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CS92PROD
Baroque and Classical Music
MUSC 242
Fall 2020 not offered

At the end of the 18th century, an aesthetic revolution with music at its center gave birth to what we now call modernity. The music that led up to and helped to create that transformation--the music of 17th- and 18th-century Europe--is some of the most widely celebrated and revered in our contemporary moment. But this music's place of privilege in the canon of Western musical artworks has, however, given us a false sense of familiarity with it. When we begin to look closer at this music that otherwise might seem familiar, an entire world of affective shocks, social commentaries, elaborate dances, finely crafted images, inside jokes, and carefully planned dramas reveals itself to us. Understanding the logic with which this music operated can help us to better understand the transformations in aesthetic thought it helped to effect and, therefore, to better understand our world's current configuration of aesthetics, politics, and feeling. This course will provide students with the tools necessary to decipher 17th- and 18th-century music and aesthetics, and will invite students to speculate on the relevance of these bodies of creativity and thought to the present day. Repertoire considered will include the music of Monteverdi, Lully, Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. In addition to music written in Europe, we will also together investigate music written in the Spanish colonies of South America during the 18th century.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA MUSC
Course Format: LectureGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (MUSC)

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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