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

Unit name	Issues in Twentieth-Century Music
Unit code	MUSI20053
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Heldt
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 twentieth 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 last hundred years 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:

This unit aims to introduce students in depth to key repertoire of the twentieth century and to examine the musical and social contexts that gave rise to that repertoire and in which it evolved. The claims of modernism, the relation of art and popular music (including, for instance stage and film musicals), musical diasporas of various kinds and the impact of recorded sound on the production, performance and dissemination of music of all kinds will be addressed in detail. 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 twentieth century

• account for the technical, social and cultural factors that led to its production and development

• discuss with confidence themes such as impressionism, neo-classicism, modernism, avant-garde, art and pop cultures

• 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 and periodisation

• display a grasp of relevant philosophical frameworks (eg Benjamin, Adorno, Said)

• 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

• R.P. Morgan, Twentieth-Century Music (London: W.W.Norton & Co, 1991)

• A. Whittall. Musical Composition in the Twentieth Century (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999)

• M. Paddison, Adornos Aesthetics of Music (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993)

• Pierce, John R., The Science of Musical Sound (New York, 1992)

• R. Middleton, Studying Popular Music (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1990)

Prescribed scores and CDs to be identified in class