printer friendly pageMUSIC 30N: A Stranger in a Strange Land: Jewish Musics in Translation
What does it mean to be a stranger in a strange land? For centuries Jewish people have struggled to shape their identities in unfamiliar surroundings, using music to remember the past and generate new, hybrid identities. In this class we adopt the metaphor of translation to think about how minority Jewish communities bridge distinct languages, musical idioms, and cultural practices. Our theme will take us on a journey across time and space¿from Italy to India, New York, Syria, Russia, and Israel. We consider the case of Salamone Rossi, a 17th-century Italian Jewish composer who moved uneasily between dual careers in the synagogue and a secular/Christian court. We also explore a group of Indian Jews (Bene Israel) who combine idioms learned from Jewish and Christian missionaries with local Hindu musical traditions. In all our examples musicians translate languages, musical styles, and cultures to unite memories of a Jewish past with the realities of minority status in the present. The class format includes listening, discussion, some singing, student presentations, and guest lectures.
Last offered: Winter 2013
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
MUSIC 32N: Sculpting with Sounds, Images, and Words
Throughout history and from East to West, cultures abound in multimedia forms. Whether in Coldplay's Music Video or Fantasia, Pepsi TV adds or Wagner's opera, Miyazaki anime or traditional Noh Theater of Japan, the three modes of expression (sounds, images, and word) are interwoven in distinctive ways. What are their individual and combined powers? How can one harness them in an online context? Can Web be a stage for multimedia theater? What is unique about the poetry of intermodal metaphor? The course will be an opportunity to face these questions in creative web-based projects as well as through in-class viewing of multimedia works, analysis and debates, readings, and student presentations. The seminar will be taught at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics where students will have access to new media technologies. Prior experience in music, literature, art practice or computer programming is welcome but not required.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-CE
MUSIC 33N: Beethoven
This seminar is designed as an in-depth introduction to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. In addition to exploring the composer's principal works in a variety of genres (symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets, opera, etc.), we will consider broader questions of biography and reception history. How have images of the composer and the fortunes of his music changed over time? How did his compositions come to define the paradigm of Western classical music? What impact has he had on popular culture? The class is open to all levels of musical expertise; the ability to read music is not a requirement. Come prepared to discover -- or rediscover -- some great music!
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
MUSIC 34N: Performing America: The Broadway Musical
Musical theater as a site for the construction of American identity in the twentieth century to the present. Issues of class, race, gender, and sexuality; intersections with jazz, rock, and pop; roles of lyricist, composer, director, choreographer, producer, performers. Individual shows (Showboat, Oklahoma, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Wicked, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Book of Mormon), show tunes in jazz performance, film musicals, and television. Opportunities for performance and attendance at local productions.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE, GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Grey, T. (PI)
MUSIC 36H: Dangerous Ideas (ARTHIST 36, EALC 36, ENGLISH 71, HISTORY 3D, PHIL 36)
Ideas matter. Concepts such as equality, progress, and tradition have inspired social movements, shaped political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Others, like freedom of the press, fact versus fiction, and citizenship play an important role in contemporary debates in the United States. All of these ideas are contested, and they have a real power to change lives, for better and for worse. In this one-unit class we will examine these dangerous ideas. Each week, a faculty member from a different department in the humanities and arts will explore a concept that has shaped human experience across time and space. Some weeks will have short reading assignments, but you are not required to purchase any materials.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 1
Instructors:
Satz, D. (PI)
MUSIC 36N: Humor in Music
Through theoretical readings the course will touch on psychological and neurological bases of humor, explore contingent, tactical, modal, and ontological difficulties in the apprehension of humor, and address ethical issues surrounding humor in music. In addition to in-class listening and screening sessions, analytic discussions will be led by students who will find and present examples of humor in music. Students will also be invited to compose original humorous song lyrics and to create collaborative works of musical humor.
Last offered: Autumn 2012
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
MUSIC 37N: Ki ho'alu: The New Renaissance of a Hawaiian Musical Tradition
Preference to freshman. Developed in the Hawaiian Islands during the 1830s,
ki ho'alu, or Hawaiian slack key guitar, is an art form experiencing newfound popularity coinciding with the growth of political activism in Hawaiian culture. The musical, cultural, historical, and political perspectives of Hawaiian music and
ki ho'alu, through hands-on experience, readings, discussion, and workshops. Hawaiian music and history and relationships among performance, cultural expression, community, and identity.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-AmerCul, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
Instructors:
Sano, S. (PI)
MUSIC 38N: Singing Early Music
Preference to freshmen. 15th- and 16th-century musical repertories and their contexts; performance practice.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-CE
MUSIC 39A: Music, Health, and Medicine
Explore how music relates to health and medicine surveying recent medical literature. Review different techniques in music therapy, music-related health problems, and issues related to educational and medical applications. Course materials are chosen to clearly identify music as a component of health related activity or occupation, to describe responses to music in our mind and body, and to think about the roles of music in our health. The seminars also discuss related basics in psychology and neurology. Students learn how to do literature search and write essays about relevant topics.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
MUSIC 39N: The Classical String Quartet: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven & Schubert
This seminar, an in-depth historical survey of canonic works from the string quartet repertory, is intended for performers and non-performers alike. Topics to be explored include the origins of the genre in the pre-classical period; the establishment of enduring conventions in the early quartets of Haydn; aesthetic criteria that distinguish the approaches of Haydn and Mozart; the epoch-defining shifts in musical composition that are reflected in Beethoven¿s works for the medium; the tension between classicism and romanticism in the chamber music of Schubert; and issues of historical performance practice. Field trips will include a visit to the Beethoven Center in San Jose and attending chamber music concerts on campus. The St. Lawrence String Quartet (Stanford¿s ensemble-in-residence) will be joining the seminar on a regular basis to provide live demonstrations and coaching. Students who are string players are strongly encouraged to bring their instruments to class. Class activities will cover history, criticism, analysis, and performance (usually in combination). Informed listening is a primary goal of the seminar. Assignments will be tailored to student interests and abilities.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
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