[00:00.00]In order to show you how a big symphony orchestra is put together,
[00:05.32]Benjamin Britten has written a big piece of music,
[00:08.80]which is made up of smaller pieces
[00:10.58]that show you all the separate parts of the orchestra.
[00:13.52]These smaller pieces are called variations,
[00:16.47]which means different ways of playing the same tune.
[00:19.61]First of all, he lets us hear the tune or the theme,
[00:23.35]which is a beautiful melody
[00:24.54]by the much older British composer Henry Purcell.
[00:28.02]Here is Purcell's theme played by the whole orchestra together.
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[01:00.67]Now, Mr. Britten lets you hear the four different families of the orchestra
[01:04.49]playing the same Purcell theme in different ways.
[01:07.64]First, we hear the woodwind family.
[01:09.52]The flutes, the oboes, the clarinets and the bassoons.
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[01:35.46]Here comes the brass family.
[01:37.17]The trumpets, the horns, the trombones and the tubas.
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[02:02.61]Now, Mr. Britten arranges the Purcell theme for the string family.
[02:06.16]The violins, the violas, the cellos and the double basses.
[02:10.60]And of course, the harp.
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[02:34.53]And finally the percussion family,
[02:36.42]all those drums and gongs and things you hit.
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[02:42.41]After this, you will hear the theme by Purcell played once more
[02:45.53]in its original form by all four families together.
[02:48.94]That is, the whole orchestra.
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