Alvida and the Magician's Cape(from Time and Tune) | |
| BBC Schools Radio | |
| Company: | BBC |
| First run: | 12th January
1978 - 16th March 1978 (1 school year) [more][less] |
| Episodes: | 10 episodes |
| Duration: | 20 minutes |
| Subject: | Music: Musicwarning.png"Music" is not in the list of possible values (Agriculture, Ancient History, Arabic Language, Archaeology, Astronomy, Biology, Books, British Sign Language, Business, Careers, Chemistry, Citizenship, Collective Worship, Computers, Cornish Language, Crafts, Current Affairs, Dance, Design, Drama, Early Learning, Economics, Education, Electronics, Engineering, English Language, Environment, Exam Revision, Food Science, French Language, Geology, General Science, Geography, German Language, Hindi Language, INSET, Irish Gaelic Language, Italian Language, Language, Latin Language, Literature, Mandarin Language, Mathematics, Media, Medieval History, Miscellany, Modern History, Modern Studies, Moral Education, Nature, Outdoor Education, Other Subjects, Philosophy, Photography, Physics, Poetry, Politics, Pre-History, PSHE, Reading, Religious Education, Russian Language, Safety, Scottish Gaelic Language, Sex Education, Singing, Social History, Social Studies, Spanish Language, Special Needs, Sport, Technology, Topics, Urdu Language, Welsh Language, Writing) for this property. |
| Audience: | Age 7-9 |
| Language: | In English |
| Browse programme details | |
| Time and Tune | |
 Previous unit: Flight |
 Next unit: Scenes from The Wind in the Willows |
Contents |
A wicked magician lives in a mountain-top castle, surrounded by wonderful garden. The magician captures children by persuading them to step on his gigantic cape, then makes them dance in the garden and work for him or risk being cast out into the forest.
When the magician tries to capture a young girl called Alvida his cape gets torn, and Alvida mends it for him with a strand of her own hair. The golden hair allows Alvida to escape from the magician's clutches, and also torments the magician whenever he is wicked.
Songs
All seven songs from this unit, with a short extract from each.
The Castle
High on a mountain, there is a castle
Standing so proudly against the sky...
In the Forest
In the forest, dark and lonely,
Wolves are prowling hungrily.
Wicked Magician, Fly
The wicked magician flies through the night,
With strong wings to take him far out of sight.
Sewing Song
What can I use but a thorn from the rose,
And a golden hair from my head?
Mysterious Light
What is this light, that shines in the darkness,
Filling the room with its dazzling ray?
Fruit Song
Fruit trees growing in your garden,
All around the window, what a fine display.
Go To Sleep, Alvida
Go to sleep, Alvida,
Rest contented, it's time to dream.
Episodes
There were ten episodes of Alvida and the Magician's Cape, the last of which was a full performance of the cantata. They were broadcast on Thursdays at 11:00am on BBC Radio 4.
There was also a preview programme for teachers (not included in this site's episode count), broadcast just once on the second Monday of the term, at 11:40am. This included a performance of the music from the unit and teaching suggestions.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the episodes from this unit have been kept in the BBC archives.
| # | Title | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|
| Preview programme | 16 Jan 1978 | |
| 1. | Broadcast eleven | 12 Jan 1978 |
| 2. | Broadcast twelve | 19 Jan 1978 |
| 3. | Broadcast thirteen | 26 Jan 1978 |
| 4. | Broadcast fourteen | 2 Feb 1978 |
| 5. | Broadcast fifteen | 9 Feb 1978 |
| 6. | Broadcast sixteen | 16 Feb 1978 |
| 7. | Broadcast seventeen | 23 Feb 1978 |
| 8. | Broadcast eighteen | 2 Mar 1978 |
| 9. | Broadcast nineteen | 9 Mar 1978 |
| 10. | Broadcast twenty (concert) | 16 Mar 1978 |
Credits
| Pamphlet illustrated by | Peter Richardson |
| Words and music by | Michael Plaskett |
| Producer | Douglas Coombes |
Resources
The unit was accompanied by a 20-page pupil's pamphlet printed in two colours (priced 20p), containing the words and tunes for all of the songs, plus some rhythm games, and poems that children could try setting to their own music.
There was also a 20-page A4 set of teacher's notes (priced 34p) containing the running order for each episode, preparatory and follow-up suggestions, and the piano accompaniments for all of the songs.
Sources & References
- BBC (1977) BBC Radio & Television Annual Programme for Schools and Colleges 1977-78. London: BBC. ISBN 0 563 16148 5. p.50
- BBC (1978a) Time and Tune pupil's pamphlet, spring 1978. ISBN 0 563 30277 1
- BBC (1978b) Time and Tune teacher's notes, spring 1978.
- BBC Programme Catalogue online (no longer available)
