Offered fall semester only. Basic principles of musical construction as seen through examination and analysis of representative forms and compositions from the Renaissance to the present. An intensive study of linear reductive analysis, as developed by Heinrich Schenker. The relationship of analysis to performance and hearing will be investigated. Harmony A study of the music of Chopin and his contemporaries.
Emphasis is placed on analysis of chords, structure, modulation and motivic development.
Intensive analysis and composition in the style are stressed. The course concentrates on the contrapuntal practice of J.S. Bach, including suite movement, invention, fugue and chorale-prelude or passacaglia. The work will include performing, analysis, and writing. Offered fall and spring. This course explores the elements of musical style through an intensive study of a few selected composers from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.