A survey of the history of Western music from the Middle Ages to 1750. The various cultural offerings in Vienna during the Spring 2011 semester will inform the selection of works on which we will focus. Topics will include the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the origins of polyphony, the development of vocal and instrumental genres, and the works of such central composers as Josquin, Monteverdi, Bach, Vivaldi and Handel.
Prerequisites:
Ability to read music and familiarity with basic elements of harmony
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
• Discern the distinguishing features of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque art music traditions
• Identify fundamental historical and cultural movements in early modern Western history
• Understand basic methods of musical analysis
Class participation 10%
Listening Quiz 10%
Midterm exam 25%
Event reports (2) 10%
Concert or Opera review 15%
Final exam 30%
Reading: Selected excerpts from the Norton History of Western Music (7th ed.; abbreviation: HWM) as well as source readings focused on topics for discussion in class will be assigned for each week. Listening: Approximately 80 Minutes of listening per week – excerpts from pieces discussed in class, but not necessarily played in class – will be available for you via the in-house wireless network using iTunes. Listening will be on the exams.
In addition, preparation is required for your event reports and concert review: this should include background information about the composer, the historical context of the work(s) performed and consultation of an English translation of texts performed, if any. We will discuss this assignment on the first day of class.
content:
Week 1 Introduction: Entering the discourse of Vienna’s musical culture Historically-Informed Performance Practice. The Development of Notation Reading: HWM Chapter 2, WT #12
Week 2 Gregorian chant, Troubadors and Trouveres
Reading: HWM Chapter 3: pp. 50-62, 68-70; Chapter 4; WT #13
Week 3 Early Polyphony at Notre Dame
Machaut, the Trecento and Ars Subtilior
Reading: HWM Chapter 5: 94-102, 104-110; Chapter 6: 116-140; WT #16, 17
Week 4 The Renaissance: The Franco-Flemish School
Martin Luther, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation
Reading: HWM Chapter 7, Chapter 8: 180-84; Chapter 9: 192-208 WT #26
Week 5 The Italian Madrigal and English Song
Arcadelt, Willaert, Lasso, Dowland
Reading: HWM Chapter 10: 210-218; Chapter 11: 243-254, 258-263; WT #38, 39
Week 6 Instrumental Music
Excursion: Hofburg Collection of Historical Instruments
Reading: HWM Chapter 12; WT #58
Week 7 Monteverdi and the Beginning of Opera
Early Opera: Orfeo, Peri and Caccini
Reading Assignment: HWM Chapter 13, Chapter 14: 307-19; WT #45, 51
Week 8 The French Baroque: Lully and the Sun King
Corelli, the Sonata, and 17th-Century Instrumental Music
Reading: HWM Chapter 16: 353-71, Chapter 17: 384-99; WT #53, 54
Week 9 The High Baroque I: Vivaldi and the Concerto
Bach’s sacred music
Reading: HWM Chapter 18: 418-36, Chapter 19: 438-56; WT #60, 65
Week 10 The High Baroque II: Bach’s secular music
Handel and Opera Seria
Reading Assignment: HWM Chapter 19: 457-71; WT #68, 69, 70, 72
Required readings:
Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. 7th ed.
New York: Norton, 2006. (HWM)
Weiss, Piero and Richard Taruskin. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. New York: Schirmer, 1984. (WT)
Recommended readings:
Burkholder, J. Peter and Claude V. Palisca. Norton Anthology of Western Music, Vol. I. 5th ed.
New York: Norton, 2006.
Fubini, Enrico, ed. Music and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Europe: A Sourcebook. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Erik Leidal earned a Master’s in Musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His teaching experience includes courses in Music History and Cultural Studies at UCLA. He is both a former IES Abroad student and Fulbright Scholar to Austria, and has degrees in English Literature and Music History from Rice University. He has worked in Vienna as a singer and independent artist since 2002.
Music Survey: Music From the Middle Ages to the Baroque
A survey of the history of Western music from the Middle Ages to 1750. The various cultural offerings in Vienna during the Spring 2011 semester will inform the selection of works on which we will focus. Topics will include the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the origins of polyphony, the development of vocal and instrumental genres, and the works of such central composers as Josquin, Monteverdi, Bach, Vivaldi and Handel.
Ability to read music and familiarity with basic elements of harmony
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
• Discern the distinguishing features of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque art music traditions
• Identify fundamental historical and cultural movements in early modern Western history
• Understand basic methods of musical analysis
Lectures, discussions, audio-visual musical examples
Class participation 10%
Listening Quiz 10%
Midterm exam 25%
Event reports (2) 10%
Concert or Opera review 15%
Final exam 30%
Reading: Selected excerpts from the Norton History of Western Music (7th ed.; abbreviation: HWM) as well as source readings focused on topics for discussion in class will be assigned for each week. Listening: Approximately 80 Minutes of listening per week – excerpts from pieces discussed in class, but not necessarily played in class – will be available for you via the in-house wireless network using iTunes. Listening will be on the exams.
In addition, preparation is required for your event reports and concert review: this should include background information about the composer, the historical context of the work(s) performed and consultation of an English translation of texts performed, if any. We will discuss this assignment on the first day of class.
Week 1 Introduction: Entering the discourse of Vienna’s musical culture Historically-Informed Performance Practice. The Development of Notation Reading: HWM Chapter 2, WT #12
Week 2 Gregorian chant, Troubadors and Trouveres
Reading: HWM Chapter 3: pp. 50-62, 68-70; Chapter 4; WT #13
Week 3 Early Polyphony at Notre Dame
Machaut, the Trecento and Ars Subtilior
Reading: HWM Chapter 5: 94-102, 104-110; Chapter 6: 116-140; WT #16, 17
Week 4 The Renaissance: The Franco-Flemish School
Martin Luther, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation
Reading: HWM Chapter 7, Chapter 8: 180-84; Chapter 9: 192-208 WT #26
Week 5 The Italian Madrigal and English Song
Arcadelt, Willaert, Lasso, Dowland
Reading: HWM Chapter 10: 210-218; Chapter 11: 243-254, 258-263; WT #38, 39
Week 6 Instrumental Music
Excursion: Hofburg Collection of Historical Instruments
Reading: HWM Chapter 12; WT #58
Week 7 Monteverdi and the Beginning of Opera
Early Opera: Orfeo, Peri and Caccini
Reading Assignment: HWM Chapter 13, Chapter 14: 307-19; WT #45, 51
Week 8 The French Baroque: Lully and the Sun King
Corelli, the Sonata, and 17th-Century Instrumental Music
Reading: HWM Chapter 16: 353-71, Chapter 17: 384-99; WT #53, 54
Week 9 The High Baroque I: Vivaldi and the Concerto
Bach’s sacred music
Reading: HWM Chapter 18: 418-36, Chapter 19: 438-56; WT #60, 65
Week 10 The High Baroque II: Bach’s secular music
Handel and Opera Seria
Reading Assignment: HWM Chapter 19: 457-71; WT #68, 69, 70, 72
Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. 7th ed.
New York: Norton, 2006. (HWM)
Weiss, Piero and Richard Taruskin. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. New York: Schirmer, 1984. (WT)
Burkholder, J. Peter and Claude V. Palisca. Norton Anthology of Western Music, Vol. I. 5th ed.
New York: Norton, 2006.
Fubini, Enrico, ed. Music and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Europe: A Sourcebook. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Erik Leidal earned a Master’s in Musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His teaching experience includes courses in Music History and Cultural Studies at UCLA. He is both a former IES Abroad student and Fulbright Scholar to Austria, and has degrees in English Literature and Music History from Rice University. He has worked in Vienna as a singer and independent artist since 2002.