Discussion on form and structure from 14th to 18th century in comparison with the development of compositional techniques. Rhetoric devices and musical oration will be analyzed in connection with vocal and instrumental pieces of music. The difference between period and sentence structure (and their combinations) as well as the development of sonata form (from binary to ternary) will be evaluated.
Prerequisites:
Two to four semester of music theory.
Learning outcomes:
The student will learn:
• Form analysis 14th to 18th century
• Rhetoric analysis of vocal and instrumental music
• Comparison of form, structure and idea in operas by Mozart and others.
Method of presentation:
Lectures, discussions, student presentation of term paper, visit to the music instrument collection of the National Library.
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation (20%), midterm exam (30%), final exam (30%), written work (20%). The written assignments relate to the weekly topics.
content:
Session 1: Fundamentals of form
Session 2: Form and genres in Medieval music
Session 3: Form and genres in Renaissance music
Session 4: Form and genres in Baroque era
Session 5: Theoretical positions in the 18th century (J. Mattheson, J. Riepel, L. Mozart, J.J. Quantz etc.)
(Midterm Exam)
Session 6: Rhetorical devices
Session 7: Pre classical period (J. C. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, A. Vivaldi, etc.)
Session 8: The musical oration
Session 9: Binary and ternary sonata form
Session 10: Opera in the 18th century
(Final Exam)
Required readings:
Bent, Ian. Analysis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company 1987.
Meyer, Leonard B. Style and Music. Theory, History, and Ideology. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press 1989.
Rothstein, William. Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music. New York: Schirmer 1989.
Burkholder, J. Peter – Palisca, Claude V. Norton Anthology of Western Music. Volume 1: Ancient to
Baroque. New York: W.W. Norton & Company 2006.
Recommended readings:
Amon, Reinhard. Lexikon der Harmonielehre. Wien – München: Doblinger – Metzler 2005.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Gerold Gruber earned a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Vienna. He is currently Professor at the Music University in Vienna where he teaches seminars and lectures on Music Theory, Music Analysis and Music Aesthetics. Current research areas focus on Arnold Schönberg’s Treatise on Harmony, Exiled Composers, and Analytical Topics. He is head of the M.A.E.D. Music Analysis and Exile Documentation Research Center at the Music University of Vienna as well as head of the charity organization exil.arte (www.exilarte.at[2]).
Advanced Music Theory I: Structural and Rhetorical Approaches to 18th and 19th Century Music
Discussion on form and structure from 14th to 18th century in comparison with the development of compositional techniques. Rhetoric devices and musical oration will be analyzed in connection with vocal and instrumental pieces of music. The difference between period and sentence structure (and their combinations) as well as the development of sonata form (from binary to ternary) will be evaluated.
Two to four semester of music theory.
The student will learn:
• Form analysis 14th to 18th century
• Rhetoric analysis of vocal and instrumental music
• Comparison of form, structure and idea in operas by Mozart and others.
Lectures, discussions, student presentation of term paper, visit to the music instrument collection of the National Library.
Class participation (20%), midterm exam (30%), final exam (30%), written work (20%). The written assignments relate to the weekly topics.
Session 1: Fundamentals of form
Session 2: Form and genres in Medieval music
Session 3: Form and genres in Renaissance music
Session 4: Form and genres in Baroque era
Session 5: Theoretical positions in the 18th century (J. Mattheson, J. Riepel, L. Mozart, J.J. Quantz etc.)
(Midterm Exam)
Session 6: Rhetorical devices
Session 7: Pre classical period (J. C. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, A. Vivaldi, etc.)
Session 8: The musical oration
Session 9: Binary and ternary sonata form
Session 10: Opera in the 18th century
(Final Exam)
Bent, Ian. Analysis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company 1987.
Meyer, Leonard B. Style and Music. Theory, History, and Ideology. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press 1989.
Rothstein, William. Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music. New York: Schirmer 1989.
Burkholder, J. Peter – Palisca, Claude V. Norton Anthology of Western Music. Volume 1: Ancient to
Baroque. New York: W.W. Norton & Company 2006.
Amon, Reinhard. Lexikon der Harmonielehre. Wien – München: Doblinger – Metzler 2005.
Gerold Gruber earned a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Vienna. He is currently Professor at the Music University in Vienna where he teaches seminars and lectures on Music Theory, Music Analysis and Music Aesthetics. Current research areas focus on Arnold Schönberg’s Treatise on Harmony, Exiled Composers, and Analytical Topics. He is head of the M.A.E.D. Music Analysis and Exile Documentation Research Center at the Music University of Vienna as well as head of the charity organization exil.arte (www.exilarte.at [2]).