The traditional story of The Stone Cutter is told by Molly Rainford accompanied by members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
The video
Narrator: Come to a magical place,of fairy tales and adventure.Let the music take you away,to Musical Storyland.
Molly:Welcome to Musical Storyland with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.My name is Molly and these are my friends and their musical instruments.
Kuljit: Hello. I'm Kuljit and I play the tabla.
Midori: My name is Midori and I play the violin.
Kenny: My name's Kenny and I play the oboe and the cor anglais.
Molly: Together, we're going to tell the musical story of the Stone Cutter.A tale that is told in India.Once upon a time. There was a stone cutter.Chick, chick, chick, chick,went his tools as day after day.He chipped away at the bottom of the mountain,and filled his basket with stones.One day the stone cutter saw a rich man mounted on the back of a horse.I'm tired of being a hard working stone cutter, he thought,
I would be much happier if I was a rich man, riding my horse wherever I choose.
The stone cutter closed his eyes and wished that he was a rich man.When he opened his eyes, the stone cutter's wish had come true!
Chick, chick, chick, chik.
Stone cutter, stone cutter, what do you see?
Chick, chick, chick, chick.
Rich man, rich man, that's what I'll be!
The stone cutter was now a rich man,
riding his horse through the town.
He heard the trumpet of elephants and saw a king sitting on a throne underneath a huge umbrella.
He thought, I shouldn't be a rich man. I should be a king, sitting in the shade.
The rich man closed his eyes and wished that he was a king.
When he opened his eyes, the rich man's wish had come true!
Chick, chick, chick, chick.
Rich man, rich man. What do you see?
I see a king, that's what I'll be!
The rich man was now a king sitting in the shade. He looked down at the people fanning themselves under the hot and powerful sun.He thought, I shouldn't be a king. I should be the sun, shining down on everyone.
The King closed his eyes and wished that he was the sun.When he opened his eyes, the King's wish had come true!
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
King, king, what do you see?
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
I'll be the sun. that's what I'll be!
The king was now the great yellow, shining sun. The sun enjoyed making people hot. But suddenly a huge cloud passed before him, blocking out his rays.Who would have imagined that a cloud could be more powerful than the sun, he thought.
The sun closed his eyes and wished that he was a clown. When he opened his eyes the sun's wish had come true.
Chick, chick, chick, chick.
Sun, sun, what do you see?
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
I'll be a cloud, that's what I'll be!
The sun was now a cloud, floating in the sky and raining down on the people below.But then the cloud's way was blocked by a huge mountain - rising out of the earth.He thought, I shouldn't be a cloud, I should be should be an enormous mountain!
The cloud closed his eyes and wished that he was a mountain.When he opened his eyes, the cloud's wish had come true.
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
Cloud, cloud, what do you see?
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
I'll be a mountain, that's what I'll be!
The cloud had become a strong, tall mountain.He heard a sound rising up through the air: chick, chick, chick, chick.It was a stone cutter, chipping away at the base of the mountain and filling a basket with stones.The mountain thought I shouldn't be a mountain, I should be a stone cutter - they're much more powerful that an mountain.The mountain closed his eyes and wished that he was a stone cutter.When he opened his eyes, the mountain's wish had come true!He had become himself once more, a stone cutter, chipping away at the side of the mountain and filling his basket with stones.
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
Mountain, mountain, what do you see?
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
I'll be a stone cutter, that's what I'll be.
Well, that's the end of our musical story of the stone cutter - who was most happy when he was himself.
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
stone cutter, stone cutter, what do you see?
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
I am a stone cutter, happy to be me!
Stone cutter, stone cutter, what do you see?
Chick, chick, chick, chick,
I am a stone cutter happy to be me.
The Stone Cutter
Presenter: Molly Rainford
Composer: Daniel Whibley
Instruments: Tabla / Violin / Oboe / Cor Anglais
Synopsis
The Stone Cutter is unhappy with his humble job and wishes for greater things in life. One day he see's a rich man riding a horse and wishes that he was a rich man. He makes the wish and, when he opens his eyes, the stone cutter's wish has come true!
The stone cutter rides through town as a rich man. He hears the trumpet of elephants and sees a king sitting on a throne underneath a huge umbrella. The rich man closes his eyes and wishes that he was a king. When he opens his eyes, his wish has once again come true - he is now a king sitting in the shade.
The king looks down at the people fanning themselves under the hot and powerful sun. He thinks he should be the sun, shining down on everyone. The king closes his eyes and wishes to be the sun.
The king is now a great yellow, shining sun, enjoying making people hot. But then a cloud passes before him, blocking out his rays, so he closes his eyes and wishes that he was a cloud.
The sun is now a cloud, floating in the sky and raining down on the people below. But then the cloud's way is blocked by a huge mountain rising out of the earth. He thinks, 'I shouldn't be a cloud, I should be an enormous mountain.'
Once more his wish comes true, and he becomes a strong, tall mountain. In the distance, he can hear a stone cutter, chipping away at the base of the mountain and filling a basket with stones. 'I should be a stone cutter,' he thinks. 'They're much more powerful than a mountain.'
He closes his eyes and wishes to be a stone cutter once more. When he opens them, he has returned to a stone cutter, happy to be himself, chipping away at the side of the mountain.
Curriculum links
Music
The film and the accompanying Teacher Notes can be used to fulfil the following objectives of the Key Stage 1 music curriculum, which states that pupils should be taught to:
- use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
- play tuned and untuned instruments musically
- listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
- experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
English
The film and the accompanying Teacher Notes can also be used to target objectives from the Key Stage 1 English curriculum, particularly relating to Spoken language, Reading and Writing.
Resources
Teacher Notes. document
Download / print the Teacher Notes for this episode
The instruments. image
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Vocabulary. image
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