Music History and Literature (MUHL)

A music literature course which adopts a "great books" approach. The students will study in depth approximately a dozen works, drawn from several periods of music history. The compositions increase in complexity as the semester progresses.

A course which deals with music as a mirror of the times in which it was created. Music to be studied will be chosen for its close association with some of the most profound social issues of Western society. The topics chosen for study will include at least two centuries and two continents.

A critical examination of the significance of women as performers, characters, patrons, and critics in relation to opera’s multiple identities as musical genre, dramatic medium, social event, and political catalyst.

A course which deals with an investigation of the roles of music, its distinguishing features, and preformance traditions in eight to ten geographic regions. The examination of the diffusion and assimilation of cultural elements allows students to learn the essential aspects of each of the cultures under consideration and to appreciate how they differ from a Western perspective.

A study of the developments in American Music provided by America's various ethnicities that focus on genre, composer, and/or era.

An exploration of chiefly vocal repertories focusing on genre, composer, and/or era.

An exploration of chiefly instrumental repertories focusing on genre, composer, and/or era.

A study of the life and major works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The development of jazz, ragtime, blues, Dixieland, boogie-woogie, and later styles, which evolved in the genre.

Studies of a topic in music history or literature.

Biographical and analytical studies pertaining to Ludwig van Beethoven.

Prerequisite: MUTH 191. A chronological survey of select genres across several centuries and in different musical styles, focusing on the non-musical factors which effected musical evolution. Analysis and research.

Prerequisite: MUTH 191. A historical examination of evolving technologies of music production and dissemination; of changing sources of patronage of composers and performers; and of how music history came to be written (the creation of the Western canon) and the consequences for those privileged or silenced. Research.

Studies of a topic in music history or literature.

Individual study is under the direction of a Music Department faculty member. Details may be obtained from the chair. Project required. By permission of the department.

Individual study is under the direction of a Music Department faculty member. Details may be obtained from the chair. Project required. By permission of the department.

Supervised off-campus experiences, developed in consultation with the Department of Music and the off-campus agency. By permission only.