42566 - History of Music I (1)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing students with an outline of the history of music in the 19th century: genres, styles, musical techniques; eminent composer personalities; connections between musical and philosophical-literary knowledge within their socio-historical context. Teaching will involve front lessons as well as practical exercise and seminars (these last can be credited as 'attività F').

Course contents

Prof. Giuseppina La Face Bianconi

with the collaboration of Dr. Saverio Lamacchia, Dr. Chiara Sintoni, and Dr. Paolo Somigli.

Year course (12 CFU)

Location: Salone Marescotti, Dipartimento di Musica e Spettacolo, via Barberia 4.

Days: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 1-3 p.m.

Knowledge of the History of music implies three different levels:

(1) Listening;

(2) Reading a score;

(3) Situating the musical art work into its aesthetic and historical context.

The course provides a didactic articulation conforming to the student's diverse levels of  competence. For the sake of simplicity, they can be summarised as follows:

(A) students of the Music curriculum;

(B) students of other curricula.

Students (A) are expected to control levels 1, 2, and 3; students (B) are expected to control levels 1 and 3. Students (B) who at some point intend to move over to the Music curriculum must accordingly get into control of level 2 as well: this implies a supplement of examination in order to verify the ability of reading a score. Candidates who wish to be examined as Students (B) are requested to show off a copy of their curriculum (piano di studi).

Several didactic activities are provided alongside the course: concerts, conferences, seminars. Students may choose among them those most fitting to their interests as well as to their cultural preparation.

Introductory courses and exercises on an elementary level will be provided by the Faculty. Students without any notion of musical literacy are strongly recommended to register for these courses.

The course of 2008/09 is divided into (a) an institutional part and (b) complementary didactic activities. The following topics will be dealt with during the classes: Beethoven; musical romanticism; German music in the early 19th century: Schubert, German opera (C.M.v. Weber), Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Schumann, Chopin; Italian and French opera: Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, Verdi, Meyerbeer and grand opéra, Berlioz, Bizet; Wagner, Liszt, Brahms and fin de siècle Vienna; nationalism and cosmopolitanism; Debussy, Ravel and French music on the edge from the 19th to the 20th century; music in Italy on the edge from the 19th to the 20th century: "Giovane Scuola" to the so-called "Generazione dell'80"; avantgarde in Paris in the early 20th century: Stravinskij, Satie, the 'Six'; tradition vs modernity in Austro-German music at the turn of the century: Mahler, Strauss, Busoni; expressionism, atonality, dodecaphony: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern.

INSTITUTIONAL COURSE

(a) Music of the 19th and early 20th century -- Students (A), (B)

(b) Music appreciation of a selection of works from various periods -- Students (A), (B)

(c) Analysis of a selection of works -- on the basis of the scores -- Students (A)

Readings/Bibliography

- E. Surian, Manuale di Storia della musica, 2nd rev. ed., Milan, Rugginenti, 1997-98, vol. 3: L'Ottocento: la musica strumentale e il teatro d'opera, and vol. 4: Il Novecento, only chap. 28, 29, 30, and 31 [Studenti (A)];

- Storia della musica, Turin, EDT, 1991, vol. 8: R. Di Benedetto, Romanticismo e scuole nazionali nell'Ottocento, chaps. II, §§ 7 (Il Lied), 8 (Schubert); III, §§ 12 (Mendelssohn), 13 (Schumann), 14 (Chopin), 15 (Liszt); IV, §§ 17 (Liszt), 19 (Brahms); e vol. 9: F. Della Seta, L'opera in Italia e in Francia nell'Ottocento, chaps. II, § 5 (Rossini); IV, §§ 10 (Bellini), 11 (Donizetti), 12 (Verdi); and chap. V, § 16 (Verdi) [Students (A)];

- M. Carrozzo - C. Cimagalli, Storia della musica occidentale, Rome, Armando, 1999, vol. II: Dal barocco al classicismo viennese, only chap. 31: “Beethoven”, and vol. III: Dal romanticismo alla musica elettronica, chaps. 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and 42 (without "approfondimenti") [Students (B)];

- Handout, available at Harpo's (via Barberia, 9) [Students (A)].

Assessment methods

Examination will consist of an interview. In an oral pre-exam, Students (A) will prove their basic notions of musical technique as well as their ability in contextualizing musical issues historically.

Students (A)

For the examination Students (A) are expected to know the general outline of music history in the 19th and early 20th century. Recommended reading are: the handbook by E. Surian, Manuale di Storia della musica, 2nd rev. ed., Milan, Rugginenti, 1997-98, vol. 3: L'Ottocento: la musica strumentale e il teatro d'opera, and vol. 4: Il Novecento, only chaps. 28, 29, 30, and 31; in addition, on following topics: Storia della musica, Turin, EDT, 1991, vol. 8: R. Di Benedetto, Romanticismo e scuole nazionali nell'Ottocento, chaps. II, §§ 7 (Il Lied) and 8 (Schubert); III, §§ 12 (Mendelssohn), 13 (Schumann), 14 (Chopin), 15 (Liszt); IV, §§ 17 (Liszt), 19 (Brahms); and vol. 9: F. Della Seta, L'opera in Italia e in Francia nell'Ottocento, chaps. II, § 5 (Rossini); IV, §§ 10 (Bellini), 11 (Donizetti), and 12 (Verdi); and V, § 16 (Verdi).

Students (A) are expected to have studied in detail the Handout avalaible at Harpo's (via Barberia, 9).

A notion of the basic elements of Italian versification is required (cf. www.muspe.unibo.it/corso/corsi/dramus/metrica.htm, complete with bibliographic hints).

During the interview Students (A) are expected:

- to show off their knowledge of the topics dealt with in the handbooks on the history of music by Surian as well as by Di Benedetto and Della Seta (Storia della musica EDT);

- to show off their knowledge of the materials included in the Handout available at Harpo's (via Barberia, 9). Students may get some help from the "Suggestions for Listening and Analyzing", available at Harpo's and also on the web site of the Dipartimento di Musica e Spettacolo (www.muspe.unibo.it/corso/corsi/sdm/Consigli.htm);

- to report on a musicological occasion (lecture, meeting, conference, etc.) they have recently attended to (candidates shall bring along the relevant programs);

- to report on at least five concerts or performances of Western art music they have recently attended to (candidates shall bring along the relevant concert programs).

Students (B)

For the examination Students (B) are expected to know the general outline of music history in the 19th and early 20th century. Recommended reading: the handbook by M. Carrozzo - C. Cimagalli, Storia della musica occidentale, Rome, Armando, 1999, vol. 2: Dal barocco al classicismo viennese, only chap. 31: “Beethoven”; vol.3: Dal romanticismo alla musica elettronica, chaps. 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and 42 (without the "approfondimenti").

A specific knowledge of musical technicalities is not required. A notion of the basic elements of Italian versification is useful (cf. the website www.muspe.unibo.it/corso/corsi/dramus/metrica.htm, with bibliographic hints).

During the interview Students (B) are expected:

- to show off their knowledge of the topics dealt with in the handbook by Carrozzo-Cimagalli;

- report on five works of art music of their choice (these can also fall outside the 19th and early 20th century): historical background, analysis based essentially on listening (cf. Consigli per l'ascolto e per l'esame della partitura, available at Harpo's, via Barberia 9; also on line in the website of the Dipartimento di Musica e Spettacolo (www.muspe.unibo.it/corso/corsi/sdm/Consigli.htm);

- to report on a musicological occasion (lecture, meeting, conference, etc.) they have recently attended to (candidates shall bring along the relevant programs);

- to report on at least five concerts or performances of Western art music they have recently attended to (candidates shall bring along the relevant concert programs).

NB (i): Students enrolled in the 'old' DAMS degree who intend to give exams on mediaeval and renaissance music are supposed to discuss their topics with Prof. Cesarino Ruini; those who intend to give exams on 17th-18th-century music are supposed to discuss their topics with Dr. Elisabetta Pasquini. 'Old' students who wish to give their exams on 19th and early 20th-century music shall follow the guidelines given for 2007/08, available on-line on the web site of the Dipartimento di Musica e Spettacolo (www.muspe.unibo.it/corso/annate/past.htm).

N.B. (ii): For the interview, DAMS Students originally enrolled in non-Music curricula (ideally, Students (B)) who moved over to the Music curriculum must integrate their exam with the knowledge and analysis of the scores included in the Handout available at Harpo's (via Barberia, 9).

N.B. (iii): Students moved over from other corsi di laurea or other Universities, whose previous exams in Music History have been validated, must nevertheless submit themselves to a verification interview, on a program specifically negotiated with the teacher.

N.B. (iv): Until 2006/07 the courses of 'Storia della musica I & II' covered three different historical periods within a three-year arch (regardless of the numerals I or II!): Middle Ages and Renaissance; 17th and 18th century; 19th and 20th century. The candidate for examination on the old 'Storia della musica II' is bound to discuss a program (and hence an historical period) diverse from the one he dealt with for the exams of 'Storia della musica I', regardless of the numbering of the course ('Storia della musica I or II'). This direction is effective for the current academic year as well.

Supplementary didactic activities

In 2008/09 the following didactic activities will take place alongside classes (some of them are promoted by the Department's Centers "La Soffitta" and CIMES, as well as by the musicological society, "Il Saggiatore musicale"):

· 'Degree zero' courses in musical literacy (for beginners);

· Concerts of chamber music in the Aula Absidale, via de' Chiari 23;

· Musicological meetings;

· Seminars (cf. the so-called 'Attività F').

A detailed calendar of these opportunities will be delivered during the classes; supplementary informations are available at the door of the Dipartimento di Musica e Spettacolo (via Barberia 4) as well as on the relevant web sites.

Thesis

For Students of the 'old' (4- or 3-years) as well as of the 'new' (3 years-)DAMS:

The student who intends to write his/her thesis in the discipline History of music shall agree with the teacher upon an appropriate subject. He/She will then prepare a short outline of his/her research project (complete with bibliographic references) and discuss it with the teacher. Once the project has been approved, the teacher will designate a second advisor (obligatory for the 4-year DAMS) and the candidate will begin working on his/her thesis. If within a seix-months delay the teacher/advisor will not have been given any report about the progress of the research, he will feel free to assign the same subject to a different candidate. The 3-years thesis is expected to have a smaller size (40-50 type-written pages of 30 lines per 60 characters a line).

Students engaging upon a thesis will have to follow the seminar on Editing of musicological texts (Dr. Francesco Lora). Students who cannot follow personally the seminar sessions guided by Dr. Lora are invited to edit a musicological text agreed upon with Dr. Lora himself.

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppina La Face