Music in the Classical Era (Mus 7754)
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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TERM PAPER
Students will complete one term paper (of between 2,500 and 3,000 words). The assignment will be divided into several smaller steps, and students must successfully complete (with a passing grade) an initial step before moving onto the next one.
The schedule of the term paper assignment is as follows:
• a short statement of topic of no more than a few sentences (due on Moodle on 9/30)
• a revised statement of topic, along with a bibliography of the five most significant sources on your topic and a repertoire list of musical works you plan on consulting (including performances and editions) (due on Moodle on 10/14)
• an abstract, written in the style of a 350-word conference proposal to the American Musicological Society (due on Moodle on 11/2)
• a first version, uploaded to the “workshop” on Moodle (on 11/21), where your two writing partners must read and evaluate it (by 11/25)
• a second version, submitted to the instructor (due on Moodle on 11/29), which will be returned with comment and suggestions for revision (on 12/2)
• a final version (due on Moodle on 12/5)
Grades on the second and final versions of your term paper will be based on the following rubric (developed by Dr. Brett Boutwell):
20% thesis Does the paper have a point to make? Is the thesis expressed clearly? Is it tightly focused? Sensible?
20% support Are the points of evidence specifically identified? Logically sound?
20% depth Does the paper reach an acceptable depth and level of specificity?
10% organization Do individual paragraphs cohere, and does each one lead to the next? Does the paper unfold in a logical manner, advancing an argument or a series of related ideas?
10% writing Are individual sentences written clearly and correctly? Is the prose appropriate to the assignment?
10% use of sources Are the sources cited when necessary? Cited in the specified manner? Howe / MUS 7754 Syllabus / 8
10% bibliography Have you chosen the best sources for your project? Did you include the proper number of sources in the proper categories? Is your bibliography formatted correctly?
Rather than attempting a broad historical survey, focus your attention on a detail that catches your eye/ear, or a historical problem that you seek to solve. Theses will be different, of course, depending on what musical repertoire you have chosen to study, but possible strategies might include a comparative study (two settings of the same poem, first draft vs. final draft, etc.); an analysis of form, melody, or harmony, positioned within the history of music theory; or a close reading of a primary source (a composer’s letters or autobiography, historical reviews, a treatise).
Students are strongly encouraged to use the term paper assignment to become experts in the music of (undeservedly?) obscure composers or musical traditions, with a possible goal of later advocating for this music in the concert hall. Some possible topics include:
• Giovanni Paisiello and Italian Musicians in St. Petersburg • Baldassare Galuppi and the Drama giocoso • Carl Heinrich Graun and Lutheran Music after J. S. Bach • Goethe’s Erwin und Elmire and Its Settings by Johann André, Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Carl David Stegmann, and/or Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel • Late Telemann: A Turn to the Galant? • Mozart’s Canons and Other Naughty Works • Performance Practice in the Music of Luigi Boccherini • Zarzuela and Tonadilla • Artaserse Abroad: Metastasio’s Libretto in Spain (Domènec Terradellas) and/or London (Thomas Arne) • Thomas Arne and the Diversity of English Vocal Genres (Songs, Odes, Cantatas, Masques, and/or Theatrical Music) • Metastasio’s Correspondence with Farinelli • Le Chevalier de Saint-George • Women Composers of Opéra-Comique: Lucile Grétry and Others • Cherubini and French Opera at the Time of Revolution • The St. Cecilia Society in Charleston, South Carolina • Johannes Herbst and German Musicians in the Moravian Church of Pennsylvania • William Billings and the Singing Schools of New England
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Information on assignments for each class meeting will be updated on Moodle.
PRELUDE
8/22 Problems of Periodization Carl Dahlhaus, Daniel Heartz, James Webster, and Charles Rosen
UNIT I: OPERA STYLES (1720–70)
8/24–8/26 Metastasio & Friends Pietro Metastasio, Johann Adolph Hasse, Faustina Bordoni, Farinelli
8/29 Popular Genres Intertwined: Opéra comique, Ballad Opera, Singspiel Alain-René Lesage, John Gay, Christian Felix Weisse, Johann Adam Hiller
8/31–9/2 Opera Buffa and the Construction of Naturalism Carlo Goldoni, Leonardo Vinci, Niccolò Piccinni, Samuel Richardson
9/7–9/9 Querelle! Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Melchior Grimm, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Denis Diderot
9/12–9/14 Gluck’s “Noble Simplicity” Christoph Gluck, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Francesco Algarotti, Johann Joachim Winckelmann
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UNIT II: NEW INSTRUMENTAL STYLES (1720–70)
9/16 “Delightful” Essercizi Domenico Scarlatti and Antonio Soler
9/19 Galant Conversations Domenico Scarlatti, Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, Domenico Alberti, Baldassare Galuppi, Johann Joachim Quantz
9/21–9/26 Singing the Self: Meditations on Empfindsamkeit Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, Denis Diderot, Luigi Boccherini, Jean-Georges Noverre, Giuseppe Cambini
9/28–9/30 The Symphony in Milan and Mannheim Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Niccolò Jommelli, Johann Stamitz, Heinrich Christoph Koch
10/3–10/5 Concert Life in London and Paris Johann Christian Bach, Charles Burney, Fanny Burney, Johann Schobert, François-Joseph Gossec, Pierre Vachon, Joseph Bologne, Heinrich Christoph Koch
10/10 Introducing Topic Theory: Tempests, Dances, Hunts, and More Christoph Gluck, Johann Baptist Vanhal, Leopold Mozart, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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UNIT III: HAYDN AND MOZART (1770–1810)
10/12–10/14 Haydn’s Intricate Designs: Early Symphonies at Esterháza Joseph Haydn, George August Griesinger, Johann Kaspar Riesbeck
10/17–10/19 Wit, Humor, and Rhetoric Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George August Griesinger, Immanuel Kant, Christian Friedrich Michael, Johann Nikolaus Forkel
10/21–10/24 Catering to Foreign Tastes: Works for Paris and London Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George August Griesinger
10/26 Late Haydn and the Musical Sublime Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George August Griesinger, Christian Friedrich Michaelis
10/28–10/31 Mozart and the Craft of Opera: Early Ventures in Opera Seria and Singspiel Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
11/2–11/7 Composer, Performer, Subject: Mozart in C Minor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Daniel Gottlob Türk, Michael Kelly
11/9–11/11 The Enlightenment and Its Critics Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Immanuel Kant, Christoph Martin Wieland, Lorenzo Da Ponte
11/14–11/16 Mozart’s Final Symphonies: Drama, Expression, and the Sublime Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wilhelm Heinrich Wackenroder, Francesco Galeazzi, Immanuel Kant
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UNIT IV: BEETHOVEN (1780–1815)
11/18 Liberté! Jan Ladislav Dussek, François-Joseph Gossec, Luigi Cherubini, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maximilien de Robespierre
11/21–11/23 Beethoven and the Labor of Composition Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Gerhard Wegeler
11/29–11/30 Struggle and Triumph Ludwig van Beethoven, Carl Czerny, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Friedrich Schiller, Johann Friedrich Reichardt,
12/2 Fantasie and Empfindung, One Last Time Ludwig van Beethoven, Carl Czerny, G. W. F. Hegel