MuH 2012: Survey of Western Music II

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Course Materials:

Required Texts:

Craig Wright and Bryan Sims. Music in Western Civilization, Volume II - Enlightenment through Contemporary Music, (Thomson-Schirmer, 2006);  and

Timothy J. Roden, Craig Wright and Bryan Sims, ed. Anthology for Music in Western Civilization, Volume II - Enlightenment through Contemporary Music,  (Thomson-Schirmer, 2006).

Required Recordings:

Craig Wright and Bryan Sims, ed. Audio CD for Wright/Simms' Music in Western Civilization. Volume II - Enlightenment through Contemporary Music,  (Thomson-Schirmer, 2006).

Writing Assignments:  There will be two written assignments for the course: from Classic and Romantic eras of music history.

Useful Online Bibliography Reference: Towson University has an online guide in the style of Irvine's Writing about Music, which can be accessed here.

Additional Course Materials: Additional required materials are available on the Blackboard Page for this course. Registration instructions will be described in class. Registered students can access on line materials with Manhattanville's Blackboard site: http://blackboard.mville.edu.

Course Conduct

"What should I be listening for?" This question cannot be answered specifically, because as musicians you should be listening to all stylistic factors that will help you form a critical judgment about a composer and his or her work. As initial guidelines, however, you may wish to consider the following questions to ask yourself. Remember that a majority of the pieces assigned for listening are famous works that deserve to be part of your knowledge as musicians whatever your specialty.

1. What performing forces are present? Do these help to identify the work (e.g., string ensemble, Piano and voice, etc.)?
2. How would you characterize the texture of the music--contrapuntal? imitative? dense? chordal? melody and accompaniment?
3. What role does repetition play in the formal pattern? Does the piece adhere to a traditional formal structure (sonata, theme and variations, etc.)?
4. Is the piece composed idiomatically for the performing forces?
5. In vocal music, what is the meaning of the text? What language is being sung? What does the composer do to project or enhance the meaning of the text?
6. In instrumental music, are there distinctive elements of scoring present (many passages for solo instruments, separation of choirs of different sonority, etc.)?
7. How would you characterize the harmony? Chromatic? Diatonic?
8. What other techniques, or striking details of any kind, give the piece its identity (e.g., dynamic contrasts, leitmotif, rhythmic detail, etc.)?

Before listening to an assignment, review your reading and lecture notes, and make sure, in the case of vocal music, to read the text carefully. While listening, take note of things that strike your interest, of characteristic features, or of any questions you have about the piece.
Some students find it helpful to study with the use of 3" x 5" study cards: one per piece with significant features noted for each piece. Shuffle the cards and associate expectations for what you will hear in a piece.
To get the most from the course it is essential that you prepare for lectures by reading the required assignments and by listening in advance of lectures to a given week's pieces. You should make every attempt not to fall behind in this weekly work. If there is anything, in either the reading or the lectures that you do not understand, ask me about it. See me after lecture or make an appointment. I will have regularly scheduled office hours, too.

Course Schedule:

Musical Style Project

To help focus on the paper project for this semester, I offer the following: “The Musical Style Project will be an independent study of a nineteenth-century repertoire. You will sketch the main elements of a one country’s national style of music, outline major compositions in specifically identified genres, and provide a working bibliography for future study.”

Choose a country and repertoire from the materials in the Classic, Romantic and early 20th-Century, i.e., 1800-1920 in Europe. Your paper will be 7 to 10 pages, and should incorporate reference materials from the major music encyclopedias (including The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed.), books, at least two articles from scholarly journals (journals like the Journal of Musicology, the Journal of Musicological Research, the Journal of the American Musicological Society, Nineteenth Century Music, Musical Quarterly, etc.), and a discography of recommended recordings from the resources in our Library. 

The citation format for materials that you cite must match the Modern Library Association style.  Do not guess at the proper format; look it up. Notice the MLA has moved away from footnotes and has a specific order for the way materials are listed in the bibliography. When in doubt, check the proper format on the Towson University link. Also, you can use Mark A. Radice’s Irvine's Writing about Music. 3rd ed. (Portland, OR, 1999), the Chicago Manual of Style (both available on the reference shelf in the Library), or ask a reference librarian. 

Choose your topic carefully. You can not cover all of German Symphony in 10 pages; you would have trouble covering all of the Beethoven Symphonies in that space. Your work should identify important issues for study in one aspect of style. You will mention relevant composers and pieces and identify important scholars working in the field. If you can’t find enough references for a chosen topic, then change your topic. Part of the exercise is in identifying a defensible topic. You will use your research to suggest an hypothesis for further study. Your paper will supply the initial stages of research towards defining a paper topic and will identify clearly and thoroughly the appropriate supporting materials for that paper.

Links to Interesting Music Related Sites

The American Musicological Society web page contains links to many music organizations, as well the most comprehensive list of both classical and popular music on the web.

The Classical Music Page offers links to many composers and articles about music.

The Library of Congress often presents interesting musical and cultural exhibits in their on line exhibitions.