OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this project is to allow you to investigate on your own some topic in the early history of Baroque Music in the era from about 1580 to 1700. Note especially that this project is not a piece of “original” research; rather, it is more of a "response" paper that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of how the ideas of one particular author relate to the information that you have acquired in this semester.
GENERAL METHOD: In broad outline, you will:
LIMITS: Your topic must deal with some aspect of Baroque music up to about the year 1700 (or not very much later). It may be concerned with any reasonable subject such as a single work or composer, a related group of pieces by various composers; individual performers (or groups), performance practice, social and cultural issues, or any other issue or topic that can be dealt with in a paper of the prescribed length. You may not choose any composer or topic that would relate more properly to another era.
APPROVAL OF THE TOPIC ARTICLE: You may choose your topic from the list of articles given below, or you may propose to read an article of your own choice. In general, the article should be relatively recent (within the past 2 decades). All choices, whether from the list below or of your own suggestion, must be approved by me (via email communication).
READING THE ARTICLE: Once your topic has been approved, you should begin read the article once to determine its general contents and limits. With that information in mind, you should review your textbook and any outside sources for additional basic information on the topic. At that point you should re-read your chosen article to determine how well it conforms with the general information you have acquired in this course. NB. You are allowed and encouraged to use sources beyond your textbooks to verify or challenge the article that you read.
WRITING THE PAPER: Your paper should both summarize and critique the article, noting both (a) what the author says that is new or important about the topic and (b) how that information relates to what you known or have learned in the course of this semester. In particular, does the article confirm, expand, or even contradict your knowledge of Baroque music?
THE FINAL DOCUMENT: (1) This paper must appear like a typed or computer-printed document on 8-½” x 11” white paper, with 1” margins on all sides, except for the first page of text, which has a 2” top margin. (2) Use a 12-point typeface, type in double-space, and indent all paragraphs. (3) The absolute minimum length of the body of the paper, i.e., not including the title page, bibliography and notes (either as footnotes or end notes), is 1,250 words (about 5-6 pages). You may write more with no concern for penalties. (“Word Count” under “Tools” in most word-processor programs gives this information, if you are not certain of the length of your paper.) (4) You must footnote all direct citations, paraphrases and other appropriations of ideas from your sources. (5) Append a final bibliography of the items actually used after the last page of text, and give the whole document a title page that includes your name, title of your paper/topic, my name, course number & title, and date.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: You must run your document through the "spell-checker" within your word-processor before submitting the paper to me. Failure to do so--as evidenced by any obvious spelling errors of common words--will result in penalties against the "writing" portion of the grade.
The final paper is due electronically as an attachment an email sent to me by 5:00 pm on Friday, 16 March 2012. The final paper itself counts for 10% of the course grade, with the value split equally between writing and content.
John Bass, "Would Caccini approve? : A Closer look at Egerton 2971 and florid monody," Early Music 36, no. 1 (2008): 81-93.
John Byrt, "Some new interpretations of the notes inégales evidence," Early Music 28, no. 1 (2000): 98-112
David Dolata, "Visual and Poetic allegory in Bellerofonte Castaldi's extraordinary Capricci a due stromenti," Early Music 33, no. 3 (2005): 371-391.
Bruno Forment, "An enigmatic souvenir of Venetian opera: Alessandro Piazza's Teatro (1702)," Early Music 38, no. 3 (2010): 387-402.
Thérèse de Goede, "From dissonance to note-cluster: the application of musical-rhetorical figures and dissonances to thoroughbass accompaniment of early 17th-century Italian vocal solo music," Early Music 33, no. 2 (2005): 233-250.
Florian Bassani Grampp, "On a Roman polychoral performance in August 1685," Early Music 36, No. 3 (2008): 415-433.
Monica Hall, "The chitarra atiorbata and the guittare theorbé, a reappraisal" Early Music 39, No. 1 (2011): 25-43.
David Hunter, "Handel's students, two lovers, and a shipwreck" Early Music 39, No. 2 (2011): 157-164.
Virginia Christy Lamothe, "Dancing at a wedding: some thoughts on performance issues in Monteverdi's 'Lasciate i monti' (Orfeo, 1607)," Early Music 36, no. 4 (2008): 533-545. (Ladd, Spr 2012)
Peter Leech, "Musicians in the Catholic chapel of Catherine of Braganza, 1662-92," Early Music 29, no. 4 (2001): 570-588 (Dukes, Spr 2012)
Frans and Julie Muller, "Completing the picture : the importance of reconstructing early opera," Early Music 33, no. 4 (2005): 667-681.
Andrew Pinnock and Bruce Wood, "A mangled chime: the accidental death of the opera libretto in Civil War England," Early Music 36, no.2 (2008): 265-284.
Anthony Rowland-Jones, "Lully's use of recorder symbolism," Early Music 37, no. 2 (2009): 217-250. (Colwell, Spr 2012)
Alon Schab, "Distress'd sources? A critical consideration of the authority of Purcell's Ayres for the Theatre," Early Music 37, no. 4 (2009): 633-646.
Shirley Thompson, "Marc-Antoine Charpentier and the viol," Early Music 32, no. 4 (2004): 497-510.
Geoffrey Webber, "Buxtehude's Praeludia and the sonata publications of Corelli," Early Music 38, no. 2 (2010): 249-262.