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CS92PROD
Mystical Visions, Medieval Women, and the Performance of Early Music
MUSC 241
Fall 2023
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: MDST 221

This course challenges the traditional male-dominated history of early music by focusing on the women who commissioned, performed, heard, and composed music in pre-modern times. Discovering love lyrics that express desires, conflicts, and sufferings that seem equally true today helps collapse the notion of linear time. In addition to finding similarities across centuries, we will draw from multiple disciplines, including comparative literature, religion and cosmology, and gender and sexuality studies. An interdisciplinary approach will guide our investigation of the mystical and visionary aspects of medieval music. Topics to be explored include communal music-making practices, authorship, power and politics, and the multiple civic and social functions of music. We investigate how the music of worship differs from that of romance, public ceremony, and private entertainment. These inquiries help to cultivate skills not only to appreciate our musical heritage but also to better understand contemporary social and cultural practices.

Various "medievalisms"--modern interpretations of the medieval--are explored, to show how musicians continue to interact with early practices in new and exciting ways. This allows us to talk not only about performers of historical early music, but also about composers like Kaija Saariaho, folk groups like Vulcan's Hammer and Folkal Point, and pop artists like Janelle MonaƩ and Florence Welch. The creation of medievalist music for films and video games is also relevant, as an arena where musicians reimagine the medieval for new audiences.

Coursework involves learning through performance, examination of manuscripts, research, writing, transcription, and editing. There are also weekly listening assignments and readings.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA MUSC
Course Format: DiscussionGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: (MDST-MN)(MDST)(MDST-Art/Arch)(MDST-History)(MDST-Lang/Lit)(MDST-Phil/Reli)(MUSC)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on DEC-08-2024
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