Module MUSI3281: THE MUSIC OF BRAHMS

Department: MUSIC

MUSI3281: THE MUSIC OF BRAHMS

Prerequisites

• Historical Trends and Issues in the 19th and 20th Centuries (MUSI2591) OR Theory and Musicology (MUSI2561).

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• An in-depth study of the music of Brahms through an examination of (a) musical scores (b) musicological writings (c) central issues concerned with Brahms, his life, music and cultural environment.

Content

• An examination of one of the nineteenth-century's most challenging, complex and influential composers.
• The study will include
• (a) an in-depth examination of Brahms' music through analysis of scores.
• (b) a concurrent study of the extensive musicological writings and commentaries of Brahms over the last 120 years.
• (c) a study of the cultural environment and reception history of Brahms and his music.
• (d) a study of the central issues concerned with Brahms' style and compositional method (such as classicism, romanticism, intellectualism, archaism and modernism).
• (e) the influence of Brahms on his contemporaries and on later generations (such as Schoenberg).
• (f) Brahms as the central figure in the 'polarisation' of ideas and principles in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the module students should know and understand the following:
• (a) the nature, scope and style of Brahms' music
• (b) the historical and cultural context of Brahms and his music
• (c) an extended bibliographical knowledge of writings on Brahms and his music
• (d) central issues concerned with Brahms' music (such as classicism, romanticism, intellectualism, archaism, modernism etc)
• (e) analytical and investigative techniques appropriate to the study of Brahms' music
• (f) the influence of Brahms's music and musical thinking on contemporaries later generations.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The teaching takes place through weekly lectures and termly tutorials and will be accompanied by directed reading and formative essays (or other appropriate exercises).
• Some reading exercises or analytical exercises will form assignments for tutorials.
• The format is designed to ensure the active participation of students in the learning process, offering opportunities for discussion and the development of critical thinking.
• Formative exercises 'bed down' knowledge-based and critical concepts taught in lectures, and may form the basis of discussion and hands-on training in tutorials.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Regular formative exercises will be set for contribution to the classes (some will be purely analytical; others will be directed reading of musicological writings). Further formative assignments will be set for the tutorials.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University