SPRING 2015 COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT
MUS–T658: SEMINAR IN MUSIC THEORY
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Analysis of Baroque
Music
Instructor: Christopher Brody
Monday and Wednesday, 1:00–2:15 pm, room M 271
!
This doctoral seminar in music theory is designed to familiarize students with the special
challenges of analyzing Baroque music and prepare them to do original research in the
area. Our particular focus will be the ways in which Baroque music differs from later
music both in the structure of individual pieces and in the relationships of pieces to each
other. We’ll endeavor throughout the semester to develop context-specific ideas about
tonality, form, the role of counterpoint, and the problem of harmonic identity in Baroque
style.
!
Far more than in later repertoires, style and structure in Baroque music vary widely from
genre to genre. We’ll thus focus special attention on several Baroque genres—suite,
concerto, fugue, and aria—internalizing their particular norms and tracing their
development from early examples through their complex treatment by late Baroque
masters such as Bach and Handel.
!
Expectations: Seminar time will be divided evenly between analysis of compositions and
discussion of recent and classic writings on Baroque music. All students must prepare to
participate in discussion at every class meeting, and should expect a few hours per week of
reading and analysis to do outside of class. A final paper will provide you with the
opportunity to apply or extend the ideas we develop in seminar, whether to a single piece,
to a small repertoire of pieces, or to larger issues in theory and analysis.
!
Prerequisites: Graduate major in music theory, or permission of instructor.