THE FROG PRINCE
by Victoria Bond
The Frog Prince is a work for narrator and orchestra. It tells the classic Brother=s Grimm story of the princess who kisses a frog and turns him into a prince. The language is updated and geared toward the modern child, and the music has elements of contemporary jazz. It is written to be performed for young people=s concerts, and can be done in several ways: either with only a narrator, or with puppets, dancers, actors or mimes illustrating the action. It has been performed extensively throughout the United States, and recorded by Sesame Street star, Bob McGrath for whom the work was written. There are three versions, one for full orchestra lasting 24 minutes, one for woodwind quintet lasting 20 minutes, and one for chamber ensemble lasting 15 minutes. All are published by G. Schirmer, Inc.
The story of the Frog Prince has long held a fascination for me. Within the context of utter simplicity, a parable of great depth is revealed: each of the characters is transformed by a single act of compassion. In writing the music, I strove to achieve both the child-like directness of the text, and the inner emotions of the characters. The Princess and the Frog begin at opposite ends of the spectrum: she is romantic and dreamy, wrapped up in her own beautiful fantasy, while he is clever and witty, aware of his physical limitations, and philosophical about it. In choosing the themes to express both of these polarities I conceived the Princess as belonging to the Old World of grace and charm, and the Frog to the syncopated world of American jazz.
Having had the good fortune to collaborate with two extraordinary artists in the realization of this work, Ann and Bob McGrath, both of whom brought to the project a new infusion of understanding and insight, we re-worked the traditional text considerably, taking many liberties with it, but hopefully keeping within the spirit of the original. Ann brought her talents as writer to the project, and her great knowledge of many audiences, and Bob his special gifts as musician and communicator.
Wanting to adhere as closely as possible to the natural rhythm of speech in notating the spoken and sung role of the narrator, I asked Bob to make a tape of the text. This I then transcribed into musical notation, and tailored it specifically to Bob’s voice and spoken inflection.
The instrumental music, too, is written with the Empire State Youth Orchestra in mind, its particular strengths and abilities, and the individual personalities of its members.
The genesis of the entire project rests with Patricia Snyder, who was responsible for bringing the Frog Prince into being as a commission for the tenth anniversary celebration of the Empire State Institute’s Performing Arts Center. For this great gift, I would like to wish the Institute a Very Happy 10th Birthday.
The Story
A beautiful young Princess accidentally loses her golden ball in a well. She is distraught, until a frog offers to rescue it for her. She agrees that if the frog gets the ball, she will allow him to be her friend and live in the castle with her. However, once she gets her ball back, she runs home and forgets all about the frog. He follows her and asks her to honor her promise. At first she tries to go back on her word, but her father, the King reminds her that Aa promise is a promise@and she must keep her word. Reluctantly she allows the frog to eat next to her at the table, but she is disgusted by him and when he tries to hop onto her bed, she throws him against the wall, nearly killing him. She feels so terrible about what she has done, that she rushes over to him and gently kisses him. All at once, he is transformed into a handsome prince by her act of kindness. The story ends with a triumphal march, and the couple live happily ever after.
There are three versions of this piece:
Full Orchestra and narrator
2222/4331/timp,perc/strings 24'
Chamber Orchestra and narrator
1111/3110/perc/strings 15'
Woodwind Quintet and narrator 20'
flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn
Score and tape are available through G. Schirmer/ 257 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10010/ Phone: (212) 254 2100 fax (212) 254 2013