It is important that Jazz students develop the ability to play in ensembles. This course focuses on performance in small and large ensembles, concentrating on reading scores and especially in improvisational techniques.

1. Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque Periods.
2. Classical, Romantic, Contemporary Periods.

A chronological survey, divided into two semesters, of Western music from the Middle Ages to the present, the courses emphasize changes in musical styles and forms. These two comprehensive chronological surveys explore music within its historical context, touching upon the social, political, scientific, and artistic landscape of each period, with an emphasis on key composers and masterpieces.  Throughout the semester special attention will be given to the development of listening skills, with the aim of enabling a dynamic and critical engagement with the musical works studied.  No previous musical experience is required.  It is vital that students keep up with the reading and listening assignments. Each lecture will focus on one or more specific pieces of music, and students will be expected to have read the assigned passages available online and to have listened to the assigned works in advance of the relevant lecture.

The study of several musical masterpieces, from the works of Bach and Handel to the 20^th– Century American musical.

Study of a representative selection of pieces in the current repertory of the concert hall from the last 300 years of Western classical music, beginning with an appreciation of the elements of music (melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, performance issues) and then developing critical listening tools while viewing and listening to a succession of selected masterpieces such as Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Verdi’s Otello, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and Bernstein’s West Side Story.

In the last 100 years of recordings our relationship to music has changed in interesting and significant ways.

This course will have two guiding principles: the “past” begins yesterday, and the art of listening to music – live or in recorded form – is a skill of active participation in which the listener engages with the artistic process.  In dealing with the music of the past, the course will consider the following ideas.  Is a work of art (a composition) a one-time aesthetic statement of expression representative of its own time, or does that work continue to live, breathe, change, and evolve – and, if so, how?  After inspiration, composition, preparation, and initial performances – necessary steps in its gestation – is a work heard (seen) differently with the passing of time?  Should a given contemporary performance or recording be at all “identical” or “close” to the original performance, and if so in what ways?  In fact, how may we speak of “authenticity” in musical performance?  What were the expectations of listeners at the time of first performances and should that have any bearing on performances today?  With the development of recorded technology and our extraordinary access to recorded music, how important are live performances today?  Is there a difference, in fact, in hearing a work live or recorded, and if so what is it and how does it affect us?

1. Monteverdi and Vivaldi
2. Mozart and Haydn
3. Beethoven
4. German Romantics: Shubert, Schumann, Brahms
5. Bach and Handel
6. Italian Opera of the 19^th century

Students are introduced to Italian opera, from a background in the earliest masterpieces such as “Orfeo” by Monteverdi to “La Boheme” by Puccini, including works such as “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini, “La Traviata” by Verdi, and others with careful attention to analyses of language (libretto) and dramatic action on stage.

 The operas of Verdi within the context of Italian Romanticism and the Risorgimento is the main focus of study.

 This course offers students attendance at a live performance in one of the magnificent opera theaters of Florence or nearby cities.