Material Detail

Although this is described as a course, it can also be used as a textbook. This course provides an introductory survey of the Western classical tradition, exploring music both as a phenomenon of sound and culture.  The focus of this course is the development of aural skills that lead to an understanding and appreciation of music.  Making use of live performances and streaming audio available on the Internet, we will listen to and explore some of the most important and influential repertoires and genres of music that emerged in the last four centuries: High Renaissance vocal music, the cantatas and oratorios of Bach and Handel, Mozart’s comic operas, the monumental orchestral works of the Romantic movement, and the major musical movements of twentieth-century Europe and America, revealing significant connections with contemporary pop and jazz styles.  These styles have become an enduring part of the world of music in the twenty-first century, traveling out of the concert hall and conservatory into the larger world via movies, television, and the Internet. This course will begin by studying the fundamentals of music, developing a working definition of music.  You will then learn listening skills and musical elements that will be useful as you survey samples of famous compositions throughout this course.  Lastly, you will be grounded in the historical contexts for Western classical music.  You will learn to make connections between the distinctive styles and the cultural, historical, and social factors that influenced them.  By the end of this course, you will have a greater knowledge and appreciation of the history, aesthetics, techniques, forms, and genres of Western classical music.

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