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Academic Year 2003/2004

The Representation of Reality in Sound: Opera, Symphonic Poem, MTV
MUSC 247 SP

Whereas some cultures view music as an integral component of daily life, the European intellectual tradition has isolated music from everyday existence by attributing the art with extraordinary powers. Not only does this attitude lead some figures (such as Plato, Calvin, and many modern politicians) to regard music with deep suspicion, it also creates a distinct problem for composers who seek to incorporate representational elements in their work: How can music portray the nature of reality without ceasing to be musical? Moreover, society encounters a reciprocal problem: Should normal life, to capture the special powers of music, be more like music? This course will investigate the ways composers use music to reflect the world about them and how, in turn, the world incorporates elements of the musical experience. Of primary interest will be various technical, philosophic, and aesthetic concerns embodied in dramatic vocal works composed between 1600 and 1935. The class will undertake detailed study of the madrigals, operas, and religious music of Monteverdi, Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and Alban Berg. Instrumental works containing referential elements (such as Vivaldi's FOUR SEASONS and Richard Strauss's tone poems) will also be examined. The results of these explorations will be applied to a selection of recent music videos; aspects of modern musical culture (such as the rap musician's depiction of current urban life) will be examined primarily in light of the venerable--and possibly irrelevant--traditions embodied in such writings as those of Aristotle, Diderot, and Freud. Participants should have an active interest in exploring both the thought and music of the past; students interested exclusively in MTV are strongly discouraged from taking this course. A prior background in music is not required.

MAJOR READINGS

Selections from Plato's "Laws" and "Republic"
Aristotle, POETICS, trans. Richard Janko (Indianapolis, 1987) Barrett H. Clark, ed., EUROPEAN THEORIES OF THE DRAMA (New York, 1965)
Peter le Huray and James Day, MUSIC AND AESTHETICS IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND EARLY-NINETEENTH CENTURIES (Cambridge, 1981)
Selections from Sigmund Freud's "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life" and "The Theme of the Three Caskets," from THE STANDARD EDITION OF THE COMPLETE PSYCHOLOGICAL WORKS OF SIGMUND FREUD, ed. James Strachey.
Georg Buchner, WOYZECK, trans. Carl Richard Mueller (New York, 1963)
Selections from the writings and correspondence of Verdi, Wagner, and Berg. Selections from recent journalism on popular musical culture.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

There will be midterm and final examinations (covering classroom discussions, readings, and the required listening assignments) and a final written research project.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA MUSC    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2004

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