New Collegiate Courses

An in-depth study of the cultural, political, theological, and practical matters surrounding sacred music in the Classical Era, particularly related to the works of Joseph Haydn. Repertoire studied will be taken from Haydn’s masses, other sacred works, and the three oratorios, as well as sacred works by other contemporary composers. Topics of inquiry will include performance practices and conducting decisions, organ instruments and continuo techniques, conflicting theological and social ideas of Baroque and Enlightenment Catholicism, reforms associated with Josephinist Vienna and regional civic/religious structures, and the dramatizing of theological principles in sacred music using Classical compositional conventions. Students participate in class discussions of the works and topics and develop research projects regarding the intersection of scholarship and performance, resulting in a formal presentation and paper, with the possibility of including a performance activity in the project.

New online format! The second semester of an accelerated course designed for graduate students who are found to be deficient on the entrance theory placement examination. With a focus on late 18th- and early 19th-century chromatic procedures, the course integrates conceptual and aural components of music theory, including writing, analysis, listening, singing, keyboard, and model improvisation.