For complete information as to courses offered in the current year, students should consult the schedule of course offerings available each semester in the Registrar’s Office. Courses numbered 100 through 499 are undergraduate level; courses numbered 500 through 999 are graduate level. Course numbers preceded by a “»” are typically offered each academic year. Course numbers followed by a “T” are taught to mixed classes of undergraduates and graduates. Undergraduate students may register for graduate-level courses with the instructor’s permission. Courses followed by a “*” are repeatable for credit. Courses followed by a “**” are repeatable for credit if the topic has changed (permission from Academic Advisor required).
»MHST 111 – Introduction to Musical Styles
Introduces students to a wide variety of musical styles, chronologically and
geographically, through intense work on a few pieces in a seminar format.
Performance and repertory based projects; oral and written exercises;
library project. (2 credits) Faculty
»MHST 117 – Introduction to Jazz History
Traces the evolution of the musical language that came to be called “jazz,”
with attention to major styles and artists. Emphasis will be placed on aural
analysis of jazz recordings and what to listen for in a jazz performance,
including a study of rhythm section instruments and their roles in the
various styles and the way jazz solos are constructed. Requirements include
a research paper, midterm and final exams, and periodic short papers on
discussion questions based on reading and listening assignments. Prerequisite:
MHST 111. Not available to Jazz majors. (2 credits) Faculty
»MHST 221 – Survey of Music in Western Europe, c850-1750
The recorded history of music in Christianized Europe begins with the
notation of sacred chant in the 9th century. The development of that
repertory over the next several centuries laid the foundations on which the
composition of music, sacred and secular, was based for generations. We will
trace the changes in musical style that occurred over time, and consider the
role that the principal institutions of musical patronage – Church, Court,
and Theater – played in fostering those changes. Composers to be studied
include Perotin, Machaut, Josquin, Palestrina, Monteverdi, Lully, Corelli,
Bach, and Handel. There will be regular quizzes, a mid-term and final exam,
and one written critique of an assigned reading. (3 credits) Smith
»MHST 222 – Survey of Music in Western Europe, 1720-present
Many of the notions we hold today regarding music and its role in society are
rooted in ideas that emerged in the Enlightenment of the 18th century. We
will begin with a close study of those ideas and the music it fostered, then
follow the rise of music to its preeminent role among the arts in the 19th
century. Finally, we will explore the alternative paths composers pursued
following the rupture with tonality and with conventional views on music at
the start of the 20th century. Works from Bach to Babbitt will be included in
our survey. There will be regular quizzes, a mid-term and final exam, and one
written critique of an assigned reading. (3 credits) Smith
MHST 251 – Jazz Improvisation: 1917-1955
Explores the development of the art of jazz improvisation by soloists and
ensembles beginning with the first recordings of jazz improvisation in
1917 and continuing through the swing era, bebop, and early modern
jazz in the 1950’s. Considers the social, cultural, and economic context of
jazz improvisation. Studies the work of Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong,
Earl Hines, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Art Tatum, Dizzy Gillespie,
Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis, and changing styles of
ensemble improvisation and rhythm section accompaniment. MHST 117 or
instructor’s consent required for non-Jazz/CI majors. (2 credits) Faculty
MHST 252 – Form and Freedom in Jazz, 1956-74
Explores the new forms, sounds, and procedures in jazz improvisation and
composition from 1956 to 1974 through study of the work of Miles Davis,
Gil Evans, Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Cecil
Taylor, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, and others. Considers the social, cultural,
and economic context of new developments in jazz and their receptions and
meanings. MHST 117 or instructor’s consent required for non-jazz/CI majors.
(2 credits) Schaphorst
MHST 253 – The Post-Bebop Era, 1949-1961
This course focuses on the stylistic approaches and innovations in jazz
improvisation and composition from 1949 to 1961, when the bebop language
was gradually enriched with influences from other traditional musical
cultures, as well as from prominent contemporary classical composers.
Taking into account the sociopolitical circumstances at the time, we will
explore the works of Bud Powell, Lennie Tristano and his school, Miles
Davis, Horace Silver, Charles Mingus, Herbie Nichols, Elmo Hope, John
Coltrane, and Bill Evans, among others. Course assignments and tests
include listening quizzes, transcriptions, analyses, short essays, and a
final individual term project. MHST 117 or instructor’s consent required for
non-jazz/CI majors. (2 credits) Kordis
MHST 254 – The Swing Era: When Jazz Was Popular
There once was a time when jazz was popular, in every sense of the word:
it was liked by most Americans, and it was adapted to the tastes of the
general public – a reflection of the people. This period, from the late
1920s through the mid 1940s, has come to be known as the Swing Era.
Our subjects for study will include American popular culture during the
Great Depression, ballrooms, big bands, and swing dancing in Harlem,
racial and gender divisions across the jazz industry, the transition within
jazz from social entertainment to concert art, and what brought about the
demise of the Swing Era during WWII. We will also look closely at the lives
and music of Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and other Swing
Era personalities. MHST 117 or instructor’s consent required for non-jazz/
CI majors. (2 credits) Faculty
MHST 334 – Defining Greatness, Three Case Studies: Machaut,
Josquin, and Byrd
Studies music of composers from different historical periods: Guillaume
de Machaut (14th century), Josquin des Prez (15th and 16th centuries), and
William Byrd (16th century). (2 credits) Hallmark
MHST 336 – The History of the Fugue Through Bach
This course traces the development and evolution of the fugue as a genre,
form and compositional procedure. We will follow the fugue from its
beginnings as a point of imitation in the vocal music of the 15th century,
through its presentation as Ricercare in the instrumental music in the
Renaissance, and culminate with those written by J.S. Bach, and particularly
those included in his wohltemperierte Klavier. While there will be a
significant analytical component to the course, primary attention will be
paid to the contextual reception of the fugue in its many different iterations.
(2 credits) Morgan
MHST 341 – The Road to the Open: Musical Developments in the First
Half of the Twentieth Century
This course will consider the different paths that composers took in
overcoming the musical language of Romanticism. We will explore the
gradual abandonment of tonality and thematicism in the expressionist
works of Schoenberg, Strauss, Berg and Webern; the development of 12-tone
techniques; the discovery of new expressive means in the music of Debussy,
Skryabin, and Messiaen; as well as the turn toward simplicity and the
various guises of neoclassicism in the works of Satie, Les Six, Stravinsky,
Bartok, and Hindemith. There will be listening quizzes, short essays and a
final project (consisting of a term paper and a presentation) on the topic of
the student’s choosing. (2 credits) Marković
»MHST 352 – Women and Music
Explores issues surrounding women and music, and considers a number
of women through the ages, including Hildegard von Bingen, Comtessa
de Dia, Tarquinia Molza, Laura Peverara, Francesca Caccini, Barbara
Strozzi, Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara
Schumann, Ethel Smyth, Amy Beach, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and Bessie
Smith. (2 credits) Hallmark
MHST 355 – Improvisation: Performer and Composer at the Keyboard
Examines the role of improvisation in western music from the 18th to the
20th centuries, as reflected in the shifting relationship between composer
and performer in keyboard music. Rather than customary emphasis on
repertoire controlled by composers through notated scores, focus in
this class will be on less well-known tradition of performer-controlled
composition such as dance music, preludes, fantasias, variations, cadenzas,
transcriptions, paraphrases, etc. Class materials include historic recordings,
contemporary performance manuals and accounts, and recent scholarly
literature. Students with relevant repertoire will perform pieces in class,
along with occasional guests. Independent research projects will allow
students to develop interests in particular forms, artists or techniques.
(2 credits) Labaree
MHST 359 – History of Rock
This course examines the development and cultural significance of rock
music from its origins in blues, gospel, and Tin Pan Alley through alternative,
house and hip hop. Primary attention will be paid to the social import
and constructed meaning drawn from the different genres of rock music.
Representative examples will be studied, elements of song-writing will be
introduced, and there will be considerable discussion about the roles that race,
gender, and socio-political events have played in the development of pop/rock
music in the United States during the last century. (2 credits) Morgan
MHST 367 – The Operas of Mozart
Explores the libretto, musical characterization, vocal discourse, tonal
relations, instrumental form and function, current and past staging,
interpretation, and comparison of Mozart operas. Provides a basis for
criticism of Mozart’s operas as they relate to each other as well as their
influence on later works. (2 credits) Greenwald
MHST 368 – The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner
Studies Wagner’s concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total art work) as reflected
in his music dramas and theoretical writings; their influence on the arts of
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (2 credits) Greenwald
MHST 369 – The Symphony after Beethoven
Examines the genre of the symphony as it evolved in response to Beethoven’s
symphonic output. Attention given first to the Beethovenian symphonic
ideal and its cultural context then to symphonies by Schubert, Berlioz,
Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Franck, Bruckner, Mahler, and
others. Grade will be based on listening quizzes, short response papers on
specific works and a final project on a topic to be chosen by the student.
(2 credits) Marković
MHST 371 – The Golden Age of Italian Opera: Rossini to Puccini
Surveys the conventions of 19th-century Italian opera covering works of
Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, and Puccini. Changes in the libretto,
musical structure, and role of singers are studied through developments in
individual composer’s styles. Works chosen for this semester are Rossini’s
Barber of Seville, Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
There will be listening quizzes, short essays on the chosen operas, and an
individual term project. (2 credits) Greenwald
MHST 373 – Dies irae: A History of the Requiem
This course traces the history of the Requiem from the Middle Ages to the
20th Century. Requiems to be studied include Gregorian Chant, Ockeghem,
Schütz, Mozart, Berlioz, Brahms, Verdi, Fauré, Duruflé and Britten. Emphasis
will be placed on the changing role of the church and the concepts of
death and afterlife as illustrated in the music and text. Contextual works that
focus on death will also be studied in each period. (2 credits) Handel
MHST 375 – La Jeune France: Music in France from 1870-1950
Traces developments in French music from the renaissance of the 1870s to
the serial revolution of the 1950s. Representative composers include Fauré,
Debussy, Satie, Poulenc, Messiaen, and Boulez. The foundation of the Société
Nationale de Musique, the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889, WWI and
WWII are studied as catalysts for aesthetic developments in French culture.
(2 credits) Handel
MHST 376 – Post-Romantic Music: Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss
This course will focus on the musical language, style and genres of postromantic
music. In the center of attention will be works by Anton Bruckner,
Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, but contextual explorations of selected
pieces by their precedents (primarily Richard Wagner), contemporaries
(Hugo Wolf) and antecedents (Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg)
will be studied as well. The method of inquiry will be the analytical and
interpretative study of selected works by Bruckner, Mahler and Strauss,
with consideration of issues such as the expansion of tonal language,
redefinition of traditional forms and genres, the relationship between music
and text, music and program, music and religion and music and philosophy.
(2 credits) Marković
MHST 377 – The World of Gustav Mahler
This is an in-depth exploration of Gustav Mahler’s music, life and artistic
environment centering on his symphonies and lieder. We will study the
symbiotic relationship between these two genres in Mahler’s oeuvre,
focusing on selected symphonies and their lieder companions. These works
will be examined from the perspective of manuscript sources, biographical,
philosophical and programmatic background, interpretation and reception.
A broader overview of the artistic climate of fin-de-siècle Vienna, its
dominant artistic circles and trends, as well as social and political forces
which influenced Mahler’s career and life will provide a context within
which we will explore the artistic shifts in Mahler’s musical style after the
turn-of the century. In a parallel manner, an attempt will be made to reflect
on Mahler from the perspective of the 21st century: on the heterogeneity
of his style and the broad spectrum of expression and references his music
projects – elements which have paved paths taken by musicians, writers, and
filmmakers as diverse as Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Mann, Britten, Visconti,
Berio, Schnittke, Ken Russel and Uri Caine. (2 credits) Marković
MHST 413 – The String Quartets of Haydn
Joseph Haydn composed 68 string quartets in the years 1750 to 1800 –
works that effectively defined the genre. In this class we will survey that
extraordinary body of compositions with special attention to op. 1, 20, 33,
50 and 76. Questions of form and content will be addressed, as will issues of
history and performance practice. What were the historical antecedents of
the string quartet? What was the role of the string quartet in the musical life
of 18-century Austria? What was the nature of string instruments in Haydn’s
day? What was the seating arrangement for the performance of string
quartets? Course requirements include a research project, written report
and final exam. (2 credits) Morgan
MHST 415 – Schoenberg and Stravinsky: Old Rivals, A New View
Examines the music and parallel careers of Schoenberg and Stravinsky.
(2 credits) Heiss
MHST 416 – Contemporary Developments: Music from 1945
to the Present
Studies the major musical trends since 1945: extended serialism, electronic
and aleatory music, return to free atonality, performance virtuosity, and
improvisation. (2 credits) Heiss
MHST 418 – Ives and Bartók: Composers as Creative Ethnomusicologists
Examines the music of Ives and Bartók, with emphasis on its social and
ethnic context. (2 credits) Heiss
MHST 431 – 19th Century Program Music
This course examines the relationship between textual ideas and music in
19th-century instrumental works. Pre-existing literary texts and original
philosophical tracts will be studied, with an emphasis on aesthetic origins
and analysis. (2 credits) Morgan
MHST 434 – The Piano Sonatas of Beethoven
A study of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, including analysis of their musical
style and form and of the social-historical context in which they were
composed and performed. Currently available scores of the sonatas will be
evaluated and problems in performance examined. Grade will be based on
listening quizzes, oral reports on individual sonatas, and a final project and
paper on a topic to be chosen by the student. (2 credits) Smith
MHST 435 – Chamber Music Literature from Mozart to Brahms
This course is a survey of Chamber Music literature from the 19th Century
conducted primarily from a chronological standpoint. In the course of the
semester we will situate the literature in three ways – as representative of
a composer’s individual style, as representative of the genre, and finally as
part of the specific era from which it is drawn, whether that be the Classic
or Romantic movement in Western Europe. Various interpretive strategies
will be discussed (as Hausmusik, as conversation, etc.) as well as the evolving
conception of form. Composers covered include Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven,
Schubert, and Brahms. (Note: While the lieder tradition is technically
a chamber music tradition, in this course the focus is narrowed to only
instrumental works.) (2 credits) Morgan
MHST 441 – Introduction to World Music
Studies the history, repertoire, performance practice, and cultural context
of selected musical traditions. Music covered in the past has been drawn
from traditions in sub-Saharan Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, India,
Indonesia, China, Korea, Native America, and Japan. Evaluation of student
work is based on class participation, midterm exam, and final exam or term
project and paper. (2 credits) Labaree, Row
MHST 442 – Music of India
The classical traditions of North and South India are explored extensively
in their cultural contexts, focusing on instrumental and vocal styles,
repertoires and improvisations with special reference to the concepts of raga
(melodic mode) and tala (rhythm systems). (2 credits) Row
MHST 443 – Music of Turkey
An introduction to the music of Turkey, with an emphasis on the classical
and religious tradition. Through performance projects, recordings,
transcriptions, analytical papers, and readings in history, practice and
culture, students will explore the continuous tradition of composition and
improvisation originating under the multiethnic Ottoman empire, which
dominated the Middle East, North Africa and eastern Europe since the 14th
century. A prominent feature of the course will be the development of an
understanding of makam and usul, the systems of melodic and rhythmic
composition. (2 credits) Labaree
MHST 444 – Folk Music: Composition in Oral Tradition
In cultures where music-making does not depend on reading and writing,
how is music created, taught, preserved, varied and transmitted? To explore
these questions, three folk music repertoires will serve as the focus for a
semester: Irish sean nós (old style) singing and instrumental music; music of
the Turkish aşık, the Sufi singer-poet of rural Anatolia; early country blues of
the rural American south. While the category “folk music” is well-known in
contemporary commercial music, the emphasis in this course will be on the
making of music outside of modern media and marketing, and for the most
part, away from city life. Students will be expected to approach the study
of folk music in two ways: 1) through aural study, transcription, analysis
and performance of pieces from the course repertoire, and 2) through
selected readings from two centuries of writings by scholars, folklorists and
anthropologists. (2 credits) Labaree
MHST 446 – The Music of Greece
This course focuses on selected topics in the music of Greece from the 3rd
century A.D. to the 1970s. Taking into account the historical circumstances
at the time, we will investigate the ways in which Byzantine music and
neighboring music traditions laid the foundation for the development of
Demotic music (island and mainland), and other significant genres, such
as Asia Minor (Smyrneika, Politika), Rebetika, Laika, and political activist
songs. The course further addresses 20th-century Greek concert music and
the establishment of the Greek modernist and avant-garde traditions in the
works of composers such as Xenakis, Skalkottas, Christou, and Adamis.
Course assignments and tests include weekly reading and listening quizzes;
short written assignments; a transcription project of a traditional song
that includes detailed notation, analysis, and a live in-class performance
incorporating singing and dancing; and a term research paper. (2 credits)
Kordis
MHST 461 – Dido and Aeneas
An intensive look at Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas within the context of
later 17th century opera. This half-semester class will focus on issues of
performance practice, history of the work, and editorial problems. It will
also consider recent, often provocative studies by Heller, Peraino, Harris,
and Price. Live performance of excerpts will be part of the class. Written and
oral project on a subject of the student’s choice; listening exam. (1 credit)
Hallmark
MHST 463 – Beethoven’s Fidelio
A study of Beethoven’s only opera Leonora/Fidelio and of the social-cultural
context in which it was composed and performed. The influence that the
French Revolution and revolutionary music such as Cherubini’s exercised
on Beethoven will be considered in this half-semester course, as will the
relationship between Fidelio and Viennese operatic traditions of Singspiel
and opéra-comique. Grade based on in-class oral report, written essay on an
assigned topic, listening quizzes. (1 credit) Smith
MHST 464 – Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
A close study of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”). Through analysis
of the score and reading from the wealth of recent literature on the work,
this half-semester course examines the sources of the Symphony’s enduring
power of expression and studies the possible meanings embedded in its
sounds. Grade based on in-class oral report, written essay on an assigned
topic, listening quizzes. (1 credit) Smith
MHST 467 – Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) is one of Mozart’s most complex works,
a “Masonic” opera, a fairy tale opera, a musical emblem of Enlightenment
philosophy and aesthetics, and a turning point in the development of
German Opera that let to Weber’s Der Freischütz. Of special interest are the
ways in which Mozart was able to embed so much meaning in an opera that
is accessible at many levels to many different audiences. Assignments will
include readings and short papers. (1 credit) Greenwald
MHST 471 – Frauenliebe und leben
Schumann’s beloved and controversial song cycle will be the focus of this
half-semester class. It will be studied within the context of other cycles of
the early to mid-19th century, especially other settings of Chamisso’s poetry.
The course will consider domestic life in Germany at that time; Schumann’s
compositional process through his sketches and autographs; and the recent,
often feminist work done on the cycle by Muxfeldt, Solie, and Hallmark.
Written and oral project of the student’s choice; listening exam. (1 credit)
Hallmark
MHST 472 – Weber’s Der Freischütz
Weber’s opera has long been considered a benchmark of German
Romanticism. The famous “Wolf’s Glen” scene stands as one of the most
cited moments in literature in nineteenth-century opera. Der Freischütz
tells a tale of devilish contracts and supernatural events that has excited
audiences for nearly two centuries. Weber set this compellingly spooky
drama through innovative use of musical motive, tonality, and scenic effects.
This course will explore Weber’s opera and other lesser known works in its
orbit, including Spohr’s Faust and Hoffmann’s Undine. Assignments will
include readings and short papers. (1 credit) Greenwald
MHST 497 – Senior Portfolio
See description under Music History program of study. (0 credit) Faculty
»MHST 081 – Graduate Survey – The History of Western Music
This course provides an intensive survey of the history of Western music
from antiquity through the 21st century. (0 credit) Faculty
MHST 510 – Topics in Baroque Music
This class addresses special issues and problems arising from recent
discoveries and research into the music of 1600-1750. The course is designed
to familiarize the student with tools for research in this period, and to
develop an understanding of the music’s many facets through the study of
the individual genre, composer, or country. (2 credits)
MHST 510B – Topics in Baroque Music: Handel’s English Language
Masterworks
A study of a broad selection of Oratorios, Odes and Masques from Handel’s
richest compositional period. Drawing on his successful experience as a
composer of Italian operas in London, Handel turned, when these audiences
fell away, to the composition of large scale English language works and
an even greater success. In his dramatic oratorios he created a virtually
new form out of a pre-existing one, filling it out in structure, scale and
musical invention with music of astounding originality and dramatic power.
Emphasis will be placed on today’s rapidly changing performance practice
discoveries. (2 credits) Teeters
MHST 510C – Topics in Baroque Music: Musical Character Portraits in
Baroque Dramatic Works
This course will explore a variety of male and female characters in Baroque
operas and oratorios (i.e. tragic protagonist, heroic protagonist, evil
antagonist, mad antagonist, and supporting character – individual and
people group) to examine their musical and textual characterizations as
well as contemporary perceptions of their roles. Characters from various
works by Purcell, Lully, and Handel will be studied. An in-depth look into
the librettist’s portrayal of a character, often based on a well-known ancient
(biblical, mythical, or historical) figure, will be coupled with considerations
of the composer’s musical depiction. Attention will be given to examinations
of musical style and technique (both vocal and instrumental) associated with
each figure and analyses of tonal design, musical form, musical allusion etc.
to discern their significance in the depiction of a character. Requirements
include weekly listening and reading assignments, a research paper on a
character of the student’s choice, and an oral report. (2 credits) Kim
MHST 516 – Selected Readings in Jazz History
Explores writings in Jazz history from the first decades of the 20th- century
to the present. The readings will present a cross-section of socio-political
views about the music and its practitioners. Students will read extensively
for each class and make one or more oral presentations, individually or as a
team. (2 credits) Schaphorst
»MHST 517 – Selected Topics in Jazz
Investigates a range of topics relating to the history, politics, sociology,
personalities, and performance practices of jazz. Previous topics have
included “The Life and Music of Duke Ellington,” “Thelonius Monk: High
Priest of Jazz,” “Charlie Parker and the Bebop Tradition,” “John Coltrane,
Jazz Messiah,” and “Jazz in the Movies, the Movies in Jazz.” Topic for the
term will be posted in the schedule of courses during registration. Course
requirements include a research project and written report as well as brief
written or oral responses to reading and listening assignments. (2 credits**)
Coleman
MHST 519 – Jazz Outside the United States
Jazz is typically described as an American art form, and its history is
most often set within the borders of the United States. From its earliest
days, however, American jazz spread throughout the world as an emblem
of progress, peace and prosperity. By the end of the Second World War,
professional jazz performers in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America and
Australia had adapted jazz into local musical forms, laying the groundwork
for the later “globalization” of American sound. Jazz has been embraced
as a music of emancipation, but it has also provoked heated local debates
on public morality, cultural sovereignty and national identity. This
course examines the reception of American jazz in a range of geographic
and historic locations; the impact of these encounters on the sound of
American jazz; and the current status of jazz as an international music
through readings listening, lectures, and student presentations. (2 credits)
Kalmanovitch
»MHST 520 – Topics in Music of the Classical Era
This course focuses on different topics from year to year all centered on
music from the 18th through early 19th centuries. See the schedule of classes
for the current theme of the course. Assignments include weekly reading
and listening to be discussed in class, short written assignments in response
to assigned discussion questions, and an independent research project.
(2 credits) Faculty
MHST 520A – Topics in Music of the Classical Era: Music and the
Enlightenment
A study of selected works from the 18th and early 19th centuries, with
emphasis on the music of Rameau, Rousseau, Gluck and the Viennese
classics: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Readings from writers, critics,
composers and theorists of the time expose students to the ideas of the
Enlightenment. Through classroom discussions and individual research
projects, the relevance of those ideas to present-day interpretation and
performance of the music is explored. Course requirements include a
research project and written report as well as brief written or oral responses
to reading and listening assignments. (2 credits) G. Smith
MHST 520B – Topics in Music of the Classical Era: Music and the
French Revolution
The French Revolution of 1789 capped a century of social and intellectual
ferment spawned by the Enlightenment. The consequences of that
Revolution transformed the fabric of European social, political, and cultural
life. In this course, its effects on music and musicians – both in Paris and
beyond the Rhine – will be examined through the music of Grétry, Gossec,
Cherubini, Méhul, Beethoven and others. In-class discussion of assigned
reading and listening and of individual projects. (2 credits) G. Smith
MHST 520C – Topics in Music of the Classical Era: The Symphonies
of Beethoven
Beethoven’s nine symphonies form the bedrock of European concert music –
the foundation on which a canon of paradigmatic orchestral compositions
arose in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. We will study Beethoven’s
symphonies in an effort to understand their hallowed and influential status.
Through listening, analysis, reading, and research, we will examine the
nature of the music itself, the social-cultural environment from which it
sprang, and the history of its reception. There will be weekly reading and
listening assignments for discussion in class, a final exam, and an individual
research project culminating in a written report. (2 credits) G. Smith
MHST 529 – The History of Sonata Form
Composers of the 18th century, building on a heritage of binary form
and da capo aria, and embracing the notion of music as a rhetorical art,
developed a set of principles for the composition of dramatic music – vocal
and instrumental – that resulted in a design later theorists dubbed “sonata
form.” In the hands of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, these compositional
principles and the music it produced gained an expressive force and prestige
that left an inescapable imprint on subsequent generations of composers.
In this course we will follow the threads of sonata form from their
sources in 17th-century vocal and instrumental genres through enduring
manifestations in recent repertory. Course requirements include weekly
reading and listening assignments and an independent research project
culminating in a written and an oral report. (2 credits) Smith
»MHST 530 – Topics in 19th Century Music
Rotating topics include Richard Wagner’s music dramas (the Ring), the
operas of Giuseppe Verdi, and Don Juan in music from the 17th to the
20th centuries. Students study original literary sources and librettos that
are based on them, the composers’ musical development from early to late
stages, differing national philosophies as reflected in operatic development
and performance practice. (2 credits) Faculty
MHST 530A – Topics in 19th Century Music: Verdi
Verdi lived for nearly a century and in that remarkable span wrote 28 operas
that reflect profound musical and social change. Why are Verdi’s works still
among the most performed in opera houses throughout the world? The
answer to that question stimulates even more questions about opera history
and aesthetics, economics, censorship, literary sources and the libretto,
musical conventions, national styles, journalism and criticism, politics,
and above all, passion. Individual classes will be devoted to early works;
compositional practice; Verdi, the Risorgimento, and Censorship; Verdi’s
struggles with the genre of comedy; Verdi as a story-teller; Performance
practice; Verdi’s singers; staging, acting, and stagecraft; and problems of
editing Verdi. We will spend several full classes looking closely at a single
work. Readings, two short papers, frequent quizzes, class presentation. No
midterm or final exam. (2 credits) Greenwald
MHST 530B – Topics in 19th Century Music: Don Juan in Music
Don Juan was born in the 17th century in Tirso de Molina’s play, The
Trickster of Seville. So what? Who was he? And why have so many authors
and composers felt compelled to tell his story over and over again? How does
each author/composer customize the story? What does each new version tell
us about the musical, social, and aesthetic values of its era? Our discussions
of these questions will begin with Tirso’s play and Mozart’s Don Giovanni,
and branch out to other musical and literary interpretations of the alluring
Don Juan by Gazzaniga, Gluck, Liszt, Offenbach, and Strauss, Molière,
E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Moncrieff. Readings, short written assignments,
frequent quizzes, term project, class presentation. No midterm or final
exam. (2 credits) Greenwald
MHST 534 – Notation of Renaissance Music
Intensive performance and transcription from notation of the 15th and
16th centuries. (2 credits) Hallmark
»MHST 535 – Writing about Music: Research Methods for the Practical
Musician and Scholar
Focuses on methods of musical research and investigation for performers,
historians, and theorists. Individual and class projects use research tools
and bibliographical materials essential to editing, analysis, criticism,
historiography, and journalism. Written assignments include a book review,
a program note, short analyzes of articles from scholarly journals, and a
bibliography for a proposed paper. (2 credits) Greenwald
»MHST 536 – Writing about Music
Continuation of MHST 535. Students write a full-length research paper,
guided through the process step-by-step. There are frequent individual
conferences with the instructor. (2 credits) Greenwald
»MHST 537 – Teaching Music History
Introduces materials and methods of teaching music appreciation and
music history. Readings and discussion of recent issues in education and
musicology, with works by Gardner, Gilligan, Kerman, Treitler, Cone, and
McClary. (2 credits) Hallmark
MHST 540 – Topics in American Music
Explores a range of topics related to American music. Past topics have
included “The Blues as Social Commentary,” “The Black Composer and
the European Tradition,” and “Women in Jazz.” Topic for the term will be
posted in the schedule of courses during registration. Course requirements
include a research project and written report as well as brief written or oral
responses to reading and listening assignments. (2 credits) Faculty
MHST 540B – Topics in American Music: American Folk Music:
Preservation and Practice Through the Alan Lomax Collection
The late 19th century “discovery” of vibrant living folk music traditions in
Appalachia led to the first publication of hundreds of American ballads,
and kicked off a continuing quest for the search for and preservation of
American “roots” music. Since the beginning of this movement, “collectors”
and performers have struggled with issues of learning, transcribing,
recording, and sharing music traditionally passed on aurally. How does
one “preserve” music that does not fit into our familiar understanding of
harmony and rhythm? How does preservation of tradition change the music?
How does American folk music influence our understanding of classical
music and jazz, as scholars and performers? (2 credits) MacAdam-Somer
MHST 542 – The Avant-Garde from Eric Satie to John Zorn
Surveys composers who redefined music from the 1890s through the 1990s.
Historical and philosophical study of the avant-garde tradition, the evolution
of notation and compositional systems, and concurrent developments in
other arts (Robert Rauschenberg, William Burroughs, Andy Warhol). Works
of Ives, Cage, Russolo, Stockhausen, Nancarrow, Partch, La Monte Young,
Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, and Naked City. (2 credits) S. Drury
MHST 543 – Introduction to Ethnomusicology
Introduces students to the discipline of ethnomusicology through selected
readings and discussion of important issues. In conjunction with readings,
the course will also examine selected repertoires, including the music of Edo
period Japan, the music of the Navahos, the classical music of North India,
the classical music of South India, the music of Bali. Assignments vary from
year to year, but include analytical papers, research papers, performance
projects, and transcriptions. (2 credits) Labaree, Row
MHST 545 – Traditions of Music Drama in Asia
Studies four major genres of music drama in Asia: Kathakali (India), Wayang
Kulit (Bali), Beijing Opera (China), and Kabuki (Japan). Each genre is
studied within the context of the culture from multiple perspectives: musical
traditions and performance practice, drama traditions, literary and dance
traditions. (2 credits) Row
MHST 546 – Music of India
The classical traditions of North and South India are explored extensively
in their cultural contexts, focusing on instrumental and vocal styles,
repertoires and improvisation with special reference to the concepts of raga
(melodic mode) and tala (rhythm systems). (2 credits) Row
MHST 547 – Music of Turkey
An introduction to the music of Turkey, both the classical and folk
traditions. Through performance projects, recordings, transcriptions,
analytical papers, and readings in history, practice and culture, students
will explore the continuous tradition of composition and improvisation
originating under the multi-ethnic Ottoman empire, which dominated
the Middle East, North Africa and eastern Europe since the 14th century.
(2 credits) Labaree
MHST 550 – Topics in Medieval Music
Musical style of the 11th through 14th centuries is the primary focus of
this seminar, with a specific topic chosen each time. Previous topics have
included the 12th century Notre Dame repertory; the medieval motet; the
composers Machaut, Landini, and Ciconia. Seminar topics include issues
of performance practice, theoretical studies, notation, historical context.
Individual term projects and presentation. (2 credits**) Hallmark
»MHST 551 – Ives, Schoenberg, Stravinsky
Studies the music of Ives, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, their colleagues, and the
general context of their works; developments that led to those works and
their influence. (2 credits) Heiss
»MHST 552 – Ives, Schoenberg, Stravinsky
Continuation of MHST 551. (2 credits) Heiss
MHST 553 – Russian and Eastern European Musical Modernism
An overview of the musical and artistic developments in the eastern
European and Russian cultural climate of the 20th century. Issues of
nationalism, exoticism, the relationship of music and ideology, music
and religion, music and society, music and other artistic movements
(symbolism, futurism, the avant-garde, social realism) and music and other
arts will be discussed. Musical developments in the works of Janácek,
Stravinsky, Bartók, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Lutoslawski, Ligeti, Penderecki,
Gubaidulina, Schnittke, Gorecki, Pärt and others will be studied. The grade
will be based on student presentations, short response papers and a final
research project. (2 credits) Marković
MHST 556 – Messiaen
The music of Olivier Messiaen is often described as “highly individual.” Yet,
Messiaen’s musical style is rooted in the mainstream western European
musical tradition. This course explores the truly unique aspects of Messiaen’s
musical style and simultaneously reveals the influence of composer’s
such as Fauré, Debussy, Bartok and Stravinsky. Areas of study include
modality, rhythmic innovation, theology, ornithology, and synesthesia.
Course requirements include weekly listening and reading assignments, a
performance project, a program note, a research paper and an oral report.
(2 credits) Handel
MHST 561 – Topics in Improvisation
Investigates various topics concerning the nature and practice of
improvisation in Western musical traditions – classical, jazz, folk, and
popular. Topics rotate to include courses such as: “The Music of Jazz Pianist
Bill Evans” and “Musical Work vs. Musical Performance.” Topic for the
term will be posted in the schedule of courses during registration. Course
requirements include a research project and written report as well as brief
written or oral responses to reading and listening assignments. (2 credits)
Smith, Labaree, Schaphorst
MHST 563 – Issues of Women and Music
An exploration of women’s place in music history. Surveys current research,
and examines specific topics and issues, including the role of religion,
gender, and intertextuality in the medieval motet, the place of the courtesan
as musician in Western and other cultures, the representation of women in
opera, women performers’ relationship to jazz and rock, and such women
composers and performers as Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann, Ruth
Crawford Seeger, Thea Musgrave, and Evelyn Glenni. (2 credits) Hallmark
MHST 565 – History of Opera
This course surveys the history of opera from the 17th century to the present.
Its objective is to familiarize students with chronology, terminology, forms
and repertoire pertinent to the development of opera as a musical and
dramatic genre. Since the emphasis of the course is one of breadth rather
than detail, students will be expected to listen to and read a significant
amount of material on their own, including original documents, while
individual classes will be devoted to representative examples of each stage
of operatic evolution. In addition to reading and listening, there will be an
independent term project that examines original literary sources , musical
structures, current editions and bibliography. (2 credits) Greenwald
MHST 567 – Puccini’s Operas
The course will examine specifically the ways in which Puccini’s works depart
from Italian opera tradition, and how he became, as Julian Budden put
it, “Wagner’s best pupil.” Another emphasis will be on Puccini’s views on
staging; his view that “action speaks louder than words.” The course will use
either Madama Butterfly or La bohème for close study. Either of these works is
a viable choice, since both speak well for the state of the art of Italian opera
at the end of the 19th century, and illustrate Puccini’s mature style. Madama
Butterfly is especially apt, since it is a product of the vogue for japonisme
ignited by the opening of Japan a half-century earlier and resulting in
widespread European fascination with the far East and a large number of
“orientalist” operas (by such composers as Mascagni and Saint-Saëns).
Sources for Madama Butterfly, moreover, include several easily-accessed
English-language publications, including John Luther Long’s short story
published in Century Magazine in 1898 (and reprinted in the English
National Opera Guide libretto for the opera), and the one-act play, Madame
Butterfly, by American playwright David Belasco. La bohème would also work
well, since its literary antecedent, Murger’s Scenes of Bohemian Life, is also
available. La bohème, moreover, raises important (and contemporary) issues
about the way disease is portrayed on the stage and begs comparison with
Verdi’s La traviata. (2 credits) Greenwald
MHST 568 – The Music of Gustav Mahler
An in-depth exploration of Gustav Mahler’s music, life and artistic environment
centering on his symphonies. We will study several symphonies as
well as Das Lied von der Erde from the perspective of manuscript sources,
biographical, philosophical and programmatic background, interpretation
and reception. A broader overview of the artistic climate of fin-de-siecle
Vienna, its dominant artistic circles and trends, as well as social and political
forces which influenced Mahler’s career and life will provide a context
against which we will explore the artistic shifts in Mahler’s musical style
after the turn-of the century. The course will also cover issues of differing
analytical and interpretative approaches to Mahler’s works such as semiotic,
post-structuralist, hermeneutic, narrative and feminist methodologies.
(2 credits) Marković
MHST 569 – Music and Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
An exploration of the shift from late romanticism to modernism in the
musical and cultural climate of Vienna 1870-1914. Works by Brahms,
Mahler, Wolf, Schoenberg, Berg and Webern as well as popular music
by the Strauss family, Lehar and others will be examined in the context
of contemporaneous artistic trends (Art Nouveau and Secession,
Expressionism, Modernism). There will be reading and listening
assignments, short essays and a final research project (consisting of a
presentation and a paper). (2 credits) Marković
»MHST 570 – Topics in Renaissance Music
Musical style of the 15th and 16th centuries is the primary focus of this
seminar, with a specific topic chosen each time. Previous topics have
included the music of Josquin des Pres; the Renaissance chanson; the
16th-century madrigal. Seminar topics include issues of performance
practice, theoretical studies, notation, historical context. Individual term
projects and presentations. (2 credits**) Hallmark
MHST 571 – The Musical Work and Musical Performance
This course examines commonly held notions about the nature of music
and musical performance in Western culture. What is a musical “work”?
What distinguishes a work from a performance? Where does authority for a
performance reside? With the composer? In the score? With the performer?
Is the result of a given performance a “work”? An aesthetic experience? A
psycho-motor accomplishment? These and similar questions will be explored
through readings from a range of critics and philosophers, and from
consideration of music from various styles and periods in Western history,
including the jazz. Requirements: weekly reading and listening assignments;
a written critique of one of the assigned readings; an independent research
project culminating in a written and an oral report. (2 credits) Smith
MHST 572 – Polyphony, A Performer’s Art –1150-1650
This study of the craft of polyphony as a performer’s art is focused on four
historic types of pieces covering some five centuries of European history:
I. organum, II. motet, III. madrigal, and IV. basso continuo. Examples of
each of these polyphonic types will be studied in two ways: 1) in selected
pieces from these periods, together with theoretical writings and notational
practices of their own period, and 2) with reference to comparable living
oral traditions of polyphony in the Mediterranean (Sardinia, Corsica), the
Balkans (Yugoslavia, Bulgaria), the Caucasus (Georgia), Africa (Liberia,
Congo, South Africa) and Indonesia (Bali). Emphasis will be placed on
polyphony as an essentially oral, performer-controlled practice, even
as students work with early European notation systems and explore five
centuries of written music theory. In general, students will be responsible
for the European repertoires studied, using the non-European sources as
points of comparison. By the end of the course, students should be able to
recognize (by ear and in notation) the four polyphonic types and to discuss
them as distinct technical and historic forms. (2 credits) Labaree
MHST 578 – Exoticism in Western Music
The 19th c. explosion of interest in non-European cultures among artists of
all kinds in Europe and the U.S. was part of a wider process of globalization
which built on ideas about civilizations outside of Europe developing since the
Middle Ages. That globalization process continues today across the spectrum
of Western culture in both popular music and concert music. Behind this
long-standing passion for the exotic lies a fascination with unexperienced
possibilities, alternative ways of being which “The Other” – someone different
from us – seems to embody. The course will draw on classical European vocal,
instrumental and dramatic repertoires from the late 18th to the early 20th
centuries, building on the two principal exotic paradigms of the so-called
“alla Turca” and “Hungarian” (“Gypsy”) styles. Students will also be presented
with exotic 18th and 19th c. painting and with projects involving close work
on non-western musical materials through listening and transcription. Final
individual research projects may incorporate popular music, jazz and film, as
well as concert repertoire. (2 credits) Labaree
MHST 580 – Teaching Internship
Two-year teaching assignment as an assistant in an undergraduate music
history course. (0 credit) Chair
MHST 681/682 – Honors Thesis
Thesis preparation is supervised by department faculty; credits must be
distributed over two semesters (see Musicology program of study). Requires
department chair’s permission. (4 credits) Senior Faculty
MHST 693 – Musicology Exams
See Musicology program of study. (0 credit)
MHST 697 – Portfolio
See Musicology program of study. (0 credit)
»MHST 901 – Doctoral Seminar in Musicology
Introduces methods and materials of musicological research through
individual projects focused on the life and works of a given composer. Issues
include source studies, historiography, performance practice, and criticism.
(3 credits) Senior Faculty
»MHST 902 – Doctoral Seminar in Musicology
Advanced musicology seminar. Focuses on historical, philosophical,
analytical, and aesthetic issues raised by music and music making via
rotating topics. Prerequisite: MHST 901. (3 credits) Senior Faculty
2012-08-14
CHARLES IVES