Music

Rethinking Classical Music

Module code: W3041
Level 5
15 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Portfolio

This module invites you to re-think the history of Western art music (so-called “classical” music) using traditional and non-traditional methods.

You will:

• engage with a historically informed, critical examination of the concept of classical music
• consider its ideological presuppositions (for example, capitalism, colonialism, and feminist approaches)
• creatively re-write, re-arrange, reinterpret or respond to key works from the Western art music canon.

In recent years, we’ve worked with compositions by Beethoven and Debussy.

Module learning outcomes

• Apply an understanding of musical concepts through practical analysis or compositional exercises
• Confidently demonstrate knowledge of a range of approaches to musical analysis and composition methods
• Demonstrate a knowledge of the distinctive qualities, components and aesthetics of music in relation to specific repertoires
• Demonstrate an understanding of current debates in musicology pertaining to historic Western art music