Chausson's Poème Harmony

Overview

This 10-minute lesson invites Year 8 students (ages 12-13) to explore the rich harmonic language and expressive phrasing of Ernest Chausson’s Poème, linking this to late Romantic musical style. Through guided listening, score study, and a creative harmony-building exercise, students will deepen their understanding of harmony’s role in mood and expression. The lesson directly addresses key requirements in the National Curriculum for Music (England), fostering listening, analytical, and creative composition skills suitable for their stage.

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National Curriculum Links

Key Stage 3 Music Program of Study:

• Pupils should be taught to
  • “Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory”
  • “Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians”
  • “Develop an understanding of the history of music”
  • “Analyse and evaluate music using musical vocabulary”
  • “Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes”

Specific objectives for this lesson:

• Listening and Appraising – Identify and describe the harmonic language and expressive phrasing in a late Romantic work
• Composing and Improvising – Experiment with harmonic ideas to accompany melody, understanding tension, colour, and mood
• Use musical vocabulary – Employ terms such as chromaticism, dissonance, consonance, phrase, pedal point, modulation

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Recognise the expressive harmonic techniques used in Poème by Chausson.
2. Describe melodic phrasing and its connection to emotional expression.
3. Experiment creatively by harmonising a short melodic fragment using late Romantic harmonic ideas.
4. Use appropriate musical vocabulary to discuss harmonic colour and mood.

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Resources Needed

• Audio recording of Chausson’s Poème (accessible excerpt, ideally 2-3 minutes)
• Printed score excerpts of selected passage (piano reduction or violin/piano part) with clear harmonic markings
• Printed short melodic fragment for harmony exercise (8 bars) in a simple key (e.g. A minor or C major)
• Whiteboard or flipchart for vocabulary and notes
• Keyboards or pitch instruments (optional but recommended to support harmonic experimentation)

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction & Context (2 minutes)

• Briefly introduce Ernest Chausson and Poème as a late Romantic piece, explaining Romantic music’s emotional intensity and harmonic richness.
• Outline the aims: We’ll listen carefully, look at how harmony creates mood, then try to create our own harmonies in the Romantic style.

2. Guided Listening & Score Study (4 minutes)

• Play a 2-3 minute excerpt of Poème while students follow the printed score.
• Teacher prompts students to notice:
  • How the harmony shifts away from simple major/minor chords to richer, chromatic ones. Ask: “What feeling do these harmonies create?”
  • Phrasing and expressive playing (e.g., rubato, shaping of lines). Highlight use of suspensions, pedal notes, and non-resolving dissonances.
• Discussion using musical vocabulary, writing key terms and phrases on board: chromaticism, dissonance, resolution, pedal, phrase shaping.
• Students note down three words describing the mood evoked by the harmony and phrasing.

3. Practical Harmony Experimentation (4 minutes)

• Distribute the short melodic fragment. Play it once.
• Task: Students work in pairs or small groups to create two different harmonic accompaniments using keyboards or by singing. Encourage use of:
  • Chromatic passing chords or suspensions.
  • Pedal points or sustained bass notes.
  • Unexpected chord changes to create tension and release.
• Teacher circulates, encouraging students to describe their harmonic choices and relate them to the mood or emotion they want to express.
• Optional quick share: One or two groups demonstrate their harmonisations to the class.

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Assessment & Feedback

Formative assessment through:

• Observing participation and understanding during listening and discussion (use of vocabulary, ability to describe harmonic mood).
• Monitoring group harmony experimentation, checking for application of chromatic or late Romantic harmonic ideas.
• Encouraging verbal reflection: “Why did you choose that chord? What feeling did you want to create?”

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Extension Ideas (for future lessons or homework)

• Compose a short piece or expand harmonisation, applying further late Romantic techniques (modulations, extended chords).
• Analyse other late Romantic works for harmonic language (e.g., Debussy, Rachmaninoff).
• Use technology (DAWs or music notation software) to experiment with harmonies digitally.

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Teacher’s Notes:

• Highlight that Poème was originally written for violin and orchestra; the harmonies are highly expressive and sometimes ambiguous – this is a hallmark of late Romantic style aiming to evoke mood more than strict form.
• Encourage students to think not just about “what notes” but “how those notes sound together” and how this communicates feeling or story.
• Carefully monitor time to ensure pace is brisk but reflective.

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This lesson plan provides a rich, hands-on encounter with late Romantic harmony, meeting the England National Curriculum’s aims for KS3 music while inspiring creativity and critical listening in just 10 minutes.