History and Literature of Western Music

This course will survey the history and literature of six musical traditions. The ancient, medieval, baroque, classical, romantic, and 20th c. eras will encompass the scope of this sequence. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the representative musical genres, composers, compositions, and the cultural contexts which helped shape the development of music. Students will be asked to critically engage the craft of music as an analytical thinker and listener and communicate effectively about Western art music’s development with consideration of its cultural, political, religious, and economic contexts.

Materials:

• Music in the Western World, Piero Weiss and Richard Taruskin