Global Arc

An exploration of music for large chamber ensemble from periods rarely addressed by Princeton performing ensembles, such as Baroque, Early Classical, and recent music by Princeton undergraduates.

A workshop that fosters individual students' composing within a community of peers. This course will consider familiar musical styles, and students will open their ears as well to non-traditional instruments, collaborative and improvisatory approaches, and technological opportunities. The focus is not on music theory "rules" but on each student's musical imagination, explored through the tools available to us, individually and collectively. Group work and discussion are central. Several short "sketches" during the semester, final composition at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: instructor's permission.

An introduction opera from its beginnings in the late sixteenth century to the present, focusing on drama, vocal style, gender and sexuality, singers, and stage production; includes a consideration of non-European operatic traditions.

A survey of vocal literature (excluding opera) from the fifteenth century to the present day. Lectures focus on representative works that illustrate historical developments in musical style, vocal texture, and text-music relationships; attention is also given to choral music's role as an institution of social engagement, an expression of collective identity, and the societal ability to rejoice, celebrate, critique, and mourn on an impersonal level.

A history of ballet from its origins in the French courts through its development into a large-scale theatrical spectacle in the 19th century and its modernist deformation. Emphasis will be placed on seminal dancers, choreographers, and composers, nationalist tradition, and socio-political context.

This course examines the development of the symphony from the eighteenth to the middle of the twentieth century, particularly in terms of musical procedures, composer background, and cultural contexts. Repertory studied includes creative voices beyond the traditional symphonic canon. The course is designed to be accessible to non-majors with a focus on listening, and the ability to follow musical notation is quite helpful. Supplemental readings reinforce technical discussion and broaden historical context introduced in lectures.

A study of the concerto genre persisting through stylistic and formal changes from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisite: any music course, some musical background, or instructor's permission.

Major developments of Western music up to about 1400, including some of the following: the origin and growth of chant, its liturgical context and musical properties; medieval secular song; early polyphony and Parisian organum; the French ars nova and Machaut; the Italian trecento; English medieval music.

Introduction to the history and current scholarship of European music in the period 1400-1600. The principal thread is compositional history; in addition, the course includes extensive coverage of these topics: aesthetics, orality/literacy, improvisation, gender and sexuality.

An introductory survey of style developments, aesthetic trends affecting music, and principal vocal and instrumental genres (opera, cantata, concerto, sonata, and suite) of the period 1600-1750. Major figures to be considered include Monteverdi, Scarlatti, Lully, Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and J.S. Bach. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: any music course or instructor's permission.