Unit information: Issues in Nineteenth-Century Music in 2009/10

Unit name	Issues in Nineteenth-Century Music
Unit code	MUSI20052
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Fairclough
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	A-level Music
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Music
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The nineteenth century was a period of immense stylistic and social change in music and musical production. Recent research in musicology (including work done by staff in this department) has sought to position the composers and repertoires of the nineteenth century in relation to broader social and political trends of the age, and this unit seeks to pursue that agenda in relation to key works and composers that will be examined in depth in lectures and supporting seminars.

Aims:

Taking as its starting-point recent musicological research into the production and reception of nineteenth-century music, this unit aims (i) to introduce students in depth to key repertoire of the nineteenth century; and (ii) to examine the musical and social contexts that gave rise to that repertoire and in which it evolved, both in terms of the tracing of musical influences and musics changing status as a social act. Furthermore it aims (in seminar sessions) to allow students to develop written and oral presentation skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Successful completion of this unit will enable students to:

• discuss in detail essential repertoire from the nineteenth century

• by referring to technical, social and cultural factors, account for its production and development

• assess, discuss and dispute arguments in secondary literature, both in writing and in class discussion

• describe with confidence relevant historiographical issues such as canon formation, nationalism and periodisation

• display a grasp of relevant philosophical frameworks (eg Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzche)

• research, plan and present an essay according to professional musicological standards

• internalise information and apply it appropriately in an examination context.

Teaching Information

Weekly lecture (1 hr) and weekly seminar (1 hr).

Assessment Information

One coursework essay of 3000 words (50%); a 2-hr examination (50%).

Reading and References

• C. Abbate & R. Parker, Analyzing Opera; Verdi and Wagner (Berkeley, 1989)

• C. Dahlhaus, Nineteenth-Century Music (Berkeley, 1989)

• J. Daverio, Nineteenth-Century Music and the German Romantic Ideology (NY, 1993)

• J. Samson, The Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music (Cambridge, 2002)

• C. Rosen, The Romantic Generation (London, 1996)

• Bujic, B., Music in European Thought, 1851-1912 (Cambridge, 1988)

Prescribed scores and CDs to be identified in class