive.

Once we had heard each part of the narration, we focused our listening and completed activities based on what we had heard on each track. In this post are examples of some of the work the class produced as well as mp3 files of all the pieces of music we listened to.

Track 1: Jan’s March

Track 2: Brattholm

Track 3: Escape/Double Cross

Track 4: Firefight

Track 5: Marching

Track 6: Avalanche

Track 7: Marius

Track 8: At the Summit

Track 9: Desolation

Track 10: Kilpisjarvi/Freedom in Sweden

Track 11: Jan’s Return

We also recently had the opportunity for a Q&A session with Jenna via Zoom, and we’re very grateful that she gave up her time to meet with us and answer our array of questions about the music, the story and her fiddling career.

None of us can truly comprehend what Jan went through. One man’s fight to free his country. One man’s spirit to never give up. It’s why no one should every forget the sacrifice of those who took part in the Shetland Bus.

P7B have started this term by learning about the differences between singing in unison and singing in a round.

Singing in unison is an easier skill to master than singing in a round as everyone is singing the same thing at the same time. In round singing, we sing the same melody, but two or more people/groups start the song at a different time which means they also end at a different time.

Singing in a round produces overlapping harmonies and gives the music layers, enhancing the texture of the sound – elements of music which P7B have already learned about but are now putting into context.

Below are a couple of informative slides and also the audio file of the class singing in 4 groups which is an incredibly difficult thing to do! Not only do they need to sing accurately, in terms of pitch and melody, but they’ve also got to really focus on their listening skills as well as their sense of pulse.  Well done P7B – good effort!