Course syllabus

Music 408B
Form and Analysis, 18th century: Music of Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven
University of Illinois School of Music, Fall 2012
MWF, 12:00-12:50 pm
(MW, MB 5047; F, MB 1201)
Instructor: Stephen Taylor, MB 5042
staylor7@illinois.edu


The composer and conductor Pierre Boulez says that form is all of music: everything has a form, from a chord, to a three-note motive, all the way up to opera. So when we study form, we're really studying all music - that is a lot! I often think about form in terms of trees and forests. If a single note or chord is a tree, then the forest is the whole piece. A composer needs to be successful at creating both trees and forests: the moment-to-moment surface of the music has to work (it has to sound good, whatever that means), and the big picture also needs to be compelling - structurally sound. Analogies to architecture are almost unavoidable. To ensure that we understand music at both levels, we'll spend time on basics such as chord ID and orchestral transposition, as well as sentence, period, binary and ternary forms, sonata, rondo, variation, and concerto forms.

Repertoire: We will focus on the big three classical composers: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. (The chronology is weird and interesting: although Haydn is the oldest of the three, he lived long enough that he became one of Beethoven's teachers, living almost 20 years after Mozart's early death.) I've chosen three big pieces: Haydn's The Creation, Mozart's The Magic Flute, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. We'll balance these three masterworks with smaller solo, chamber and orchestral pieces.

Texts: We'll be using the following texts, available at the campus bookstore.

• Haydn, The Creation, vocal score (Novello) ISBN 978-0711984615 ($17.95)
• Mozart, The Magic Flute, vocal score (Dover) ISBN 978-0486413853 ($17.95)
• Beethoven, Complete Piano Sonatas Volume 1 (Dover) ISBN 978-0486231341 ($11.29)
• Beethoven, Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9 in full score (Dover) ISBN 978-0486260358 ($11.53)
• We will also be referencing William Caplin's excellent book Classical Form (Oxford University Press, 1998) ISBN 978-0195143997 ($45.00) You don't need to buy this book; it's pretty heavy reading, but it's fascinating, and I will be using it a lot as we work through the repertoire.

Goals: My goal is for each of you to learn some new repertoire, and also to focus on the repertoire you already know in a new way: besides performing music, I want you to understand how it works. My own goals for myself (in case you're interested) are to finally play through all the Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven piano sonatas - I hope I make it!

Grading: I will ask you to do small assignments, usually at least one per week. Some of these will be graded, and others we will go over together in class. Assignments are due at the beginning of class; I'll have to lower your grade for late assignments. You will also complete the following larger projects:

1. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata: Each non-pianist in the class, sometime before the end of the semester, will play the opening of the Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27 No. 2, bars 1-15. (If you're already a pianist, you can perform part of this or another piece for the class; see below.) I'm making this a requirement because it's one of the best piano pieces ever composed, and it's not too difficult. Also,  musicians need to feel the music in their bodies, not just listen to it. And finally, I think you'll really like it!
2. Beethoven 9 chorus: The Sinfonia da Camera is performing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on November 2 (I think). Our choral director, Prof. Fred Stoltzfus, has graciously allowed to join in the chorus if we're interested; if at all possible I'm going to do it since I've never sung Beethoven 9 before. Rehearsals start September 4; if you're interested, I'm sure we can work out some kind of extra-credit thing (e.g. not having to do an assignment or two).
3. In-class lecture-performances: Besides the Moonlight Sonata, I'm asking each of you to either perform part of a Classical work, speak about a work, or both (these can be arias or other excerpts from the big works on the syllabus). I'm devoting about three weeks of class, spread throughout the semester, for these performances; ideally each of you will do two. We'll set up a schedule together during the first week of class. These will be brief; I'm thinking 15 minutes. Aim for a poised, professional presentation, like you're giving a pre-concert lecture or performance - but say something important and specific about your musical work, not just a glorified program note.
4. Midterm: I'll ask you to analyze a piece of music, probably a sonata-form movement, in class. It might be an orchestral movement, so be sure you know how to read transposing instruments! We'll cover how in class - the most basic thing to remember is this: "If it sees a C, it plays its key." In other words, if a Horn in Eb has a written C in her part, the resulting note will be Eb.
5. Final paper: Instead of a final exam, each person will write an analysis paper, possibly of one of the works you have performed/discussed earlier in the term.
6. Awesome YouTube projects: in lieu of a final paper, you can make what I'm informally calling "awesome YouTube projects" - for instance, a recording of a piece that plays while the visuals clarify the form. You've probably seen YouTube videos of a score that follows along with the recording. What if there were an annotated score, with colors and animation, showing how the form of a movement works? That would be awesome, and more than enough to get an excellent grade in the class. If I have unexpected extra time in the semester I'll try one of these myself, just because it would be so cool.

Miscellaneous: Please no computers, cell phones or food in class (even though it's lunchtime); in 1201 on Fridays, drinks are OK, but we can't have drinks in MB 5047. If you have to miss class, please contact me ahead of time; I may ask for a pass from a dean or an ensemble director's note, depending on circumstances.