Music in the Romantic Era (Mus 7755)
MUSIC IN THE ROMANTIC ERA (MUS 7755)
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MUSIC & DRAMATIC ARTS
FALL 2019
instructor Dr. Blake Howe ([email protected]) M&DA 297
meetings Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:30–10:20 M&DA 245
office hours Fridays, 10:30–11:30
prerequisite Students must have passed either the Music History Diagnostic Exam or MUS 3710.
Howe / Syllabus – MUS 7755 / 2
GENERAL INFORMATION
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course explores a variety of nineteenth-century musical practices, examining the styles, genres, forms, and musicians that have been considered—in at least some sense of the term— “Romantic.” Our focus is the interaction of Italian, German, French, and Russian musical traditions, though our journey also includes detours to England, the United States, Norway, Spain, and Bohemia. We concentrate on the most frequently trafficked genres of the century— symphony (or symphonic poem), opera, and piano music—with briefer considerations of song, chamber music, concerto, ballet, and oratorio.
Among the core themes of our history are
• self-expression, interiority, and other signs of Romantic subjectivity in composition and performance • nationalism and exoticism (or, more generally, a musician’s relationship to the cultural identities of his or her audience) • the metaphor of organicism, including new strategies for unity and cohesion (e.g., Donizetti’s reminiscence motives, Liszt’s thematic transformations, Wagner’s leitmotives, Franck’s cyclical form, Brahms’s developing variation, etc.) • Beethoven’s long shadow over the nineteenth century, and how later generations of composers appropriated, contested, or otherwise grappled with his legacy.
Another important component of this course is the examination and interpretation of primary sources, particularly historical essays on aesthetics, criticism, and the diaries and travelogues of musicians. We will supplement these sources with recent historical and analytical studies by leading musicologists and theorists.
COURSE MATERIALS
There is one required textbook:
• Andrea A. Lunsford, EasyWriter, 7th ed. (Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018).
When grading your writing assignments, I will include references to the grammatical, syntactical, and bibliographical issues described in this book. For example, if I write “EasyWriter, #36” in your paper, you can refer to that section of the book for an in-depth description of comma splices and how to fix them. Howe / Syllabus – MUS 7755 / 3
All reading and listening assignments will be available online. If you would like to purchase a book on nineteenth-century music for your own reference, the following titles are useful:
• Richard Taruskin, The Oxford History of Western Music, vol. 3, The Nineteenth Century (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). • Carl Dahlhaus, Nineteenth-Century Music, trans. J. Bradford Robinson (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989).
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 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 assignments:
Class Participation and Preparation 60%
Term Paper 40%
1. Annotated Bibliography (5%) 2. Peer Editing (First Version) (5%) 3. Second Version (15%) 4. Final Version (15%)
Letter grades will be assigned based on final percentages, according to the following rubric:
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 severe illness (provable only by a “doctor’s F below 59% note”). In these circumstances, please contact the instructor.
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CLASS PREPARATION AND PARTICIPATION
For graduate level courses, students should expect to spend at least three times the length of a class meeting (50 min. × 3 = 150 min.) preparing for that class meeting.
• Listening and viewing assignments are listed on the course’s Moodle webpage; they may also be streamed there. Unannounced quizzes covering the required reading and listening assignments may be given throughout the semester.
• Reading assignments will include primary and secondary sources; they are listed on the course’s Moodle webpage and may also be downloaded there. Unannounced quizzes covering the required reading assignments may be given throughout the semester.
• For each class, students must contribute their written reflections on the reading and listening assignments to the online discussion boards on Moodle. These entries (of at least 300 words, possibly spread across multiple posts) should be written as responses to the reading and listening assignments, considering their historical significance (for repertoire and source readings) and evaluating their arguments (for historical and analytical studies); they may also take the form of a response to posts by your fellow students. (It is also acceptable to use the discussion board as a venue to ask questions, to suggest discussion topics for the next class meeting, and to express confusion about a reading assignment.) These reflections will be graded on comprehensiveness, insightfulness, and clarity. Written reflections are usually due at 9:00 p.m. on the evening before class. This early deadline will allow the instructor to plan the class meeting around these online discussions. Reflections will be graded at random points throughout the semester.
• Students must actively contribute to class discussions; at random points throughout the semester, this participation will be evaluated by the instructor. Students with unexcused absences will not receive credit.
The class participation grade will be the average of the grades of all written reflections, quizzes, and evaluations of class participation.
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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. These steps include
• a short statement of topic of no more than a few sentences (due 9/9)
• a revised statement of topic, along with an annotated 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 10/4)
• a first version, uploaded to the “workshop” on Moodle (due 11/4), where your two writing partners must read and evaluate it (due 11/11)
• a second version, submitted to the instructor, which will be returned with comments and suggestions for revision (due 11/18)
• a final version (due 12/6).
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 correctly?
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Information on reading and listening assignments for each class meeting appear on Moodle.
I. THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY
8/26 Struggle and Triumph Ludwig van Beethoven
8/28 Moral Law Within, Starry Skies Above Ludwig van Beethoven
8/30 The Ninth Ludwig van Beethoven
9/4 Interiority John Field, Franz Schubert, Clara Schumann
9/6 Projections of Subjectivity Franz Schubert
9/9 Lieder im Volkston Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert
9/11 Music of Nationhood Felix Mendelssohn
9/13 Fairy Magic Hector Berlioz, Fanny Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn
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II. ROMANTIC OPERAS (I)
9/16 Eroico and Giocoso Gioachino Rossini
9/18 Bel canto Mania Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti
9/20 The Haunted Forest Heinrich Marschner, Carl Maria von Weber
9/23 Disasters and Massacres Daniel François Esprit Auber, Giacomo Meyerbeer
9/25 The Dance of Death Adolphe Adam
9/27 Patriots and Martyrs Mikhail Glinka
III. MIDCENTURY
9/30 The New Virtuosity Teresa Carreño, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Franz Liszt, Niccolò Paganini, Thomas (“Blind Tom”) Wiggins
10/2 Mimesis Ludwig van Beethoven, Hector Berlioz
10/4 Puzzle Pieces Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann
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10/7 Sketches, Ruins, Eagle Wings Frédéric Chopin
10/9 Poems without Words Frédéric Chopin, Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, Wilhelm Taubert
10/11 A Poet’s Love Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann
10/14 Thematic Transformations Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt
10/16 Fantasy and Sonata Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann
IV. ROMANTIC OPERA (II)
10/21 Chromatic Lovedeaths Richard Wagner, Hugo Wolf
10/23 The Ring Richard Wagner
10/25 Exoticism Georges Bizet, Félicien David, Cécile Chaminade, Camille Saint-Saëns
10/28 Moguchaya kuchka Miliy Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
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10/30 “Beauty is Life” Pyotr Ilyich Chaikovsky, Modest Musorgsky
11/4 Con slancio Giuseppe Verdi
11/6 Shakespearean Opera Giuseppe Verdi
11/8 Verismo Gustave Charpentier, Pietro Mascagni, Giacomo Puccini
V. THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY
11/11 Allusion Johannes Brahms
11/13 Developing Variations Amy Beach, Johannes Brahms
11/15 Rings of Saturn Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner, Louise Farrenc, Robert Schumann
11/18 Fate Pyotr Ilyich Chaikovsky
11/20 Cyclical Designs César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns
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11/22 Českost Bedřich Smetana
11/25 Heritage Johannes Brahms, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Antonín Dvořák, Enrique Granados, Edvard Grieg
11/27 New Worlds Amy Beach, Harry T. Burleigh, Antonín Dvořák, Arthur Farwell
12/2 Song and Symphony Gustav Mahler
12/4 Verklärung Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Strauss
12/6 Lateness Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss