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New Tendencies in Musical Creation

Code: 100661 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500240 Musicology OT 3
2500240 Musicology OT 4

Contact

Name:
German Gan Quesada
Email:
german.gan@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Students enrolling in this course should have successfully completed the courses “Anàlisi musical” and “La música dels segles XX i XXI” –or similar ones from other Musicology degrees–, provided the intimate connection and propedeutic nature of their contents with this course.   


Objectives and Contextualisation

On successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

- Demonstrate knowledge of the main trends of academic music composition from 1968 until the present time.

- Connect the discourses of Contemporary Music with their respective sociocultural, intellectual, aesthetic and scientific contexts.

- Make use of the most recent methodological proposals within the fields of the analysis and aesthetics of Contemporary Music.

- Provide suitable and systematical concepts and terminology in oral and written expositions on the contents of the subject.

- Highlight the role of female composers and musicians in Contemporary academic music composition.


Competences

    Musicology
  • Critically analyse musical works from any of the points of view of the discipline of musicology.
  • Identify and compare the different channels of reception and consumption of music in society and in culture in each period.
  • Know and understand the historical evolution of music, its technical, stylistic, aesthetic and interpretative characteristics from a diachronic perspective.
  • Recognise and appreciate musical manifestations in non-western, traditional, popular and urban cultures.
  • Recognise the role of music in current society, its function in performances, its relationship with audio-visual culture, technology and informatics, and with leisure and cultural enterprises.
  • Relate musical creations with their different contexts, differentiating between the social functions of music, its roles and that of the musician in society and in relation to other artistic manifestations.
  • 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 be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • 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

  1. Address the analysis of musical creation in our time with the appropriate musicological tools and interdisciplinary approaches.
  2. Analysing a contemporary fact and relating it to its historical background.
  3. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon in a given cultural context.
  4. Contextualise new tendencies in musical creation in general historical evolution and observe its incorporation in the sociopolitical panorama in which they are framed.
  5. Define the processes of periodisation and stylistic classification and usual typology in the historical conceptualisation of the musical fact.
  6. Examine the interrelationships between contemporary musical creation, within historical tradition, and other musical manifestations of the period under study (músicas del mundo, músicas populares urbanas).
  7. Identify the connections between current musical creation and the sociopolitical and cultural circumstancesticas in which it takes place.
  8. Interrelate technological and scientific changes in each period with the creation and reception of music.
  9. Localize and evaluate the role of music in the different sectors of contemporary societies according to the historical time and artistic objective.
  10. Prepare oral presentations on an analytical question and adapt them to the level and expectations of the audience or group.
  11. Present knowledge about the history, art or other cultural movements.
  12. Solve problems of a methodological nature in the area of musicology.
  13. Use basic vocabularyand tools to describe and transmit knowledge acquired through effective oral presentations of musicological content adapted to the audience.

Content

This course is structured into the following units:

Unit 1. Dialogues with musical tradition(s): intertextual strategies.

Unit 2: The persistence of expression: Simplicity and Complexities at stake.

Unit 3. Neo- and Minimalist attitudes: towards a reinterpretation of harmonic and rhythmic systems.

Unit 4: New harmonic worlds: spectralism and microtonality.

Unit 5: Open music and new notational resources: the space in/of the score.

Unit 6: Homo tecnologicus: electronic and computer tools for music composition.

Unit 7: The importance of gesture (I): the microsyntax of timbre

Unit 8: The importance of gesture (II): musical action and scene.

Unit 9: Crossbreeding with “other” kinds of music: only sideways?


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Theoretical and practical sessions 42 1.68 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Type: Supervised      
Individual and Group supervision 4.5 0.18
Supervision for the development of the analysis seminars 20 0.8 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Type: Autonomous      
Group meetings - Group task 25 1 1, 10, 12, 13
Individual study and review of course materials 20 0.8
Search of bibliographical and audiovisual sources 15 0.6 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12

- Lectures will offer a general introduction (both aesthetic and stylistic) into the contents of the subject and will be complementary with the analytical commentary of a selection of scores and/or music examples in each exposed unit. Flipped classroom methodology will be used in the sessions of oral expositions of group tasks.

- Throughout the course, attending certain concerts and performances – scheduled in the Vallès Occidental or in Barcelona, such as the Festival Mixtur or the Auditori-Sampler Sèries – will be recommended, related to the contents of the subject; if needed, they will be prepared through an in-class debate and discussed. Though not a compulsory assessment activity, students are granted the possibility of improving their final grades by up to an additional point, provided that they submit, at the end of the course, a brief report of these activities.   

- The Moodle class room is the reference space for every activity of the subject and the only repository for its teaching materials (always respecting (C) laws) and related communications; any question concerning the subject is to be submitted, therefore, through the Moodle’s mail and the lecturer will not answer enquiries sent to his main E-mail address.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Group task 40% 0 0 1, 5, 7, 12, 13
Intermediate exam 30% 22 0.88 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Written final exam 30% 1.5 0.06 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13

Assessable activities are as follows:

- Written intermediate and final exams, of theoretical-practical nature [scheduled dates: April 11, 2025; June 6, 2025].

- Preparation of a group task (3-4 students) on a topic related to the contents of the subject. The date of the oral presentation [between 16-20 June, 2025] will be determined at the beginning of the activities, as well as the format and approach, supervised by the responsible teaching staff.

All assessment activities are obligatory and independent. Following the academic schedule established by the Faculty, students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 70% of the subject’s final grade, and after discussing this possibility with the lecturer. The highest grade for these retaken activities is 6.

When publishing final grades prior to recording them on students’ transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

In the event that a student has only participated in assessment activities accounting for just 30% or less of the course grade, their work will be classified as “not assessed” on their transcript.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

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 student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities 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.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT [pre-scheduled date: June 5, 2025]: 1) Concept and historical facts test [30%]; 2) Historical/contextual test [30%]; 3) Review of a musicological chapter or article [40%]. The same assessment method and grade averages will be used in the event of retaken or compensated failed activities, on the date established by the Faculty to this purpose.


Bibliography

N. B. References of dictionaries, encyclopaedias and monographic books or studies on composers are excluded from this general bibliography.

Adell, Joan-Elies and Jaume Radigales, eds. (Des)acords. Música i músiques als Països Catalans (1975-2009). Vilanova i la Geltrú: El Cep i la Nasa, 2009.

Auner, Joseph. La música en los siglos XX y XXI. Madrid: Akal, 2017.

Bandt, Ros. "Sound Installation: Blurring the Boundaries of the Eye, the Ear, Space and Time", Contemporary Music Review, 25/4 (2006), pp. 353-365.

Baumgartner, Michael and Boczkowska, Ewelina (eds.). Music, Authorship, Narration, and Art Cinema in Europe. 1940s to 1980s. Abindgon / New York: Routledge, 2023.

Blánquez, Javier. Una invasión silenciosa. Cómo los autodidactas del pop han conquistado el espacio de la música clásica. Barcelona: Capitán Swing, 2014. Col. digital Muckraker.

Bosseur, Dominique and Jean-Yves Bosseur. Révolutions musicales. La musique contemporaine depuis 1945. s.l. : Minerve, 1999 (5ª ed.).

Bosseur, Jean-Yves and Pierre Michel. Musiques contemporaines. Perspectives analytiques (1950-1985). s.l.: Minerve, 2007.

Carredano, Consuelo and Victoria Eli (eds.). Historia de la música en España e Hispanoamérica, vol. 8: La música en Hispanoamérica en el siglo XX. Madrid: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2015.

Collins, Nick and Julio d’Escrivan (eds.) The Cambridge Companion to Electronic Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Collins, Nicolas. "Música electrónica en vivo", Quodlibet, 44 (May-August 209), pp. 3-23.

Contemporary Music Review, 38/1-2 (2019). "Spain beyond Spain. Contemporary Spanish Music in a Global Context".

Cook, Nicholas and Anthony Pople. The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Music. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Cooke, Mervyn, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera.Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Creació musical contemporània a Catalunya. Barcelona: Associació Catalana de Compositors, 2013.

Darbon, Nicolas. Musica Multiplex. Dialogique du simple et du complexe en musique contemporaine. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2007.

Dávila, Ana María and Javier Pérez Senz. Compositors d’avui. Guía de la música contemporània a Catalunya. Barcelona: Caixa Catalunya – Obra Social, 2008.

Dibelius, Ulrich. La nueva música a partir de 1945. Madrid: Akal, 2004.

Doce notas preliminares, 8 (2001). “Postmodernidad, veinte años después”.

Dufourt, Hugues. La musique spectrale, une révolution épistémologique. Paris: Éditions Delatour, 2014.

Espejo, José Luis (ed.). Escucha, por favor. 13 textos sobre sonido para el arte reciente. Madrid: Exit Publicaciones, 2019.

Fernández Guerra, Jorge. Cuestiones de ópera contemporánea. Metáforas de supervivencia. Madrid: Ed. Gloria Collado, 2009.

García Laborda, José M.ª (ed.). La música moderna y contemporánea a través de los escritos de sus protagonistas (una antología de textoscomentados). Sevilla: Doble J, 2010 (2ª ed.).

Gloag, Kenneth. Postmodernism in Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

González Lapuente, Alberto, ed. Historia de la música en España e Hispanoamérica, vol. 7: La música del siglo XX. Madrid: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2012.

Gottschalk, Jeannie. Experimental Music since 1970. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.

Griffiths, Paul. Modern Music and after. Directions since 1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Heile, Björn (ed.). The Modernist Legacy. Essays on New Music. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2009.

Heile, Björn and Charles Wilson (eds.). The Routledge Research Companion to Modernism in Music. London and New York: Routledge, 2018.

Holmes, Thomas B. Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition. London and New York: Routledge, 2008.

Iges, José et al. MASE. Historia y presencia del arte sonoro en España. Madrid: Bandaàparte Editores, 2015.

Koay, Kheng K. The Kaleidoscope of Women’s Sounds in Music of the Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015.

Korsyn, Kevin. Decentering Music: A Critique of Contemporary Music Research. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Kramer, JonathanD.Postmodern Music / Postmodern Listening. New York et al.: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.

Labelle, Brandon. Background Noise. Perspectives on Sound Art. London etal.: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015 (2ª ed.).

Lester, Joel. Enfoques analíticos de la música del siglo XX. Madrid: Akal, 2005.

Manning, Peter. Electronic and Computer Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013 (4ª ed.).

Marco, Tomás. Historia de la música occidental del siglo XX. Madrid: Alpuerto, 2003.

Marco, Tomás. La creación musical en el siglo XXI. Pamplona: Universidad Pública de Navarra, 2007.

Morgan, Robert P. La música del siglo XX. Una historia del estilo musical en la Europa y la América modernas. Madrid: Akal, 1994.

Noya, Javier. Armonía universal. Música, globalización cultural y política internacional. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 2011.

Nexus, 37 (primavera 2007). “La música contemporánia: nous reptes a Catalunyai a Europa”.          

Nyman, Michael. Música experimental. De John Cage en endavant. Girona: Documenta Universitaria, 2006.

Potter, Keith, Kyle Gann and Pwyll ap Siôn (eds.). The Ashgate Research Companion to Minimalist and Postminimalist Music. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2013.

Ramaut, Béatrice. Musique et postmodernité. Paris: P.U.F., 1998.

Ramos, Francisco. La música del siglo XX. Una guía completa. Madrid: Turner, 2013.

Ross, Alex. El ruido eterno. Barcelona: Seix Barral, 2009.

Rutherford-Johnson, Tim. Music after the Fall. Modern Composition and Culture since 1989. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2017.

Sallis, Friedemann et al. (eds.). LiveElectronic Music. Composition, Performance, Study. London and New York: Routledge, 2018.

Scherzo, 323 (novembre 2016). "Minimalismo".

Schwartz, Elliott and Daniel Godfrey. Music since 1945. Issues, Materials, and Literature. Belmont (CA): Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 1993.

Solomos, Makis. De la musique au son. L'émergence du son dans la musique des XXe. et XXIe. siècles. Rennes: Pressens Universitaires de Rennes, 2013.

Supper, Martin. Música electrónica y música con ordenador. Historia, estética, métodos, sistemas. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 2004.

Whittall, Arnold. Exploring Twentieth-Century Music. Tradition and Innovation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Whittall, Arnold. Musical Composition in the Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Wittje, Roland. The Age of Electroacoustics. Transforming Science and Sound. Cambridge, MA / London: The MIT Press, 2016.

Yáñez, Paco and Gómez Alemany, Joan. Cartografías de la música contemporánea. Ensayo, crítica e interdisciplinariedad en los siglos XX y XXI. València: Edictoràlia, 2023.

 

www.accompositors.com                    Associació Catalana de Compositors

brahms.ircam.fr                                Base de datos Brahms (IRCAM)

www.composers21.com                    The Living Composers Project

https://www.march.es/es/fondo/musica-espanola-contemporanea                   Biblioteca de Música Española Contemporánea

Sonograma magazine (2008)              sonograma.org

Espacio sonoro (2004)                        espaciosonoro.tallersonoro.com       

Contemporary Music Review (1984)     www.tandfonline.com/loi/gcmr20#.UdsA0KxmPKc

Perspectives of New Music (1962)        www.perspectivesofnewmusic.org

Organised Sound (1996)                     www.cambridge.org/core/journals/organised-sound


Software

Does not apply.


Language list

Information on the teaching languages can be checked on the CONTENTS section of the guide.