The traditional story of Jack and the Beanstalk is told by Nihal Arthanayake accompanied by members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
The video
Voiceover: Come to a magical placeof fairy tales and adventureLet the music take you far awayto Musical Storyland.
Nihal: Welcome to Musical Storyland with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
My name is Nihal and these are my friends and their instruments.
Lauren: Hello my name is Lauren and I play the harp.
Julian: My name's Julian and I play the violin.
Jenny: My name is Jenny and I play the piccolo.
Nathan: My name's Nathan and I play the double bass
Nihal: Together we're going to tell the musical story of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Once upon a time a boy called Jack who lived with his mother.
They were very poor because all of the valuable things in the villagehad been stolen by a giant who lived in the clouds.
One day Jack's mother told him to go and sell their cow at the market.
Don't come home with anything less than five gold coin means she cried.
Jack hadn't gone far when he bumped into a mysterious man.
You're in a hurry, he said.
I'm going to sell our cow at the market for five gold coins, replied Jack.
How about, I give you five magic beans for your cow instead said the man.
Plant these and you'll never go hungry again.
Jack took the magic beans, home to his mother, but she was confused.
How could you sell our cow for some silly old beans she cried. And she threw them on the ground.
The next morning, Jack looked out of his bedroom window. He could hardly believe his eyes.
The beans had grown into an enormous beanstalkthat twisted and stretched right into the clouds
Up, up grew the Beanstalk, tendrils, twisting, growing high.Up, up, climbed Jack pulling himself up towards the sky.
At the top of the Beanstalk, Jack was amazed to find a castle in the clouds.
It was the giant's castle, the giant who had stolen the village's money.
Jack went inside but the giant heard and came looking for him.
Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I comeFee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come.
Quick as a flash, Jack hid behind a grandfather clock
Eventually the giant gave up trying to find Jack and went to sleep.
As the giant snored Jack crept out and took a bag of gold coins from beside the giant's bed.
He climbed down the beanstalk and took the gold coins home to his mother.
The next morning, Jack climbed back up the beanstalk.
Up, up through the beanstalk tendrils twisting growing high.Up, up, climbed Jack pulling himself up towards the sky.
As Jack entered the castle, the giant came looking for him again
Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come,Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come.
Quick as a flash, Jack hid under a table hoping that the giant wouldn't find him.Eventually, the giant gave up and went to sleep.
Jack crept out and took a hen that lays golden eggs from beside the giant's bed.
He climbed down the beanstalk and took the hen home to his mother.
The next morning, Jack climbed up to the castle again.Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come,Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come.
Quick as a flash, Jack hid behind a sofa.
The giant couldn't find Jack, he went to bed instead.
Soothed by the sound of a magical golden harp.
Jack crept out and picked up the harp.
The giant woke up and chased Jack out of the castle and down the beanstalk.
Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come,Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come.
At the bottom, Jack's mother took an axe and started to chop down the beanstalk.The enormous beanstalk toppled, wobbled and fell.
The link between the village and the giant's castle was brokenand Jack gave everything the giant had stolen back to the villages who lived happily ever after.
Nobody ever saw the giant again.
But every now and then they heard the sound of the song, drifting down from the clouds above.
Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come,Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come.Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come,Fee fi fo fum, I'm a giant here I come.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Presenter: Nihal Arthanayake
Composer: Daniel Whibley
Instruments: Violin / Piccolo / Flute / Harp / Double bass
Synopsis
Jack and his mother live in a cottage in a village. They are very poor, because all their valuables have been stolen by a giant, who lives in the clouds.
One day Jack's mother tells him to sell their cow at the market, and not to return with anything less than five gold coins. On the way to market Jack meets a mysterious man, who offers Jack five magic beans as payment for the cow. He tells Jack that if he plants the magic beans he will never go hungry again. But when Jack returns home his mother admonishes him for selling the cow for five beans and she throws them into the garden.
The next morning Jack looks out of his window and is amazed to see an enormous beanstalk, stretching upwards into the clouds. Jack climbs the beanstalk and at the top he finds the castle belonging to the giant who has stolen the villagers' money. Jack goes inside but he is heard by the giant, who gives chase: 'Fe, fi, fo, fum, I'm a giant here I come!'
Jack hides behind a clock and later, when the giant is sleeping, he creeps out and returns home taking a bag of gold coins with him.
The following morning Jack climbs the beanstalk again and this time, following another close encounter with the giant, returns with a hen and the golden eggs that she lays.
On his final trip to the castle Jack picks up a magic harp to take home with him - but the giant wakes up and gives chase, following Jack down the beanstalk. Once Jack is safely on the ground again his mother takes an axe to the beanstalk and chops it down.
Jack returns all the stolen possessions to the villagers. They never see the giant again - though from time to time they hear his song drifting down from the clouds.
Curriculum links
Music
The film and the accompanying Teacher Notes can be used to fulfil the following objectives of the Key Stage 1 music curriculum, which states that pupils should be taught to:
- use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
- play tuned and untuned instruments musically
- listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
- experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
English
The film and the accompanying Teacher Notes can also be used to target objectives from the Key Stage 1 English curriculum, particularly relating to Spoken language, Reading and Writing.
Resources
Teacher Notes. document
Download / print the Teacher Notes for this episode
The instruments. image
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Vocabulary. image
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