Music 6 Masterpieces of Western Art Music* Instructor: William Summers [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~wsummers/] Office hours Tu at 1pm, W at 3pm and by appointment. [Office, Hopkins Center, room H64a: ext. 6-3310] Winter 2011/ 2 hour (MWF 1:45-2:50, x-period Th 1-1:50) This course explores a number of the principal monuments of art music in western culture from the Middle Ages through the 20 th century. After an introduction to music notation and the physical means utilized to produce music, a historical survey of the principal works of the major composers will be undertaken. Musical materials of all kinds will be utilized, and biography, musical analysis and social and historical studies will be explored as we examine the praxis of art music in western culture. Each of the periods of music history from the Middle Ages to the late 20 th century will be covered. Works by important composers such as G. P. da Palestrina, J. S. Bach, A. Vivaldi, W. A Mozart, L. v. Beethoven, R. Wagner, G. Mahler, G. Verdi, S. Rachmaninoff and G. Gershwin, will be examined as models of excellence. A wide variety of compositional genres from Gregorian Chant to dodecaphonic, modernist works will be discussed and analyzed. *Required Text and Compact Discs: Joseph Kerman, Listen, New York, 2003, 6 th edition, Worth Publishers. 6 CDs to Accompany Listen. *Two take-home examinations will be administered, one at mid-term and the other during finals week. There will be short and long essay questions on each exam that will cover the text and listening (50%) and lectures (50%). These will be open book exams. You are asked not to discuss your examination answers with others in the course. The day the mid-term examination is distributed a 15-minute, listening quiz will be administered. The listening quiz for the final will be taken in Paddock Music Library. On these quizzes you will be asked to identify fully five recorded excerpts drawn from the listening examples provided on the CD recordings that have been discussed in the text and lectures. The listening will count for 15% of the entire examination grade. The written examination will be submitted via e-mail. (Please send these to me requesting a return receipt.) *One concert review of the performance will be submitted. The review guidelines are attached. Please be sure to carefully review them before submitting your paper. The review is due at the beginning of class. Music 6/Winter 2011/Summers-1
Course Grade: Examinations, 60% [45% written+15% listening]; Concert Review, 30%; Class participation and attendance 10%. Two absences are permitted. Each absence after that reduces the available points for participation by 50%. Course Lecture and Discussion topics: Weeks 1-2 Kerman: Introduction and Chapters 1-5 Introduction to art music, the notation of music, the instruments of the orchestra, musical form, music genres, and an introduction to the music of the medieval period (600-1400). Weeks 3-4 Kerman: Chapters 6-10 The music of the renaissance (1420-1600) and some of its principal composers such as Josquin des Prez and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and the music of the early baroque 1600-1750) and some of its principal composers such as Claudio Monteverdi and J. S. Bach Weeks 5-6 Kerman: Chapters 11-16 The music of the so-called Viennese-Classical period (1730-1830) and the composers Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven and the music of the early Romantic (1800-1860) opera composers, Donizetti and Rossini and early romantic instrumental music by Franz Schubert, Robert and Clara Schumann. Weeks 7-8 Kerman: Chapters 17-19 The music of the later romantics (1850-1920) including Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms as well as late romantic opera in the hands of Verdi, Wagner and Puccini. Weeks 9-10 Kerman: Chapters 20-22 The various trends of musical composition in the 20th century including the major composers: Sergi Rachmaninoff, Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky, Samuel Barber, Anton Webern and Alban Berg. Music 6/Winter 2011/Summers-2
Music 6 Concert Review Guidelines, Winter, 2010 You may discuss your responses to the concert with others in the course, but the point of this assignment is for me to learn what you heard and how you responded. This assignment should be solely your individual and personal work. Please review this sheet before turning in your reviews. I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO SEND A WORKING DRAFT BY E-MAIL BEFORE SUBMISSION by 5pm on February 10 th. The following information should appear in the review: 1. All relevant information about the program, including place, date performers and repertory should be presented at the opening. This is a journalistic undertaking that does not require the use of footnotes. However, any information derived from a printed source or recording must be acknowledged informally within the narrative. 2. Each work performed should be briefly situated within the creative life of the composer and general evaluative comments made about the performance you heard, discussing all movements in every composition performed. Do not supply a long biography of the composer, only the information relevant to the time of composition of the work performed. You will want to take a notebook to the concert to record your thoughts for use when writing your comments. 3. A single work [or two, longer movements] on the program must be previewed in a recorded performance before the concert and a longer, comparative and more specific critique made concerning the live performance of this work and the recording. The recording, date and artist(s) or ensemble must be identified in the narrative. Remember to control carefully for the inherent differences between a live and recorded performance. For example, recordings will not have mistakes re-takes obviate this. 4. Be sure to take the time to write a conclusion that carefully recapitulates your key points made throughout the entire review. This will round your undertaking out. 5. I will gladly read drafts forwarded by e-mail until 5pm on the 10 th before the review is due. In my experience submitting drafts Music 6/Winter 2011/Summers-3
substantially improves your chances for success on this assignments. I will comment directly upon the electronic draft and return it via e-mail in time for them to be incorporated into the final submission. 6. All reviews are submitted in hard copy only. The text is to be double spaced, and justified. Any 12-point font is acceptable. Please be sure to number all pages at the bottom of the page with your name. Staple the pages together prior to submission. *Students with special circumstances or needs are kindly asked to identify themselves to the professor at the beginning of the term. Music 6/Winter 2011/Summers-4
Music 6/Winter 2011/Summers-5