E85.2074: Music of the Romantic Era

© Copyright 1999 John V. Gilbert All Rights Reserved
IntroductionCourse DescriptionCourse Objectives
Your Internet AccountClass E-MailUsing the WWW

Introduction

This is a graduate course intended for musicians who are interested in exploring and learning about music of the 19th Century which has been described as music of the Romantic Era. The course will focus on the music composed and performed from roughly 1800 to1900. Any dates attempting to circumscribe an era are somewhat arbitrary, and thus the dates proposed here are simply for convenience and are not meant to limit inquiry into the antecedents of musical style in the 19th century nor prevent examination of the continuing strains of romanticism into the 20th Century.

Because this is a graduate course, you are expected to do more than simply attend class, tend to assignments, complete a project and final examination. You are expected to engage the material at a deep level, to become "expert" in some aspect of the music and period that is the focus for this course. Your initiative and involvement will be the strongest catalyst for your own development and learning.

Course Description

This course examines the music literature of the Romantic Era (1800-1900) and the composers and the cultural and political forces that played a role in the creation of the musical works of that era. Students will examine musical genre in order to develop an understanding of the musical style of 19th Century music, and will explore these stylistic concepts through listening, score study, and investigating published sources.

In order to benefit the most from this course material, you must follow all of the hypertext links on the website. Many materials links will be developed during the semester, so it is vital that you provide ample time in your schedule to explore the website and conduct your own research in print and digital materials..

Course Objectives

  1. Students will develop an understanding of the historical context of the Romantic Era.

  2. Students will be able to discuss the musical genres and musical style of the Romantic Era.

  3. Students will be able to identify and recognize important masterworks of the Romantic Era, their composers, and their stylistic idioms.

  4. Students will be able to write an abstract of an individually selected resource (book, dissertation, series of articles) which addresses some aspect of Romanticism in Music in the time period of the Romantic era, which has been roughly delineated as 1800 to 1900.

  5. Students will learn to use the World Wide Web as a resource for learning, discussion, and research.

Establishing Your Internet Account

It is important for you to secure an NYU Internet Account. This account provides e-mail, World Wide Web and other internet services. It also gives you a personal webpage which you can develop. You should secure the NYU account even if you have another e-mail service such as AOL, Prodigy, etc. Both e-mail addresses (NYU and outside service) can be used to receive e-mail asignments, but you must have the NYU account in order to access the 2nd Floor ACF Lab in the Education Building. You can get the application for the account from Warren Weaver Hall, 2nd Floor or from any Computer Lab on Campus. It generally takes about 48 hours for the account to be established.

Using E-mail for Class

The moment you have your NYU account, send me (john.gilbert@nyu.edu) an e-mail from that account. If you have an outside service, also send me an e-mail from that service if you wish for it to be included in the general class mailings. However, you must have an NYU Internet Account to access the second floor ACF Lab and to use the website from the lab.

We will be using e-mail as a means of communication, and I will be expecting questions and responses in the form of e-mail to me. You can also use e-mail to report problems that you may find in the studio.

E-mail afford the opportunity for us to establish a dialogue on a more personal basis than is possible in class. You can clarify things that may not be clear, and we can use the time to discuss concepts and ideas related to the course. You can also use it as a means of letting me know if you have to miss class. The advantage of e-mail is that you can communicate more detail and the asynchronous nature of the medium does not require that we connect in the same time and space in order to exchange ideas and communicate.

Using the World Wide Web for Class

The major source for information will be classroom presentations and the website. A special account will be opened to give you access to the 2nd floor computer lab in the education building. Although some materials can be accessed efficiently from your home computer, many of the materials for the course are designed for T1 line connections which load large files more quickly than modem connections.

You will need to spend some time in the lab accessing materials from the website.

One assignment will deal with your selecting a published source such as a book or dissertion, reading the book and writing an abstract to be posted on the website.

You will also find a section on the web that encourages your discussion of topics. Your discussion will be entered directly on the website as part of weekly assignments.

Send Questions and Comments to john.gilbert@nyu.edu