Three Fun Fables

A Dog was carrying a piece of meat in his mouth to eat it in peace at home. On his way he had to cross a bridge across a brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his own reflection in the water. 

Predictions: what will happen next?

Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was lost.

Daniel Dorff (b. 1956) was born in New Rochelle, NY, and is now based in the Philadelphia area. He holds degrees in composition from Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. At the age of 18 he won First Prize in the Aspen Music Festival’s composition competition. He plays bass clarinet and saxophone, and is the composer-in-residence for Symphony in C. In addition to composing and performing, he is vice president of publishing for Theodore Presser Company, and is considered an expert in music engraving and notation.

In addition to music for adult audiences, Dorff is particularly accomplished at composing music for children. A long-time friend of The Philadelphia Orchestra, he has written seven commissioned works for our Collaborative Learning department, most recently A Treeful of Monkeys for a Sound All Around concert in May of this year. Originally composed for octet, Three Fun Fables is a musical setting of three well-known tales by Aesop. The world premiere of “The Tortoise and the Hare” was narrated by track star Carl Lewis. 

Which instruments go with which character? Why?