MUSIC IN THE CLASSICAL ERA (MUS 7754) LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC & DRAMATIC ARTS FALL 2016 instructor Dr. Blake Howe ([email protected]) M&DA 274 meetings Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:30–10:20 M&DA 221 office hours Fridays, 8:30–9:30, or by appointment prerequisite Students must have passed either the Music History Diagnostic Exam or MUS 3710. Howe / MUS 7754 Syllabus / 2 GENERAL INFORMATION COURSE OBJECTIVES This course pursues the diversity of musical life in the eighteenth century, examining the styles, genres, forms, and performance practices that have retrospectively been labeled “Classical.” We consider the epicenter of this era to be the mid eighteenth century (1720–60), with the early eighteenth century as its most logical antecedent, and the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century as its profound consequent. Our focus is on the interaction of French, Italian, and Viennese musical traditions, but our journey will also include detours to Spain and England. Among the core themes of our history are • the conflict between, and occasional synthesis of, French and Italian styles (or, rather, what those styles came to symbolize) • the increasing independence of instrumental music (symphony, keyboard and accompanied sonata, concerto) and its incorporation of galant and empfindsam styles • the expansion and dramatization of binary forms, eventually resulting in what will later be termed “sonata form” • signs of wit, subjectivity, and the sublime in music of the “First Viennese Modernism” (Haydn, Mozart, early Beethoven). We will seek new critical and analytical readings of well-known composers from this period (Beethoven, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Pergolesi, Scarlatti) and introduce ourselves to the music of some lesser-known figures (Alberti, Boccherini, Bologne, Cherubini, Dussek, Galuppi, Gossec, Hasse, Hiller, Hopkinson, Jommelli, Piccinni, Rousseau, Sammartini, Schobert, Soler, Stamitz, Vanhal, and Vinci, plus at least two of J. S. Bach’s sons). The term paper assignment will give students the opportunity to become experts in the music of an obscure or marginalized musical tradition. Students are encouraged to use this course to seek out unfamiliar repertoire for future study and performance. Reading assignments mostly consist of short excerpts from eighteenth-century texts (often from digitized copies of the eighteenth-century publication itself), and so another important component of this course is the examination and interpretation of primary sources. These include historical essays on philosophy and aesthetics (Avison, Diderot, Hegel, Kant, Michaelis, Noverre, Rousseau, Schiller, Wackenroder, Wieland, Winckelmann), politics (Jefferson, Swift, Robespierre), performance practice (Bach, Cambini, Czerny, Türk, Quantz), and music theory (Forkel, Koch, Galeazzi); historical encyclopedias and dictionaries (Diderot, Koch, Rousseau, Sulzer); contemporary biographies and autobiographies (Da Ponte, Griesinger, Ries, Wegeler); and letters, diaries, and travelogues (Beethoven, Burney, Haydn, Mozart, Reichardt, Riesbeck). Secondary sources include recent historical and analytical studies from leading musicologists, music theorists, and performers. Howe / MUS 7754 Syllabus / 3 COURSE MATERIALS There are four required textbooks: • Enrico Fubini, Music and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Europe, edited by Bonnie J. Blackburn, translated by Wolfgang Freis, Lisa Gasbarrone, and Michael Louis Leone (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1994). • Vernon Gotwals, ed. and trans., Haydn: Two Contemporary Portraits (Madison, Milwaukee, and London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1968). • Robert Spaethling, ed. and trans., Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life (New York and London: W. W. Norton, 2000). • Frederick Noonan, trans., Beethoven Remembered: The Biographical Notes of Franz Wegeler and Ferdinand Ries (Arlington, VA: Great Ocean, 1987). All other reading and listening assignments will be posted onto Moodle. If you would like to purchase books for reference purposes, the following general titles are recommended: • Daniel Heartz, Music in European Capitals: The Galant Style, 1720–1780 (New York: W. W. Norton, 2003). • Charles Rosen, The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven [expanded edition] (New York and London: W. W. Norton, 1997). • Richard Taruskin, The Oxford History of Western Music, Vol. 2, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE Students must have access to all relevant readings, translations, scores, and handouts during class. Students should also bring materials for taking lecture notes, including staff paper. Laptop computers may be used as long as the wireless function has been disabled. In order to foster a productive learning environment, students must silence or shut down all other electronic devices. Per the policy of the University, no food or drink is allowed in the classroom. Because participation is graded heavily, regular attendance is imperative to the successful completion of this course. Students who must be absent due to illness, family emergency, or an official University function should inform the instructor in advance and obtain all lecture notes (and any other missed announcements) from a fellow student. In order to ensure that all students have the opportunity to gain from time spent in class, students are prohibited from engaging in any form of distraction or disruption. (Examples of disruptive behavior—which include tardiness, excessive talking out of turn, inappropriate use of Howe / MUS 7754 Syllabus / 4 electronic devices, and reading material not relevant to the course—are provided by the Office of Student Advocacy & Accountability.) ACADEMIC INTEGRITY All students should acquaint themselves with the University’s Code of Student Conduct. Students caught cheating, plagiarizing, copying, or otherwise violating the University’s policy on Academic Integrity will be reported to the Office of Student Advocacy & Accountability for disciplinary action. (They will also receive a “0” on the relevant assignment or exam.) DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION Students with disabilities—including invisible disabilities—are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services (112 Johnston Hall) should they require accommodation. There is absolutely no stigma attached to any such request. Howe / MUS 7754 Syllabus / 5 GRADING Performance in the course will be assessed with a letter grade, based on the following weighting of participation and papers: Class Participation and Preparation 60% 1. Listening Log (15%) 2. Reading and Listening Questions (25%) 3. Attendance and Participation (20%) Term Paper 40% 1. Bibliography (2.5%) 2. Abstract (2.5%) 3. Peer Editing (First Version) (5%) 4. Second Version (15%) 5. Final Version (15%) Letter grades will be assigned based on final percentages, according to the following table: A+ 97–100% C+ 77–79% Grades will not be “rounded up.” For A 93–96% C 73–76% example, 89.7% = B+. A- 90–92% C- 70–72% There is no extra credit. B+ 87–89% D+ 67–69% B 83–86% D 63–67% No late assignments will be accepted, B- 80–82% D- 60–62% except in cases of family emergency or illness (accompanied by a “doctor’s note”). F below 59% In these circumstances, please contact the instructor. Howe / MUS 7754 Syllabus / 6 CLASS PREPARATION AND PARTICIPATION For each class meeting, students must listen to the assigned music, input entries to the listening log, read the assigned texts, and answer a short set of reading and listening questions. • Listening and viewing assignments are listed on the course’s Moodle webpage; they may be streamed there, too. Unannounced quizzes covering the required listening assignments may be given throughout the semester, counting toward the attendance and participation grade. • For each assigned musical work, students must complete a listening log, listing basic information about each piece (title, composer, date, region, genre), as well as its historical context and stylistic features. This will be done through Moodle and will result in a sortable and searchable database of all the music from the course. Entries in the listening log will be graded at random points throughout the semester. • Reading assignments are listed on the course’s Moodle webpage; they may also be downloaded there. There are three categories of reading assignments, prioritized in the following order: (1) source readings, (2) historical and analytical studies, (3) additional sources for students interested in exploring a topic further. Unannounced quizzes covering the required reading assignments may be given throughout the semester, counting toward the attendance and participation grade. • For each class, students must answer a set of reading and listening questions, available on Moodle. Successful answers, consisting of a few sentences each, will demonstrate careful study of the assigned texts and an attempt to understand their relationship to each other. Questions are due three hours before the beginning of class, giving the instructor time to incorporate student answers into the lesson. These questions will be graded randomly throughout the semester. • Students must attend all classes and contribute actively to class discussions; at random points throughout the semester, the instructor will evaluate class participation. Unexcused absences will result in a “0” grade. Howe / MUS 7754 Syllabus / 7 TERM PAPER Students will complete one term paper (of between 2,500 and 3,000 words). The assignment will be divided