Analysis of Music 1900-1950

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Charles Ives and the Shadow of American Transcendentalism

Gann, Kyle. Charles Ives's Concord: Essays after a Sonata. University of Illinois Press, 2017 Links to an external site.

Ives, Charles. The Concord Sonata Download Ives, Charles. The Concord Sonata

Tick, Judith, and Paul Beaudoin. Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion. Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2008. Links to an external site.

The Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Robert S. Levine, 9th ed., W. W. Norton, 2016

Vol. 1 Download Vol. 1      |      Vol. 2 Download Vol. 2

Charles Ives Society: Index of Borrowed Tunes Links to an external site.

Evaluation

Conversion scale for percentages to 4.0 system Download Conversion scale for percentages to 4.0 system

 

Summaries / Responses / Participation [50%]

Reading and discussion are the crux of this course. Each reading will be assigned to a student respondent. The respondent needs to write up a 2-page summary of the reading and assemble a list of questions (approx. 3-5).

The questions may cover anything you don't understand in the reading, but ideally they should be somewhat open-ended/interpretive and act as a catalyst to discussion.

Summaries/questions must be posted to the discussion board before class.

This activity is meant to help you distill the most important/interesting ideas from the readings (in particular, those that will stimulate discussion in class) and to hone your writing skills.

 

Project Presentations [15%]

Students will give a presentation on their final papers.

 

Final Paper [35%] (upload here) | Due March 15th, 2023 at 11:59 pm

An 8 to 10-page analytical paper on a work by Charles Ives or a comparative analysis of one work by Ives and one work (literary, musical, other?) by another author. Students must discuss plans for the final paper/project with the instructor by the end of the 5th week of the quarter. 

Grading rubric for final paper Download Grading rubric for final paper

Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Precursors

Tuesday

Puritanism and poetry

Ives Memos, §53, pp. 129-30, The Bay Psalm Book, Day of Doom, Taylor/Metaphysical Poetry

Slides (Puritan theology) Download Slides (Puritan theology)

Class session audio

 

Thursday

Ives, Essays Before a Sonata: Epilogue / Memos, §53, pp. 131-33 Download Ives, Essays Before a Sonata: Epilogue / Memos, §53, pp. 131-33

Links to an external site.

William Billings: David's Lamentation (score) (1778) Links to an external site. / recording Links to an external site. / Jargon (score) (1778) / recording Links to an external site. / To the GODDESS of DISCORD Links to an external site.

Sacred Harp/shape-note singing (Old Hundredth) Links to an external site.

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Gann, Essays After a Sonata, ch. 7

Hawthorne, The Celestial Railroad Download The Celestial Railroad / Bunyan, Links to an external site. Pilgrim's Progress Links to an external site.

Ives, Essays Before a Sonata: Hawthorne Links to an external site. / The Celestial Railroad, "Phantasy" for piano Links to an external site. / Links to an external site. 

Symphony no. 4, mvmt. II, Comedy Links to an external site.

 

Power Point - Hawthorne Download Power Point - Hawthorne

Class audio 1/31/23

Class audio 2/2/23

Week 6:  Analysis, The Concord Sonata, mvmt II (Hawthorne)
   

Gann: Essays After a Sonata, ch. 8

Ives, The Concord Sonata, pp. 21-52

Class audio 2/7/23

Week 8: Analysis, The Concord Sonata, mvmt IV (Thoreau)
   

Gann, Essays After a Sonata, ch. 11

Ives, The Concord Sonata, pp. 61-70

Class session 2/21/23

Class session 2/23/23

If time allows:
The Concord Sonata, mvmt III (The Alcotts) pp. 53-60 / Gann, Essays After a Sonata, ch. 9
Week 9: Transcendentalism and its Discontents

Frederick Douglass, Margaret Fuller, Theodore Parker, Walt Whitman, Thoreau and John Brown

Tick, Charles Ives and Gender Ideology Download Tick, Charles Ives and Gender Ideology

Class session 2/28/23

Class session 3/2/23

Week 10: Student Presentations

Course Summary:

Date Details Due
Public Domain This course content is offered under a Public Domain Links to an external site. license. Content in this course can be considered under this license unless otherwise noted.