Page 10 - ScaredRabbits

There is space for five more animals, represented by hobo, BͲclarinet, contrabassoon, Horn
in F and Trumpet in C.

This is one of the weak points in the setting of this composition; to match the concept the
number of playing children would need to be nine. In our first performance we had seven
children playing the animals and one for the apple tree; we needed to ‘stretch’ the play a
little to attune to the musical frame – not optimal, but with some fantasy we made it.
Especially the children did not mind at all, the spectators/trees were the ones who
commented much more about it… As the composition stays rather simple, it would be
possible to adapt it a various number of participants – if there are many children, two could
play animals of the same race.

3rd scene: Golden Lion appears – mountain – roar Ͳ silence
Presto R = 160 – Switch from C major to B flat major

Before the Lion appears, the race of the animals move to the background in a decrescendo,
the strings underline the atmosphere of authority in the Lion’s appearance – trombone solo
– first fragment of the musical main theme.

The music illustrates the growing interest and care of the Golden Lion for the emotional
state of the animals, becoming aware of his task to ‚catch the collective fear’ – he speeds up
and runs up the mountain, thus overtaking the running animals – pictured in the Zoroastrian
scale (bar 117 to 124), cutting across the waves of fear of the animals – the scene culminates
in three roars of the Lion, each of them more intense than before (bars 125 to 135 – eighths,
triplet eighths, sixteenths) followed by six measures of silence.

4th scene: Dialogue of the Lion with each individual animal

Maestoso R = 90:

This sequence (bars 141 to 178) is set in a 7/4Ͳbeat, the Golden Lion needs to lead the
animals’ collective fear back to peace and quiet. He does so by attuning to them and inviting
them to ponder more deeply into the causes, invites them to reflection, quiet and
responsibility.

a) 2/4 = I have understood that you run, I run with you
b) 2/4 = As long as we run, we cannot have quiet and peace
c) 3/4 = Does it make sense that you are running? Why do you run?

The still deeply rooted collective fear in the animals cause that in the beginning they do not
perceive the Lion’s rhythm and answer his first question in the same hectic fourͲbeat. (bars
147 and 148).

The Lion then addresses – according to the hierarchy of the animals – the elephant
(synonymous with quiet and grandeur among the animals), the latter responds first to the
rhythm, authority and invitation of the Lion – he answers, and an ever repeating dialogue
opens. So the Lion moves on from animal to animal, speaks in his own rhythm, but in the
language and pitch of the individual animal, and the animals answer in the rhythm of the
Lion – same question – same answer.

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