Week 2 Seminar Paper Prompts

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This assignment is intended to jump-start your thinking about music in the context of the Middle Ages (600 – 1450 C.E.). Take any one of the following prompts and consider it carefully as you complete this week’s readings. Your written response is your ticket to the seminar; please bring one page, typed, with your name and date in the upper right corner. You also have the option of engaging a question of your own creation about any of the readings for this week.

* Why is sacred chant so prevalent around the world?

* Why not just read sacred scripture?

* Why use a different style of singing?

* Does chant really add something to the experience of sacred scriptures and prayer?

* Is there something in particular about the interdependence of text and melody?

* How do the two musical styles reflect the tensions between sacred and secular?

* Discuss the pros and cons of medieval power being centered in the Church.

 

Welcome to Music Intensive!

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This year-long program is designed to give music students a set of perspectives and musical practices that have both reflected and expressed the concerns and values of people in particular times and places. We will examine social changes that gave rise to shifts in the arts, focusing in particular on eras, places or phenomena that are of specific artistic interest. In addition to examining Western music forms, we will also explore music in the context of multiple world traditions (classical, popular, and vernacular) and the contexts that gave rise to them in Asia, South America, and Africa.  In fall quarter we will move chronologically from the 11th century through the 18th century, drawing from various musical traditions to illuminate important historical, cultural, and artistic ideas.