Musical Forms

Course Description

Summary

This class focuses on musical architecture, by examining important and beautiful works from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and discussing the traditional forms they exemplify. We will listen to works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Berg, and Rzewski (among others), analyzing their structures in detail. Forms to be studied will include concerto grosso, chorale prelude, sonata form, theme and variations, passacaglia, and fugue.

Traditional or not, each piece of music is unique. We will discuss the tension between structure and imagination, predetermined form and the individual creative impulse, and we will ponder such questions as what we mean by musical coherence or by the notion that we are "following" a piece of music, and where we would draw the line between structure and chaos or whether such a distinction is simply a matter of opinion.

Non-musicians will be expected to learn some musical fundamentals and to develop some skill at score reading, and to immerse themselves in the materials and issues of the course through listening and outside readings. Course work will include listenings, readings, a journal, two mid-size papers, and responses to four music workshops.

The ability to read music and knowledge of the rudiments of harmony are recommended, but not required.