MUSI3721: Studies in Symphonic Analysis

• MUSI2611 Theory and Analysis

• This module introduces students to the range of theoretical, analytical and contextual issues surrounding the analysis of the symphonic repertoire from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It develops a thorough understanding of the analytical problems to which symphonies and symphonic works give rise, paying attention to issues of formal, tonal and thematic analysis, large-scale matters of cyclical organisation, and also broader questions of narrative and extra-musical meaning. The module focuses on eight case-study works spanning the period 17801940, which altogether appraise symphonic composition in its high-classical, post-classical and modernist forms. In each case, analytical issues are related to the genre's social and cultural-political circumstances, from its origins in the Enlightenment to its revival after the First World War.

• The module comprises two parts: the symphony from 1780-1850; the symphony from 1850-1945. It considers eight case-study works in detail, which span the gamut of repertoire from the high-classical style to the Second World War, as well as four seminar works, which parallel the chronology of the works studies in the lectures. Classes address the works' historical context, and offer a detailed analytical commentary designed to supply a thorough engagement with formal, structural and interpretative issues.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students will gain an essential grounding in the analysis and historical understanding of one of the most important genres of Western art music, which augments their learning in Historical Studies I and II, and also applies in a generically specific context techniques considered in Level II Theory and Analysis.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of the module, students should be able to:
• 1. Grasp the key theoretical, analytical and music-historical issues surrounding the analysis of the symphonic repertoire.
• 2. Apply theoretical techniques in the analysis of symphonic works.
• 3. Evaluate the core analytical and musicological debates attending the symphony over 150 years of its history.
• 4. Understand the aesthetic, political and socio-cultural implications of symphonic practices.

Key Skills:

• 1. Students learn to apply theoretical and historical knowledge in detailed case studies, building on knowledge acquired at levels 1 and 2.
• 2. Students learn how to evaluate competing interpretations.
• 3. Students learn how to link core knowledge across technical and historical/cultural disciplines.

• The module is taught by weekly lectures, which focus on core repertoire, and through small-group seminars and tutorials, which reinforce learning through engagement with cognate works. The module is assessed by submission of one summative essay, in which students apply theoretical and musicological knowledge to representative symphonic works. Formative assessments are also submitted, which relate directly to the work undertaken in seminars and tutorials. The module will be taught short, fat in Michaelmas Term.

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