Music in Contemporary Society
Code: 103564 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2502758 Humanities | OT | 3 | 0 |
| 2502758 Humanities | OT | 4 | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- César Calmell Piguillem
- Email:
- Cesar.Calmell@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
It is not necessary to be in possession of any kind of technical knowledges about musical language or practical skills in music to sign up for this course although having elementary basic notions on music would be of aid. More important are the students’ knowledges and interests for social and cultural European history from French Revolution up to now. It is primarily important, however, to show critical capacity to connect different artistic, cultural and historical events in logical, coherent and reasoned arguments,
Objectives and Contextualisation
The aim goal of this subject is to provide students with enough conceptual, methodological and procedural tools to understand the origin as well as the main evolutionary lines of European music and its contextualization inside society and culture throughout XVIII, XIX, and XX centuries. Understanding the complexity of some connections between particular musical masterpieces and others belonging to different fields of art, literature and philosophy so that the students be able –once the course has finished- to stablish, for themselves, new relationships always well-founded, and be able to express opinions in speech and writing and by all other means of expression.
Competences
- Humanities
- Critically analysing today's culture and its historical conditions.
- Producing innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
Learning Outcomes
- Analysing the influence of the media in the transmission and dissemination of musical works.
- Analysing the relationships between contemporary musical creation within the historic tradition, and other musical manifestations during the period of study.
- Applying the conceptual innovations of human sciences to musical management.
- Assessing the musical consumption in the contemporary society.
- Integrating the role of music in the schedule and marketing of the musical activity.
- Knowing and analysing several possible uses of music, both in our big cities and in other societies far away from the Western model when it comes to customs, language y traditions.
- Locating and assessing the role of music in the various areas of contemporary societies.
- Understanding the complexity of the music reception processes and using this knowledge in the analysis of the contemporary debates about music.
Content
Section one
1/ The impact of the illustrated thought and French Revolution in the establishment of a contemporary consciousness in the perception and composition of music.
2/ From the artisan musician to the artist compositor. The conjunction of the style galant and the Empfindsamer Stil in the basis of Classical music.
3/ The humanization of classical Opera from the schematisms of baroque opera seria
4/ Beautiful and sublime. Classic style versus Romanticism. The influence of philosophy and literature in the birth of Romantic music
Section two
5/ The “I” and the nature in Romantic music. The intimacy of the lied and the extraversion of instrumental bravura.
6/ The “we” and romantic music history. The voice of nation in music. Choral singing and opera.
7/ The evolution of Wagner and Verdi from romanticism to the musical realism of second half of nineteenth century
8/ The “others” in music. Exoticism and centre. From the concept of nation to the music nationalism. Musical peripheral nationalisms
Section Three
9/ The “fin-de-siècle” Paris and Vienna. Urban correspondences among arts, music and literature. Art nouveau and symbolism in symphonic music and opera in the change of century.
10/ Music in the basis of Germanic expressionist art. Activity of the expression in front of stagnation of the impression. Debussy and Schönberg.
Methodology
The course has got a profile which combines theoretical and practical character. So, it alternates demonstrative general theoretical sessions with others in which proactive participation of students will be required through commentary of texts, images and musical auditions, as well as by means of debates those commentaries could have provoked.
To sum up, there will be:
1/ master-classes: exhibition and synthesis of every one of the 10 subjects, always accompanied with audio and visual recordings.
2/ practical sessions organised by analysis of some philosophical or literary texts, art masterworks, or great pieces of music.
3/ Monitoring of the 10 music auditions demanded throughout the course
4/ Tutorials addressed to supervise students’ homework and to clear up their questions.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Theoretical and practical classes | 48 | 1.92 | 8, 2 |
| Visit to the Museum Music | 5 | 0.2 | 8, 2 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Personal and in group tutorials in both face-to-face and virtual modalities | 20 | 0.8 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Elaboration of a coursework where students have to find relationship between a piece of music with another work belonging to another different artistic language, or an aesthetic movement, or a cultural trend | 20 | 0.8 | 6, 2, 7 |
| Listening and critical commentary of 10 musical auditions | 20 | 0.8 | 3, 8, 2 |
| Preparation and study of the contents of the programme | 33 | 1.32 |
Assessment
1/ Final written theoretical-practical test (50%)
2/ Delivery of a portfolio including 10 written personal commentaries corresponding to the 10 compulsory auditions determined at the beginning of the course. A first delivery must be done at the end of November and the last one the day the final written test is celebrated (20%)
3/ Oral exposition, in groups of 2 or 3 students, whose objective is stablishing well-founded relationships between a piece of music and another belonging to a different artistic discipline, or an aesthetic movement, or a cultural trend (20%)
4/ Regular attendance an proactive participation of students at class (10%)
Those students that have not passed some of the required tests have the right to a revaluation exam. In the case of the portfolio the students will have to repeat the delivery or deliveries failed; in the case of the final written test, the students will have the opportunity to repeat it if the previous qualification is below 5 points. To pass the course the students must pass each and every one of partial tests.
-In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the studen will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the case of several iregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
-In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB's virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis, and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance and proactive participation of students at the master-classes | 10% | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 8 |
| Delivery of a portfolio including 10 written personal commentaries corresponding to the 10 musical auditions done throughout the course | 20% | 1 | 0.04 | 4, 2, 5, 7 |
| Oral exposition, in groups of 2 or 3 students, whose overriding objective is stablishing well-founded relationships between a piece of music and another belonging to a different artistic discipline | 20% | 1 | 0.04 | 4, 8, 6, 2 |
| Written final theoretical and practical test | 50% | 2 | 0.08 | 3, 8, 2, 7 |
Bibliography
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Salvetti, Guido. Historia de la Música, 10. El siglo XX. Primera parte. Turner Música. Madrid, 1987
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