Creating the Music

by Dan Goeller

The Selfish Giant is one of my favorite stories from childhood. As a father, I enjoy reading Oscar Wilde’s story to my young daughters. My love for composing orchestral music, paired with my affection for this classic fairy tale, made it the perfect story to adapt for orchestra and narrator. First, I divided the story into sections, much like the script for a play. Then I decided where the music would underscore the narrated story and where it would capture the story’s action without the words.

Once I decided how the music would interact with the story, I paired orchestra instruments with the characters, making sure each instrument imitated the personality or sound of each character. For example, the flute and the piccolo imitate the birds that “sang so sweetly.” I also used special techniques to portray story elements. For example, the tremolos, the shimmering sound of the violins, imitate the delicate falling of the Snow’s white cloak over the grass.