Michael Rosen kindly composed a new poem called "The Listening Lions" recently commissioned by Historyworks to tell the story about the stone lions which recline above the steps of The Fitzwilliam Museum.  To launch the "Singing History" project we've commissioned a range of songs about the Lions and invite primary schools to get involved by using our resources, to learn the poem as a performance piece, play with body percussion, get creative with poetry, compose raps, riffs, songs! 

Please do scroll down the pages you will find sections for teachers and singers, with lyrics, sound files, scores - with wonderful rounds and songs Historyworks has commissioned from the composer, Kirsty Martin based on Michael Rosen's lion poem lyrics.  You can learn all the songs by ear by playing the sound files to hear what the songs will sound like when singing with others, and also listen to a sound file to hear and learn an individual part for a song.  There are also going to be films and lesson plans for learning to perform Michael Rosen's lion poem, his invitation to get creative with words, sounds, percussion.

Singing History - Intro to Lion Poem & Song Resources for Schools

Michael Rosen is working with Helen Weinstein and Jon Calver at Historyworks - hosted at The Fitzwilliam Museum itself so that we can all take inspiration from the Lions for Michael Rosen's invitation for primary school children and their teachers to get creative - on film you can see Michael performing some of his favourite poems to describe and show how he plays with words and ideas - explaining how he came up with the idea for the lion poem and chose the words to be lyrically fun - from which we invite classes, choirs, families, children - to make up some further lyrics about the lions, sing some rounds and songs playing with the words and ideas, create some rhythms and riffs using our bodies as percussion, and have the team at Historyworks produce short films and podcasts with Michael and the students performing - so that we can share these to inspire others to be creative  - school children & their teachers, musicians & poets, families & museum practitioners.

If you scroll down the pages you will find sections for teachers and singers, with lyrics, sound files, scores - with wonderful rounds and songs Historyworks has commissioned from the composer, Kirsty Martin based on Michael Rosen's lion poem lyrics.  You can learn all the songs by ear by playing the sound files to hear what the songs will sound like when singing with others, and also listen to a sound file to hear and learn an individual part for a song.

Importantly, in these resources on this website for teachers and students to use, we also have a section about the history of The Fitzwilliam Museum stone lions, which we will augment in 2015 ready for celebrating in 2016 the 200th anniversary of their creation, when Viscount Fitz donated his art collection and money for the founding and building of The Fitzwilliam Museum in 1816.  

In these pages, we next have a page about Michael Rosen where you can hear him reading his poem called "The Listening Lions" and a short film showing him reciting the poem on the day it was composed!   The original poem was commissioned by Historyworks in 2014 as part of The Cycle of Songs.  Michael has also shared with us his reflections about writing poetry, specifically describing how he went out about writing the poem - how he played with ideas about four stone lions and what they may see and hear during 200 years.  

In addition, Historyworks has commissioned Kirsty Martin to compose some songs based on Michael Rosen's lyrics. We've uploaded these as scores and sound files available in these resources pages which you'l find if you scroll down.  

There is a page about the composer, Kirsty Martin.  This describes her work with Historyworks for Cycle of Songs.  You can hear Kirsty singing too in the sound files because she has kindly recorded full versions and parts of the songs so that teachers and students can listen and learn by ear.  There are also scores which are offered as pdfs which are kindly transcribed by Colin Douglas for teachers and students who can read music.  If you can't read music you can instead find the lyrics on these pages and the sound files too! 

THE FITZ LION ROUND - The introductory song is a round based on the main concept of the poem, which is called "The Fitz Lion Round". This is for voices singing in unison and singers can be divided into one or two or three parts.  The score shows where each part can come in, and you can also listen to it and learn by ear.

THE FITZ TRIP TRAP ROUND  - In addition, Kirsty Martin has composed a fun round based on the refrain "Trip Trap Clamber Amble or Run" which we've called "The Fitz Trip Trap".  In the first version, this is set out in the sound file and score to be sung by unision voices.   In the second version of "The Fitz Trip Trap" there is a wonderful composition which will take more time to learn which is a round sung in harmony. 

THE LISTENING LIONS SONG - The last score and sound files which Kirsty Martin has composed uses all the verses of Michael Rosen's lion poem. You will find the lyrics, score, and sound files in these resources as the last song.  It is called "The Listening Lions" and it uses the elements of the rounds and builds these into a more complex piece.  This is set out in sound files for singers to learn -  part 1 is for high voices, part 2 is for mid voices, and part 3 is for low voices.  The score shows how the rounds and the verses for 3 parts come together.

Soon we will also upload lesson plans for history and music and creative writing, and also audio for body percussion for teachers and students to learn how to make riffs to go with the "Trip Trap" refrain and to accompany the creative lyric workshop.

Historyworks plans that this project on the Fitz Lions will be the first of several in our "Singing History" project. It will be disseminated into schools using these Online Resources.  The King's College Choristers are also prepping to teach primary singers "The Listening Lions Song" which will be filmed so that the singers can teach other children in Cambridge to sing it.  Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music at King's College, offers music workshops in Cambridge primary schools next term for years 2/4 with choristers demonstrating and teaching songs to students.

Historyworks is pleased to have won funding from the John Lewis Cambridge Music Awards to assist with visiting Cambridge primary schools and producing resources for teachers and students. Also, to The Fitzwilliam Museum for hosting the event with Michael Rosen and the participating primary school singers on 5th December 2014.

We expect many inspirational lyrics and compositions will be created by the primary students following on from the workshop. Those new pieces - whether poems, animations, songs, stories - can be uploaded onto the Historyworks site here if you get in touch and share the pieces! We are grateful to CaMEO, the Cambridge Music Faculty Education and Outreach for partnering with Historyworks to disseminate the project to a wide group of Cambridge Schools and we'll work with Tizzy and Mario and Joe at CaMEO the following term too, so please be in contact if you would like your Primary School to be involved: historyworks@gmail.com

Michael Rosen's Historyworks Film - please watch & share!

Film featuring Michael Rosen, Inja, Kirsty Martin, Tizzy Faller & Mario Satchwell & fab primary school singers! 

The workshop at The Fitzwilliam Museum was organized by Hitoryworks in partnership with The Fitzwilliam Museum and with CaMEO the Cambridge Museum Education Outreach team.   We made a film featuring the children from four Cambridge primary schools led by the wonderful poet Michael Rosen, the amazing Rapper Inja, the energetic composer Kirsty Martin, the body percussion leaders from CaMEO Tizzy Faller & Mario Satchwell and the Director of Music at King's with the choristers showing how to sing lines of the lion song.  You can see from the film how MIchael Rosen shaped the event, helping us lead the children from learning to make sounds with their mouths, to having creative fun with words and gestures, playing with repetition and sequences of sounds, until the children were composing their own poetry!  Take a look at our film:

Press Release: Children’s author Michael Rosen roars at the Fitzwilliam Museum

The well-loved writer of dozens of children’s books, including We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, and former British Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen has been working with school children at the Fitzwilliam Museum on his new poem about the Museum’s famous lions.

Michael Rosen composed the new poem called The Listening Lions about the stone lions which recline above the steps of the Fitzwilliam Museum. The original poem was commissioned by Historyworks in 2014 as part of Cambridge’s ‘Cycle of Songs’.  Historyworks has newly commissioned a series of songs, rounds, and raps from composer Kirsty Martin and Cambridge rapper Inja based on the words of Michael Rosen’s Lion poem, designed for primary school choirs.

On Friday 5^th December 2014, Michael Rosen led a lyric workshop with 125 Cambridge primary school children at the Fitzwilliam Museum, performing some of his favourite poems and helping the children invent further lyrics about the lions, sing rounds, songs, and play with words and ideas. The schools involved are Milton Village Primary, St Phillips Primary, Milton Road Primary and King’s College School. Historyworks will be producing short films and podcasts of Michael and the students performing to share with school children, teachers, museums and families across Cambridge and beyond.

Michael Rosen says: “In my new poem about the Fitzwilliam Lions, I’ve written the poem pretending to be the lions.  I heard about the story about them getting up at night and going to drink from the conduit on Trumpington Street. I thought it was interesting that they look as if they are asleep.  Then I thought about them dreaming. What would very old lions who have been there almost two hundred years be dreaming about?  And what would they hear as they sit there, year after year, in rain and sun?  Poems and Songs are very good for letting you into the minds of people, and are sometimes in effect soliloquies.  It has been very rewarding to be hosted at the Fitzwilliam Museum today, to be moved by words and personal stories.”

Helen Weinstein, Creative Director of Historyworks says: “Today has been enormous fun to see the children be creative with words, with music, with rhythms – all inspired by the Lions of the Fitz – I don’t think any of the children will ever forget having such an astonishing time with Michael Rosen.  The Museum was humming, literally, with the sound of the choirs, and with the children learning to make noises for poetry and body percussion, culminating in their co-creation of a freestyle rap led by Michael and Inja. It was great to finish the workshop by singing the song to the Lions, composed by Kirsty Martin set to Michael’s words, called “The Fitz Trip Trap Round”.  Historyworks is committed to connecting people in Cambridge to the places where they live, work, and study, using artistic practice and using digital platforms.  Celebrating the 1816 founding of The Fitzwilliam Museum and the Lions with a group of wonderful primary singers led by the astonishing wordsmith, Michael Rosen, was certainly a very apt way to make a noise about the past to mark this inspiring institution!”

Rachel Sinfield of the Fitzwilliam Museum comments:  “We have been delighted to host the Historyworks day with Michael Rosen as part of our ongoing outreach programme to schools across the region.  Most importantly as part of the day, Michael Rosen was able to spend lunch with families from East Anglia's Children's Hospices in Milton with whom we have been working with for the past two years.  Supporting families coping with grief of any kind is important to Michael.  He wrote an incredibly personal book in 2004 about the death of his 19 year old son Eddie from meningitis, called “Sad Book”  to help other people and children cope with feelings of sadness or loss.  We are enormously grateful for the time he spent with the schools and the families today.”

Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music, King’s College says: “This event provided a great opportunity for children to come together and make music – communal singing is such fun.  To do this in the wonderful surroundings of The Fitzwilliam Museum was an added bonus.  The choristers of King’s were delighted to share their singing of Michael Rosen’s new Lion song with so many children of Years 5 & 6 from Primary Schools across Cambridge.”

Anna-Louise Lawrence, Choir Leader, Milton Road Primary says: “This is a wonderful opportunity for our Chamber Choir to celebrate and share music making with a committed group of trained musicians.  They are ready to take on the technical challenges and widen their experiences to see how poets and composers collaborate, and also how best to use movement and gesture and body percussion to create performances.  Also, as they experience adults, especially the leadership from the team at Historyworks today working with poet Michael Rosen and composer Kirsty Martin and rapper Inja  - all sharing their passions for creativity - then they see and understand that music making is not in isolation to other creative practice.  Michael Rosen made poems with rhythm and shared how the children could learn them after only hearing them once.  It was a truly magical and inspiring event brilliantly organized by Historyworks and wonderfully hosted by the Fitzwilliam Museum.”

Graham McArthur, Headteacher, Milton Road Primary says: “We are delighted to continue our musical, creative association with Helen Weinstein and the Historyworks team and their gift for creative projects.  We were thrilled to be invited to this special event, for the children to experience creativity with poet Michael Rosen and rapper Inja.  It is also excellent to have the benefit of the Historyworks collaboration with the CaMEO colleagues from the Cambridge Music Education Outreach.  The children in our choir have learnt such a lot in terms of performance and repertoire, working with experts in the field as we all their peer groups from the other schools.  This in turn has spawned new partnerships, with, for example the King’s College Choristers.  To sing together in such a fantastic setting today at the Fitzwilliam Museum has been an absolute joy.” 

For more information and further quotes please call Helen Weinstein at Historyworks: 07974-827-753. 

A downloadable PDF file of this press release will be available soon. If you would like a copy please contact  Helen Weinstein at historyworks@gmail.com

Additional Information

The primary school choirs involved in the Michael Rosen day include The Spinney School Primary, Milton Road Primary, St Phillip’s Primary, Milton CE Primary, and the King’s Choristers.

To find the lyrics of the poem by Michael Rosen and the accompanying sound files and scores of the songs by Kirsty Martin, please go to the project page at Historyworks via http://historyworks.tv/

Historyworks is pleased to have won funding from the John Lewis Cambridge Music Awards to assist with visiting Cambridge primary schools and producing resources for teachers and students.  Also, the music facilitators from the University of Cambridge’s CaMEO (Cambridge Music Education Outreach) have provided an important partnership to support and disseminate the project into Cambridge primary schools.  If you would like your primary school to be involved, please contact the Creative Director of Historyworks on historyworks@gmail.com

Founded in 1816, the Fitzwilliam Museum is the principal museum of the University of Cambridge and lead partner for the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) Major Partner Museum programme, funded by The Arts Council.  The Fitzwilliam’s collections explore world history and art from antiquity to the present day. It houses over half a million objects from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts, to medieval illuminated manuscripts, masterpiece paintings from the Renaissance to the 21st century, world class prints and drawings, and outstanding collections of applied arts, ceramics, coins, and Asian arts. The Fitzwilliam presents a wide ranging public programme of major exhibitions, events and education activities, and is an internationally recognised institute of learning, research and conservation.

www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Michael Rosen’s Lion Poem Live at the Fitz!

On Friday 5^th December 2014, a wonderful morning of poetry, song, and performance for schoolchildren took place at the Fitzwilliam Museum with the poet and former British Children’s Poet Laureate Michael Rosen, poet and rapper Inja, composer Kirsty Martin, and music outreach officers Tizzy Faller and Mario Satchwell.

The event, organised by Historyworks who devised the day with support from partners and funders, Cambridge Music Education Outreach (CaMEO) and John Lewis Cambridge Music Award, was hosted by the Fitzwilliam Museum. It involved 125 children from four schools all sharing in a collaborative workshop with fantastic practitioners.

The day started at 9:30am when the children arrived at the museum, making their way past the great stone lions that inspired Michael’s poem The Listening Lions, expertly guided by the Education Team at the Fitz to see the lions and view them carefully before entering into the museum.

There they were welcomed by the MC of the proceedings Helen Weinstein who had organized for the first singers using the wonderful space in Gallery 3 to be the King’s Choristers singing The Listening Lions Song, composed by Kirtsy Martin. Tizzy Faller and Mario Satchwell, Outreach Officers at CaMEO, also led the arriving primary school choirs in some warm-up exercises, including a reworked version of “Who stole the cookie from the cookie-jar?” that they had altered perfectly for the event to “Who made the lions roar?” Earlier in the week, Tizzy and Mario had worked with Helen Weinstin to create an online resource for primary teachers to teach body percussion, which has been piloted with the children of St Phillip’s Primary School who were all set at the Fitz to show others how to be creating music using only their mouths and hands on their bodies, and the pupils took their newly learnt body percussion skills with confidence to the session and shared them with the other schools.

Helen Weinstein, Creative Director of Historyworks, and Rachel Sinfield, Head of Education at the Fitzwilliam Museum, gave an introduction to the day’s events, the history of the museum, the stone lions, and the links that the founding donor of the Fitz, Richard FitzWilliam, the man whom the museum is named after, had to music and collecting important scores.

Michael Rosen then stepped to the front and provided the room with a reading of his poem, The Listening Lions, followed by twenty minutes of poems, performance, and insights into what inspires his writing and how the children and teachers can do it too. The room rang with the laughter and joy that Michael created as he performed his poems, sharing the importance of repetition, repeating patterns of words and sounds and actions.  Michael worked with the children to think about how you take a subject like the stone lions and explore the creative potential, and got them to mimic the faces depicted in the decorative plasterwork above everyone around the walls of the red walls of gallery 3.

Now that Tizzy and Mario had warmed the children up vocally, and Michael had warmed them up creatively, the poet and rapper Inja led them in another workshop activity. This time they were to think about the lions and shout out the words that they had thought of. Tizzy and Helen were the appointed scribes towrite these words on big flip charts. Inja used his creative vocal and lyrical dexterity to freestyle a rap based on the children’s suggestions which amazed many of the primary participants!

The room was in awe and when asked if they thought Inja should come to their schools to do this again they all roared out a "Yes!"

The children then got the opportunity to work on their own ideas in small groups, to share and develop a short poem based on Michael’s approach to the lions and his earlier encouragement for them to be creative.

The children, inspired by the morning’s events, got straight down to the task, talking with each other in groups of three, formulating ideas, and putting pencil to paper.

They were then asked to share their poems with the room, and Michael, Inja, and Helen all helped take a phrase or a line from each new poem and put it to a beat or harmony for everyone to sing, showing just how easy it can be to be inspired and translate that into writing and performance.

This activity marked the end of the workshop but the children did get the opportunity to go visit the lions one more time as Helen invited everyone to be gathered on the portico steps for a press photo, before returning back to school.

The morning of activities, delivered by remarkable performers in an equally impressive venue, was a great example of how accessible, engaging, and rewarding these types of collaborative creative tasks can be.

Historyworks is creating a series of very short films of the day, including videos that will assist teachers who would like to develop these activities with their own classes alongside lesson plans from the artists. These films and associated lesson plans will be available soon, so that Cambridge primary school teachers can use the resources from January 2015 to teach poetry writing and performance, song writing and music composition, riffs and raps and body percussion.

To view photography from the day click on our our slideshow below or follow this link: Historyworks Flickr

Creating My Cambridge – Singing History

On Friday 5^th December 2014, following on from an active morning of poetry, performance, and collaborative group work at the Fitzwilliam Museum, the well-known poet and children’s author Michael Rosen, composer Kirsty Martin, and the Historyworks team all visited the Spinney School for an afternoon session devised by Helen Weinstein for her idea  called "Creating My Cambridge" because the Head, Rachel Snape has offered to help lead this project across Cambridge primary schools.

This visit therefore marked the launch of the ‘Creating My Cambridge – Singing History’ project. The Headteacher, Rachel Snape, and Creative Director of Historyworks, Helen Weinstein, introduced the project and asked the children to begin thinking about ways in which they can respond creatively to their city and its history, whether that be poetry, stories, songs, dramas, animations or any number of artistic activities.

The workshop took place in the school hall and 240 primary age children and their teachers were given an opportunity to experience Michael Rosen’s hugely entertaining poetry readings first-hand. Once he had been invited to the front he joked with them, read some of his poems which included The Listening Lions, and demonstrated the ways in which the children could begin to write their own poems.

Kirsty Martin then followed Michael, speaking about what it means to be a composer and described how she has turned Michael’s poem The Listening Lions into a song, and into a series of rounds of varying complexity to stretch young voices. Some of the pupils, the aptly titled Spinney Singers alongside the Year 5s, had already learnt the song and provided a rendition of "The Fitz Lions Trip Trap Round". The rest of the children then had the chance to join in, and with the support of Kirsty and the school’s singers they filled the hall with the sound of Michaels’ words and Kirsty’s composition.

Kirsty and Michael then combined to co-create a song with the pupils, who had already prepared some thoughts and phrases on sheets devised by Helen Weinstein along the theme of  “Creating My Cambridge” by mirroring the lion poem and asking what the children see and hear, what activities they do inside and outside, how Cambridge makes them feel and what the city means to them. Groups of two and three students came to the front with their teachers, placed their ideas on a visualization projector kindly set up by James Ingram.  Next we all witnessed Magic when Michael and Kirsty demonstrated co-creation, helping the pupils bring their words to life by voicing the ideas, finding the natural rhythm in their phrases, repeating them in different tones and layering the sounds with repetitions and tuneful lines, with the whole hall reciting and singing the lines.

The afternoon was a great success and after a thank you from the students, Michael, Kirsty, and the Historyworks team packed their equipment and returned home, but not before Michael signed copies of books for the pupils and teachers, and all had cups of tea in the staff room with the Spinney Head teacher, Rachel Snape and her team.  

It was a busy but rewarding day, packed full of creative activities that helped the students and staff see the ways in which you can facilitate and generate great cross-curricular content for your students that is both accessible, collaborative, and challenging at the same time.

Historyworks is creating short films that will assist teachers who would like to develop these activities with their own classes. At the Spinney School the film is about poetry performance, made with Emily Lane and her Yr 5s. These films and accompanying lesson plans will be available soon.   If you would like to participate in developing a lesson plan to share with Historyworks and the other schools in Cambridge, please contact Helen Weinstein on historyworks@gmail.com

To see the photography from this event click on the slideshow below or visit our Flickr album here: Historyworks Flickr

Cambridge News: Fitzwilliam Lions are listening

First published by Cambridge News on Saturday 6th December 2014

Not content with hunting bears, children's author Michael Rosen turned his attention to the Fitzwilliam Museum's much-loved stone lions when he visited Cambridge yesterday.

The former Children's Laureate and author of We're Going on a Bear Hunt was in town to help local schoolchildren come up with their own poems and songs about the museum's imposing silent guardians.

According to folklore, the four Fitzwilliam Lions rise from their stone plinths at midnight to drink from the gutters in Trumpington Street. The legend was the inspiration behind The Listening Lions, a poem Rosen wrote earlier this year.

Yesterday he returned to the museum with 125 children from four local schools, who composed their own works inspired by the lions.

He said: "What would very old lions who have been there almost two hundred years be dreaming about? And what would they hear as they sit there, year after year, rain and sun?

"Poems and songs are very good for letting you into the minds of people, and are sometimes in effect soliloquies.

"It has been very rewarding to be hosted at the Fitzwilliam Museum today, to be moved by words and personal stories."

The visit was organised by Cambridge-based production company Historyworks, who commissioned Rosen's original poem.

Creative director Helen Weinstein said: "The Museum was humming, literally, with the sound of the choirs, and with the children learning to make noises for poetry and body percussion, culminating in their co-creation of a freestyle rap led by Michael.

"Celebrating the 1816 founding of The Fitzwilliam Museum and the lions with a group of wonderful primary singers led by the astonishing wordsmith, Michael Rosen, was certainly a very apt way to make a noise about the past to mark this inspiring institution."

Rachel Sinfield, head of education at the museum said: "We have been delighted to host the Historyworks day with Michael Rosen as part of our ongoing outreach programme to schools across the region. We are enormously grateful for the time he spent with the schools and the families today."

Read the original article: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Fitzwilliam-Lions-listening-Michael-Rosen-joins/story-25235280-detail/story.html#ixzz3LEos4ima 

Fitzwilliam Lions & Pictures

Historical Context:

Since the very early years of the Fitzwilliam Museum’s existence four stone lions have been positioned outside the museum, two at the north steps and two at the south steps. In 1816 Richard, VII Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion, bestowed his library and collection of art to the University of Cambridge as well as £100,000 to construct a building that would house them. His aim was to further "the Increase of Learning and other great Objects of that Noble Foundation".

It was not until 1835, after a process of discussions and land acquisition, that the Syndicate overseeing the project selected an architect who would design the building. After advertising the tender in the newspapers the Syndicate selected George Basevi (1794 – 1845), a London-born architect, from a group of 27 architects who had sent in plans to be considered. Two years later, on the 4th November 1837, the then Vice-Chancellor, Gilbert Ainslie, laid the foundation stone of the Fitzwilliam Museum, below where the northern lions rest.

In that same year the sculptor William Grinsell Nicholl (1796-1871) became involved in the task that would result in him creating the monumental lions that overlook Trumpington Street, when he was commissioned to realise Basevi’s architectural vision. Nicholl had started work that year carving decorative details of Basevi’s designs for the museum, working on the Corinthian columns and the decorative aspects of the façade. Then in 1839 he sculpted the four iconic lions that guard the south and north steps to the Fitzwilliam Museum’s portico entrance.

According to local folklore, when the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs’ clock strikes midnight, the Fitzwilliam Lions rise from their plinths and make their way to drink from the gutters that run along Trumpington Street, a few metres from where they sit, sometimes walking as far as Hobson’s Conduit. Different versions of the story say that they enter the museum, passing through the walls, occasionally letting out a roar. This is the inspiration for the poem called “The Listening Lions".

Michael Rosen on Writing the Poem

You can watch a video, taken on Helen's mobile phone, of Michael reading the poem below - we'll take a professional film of Michael performing later on, but for now, enjoy his rendition here:

Created with flickr slideshow.

Listening Lions Poem by Michael Rosen

Here is an audio file of Michael Rosen reading his poem "The Listening Lions", recorded for the Cycle of Songs project by Historyworks.

POEM by Michael Rosen called THE LISTENING LIONS:

We hear your feet on the steps of the Fitz

trip-trap, amble, clamber or run

We hear you complain of wind and rain

We hear you laugh when you see the sun.

We hear you talk of war and peace

voices that come, voices that go

we hear of pockets full or empty

what you say is what we know.

We hear lovers’ whispers as you walk by

and sighs of sadness from deep inside

We hear sounds of fear in how you breathe

the hug of hope and the smile of pride.

We hear you wonder about our eyes

We hear you study our hard stone faces.

We hear you wonder if we slumber

like lions after hunting in far-off places.

We hear our dreams of other times

not then, or now, or here, or there

We hear a dream of how we rise

and breathe in the living air.

And we all four together as lions

walk the street, none last or first

to find the water that is ours

to help us quench this terrible thirst.

©Michael Rosen 2014

Lion Song Composer Kirsty Martin

INSPIRATION FOR YOUNG COMPOSERS, FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND SINGING TEACHERS:

There is a score and parts available from Kirsty Martin, produced by Helen Weinstein, including two rounds for primary school classes to learn by ear, and a full score for primary choirs to learn, which will be uploaded onto this site at the end of the Autumn halfterm.

There will also be a lesson plan from CaMEO's Tizzy Faller and Mario Satchwell for children to learn body percussion so that they can write riffs and their own lyrics, using beats they have created themselves for new compositions! 

INFORMATION ABOUT COMPOSER KIRSTY MARTIN

Kirsty Martin worked with the team at Historyworks for Cycle of Songs, marking the Tour de France's visit to Cambridge, with new compositions specially commissioned for this project by Helen Weinstein and the team.  Kirsty wrote the song called "Unsung Women" which was performed on the app by the choir, Women of Note.  This song is about the fight over 500 years for gender equality in Cambridge city and university, especially the fight for women to be allowed to not only sit for degrees but be awarded degrees.  Also, Kirsty co-composed the anthemic song, "Why We Ride" which was learnt by hundreds of singers and performed to the cyclists from the Steps of the Fitzwilliam Museum.  The Cycle of Songs was a huge success in Cambridge, and it is excellent to be working with Kirsty again, developing the relationship between history and primary school choirs in the city. 

"I am an experienced vocal musician and workshop facilitator based in Brighton. I am a founding member of the Natural Voice Practitioners Network and a qualified workshop leader - having trained in community music at Goldsmiths College, London. I am the Musical Director for Hullabaloo Community Quire in Brighton and Raise the Roof Community Choir in London, and have worked with Talking in Tune in Cambridge for several years.

I have worked with festivals, theatre groups, colleges and social service projects, and I continue to teach locally, as well as travelling throughout Britain, Europe and America to share my musical vision and passion. My inspiration comes from many forms of music - from mediaeval to motown, folk to funk, and doowop to hip hop! I aim to enable everyone to discover their natural and powerful voice, so that singing will become what you thought it always could be - creative, fun and personally liberating!"

To find out more about Kirsty's work you can visit her website www.kirstymartin.co.uk

The Fitz Lion Round - Song lyrics & Audio & Score for Round

The Fitz Lion Round 

The introductory song is a round based on the main concept of the poem, which is called "The Fitz Lion Round". This is for voices singing in unison and singers can be divided into one or two or three parts.  The score shows where each part can come in, and you can also listen to it and learn by ear.

Please find on this page the following resource for the song called The Fitz Lions - based on a poem by Michael Rosen, composed by Kirsty Martin, scored by Colin Douglas, Produced by Helen Weinstein, Commissioned by Historyworks

1. Score

2. Audio to learn the song by ear

3. Lyrics for the Song

SCORE

The Fitz Lion Round -Unison Voices PDF

AUDIO - to learn the song by ear

We are the Listening Lions

We hear you walking the steps of the Fitz

Your voices come and go

What you say is what we know

Unison - The Fitz Trip Trap Round

Kirsty Martin has composed a fun round based on the refrain "Trip Trap Clamber Amble or Run" which we've called "The Fitz Trip Trap".  In the first version, this is set out in the sound file and score to be sung by unision voices.

Please find on this page the following resource for the song called The Fitz Trip Trap Round - based on a poem by Michael Rosen, composed by Kirsty Martin, scored by Colin Douglas, Produced by Helen Weinstein, Commissioned by Historyworks

1. Score

2. Audio to learn the song by ear

3. Lyrics for the Song

Please also find below the lyrics, instructions for how to sing as a round in unison.  Below there is also the more complex version with the same words and rhythm, but the round in two part harmony - have fun! 

Score 

The Fitz Trip Trap Round - Unison Voice PDF

Audio for Round called The Fitz Trip Trap - for Unison voices

Based on a poem by Michael Rosen, composed by Kirsty Martin, scored by Colin Douglas, produced by Helen Weinstein, Commission by Historyworks.

Song Lyrics for The Fitz Trip Trap:

Trip-trap, Amble, Clamber or Run

We are the Listening Lions!  ROAR! 

Guide to Singing as a Round/ to match the Audio version for Unison Voices:

Harmony - The Fitz Trip Trap Round

THE FITZ TRIP TRAP ROUND FOR 3 PART HARMONY VOICES

This is a good round to learn once students have learnt the Unison version of The Fitz Trip Trap Round! 

Score

The Fitz Trip Trap Round - Harmony voices PDF

Audio for version of Round called The Fitz Trip Trap for 3 part Harmony Voices:

Based on a poem by Michael Rosen, composed by Kirsty Martin, scored by Colin Douglas, Produced by Helen Weinstein, Commission by Historyworks  

The Listening Lions Song - Audio & Score & Lyrics for Full Choir

THE LISTENING LIONS SONG - AUDIO & SCORE & LYRICS

The last score and sound files which Kirsty Martin has composed uses all the verses of Michael Rosen's lion poem. You will find the lyrics, score, and sound files in these resources as the last song.  It is called "The Listening Lions" and it uses the elements of the rounds and builds these into a more complex piece.  This is set out in sound files for singers to learn -  part 1 is for high voices, part 2 is for mid voices, and part 3 is for low voices.  The score shows how the rounds and the verses for 3 parts come together.

Please find on this page the following resource for the song called The Listening Lions Song- based on a poem by Michael Rosen, composed by Kirsty Martin, scored by Colin Douglas, Produced by Helen Weinstein, Commissioned by Historyworks

1. Score

2. Audio to learn the song by ear

3. Lyrics for the Song

SCORE 

The Listening Lions Song - Harmony voices PDF

Here is the AUDIO so you can listen to the song composed by Kirsty Martin based on the poem by Michael Rosen

LYRICS FOR THE LISTENING LIONS SONG

CHORUS

We are the Listening Lions

We hear you walking the steps of the Fitz

Your voices come and go

What you say is what we know

REFRAIN

Trip-trap, amble, clamber or run

We are the Listening Lions - ROAR! 

VERSE 1

We hear your feet on the steps

We hear you moan about the weather

We hear you laugh when you see the sun - ROAR!

VERSE 2

We hear you talk of war and peace

We hear you pockets full or empty

what you say is what we know - ROAR!

VERSE 3

We hear you whisper, We hear you sigh

We hear the hug of hope and the smile of pride

We hear the hug of hope and the smile of pride

VERSE 4

We hear you studying our faces

We hear you wonder if we slumber

Like lions hunting in far-off places - ROAR!

VERSE 5

And we are dreaming of other times

We hear a dream of how we rise

and breathe in the living air - ROAR!

VERSE 6

And we all four together 

walk the street, none last or first

to find the water 

to help us quench this terrible thirst - ROAR!