Spain El Vito
Traditional Andalucía Lullaby
Country:
Spain
Region:
Europe
Composer:
Traditional
Language:
Spanish
Genre:
Folk
Voicing:
SATB
Difficulty: Easy
Duration:
~2 minutes
About the Piece
“El Vito” is a 16th century folk song from Andalusia Spain. There are many verses available. Vito refers to the St. Vitus and the energetic nature of his dance. During the period of the Spanish Civil War the melody was used by the republican side as a sign of honor. The song continues to be modified with new arrangements and rendentions and is now a popular dance piece across Spain.
Lesson Plan Outline
Before Rehearsal
- Show a video presenting Andalucía musical culture
- Discuss the importance of movement with this style of music
- Talk about the difference in Spanish dialect across regions
During Rehearsal
- Teach melody to everybody in English
- Highly encourage teaching the melody by ear as it is great practice for the ensemble
- Has flexibility to work with your specific ensemble
- Teach melody in Spanish, focusing on proper pronunciation
- Start on canon singing, establishing part independence
- You can build on this foundation with on the arrangements below if you are looking for a more expansive version
Reflections
- What did we learn without rehearsing music in front of us?
- Did you find it easier to find an internal rhythm?
- If you taught this song to another person would it be exact? What does that show us about oral tradition?
Extension Activities
- Elementary: Create dance moves to help remember the words, though it wouldn’t be appropriate for a performance what does it provide the ensemble?
- Middle School: Play musical telephone
- Sing a short phrase of the melody to one student and let them teach it down the line, what changes occurred?
- High School: Does your family have oral traditions? How far back does information go without ever being written down?
Teaching Resources
Recording- Hal Leonard Choral
Available Arrangements –
More Resources and Downloads – www.mamalisa.com/elvito
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SOURCES
- www.flamenco.one
- wikipedia/elvito.com
- The Tourist’s Spain and Portugal by Ruth Kedzie Wood