HISTORY AND APPRECIATION OF MUSIC MUL1930

Fall 2011– Honors Program DR. HEATHER COLTMAN

(561) 297-3821 coltman@fau.edu

SYLLABUS

Primary Text: Kamien, Music: An Appreciation, tenth edition Additional reading selections will be provided. The Classical music tradition gives full and rich expression to enduring themes of the human life experience. This course will explore the Western culture's evolving musical attempts to find and create meaning, to define, to share, to survive, to transcend and even to glorify and experience rapture within our existence. Preliminary lectures will introduce students to the basic elements of classical music (e.g., melody, rhythm, meter, harmony, instrumentation, etc.). Historical perspective will be gained by additional introductory lectures describing the six basic eras in music composition (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Twentieth-Century), their major composers, and stylistic traits. Successive lectures will center around the central themes experienced throughout life and will explore in depth selected compositions that convey these themes in significant and powerful ways. Listening selections, videos, lectures, discussions, and live performances of selected relevant repertoire will be featured in each class. The class structure and outline will be flexible, depending on the progress of the class and the involvement of the students. Reading assignments, handouts and other materials will be provided throughout the semester. The majority of the music discussed in class will be available for listening on CD or videos in the audio/visual department of the library. There will be three exams, each counting 20% of your final grade. In addition, you will be required to submit 14 typewritten, double-spaced, one-page critical reviews of a musical performance. These should include your personal reaction to approved live or videotaped concerts featuring western Art Music ("classical music"), and should include the title and composer of the work/s performed and the performer/s. Relevant information on the repertoire performed and correct use of terminology learned in class should be included in your evaluation of the performance. Writing style, grammar, spelling and punctuation will also be considered in grading. I am available to assist you and/or supervise the writing of these papers. A list of approved concerts will be handed out in class. Five papers will be due on February 5, five will be due on March 12, and 4 on April 16. You will also write 8 in-class, spontaneous essays on a variety of related topics. The essay topics will be generated by class discussion and will be assigned throughout the term. The reviews and essays will receive letter grades, and the average will be 30% of your final grade. Attendance and active participation is required. More than two unexcused absences will result in the lowering of your grade. If you must miss class, you are responsible for making up any notes or

assignments which you miss during your absence. Exams and essays will only be made up with adequate documentation of an emergency absence. I reserve the right to take class participation into account when determining your final grade. The final 10% of your grade will be determined by attendance and participation.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), students who require special accommodation due to a disability to properly execute course work must register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) -- in Boca Raton, SU 133 (561-297-3880); in Davie, MOD 1 (954-236-1222); in Jupiter, SR 117 (561-799-8585); or at the Treasure Coast, CO 128 (772-873-3305) – and follow all OSD procedures.

Students at Florida Atlantic University are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. Academic dishonesty is considered a serious breach of these ethical standards, because it interferes with the University mission to provide a high quality education in which no student enjoys an unfair advantage over any other. Academic dishonesty is also destructive of the University community, which is grounded in a system of mutual trust and places high value on personal integrity and individual responsibility. Harsh penalties are associated with academic dishonesty. For more information, see the Code of Academic Integrity in the University Regulations at http://www.fau.edu/regulations/chapter4/4.001_Code_of_Academic_Integrity.pdf.  

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

(subject to alteration) August 23 Fundamentals August 25, 30 Elements of Music September 1, 6, 8 Genres, Forms and Structures September 13, 15, 20 Historical Overview - Stylistic Features of each Era September 22 EXAM 1 September 27, 29 TOPIC 1: Nature October 4, 6 TOPIC 2: Childhood October 11, 13 TOPIC 3: Romantic Love October 18, 20 TOPIC 4: Tragic Love October 25 EXAM 2 October 27, November 1 TOPIC 5: Death

November 3, 8 TOPIC 6: Nationalism November 10, 15 TOPIC 7: War November 17, 22 TOPIC 8: God (or spirituality) November 29 Review TBA FINAL EXAM  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

PRELIMINARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adolphe, Bruce. Of Mozart, Parrots and Cherry Blossoms in the Wind. Limelight Editions,New York. Copland, Aaron. On Music. W.W. Norton and Co., New York. Copland, Aaron. Music and Imagination. Mentor Books, New York. Einstein, Alfred. Essays on Music. W.W. Norton and Co., New York. Horowitz, Joseph. Classical Music in America: A History of its Rise and Fall. W.W. Norton, New York. Johnson, Julian. Who Needs Classical Music? Cultural Choice and Musical Value. Oxford University Press, New York. Loesser, Arthur. Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History. Dover Publications, New York. Meyer, Leonard B. Music, The Arts, and Ideas. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Rorem, Ned. Settling the Score: Essays on Music. Doubleday, New York. Ross, Alez. The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, New York. Schonberg, Harold C. Facing the Music. Summit Books, New York.