University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Peck School of the Arts - Department of Music
Music 100 LEC 001: Introduction to Classical Music, 3 cr, GER-A
Fall 2014
Dr. Timothy Noonan
Lecture: meets TR 9:30-10:45 a.m. in MUS 175, from September 2 to December 11
Office hour: W 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Office: MUS 131, phone 229-2286
E-mail: ; please put Music 100 in the subject line. Please direct e-mail regarding participation to Isabel Arenivar >, and all other correspondence to me.
Prerequisites: none. This course is not open to music majors.
Textbook: Joseph Machlis and Kristine Forney, The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perceptive Listening, 11th edition, shorter version (New York: W. W. Norton, 2011; ISBN 978-0-393-93415-1), and the four-CD set (ISBN 978-0-393-11837-7) that accompanies it. The book and CDs packaged together are ISBN 978-0-393-14017-0; for this, the UWM Bookstore quotes $147.35.
Materials Needed: You do not need to carry your textbook to class. You do need a pen and notebook, or laptop, for taking notes. Please make sure all phones and other electronic devices are silent and put away for the duration of each class.
Course Description: A guide to the enjoyment and understanding of classical music, including listening experiences in the various styles and forms of music, through assigned reading, recorded music, and Participation at concerts.
Course Learning Outcomes:
1. To develop an understanding of the traditions and customs of classical music concerts and apply them to a performance critique.
2. To gain a solid familiarity with the periods of music history, their dates, principal composers, and
representative genres.
3. To know the name, historical era, and characteristic works and styles of the most important classical composers.
4. To become familiar with the main genres of classical music, be able to contrast the characteristics of works from these periods, and be able to recognize them when listening.
5. To know the basic history and structures of opera.
6. To gain an understanding of contemporary classical music styles; to perceive classical music and opera as living traditions.
UW System Shared Learning Goals:
1. Knowledge of Human Cultures including breadth of knowledge and the ability to thin beyond one’s discipline, major, or area of concentration. This knowledge can be gained through the study of the arts and humanities.
3. Effective Communication Skills including listening, speaking, reading, writing, and information literacy.
Arts GER (A) Definition: (a).1. “A branch of learning focusing on the conscious use of skill and creative
imagination in the production of artistic objects or performances that stress values that stand
outside conventional ideas of utility”
Criterion: (b). 1.demonstrate comprehension of historical, philosophical, theoretical, or aesthetic perspectives commonly used in the understanding of a specific art;
Criterion: (b).3. compare and contrast the expressive and formal features of different artistic
media and/or cultural traditions; this may be accomplished through an analytic study or as part of an original artistic work.
Participation: We will record participation at every class meeting using a sign-in sheet. Be sure you sign in every time you attend. I recommend that you date your notes; this is often helpful for verifying participation later on. Participation is mandatory and worth 10% of the final grade. The instructor on an individual basis excuses absences. Excused absences are granted for illness, family emergency, or personal exigencies. Each unexcused absence will lower your grade by 5 percentage points. Please direct e-mail regarding participation to Isabel Arenivar .
Grading: Exams and quizzes are graded on a percent basis, with each question given equal weight. Concert reviews are graded not on your opinions, but on the quality of your writing and the degree to which you carried out the assignment as given.
Your final grade will be calculated thus:
mid-term exam20%
average of three quizzes20%
average of two concert reviews20%
final exam30%
participation/discussion10%
Grading Scale:
A 93-100B- 80-82D+ 67-69
A- 90-92C+77-79D 63-66
B+ 87-89C73-76D- 60-62
B 83-86C-70-72F 0-59
Time Commitment: I anticipate the student should commit three hours weekly for the lectures and discussion and approximately six hours each week in reading, listening, outside assignments, and attending outside concerts. This, of course, is an estimate and will vary from week to week.
University Policies:
If you will need accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please see the instructor as soon as possible. University Policies governing the conduct of this and other UWM courses can be found at:
Protecting your hearing
Student-Hearing-Protection_Guide.pdf
Students with disabilities
Religious observances
Students called to active military duty
Incompletes
Discriminatory conduct
Academic misconduct
Complaint procedures
Grade appeal procedures
Firearms and dangerous weapons
Final examination policy
Weather - Class cancellationssee UWM Home Page or call 414 229-4444
Reading: The sections of the Machlis/Forney textbook that cover each week’s lecture topic(s) are listed in the schedule below. You should try to read these portions of the book before the lecture, especially if you have little prior familiarity with the material: your learning experience will be more effective if you have a knowledge base upon which to build.
Listening: This course is about listening to music. You must listen to the assigned recordings until you know them well. It will be best to have heard the music once or twice before we discuss it in class, and then to listen to it again afterward, keeping in mind the points we made about it. You will need to be able to distinguish and identify specific pieces of music on the exams and quizzes.
Exams and quizzes: We will have two exams: one at mid-term and one during final exam week. There will also be three quizzes, one in the first half and two in the second half of the course. Exams and quizzes will test both recall of factual information and your knowledge of recorded excerpts. If you miss a quiz or the mid-term, you must take responsibility for arranging a make-up time within two class days (i.e., one week) of the test date; if you do not, you will get a zero.
Discussion: Different people react to music differently, and we will consider music of a wide variety of styles. You are always encouraged to voice your opinions in class when you have a reaction, positive or negative, to the music we study. Always try to be aware of WHY you like or dislike a piece of music; such matters are worth thinking about.
Written assignments: During the course you will be required to attend two classical concerts and write reviews of them. These written reviews will satisfy your GER Assessment. Please turn them in to me as soon as you finish them; the final due date is Tuesday, November 25, and no reviews will be accepted after that date. Please hand in your ticket stub and the printed program with your review, if possible. See me if you are unsure whether a particular concert is appropriate for this assignment.
Please follow these guidelines in preparing your reviews:
1. No handwritten reviews, and no e-mail reviews. One side of the paper, double-spaced.
2. 1-2 pages long.
3. Attend the entire concert. If you cannot stay for the whole performance, select a different one. For purposes of your reviews, you are expected to hear and comment on an entire concert. Most concerts will be over less than two hours after the start time, and many are considerably shorter.
4. Proofread, spell check, etc.; poor writing will lower your grade.
GER Assessment elements reviewed:
1.All identifying information regarding the pieces included in the concert.
Such as: Context of the concert presentation - where, when, who played or sang, works
performed, etc.
2. Identify the music you heard by composer and title and speak to details presented in the music
to include terms, concepts, and historical context as discussed in class.
3.Discuss the presentation of the music to include performance details such as arrangement of the
performers, ensemble makeup, presence of conductor or not, or the overall impact of the
performance; did they play (or sing) well or badly, did they use distracting mannerisms, did
they handle themselves well on stage, etc.
4.Which piece did you like the most, and the least, and why? Identify contrasting characteristics in the work or performance that may have contributed or detracted from your enjoyment.
What, if anything, did this music mean to you and tell your opinion of it.
If there are many different works on the program, discuss a few that struck you the
most, making it clear to me that you attended the whole concert.
Assessment Rubric:
4 = all elements are thoroughly understood, discussed and supported for multiple pieces.
3 = elements are discussed and supported for understanding for one major work.
2 = some elements discussed with limited supporting details
1 = few elements discussed showing limited understanding of expected content
Extra Credit: There is no extra credit in this class; no substitutions for the course requirements described in this syllabus will be allowed.
Semester Schedule
Week 1: September 2, 4
topics: course introduction; classical concerts; elements of music I
Machlis: pp. 4-19, 26-38
Week 2: September 9, 11
topic: elements of music II
Machlis: pp. 39-60
Week 3: September 16, 18
topic: Music in the Middle Ages
Machlis: pp. 70-88
Listening:
Hildegard of Bingen, Alleluia, O virgamediatrix (Gregorian chant, p. 79)/1,1-3
Perotin?, Gaude Maria virgo (organum, p. 81)/1,4-5
Machaut, Puisqu’enoubli (chanson, p. 86)/1,9-13
Explanation of the listening list:
“Hildegard of Bingen, Alleluia, O virgamediatrix (Gregorian chant, p. 79)/1,1-3”
O virgamediatrix is the title of the composition, an Alleluia written by Hildegard of Bingen; it
is an example of Gregorian chant. The Listening Guide for this piece in our textbook is at p. 79,
and it appears on CD no. 1, tracks 1-3.
Week 4: September 23, 25
topic: music in the Renaissance
Machlis: pp. 89-103
Listening:
Josquin, Ave Maria . . . virgoserena (motet, p. 91)/1,14-20
Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass: Gloria, p. 94/1,21-22
Arcadelt, Il bianco e dolce cigno (madrigal, p. 98/1,23-24
Farmer, Fair Phyllis (madrigal, p. 100)/1,25-26
Week 5: September 30, October 2
First Quiz Thursday
topic: Baroque music I
Machlis: pp. 106-129
Listening:
Purcell, excerpts from Dido and Aeneas (opera, p. 116)/1,31-36
J. S. Bach, Cantata no. 140, BWV 140, movements 1 and 4, p. 123/1,40-47
Handel, Messiah, nos. 18 and 44 (oratorio, p. 128)/1,48-53
Week 6: October 7, 9
topic: Baroque music II
Machlis: pp. 130-144
Listening:
Handel, Water Music, Suite in D, Alla hornpipe, p. 133/1,54-56
Vivaldi, “Spring” from The Four Seasons, first movement (violin concerto, p. 138)/1,60-65
J. S. Bach, Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, p. 144/1,66-69
Week 7: October 14, 16
Mid-Term Exam Thursday
topic: the forms and media of the Classical period
Machlis: pp. 145-146, 150-162
Listening: none
Week 8: October 21, 23
topics: Haydn and Mozart
Machlis: pp. 163-174, 182-185
Listening:
Haydn, String Quartet in C major, op. 76 no. 3 (“Emperor”), second movement, p. 165/1,70-74
Haydn, Symphony no. 100 in G major (“Military”), second movement, p. 173/1,75-79
Mozart, EinekleineNachtmusik, K. 525, first and third movements (serenade, p. 168)/2, 1-8
Mozart, Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453, first movement, p. 184/2,34-44
Week 9: October 28, 30
topic: Mozart opera, Beethoven
Machlis: pp. 174-181, 186-198
Listening:
Mozart, Don Giovanni, K. 527, excerpts (opera, p. 193)/2,49-56
Beethoven, Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, op. 27 no. 2 (“Moonlight”), first movement,
p. 187/2,45-48,
Beethoven, Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67, p. 176/2,9-33
Week 10: November 4, 6
Second Quiz Thursday
topics: the Romantic era, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, American music
Machlis: pp. 198-200, 204-224
Listening:
Schubert, Erlkönig (Lied, p. 214)/3,1-8
Robert Schumann, “ImwunderschönenMonat Mai” from Dichterliebe (Lied, p. 218)/3,9-10
Chopin, Mazurka in B-flat minor, op. 24 no. 4, p. 223/3,11-16
Foster, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair (parlor song, p. 229)/2,62-63
Week 11: November 11, 13
topics: Berlioz, Smetana, Dvořák, Brahms
Machlis: pp. 227-259, 267-271
Listening:
Berlioz, Symphoniefantastique, fourth movement, p. 233/3,17-22
Smetana, “The Moldau” from MáVlast (symphonic poem, p. 238)/3,23-30
Brahms, Symphony no. 3 in F major, op. 90, third movement, p. 248/3,37-39
Week 12: November 18, 20
Third Quiz Thursday
topics: Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Tchaikovsky
Machlis: pp. 260-266, 271-278
Listening:
Verdi, excerpts from Rigoletto (opera, p. 255)/3,40-45
Verdi, excerpt from the Requiem, p. 270/3,52-54
Wagner, Die Walküre, act III opening (opera, p. 263)/3,46-51
Puccini, “Un bel di” from Madame Butterfly (opera, p. 277)/3,61-62
Week 13: November 25 (Thursday is Thanksgiving)
Reviews due Tuesday
topics: classical music since 1900, Debussy, Mahler, Stravinsky, Schoenberg
Machlis: pp. 278-280, 284-308
Listening:
Debussy, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (symphonic poem, p. 292)/4,1-5
Stravinsky, Le sacre du printemps, excerpts (ballet, p. 303)/3,63-69
Schoenberg, “Der Mondfleck” from PierrotLunaire(song cycle, p. 307)/4,6-7
Week 14: December 2, 4
topics: Berg, Bartók, Copland, Cage
Machlis: pp. 309-332, 396-399
Listening:
Berg, Wozzeck, act III, scene iv (opera, p. 310)/4,8-9
Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra, fourth movement, p. 315/3,70-76
Copland, excerpts from Appalachian Spring (ballet, p. 331)/4,21-28
Cage, Sonata V from Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano, p. 398/4,74-75
Week 15: December 9, 11 (Friday the 12th is Study Day)
topics: minimalism, Adams, summarizing, exam review
Machlis: 420-426
Listening:
Adams, excerpts from Doctor Atomic (opera, p. 426)/4,93-95
Final Exam: Thursday, December 18, from 10:00 a.m. until noon, in our regular room. Please do not request an alternate exam time.