Module MUSI41430: British Music 1850-1950

Department: Music

MUSI41430: British Music 1850-1950

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To deepen critical awareness of key intellectual issues pertaining to the study of music in Britain during the period 1850 to 1950
• To develop advanced understanding of the ways in which British music of this period was shaped by the social and cultural context from which it emerged
• To foster specialist knowledge of the repertoire of British music of this period and its stylistic features

Content

• The module will be delivered as a series of seminars, each of which will focus on a significant topic pertaining to British music of this period. Students will be expected to engage in close readings of key works of scholarship on British music and a range of representative musical works in different genres, and to discuss them in class.
• Indicative topics may include (but will not necessarily be limited to):
• Anglican Church music
• Opera in Britain
• The symphony in Britain
• British musical institutions
• The emergence of British musical modernism

Learning Outcomes

• an advanced understanding of British music between 1850 and 1950 and its wider historical and cultural context
• advanced knowledge of key musical figures, genres, and musical works of the period
• informed critical awareness of the current state of scholarship in the field
• critical understanding of theories and methodologies pertinent to the scholarly study, composition, and performance of music, drawn from varied disciplinary perspectives
• advanced knowledge of relevant musical repertories from a range of historical periods and geographical locations
• advanced knowledge of creative and performative praxes relevant to the chosen pathway of study

• advanced critical skills in the close reading and analysis of musical and scholarly texts
• advanced music analytical skills
• an advanced ability to engage critically with theories and methodologies pertinent to the academic study of British music
• an advanced ability to describe and analyse works from a range of musical repertories, informed by an understanding of the socio-cultural matrices from which they emerged and of their specific formal and stylistic features
• an advanced ability to draw upon appropriate theoretical perspectives and methodologies to study British music while simultaneously deriving independent intellectual and creative insights from this activity
• advanced competence in musical literacy
• advanced competence in engaging with musical materials of different kinds, whether as physical objects (e.g. scores) and or in electronic formats (e.g. recordings, audio-visual materials)

• an ability to conduct independent research to an advanced level, drawing on a wide range of musical and scholarly texts
• an advanced ability to interpret complex information of diverse kinds
• a sound grasp of conventions of scholarly presentation and bibliographical skills
• independence of thought and judgement, and the ability to assess the ideas of others
• sophisticated skills in critical reasoning
• the ability to formulate ideas with lucidity and precision
• synthesise complex materials from a wide range of sources and to present them cogently in the form of written documents, oral reports, presentations, and musical performances, as appropriate
• demonstrate competence in information technology skills to support MA learning and research (e.g. by means of: word-processing and music-processing software; databases; presentation software; audiovisual editing and analysis software; graph- and image-processing; web-based resources; relevant technologies)
• deploy problem-solving skills
• deploy organisational skills, including time management.

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

• Seminars will introduce topics and genres, contexts and frameworks to aid conceptual understanding, and specific musical and literary texts for close analysis with the aim of encouraging individual interpretation and enquiry. Typically, directed learning may include assigning student(s) an issue, theme or topic that can be independently or collectively explored within a framework and/or with additional materials provided by the tutor. This may function as preparatory work for presenting their ideas or findings (sometimes electronically) to their peers and tutor in the context of a seminar.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Regular small-scale written and oral presentation tasks relating to the topics covered on the module.

■ 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