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| Unit name |
More than Meets the Ear: Secret Symbolism in Medieval Music |
| Unit code |
MUSIM0038 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
M/7
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Hornby |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department |
Department of Music |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Arts |
Description including Unit Aims
The European Middle Ages have been called a ‘golden age of symbolism’, and this characterization certainly rings true when we explore the music of the era. We will evaluate how the composers of medieval songs – sacred and secular, texted and untexted pieces – incorporated symbolism into their lyrics and their music. Gothic song lyrics are often loaded with double meaning, metaphor, and allegory that relate to the divine – even in secular works. Principles of number and proportion structure much medieval song. We will explore the non-equal temperament tuning systems that underpin this musical language. We will also discussion the new scholasticism of medieval Paris, and its ideas about language, mathematics and music. Core issues addressed include: what, according to music theorists in the Middle Ages, is the purpose of music, and what constituted ‘good’ music in this era? This unit will allow the student some hands-on experience with reproduction medieval instruments.
This unit aims:
- to give students an opportunity to expand the breadth of their historical knowledge of medieval songs and their cultural and intellectual context
- to expand their knowledge of the associated musical repertoire and to be able to comment accurately and perceptively on matters of style and structure
- to develop their ability to assemble and assimilate information from a wide variety of sources
- to engage in critical evaluation of texts about music
- to develop effective and detailed arguments, both orally and in writing
- to display competence in the practices, processes, techniques and methodologies that underpin musicological practice.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students are expected to:
- Be able to describe with confidence the techniques and procedures employed in medieval secular song repertoires
- Have a good knowledge of the intellectual and social background that informed the repertoire
- Write critically and perceptively about the composers, styles, and social context of medieval secular song, using appropriate language and terminology
- (Specific to Levels H and M) Engage with and critique the theoretical constructs that underpin different scholarly interpretations of music of this period
- (Specific to level M) Make, defend and critique arguments orally
- (Specific to level M) Apply existing analytical strategies to songs not discussed in class, with flexibility and creativity
- (Specific to level M) Demonstrate the capacity for independent research
Teaching Information
- 9x2 hour classes for the whole cohort (including the MA presentations)
- 1x2 hour revision class for the undergraduates
- 1x2 hour tutorial for the MA students
Assessment Information
One essay, independently devised and researched, of 4000 words (75%). This will demonstrate (1), (2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) through (4).
PLUS
One individual 15-minute presentation on an independently-researched topic, distinct from that of the essay (25%). This will demonstrate (1), (2), (3), (4),(6) and (7) through (5).
Reading and References
- Boethius, (trans. Masi, Michael), Boethian Number Theory, A Translation of De Institutione Arithmetica, Studies in Classical Antiquity, 6, (Amsterdam: Rodophi, 1983)
- Everist, Mark, The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Music, Cambridge Companions to Music, (Cambridge: CUP, 2011)
- Frayling, Christopher, Strange Landscape: A Journey through the Middle Ages, (London: BBC books, 1995)
- Fauvel, John, Music and Mathematics: from Pythagoras to Fractals (Oxford: OUP, 2006)
- Huot, Sylvia, Allegorical Play in the Old French motet : the Sacred and profane in thirteenth-century polyphony (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997)
- Steven, John, Words and Music in the Middle Ages: Song, Narrative, Dance and Drama, 1050-1350, Cambridge Studies in Music, (Cambridge: CUP, 1986)
