Humanities, University of Southampton

Starting with basic concepts of grammar and rhetoric, this module traces how these concepts were applied in 18^th-century composition handbooks, especially in the Introductory Essay on Composition by Heinrich Christoph Koch (1783-92), and how they were employed by composers in shaping musical utterances.

Module Co-ordinator: Dr Danuta Mirka

Aims

The aims of this module are to:

• develop your understanding of the relationship between music and language in the late 18^th century
• familiarise you with the influence of grammar and rhetoric on concepts of late 18^th-century theory of composition concerning phrase structure and form
• develop your knowledge of a substantial repertory of late 18^th-century instrumental music, especially of Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven
• provide you with tools of analysis and critical appreciation of this repertory

Objectives (planned learning outcomes)

            Knowledge and understanding

            Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: 

• terminology used in the 18^th century in reference to phrase structure and form
• the application of these concepts in musical analysis

      Cognitive (thinking) skills

      Having successfully completed the module you will be able to:

• analyse late 18^th-century music in rhetorical terms according to the theory of its own time
• describe and explain a range of means by which late 18^th-century composers organised and elaborated their musical utterances

Practical, subject-specific skills

Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• transfer what you have learned from analytical study of the music to the decisions you make as a musical performer

            Key transferable skills

            Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:

• analyse complex written texts
• engage effectively in critical discussion
• clearly present your analytical insights in written form
• prepare and present annotated musical examples

Starting with basic concepts of grammar and rhetoric, this unit traces how these concepts were applied in 18^th-century composition handbooks, especially in the Introductory Essay on Composition by Heinrich Christoph Koch (1783-92), and how they were employed by composers in shaping musical utterances. Following on from this, the unit goes on to develop your analytical skills through study of instrumental works by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

Teaching methods include

• classroom explanations (lectures)
• discussions of take-home analyses (seminars)
• tutorial consultations

 Learning activities include

• reading of excerpts from primary and secondary sources
• take-home analyses
• assignment preparation

 Bonds, Mark Evan (1991). Wordless Rhetoric: Musical Form and the Metaphor of the Oration, 53-131. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

 Ratner, Leonard (1949). ‘Harmonic Aspects of Classic Form', Journal of the American Musicological Society 2: 159-168.

 Ratner, Leonard (1956). ‘Eighteenth-Century Theories of Musical Period Structure', Musical Quarterly 42: 439-454.

 Ratner, Leonard (1980). Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style, 31-206. New York: Schirmer.