| Unit name | Source Study, Paleography and Editorial Practices |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MUSIM0014 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Allinson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Music |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit introduces students to different categories of musicological sources and discusses issues arising from these, including recent authenticity debates surrounding the use of these materials in performance. It acquaints students with the nature of historical source materials for different repertoires and with the ways in which these may inform an understanding of compositional process. It also introduces typical problems involved in the preparation of critical editions to the highest standards of modern scholarship by means of particular case studies. It is intended that this unit will stimulate an awareness of the sensitivity required in handling primary and other musical source materials and that it will help students to acquire a critically informed approach to musical texts.
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
(1) demonstrate an awareness of recent scholarship relating to authenticity;
(2) discuss different types of source materials for music;
(3) use and comment upon a range of modern scholarly editions;
(4) be aware of the possibilities of making interpretative judgements on autograph score material and sketches;
(5) comment critically upon existing interpretations of sketch material in the musicological literature;
(6) comment on issues relating to compositional process.
This module also measures general learning outcomes for the MA in Music as follows:
(7) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of editorial techniques relevant to the no-tation of ‘early’ music and their reproduction in modern form; methodologies for the in-terpretation of primary source materials in relation to contexts such as compositional process and performance practice; sketch studies including works by living composers
(8) Demonstrate a detailed awareness of certain repertoires, verbally and in writing, by means of historical, critical or analytical investigation
(9) Synthesize a broad range of material (sometimes of a complex nature) and present the findings coherently, demonstrating a professional level of competence in appropriate bib-liographic skills
(10) students will demonstrate effective verbal presentation
(11) experience in seeing a project through from conception to planning, blueprint reali-sation, and execution
Five staff-led seminars (2 hours each), plus supporting tutorials by separate arrangement with course tutors, as appropriate.
Assessment will be by portfolio submission of any two out of the five assignments distributed by tutors during the course. Each exercise will be given equal weighting (50% of the mark for the unit as a whole). Each tutor will set one exercise related to the subject of the seminar. The nature of the exercises will vary according to the repertoire concerned, and might, for instance, consist of a straightforward editing task, a critical assessment of an existing edition, a critical interpretation of and report on palaeographical issues surrounding one or more specific primary sources, or interpretation of issues raised in discussion of specific 'readings' introduced in class. Supplementary tutorial guidance will be available in preparing the exercises chosen for inclusion in the portfolio by arrangement with the relevant tutor.
Satisfactory participation in class discussion is required for the award of credit points. This will use outcome (10) to demonstrate outcomes (1)-(9). Editing tasks will show that students have achieved outcome (3) in building the necessary body of knowledge to demonstrate (4), (8) and (9) through (7) and (11),.
Written assignments exploring issues pertaining to one or more of the disciplines of source study, editing and palaeography will use outcome (11) to demonstrate some or all of out-comes (1)-(7) through (8) and (9).
John Caldwell, Editing Early Music, 2nd edn (Oxford, 1995).
James Grier, The Critical Editing of Music, (Cambridge, 1996).
Brooks, Pamela: How to Research Local History (Begbroke, Oxford, 2006).
