Overview

This module is only available to visiting international students

There has been a remarkable series of changes in the practice and conception of Western music since 1850. This module surveys these changes in terms of musical style and with regard to historical context. From the art music of the nineteenth-century romanticism to serial and avant-garde experiments of the twentieth century, from the world of the orchestral and chamber musician to the rise of popular music in the 1950s, you will encounter a wide range of music in topic-based lectures and the seminar-based study of set works. You will gain a comprehensive overview of many of the main trends and developments of this period, and you will be assessed by an essay and a repertoire test.

Indicative lecture topics include: - Wagner and the 'total artwork' - Miniature forms: Grieg and Satie - Viardot and the role of the salon - Brahms: tradition and progressiveness - Music in late 19th-century France: Bizet, Fauré and Debussy - Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes - Music and technology: The Futurists and Varèse - Breaking away from tonality: Schoenberg and Webern - Neoclassicism: Ravel, Falla and Stravinsky - The early years of jazz - Symphonic traditions: Sibelius and Shostakovich - The birth of rock music - Musique concrète and Elektronische Musik - Cage and experimental music - Popular music in the 1960s - Integral serialism: Boulez and Stockhausen - Music from Soviet Russia: Gubaidulina and Schnittke - Progressive rock and beyond - Minimalism and post-minimalism - Pluralism, postmodernism and the culture industry

Indicative set texts for deeper study in seminars include: - Debussy: Préludes, Book 1 - The Beatles: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Assessment Strategy

Third Class: D- to D+ (40%-49%) The crucial achievement is demonstration of a basic grasp of what the topic is about, and the sort of material involved. However, the mark will be limited to this level by such things as: mere repetition of information without demonstration of real understanding; confusion of argument which indicates a failure to properly understand the material; inability to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant; inability to grasp ideas; inclusion of factual errors; seriously defective bibliographical or footnoting skills; poor expression; oral reticence; scrappy presentation.

Lower Second Class: C- to C+ (50%-59%) The main quality which warrants marks in this category is the amassing of a reasonable body of relevant material drawn from a fairly wide range of reading or other forms of information retrieval, sorted into a coherent order and expressed intelligibly. Qualities which limit the mark to this level are: incoherent arguments, or argument which is defective in some way; limited or defective bibliography or footnotes; limited understanding of ideas or argument; limited evidence of a broad knowledge and understanding of the topic; limited engagement with negotiating and renegotiating ideas in oral discussion; limited evidence of serious thought, as opposed to straightforward diligence.

Upper Second Class: B- to B+ (60%-69%) The distinguishing quality is the ability to construct focused argument which is properly evidenced. The work will therefore probably demonstrate the ability to understand the discussion of a work of art and to apply that knowledge to different works; the conveyance of a general knowledge and understanding of the topic as a whole, and of a more detailed knowledge and understanding of specific areas; competent bibliographical and footnoting skills; effective communication of ideas and argument; thoughtful contribution to oral discussion; ability to see problems and contradictions within source reading; skills in observation and analysis. Upper Second Class work may contain many of the same qualities which apply in First Class work, but they will be demonstrated at a less independent level, or the work may be outstanding in one First-class characteristic but significantly deficient in another.

First Class: A- and A (70%-83%) The distinguishing quality is evidence of real intellectual and independent thought in a sustained discussion. Work at this level will probably demonstrate initiative in carrying out research beyond the obvious sources; ability to evaluate critically sources used; sustained and coherent discussion; articulate expression in speaking and writing; ability to bring together material from disparate sources; observational and analytical skills of a high order; the ability to employ knowledge to illuminate musical texts; indications of wide knowledge beyond the narrow confines of the topic addressed; the ability to lead oral discussion; ability to identify and rigorously confront problems in the topic, contradictions in texts, or lacunae in available evidence.

First Class: A+ to A** (84%-100%) Work at this level is highly original and of a standard that attains or closely approaches professional standards. The work will demonstrate in a consistent manner all of the features listed in the A-/A (70%-83%) category, and will be of such a quality that it either stands up to publication or broadcast in its submitted state or has the potential for publication or broadcast with presentational amendments.

Learning Outcomes

• Communicate ideas effectively.

• Demonstrate an engagement with specific academic literature relating to works, styles, genres and musical features in repertoire composed between 1850 and the present day.

• Demonstrate the ability to identify, describe and explain musical and contextual aspects of specific works, styles, genres and musical features in repertoire composed between 1850 and the present day.