- Type: Art Audio File
- Collection: European Art
- Culture/Region: Europe
- Subject Area: Music, Visual Arts
- Grade Level: K-12, College, Adult, Familes
The works of German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven gained favor in England during the early 1800s, so it was in gratitude that Beethoven used the tune “God Save the King” as the subject for a set of variations composed in 1805—the same year during which Reinagle painted An Extraordinary Musical Dog!
Learn the words to “God Save the Queen” and sing along with the musical spaniel:
God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save The Queen!
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies,
And make them fall:
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix:
God save us all.
Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign:
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen!
(Piano performance courtesy of Lee Jordan-Anders, Professor of Music and Artist-in-Residence at Virginia Wesleyan College.)
From March 18-22, 2013 students from John B. Cary Elementary School with Kid Pan Alley wrote songs inspired by works of art from VMFA’s collection. Living in A Musical is one of 8 songs they created. Sing along:
Music is my food
It’s the air that I breathe
The song of heart
The song of the sea
Even in the forest
There’s jazz in the trees
Even in the wind
There’s a song in the breeze
(Chorus)
Living in a Musical
Dancing in a dream
Got a song stuck in my head
Do you know what I mean?
I’m hearing a world
Where animals sing
A dog plays piano
What an amazing thing
Living in a musical
Dancing in a dream
Nothing wrong with a world
In harmony
I can feel the music
From my head to my feet
I can feel the music
All around me
The heartbeat of the world
The rhythm of peace
It starts deep inside
Of you and me
(Chorus)
Living in a musical
Dancing in a dream
What would your song about Portrait of An Extraordinary Musical Dog sound like?
About Kid Pan Alley
Paul Reisler, Founder and Artistic Director of Kid Pan Alley
The initial inspiration for Kid Pan Alley came after a successful songwriting residency in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Since that time, Kid Pan Alley has shared the joys of songwriting with children around the country. The organization’s mission is not only to give children a hands-on opportunity to participate in the creative process, but also to help them develop a broader awareness of the world around them, including exposure to pertinent environmental, social, and political issues.