St. Mary's College
Moraga, CA
Perceiving the Performing Arts (Performing Arts 001)
Spring 2010
Prof. Rebecca Engel (Theatre)
Prof. Jia Wu (Dance)
Dr. Mark Alburger (Music)
Music Section
Overview
Course Information
Unit Credit:
Prerequisites:
Previous experience in life.
Location:
Dante 204
Meeting Times:
TTh 9:40-11:10am
Withdrawal:
It is the student's responsibility to notify the records office of a formal withdrawal.
Communication
Office:
Dante Hall 204
Telephone:
(707) 474-7273 (Cell)
Email:
mus21stc@gmail.com
Websites:
markalburger.blogspot.com
markalburger2010.blogspot.com
markalburger2009.blogspot.com
markalburger2008.blogspot.com
markalburgerevents.blogspot.com
markalburgerworks.blogspot.com
markalburgermusichistory.blogspot.com
21st-centurymusic.blogspot.com
21st-centurymusic.com
myspace.com/markalburger
goathall.org
sfcco.org
Office Hour:
11:10-40 TTh
Texts
Online:
markalburgermusichistory.blogspot.com
(Selected chapters)
Print:
Aaron Copland - What to Listen for in Music: How We Listen
(Biography and Music by Copland)
Jeanette Winterson - Art Objects
(Biography and Books by Winterson)
Internet Free Download:
http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.4,_Op.120_(Schumann,_Robert)
Optional:
Selected scores
Materials
No. 2 pencils
Computer access
Course Description
This is a course on the ways in which we perceive dance, music, and theatre -- both collectively, as members of an audience, and as individuals.
Music Objectives
1. Analyze musical examples from the perspectives of rhythm (meter/tempo), pitch (scale/mode/melody), dynamics, timbre, texture, harmony, form, and style (history/sociology/function/biography)
2. Demonstrate a knowledge of the aesthetics and history of music.
Music Grading and Evaluation
Daily attendance/participation
Written quizzes
Concert paper
Score Legend
90-100% / A
80-89% / B
70-79% / C
60-69% / D
0-59% / F
Concert Attendance
Students are required to attend performances as outlined in the overall course syllabus.
Late Assignments
There will be a 10% grade penalty on all assignments up to a week late. Assignments more than one week late will receive a failing grade. Only quizzes missed due to excused absences may be made up. Such quizzes must be made up within one week or receive a failing grade.
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend all class meetings. Required texts only supplement class meetings. Thus, attendance to all class meetings is essential to the successful completion of the course. Poor attendance has always resulted in a poor grade, while excellent attendance has always been a prerequisite to an excellent grade.
Academic Dishonesty
Students found cheating or plagiarizing will be subject to penalty.
Artistic Borrowing
Students found borrowing, gridding, modeling, or troping will be congratulated. Please refer to the history of art, the universe, and everything.
Music Syllabus
Session 1 - Prehistoric / Ancient Music (before c. 400)
Yurok (California) - Women's Brush Dance
Asia Minor (Turkey) - Epitaph of Seikilos
Session 2 - Medieval Music (c. 400-1400)
Gregorian Chant - Kyrie IV
Guillaume de Machaut - Notre Dame Mass: Kyrie
Session 3 - Renaissance / Baroque Music (c. 1400-1750)
Josquin des Pres - El Grillo
G.F. Handel - Messiah: Hallelujah
Session 4 - Classical / Romantic Music (c. 1750-1900)
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5: I
Giuseppe Verdi - Rigoletto: Quartet
Session 5 - 20th-Century Music I (c. 1900-1950)
Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring: Dances of the Adolescents
Joe Garland - In the Mood
Session 6 - 20th-Century Music II (c. 1950-2000)
George Crumb - Black Angels
Roger Waters - Shine On You Crazy Diamond: III
Session 7 - 21st-Century Music (c. 2000-)
Mark Alburger - Camino Real: Block 9
Thom Yorke - Morning Bell
Session 8 - San Francisco Symphony Concert
Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 4 (1851)
Alexander Zemlinsky - Lyric Symphony (1922)
San Francisco Symphony Concert Review
Reviews of the event will identify the concert (who, what, when, and where), and comment on salient elements. The first review will be due before the final.
Review should have a:
Title
Lede Sentence
Basic News Facts
Good Mechanics / Style (endeavor to avoid 1st person)
Perceptive Content
For example formats, feel free to check reviews at
The New York Times
San Francisco Chronicle
21st-Century Music (21st-centurymusic.blogspot.com)
etc.
[9057 Perceiving the Performing Arts]