Newcastle University

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

• To provide an introduction to the study of European early music, with an emphasis on music in Britain;
• To extend students’ historical knowledge of music – including composers, genres, institutions, writings about music and the broader contexts in which music was produced and consumed – before 1750;
• To increase awareness of the issues and methodologies involved in the study of early music;
• To provide a platform for the study of specialist historical-cultural options at finalist stage and for those wanting to pursue specialist study dissertations and projects in the field of early music.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module is split into two ‘case study’ units typically covering the period from the Renaissance to the mid-eighteenth century. Each unit enables students to engage in depth with discrete musical case studies over this period. The units are not exhaustive, but rather allow for detailed explorations of specific repertoires, historical moments, institutions, sources, musicians or contexts. Collectively they span from the late Renaissance to the mid-eighteenth century and range across a variety of topics and approaches: sacred and secular music; professional and amateur activity; production and consumption; close readings and wider contextual approaches.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

• an understanding of scholarly approaches to European music history
• insight into the historical context – social, political, institutional, cultural – of evolving musical languages, styles and practices
• an awareness of key moments in the history of music

Intended Skill Outcomes

•       research techniques (including internet and library skills)

•       Confidence in working with primary sources from the period, both musical and textual
•       critical evaluation of the ideas of others
•       communication and organization of your own ideas

development of scholarly writing practices

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module is organized into two case study units, each unit typically consisting of 6 online non-synchronous lectures (and related activities), 4 synchronous workshops and a tutorial surgery. There is one case study per semester, and 8 teaching weeks in each semester. Remaining teaching weeks will be used for assessment prep. Lectures (and associated online activities) introduce overarching topics, themes, music, musicians and sources while workshops allow for more detailed explorations of primary sources and secondary scholarship in small groups (using breakout rooms and group activities). Source-based workshop activities include collaborative work on primary sources, discussion and group presentations. The tutorial surgeries allow students to come and discuss the development of their work prior to submission for each unit of study for formative feedback.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Each unit culminates in a piece of assessed work relating to the topic. This will usually be in the form of a 2000-word essay, but may also be in the form of a notated transcription task to the equivalent substance of 2000 words. Both assessments will require you to engage with primary source materials – both textual and musical – as well as relevant secondary source research. These essays test your ability to undertake a piece of research based on the topics explored in each unit, and to prepare a piece of written work over the course of several weeks. It gives you the opportunity to do further reading and to explore an aspect of each of the units in greater depth.

General Notes

N/A