Reading European Art Song, from Beethoven to Beethoven - MUS00218I

«Back to module search

Module summary

This module explores song in European Classical Music, through the detailed examination of a cross-section of repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries.  Through analytical readings of selected pieces, we trace the many ways in which composers have responded to words and set them to music in song.

Related modules

Students taking this module need to be competent with extracting information from a written score; they also need to have a grounding in the harmonic language of western art music within the 19th and 20th centuries.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2025-26

Module aims

'Song,' wrote George Steiner, 'leads us home to where we have not yet been'.  The song repertoire Steiner was writing about here forms a backbone of European Classical Music in the 19th and 20th centuries.  In this module we are going to travel from Beethoven to 'Beethoven', from An die ferne Geliebte (1816), often described as the first song cycle, through to Gerald Barry’s Beethoven (2008) which sets Beethoven’s letter to the 'Immortal Beloved'. In between we are going to stop off at some very familiar staging posts, such as Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Berg, Britten and Strauss.  We will look outside this traditional canon to other, less-familiar composers, and we will consider some of the ways in which we can analyse this music, and the different words-music relationships in play. Students will be expected to give a presentation on repertoire of their choice - which might include material they can themselves perform - and develop their own close readings of selected songs within their assessment. The approach will be music-analytical in nature, with a focus on thinking about individual works and the techniques that the composer has used to give rise to specific musical, and expressive, effects.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the taught part of the project all students should be able to:

• Understand the broader historical sweep of European classical music from the 19th and 20th centuries and how that is made manifest within the song repertoire;
• Identify and discuss musical features which form key parts of the repertoire covered in this module;
• Recognise a number of analytical strategies which allow discussion of the music in appropriate and meaningful ways;
• Develop and communicate individual readings of music, paying close attention to the relationship between words and music. 

 ¿¿¿¿¿¿On completion of the module, in their independent work, students should demonstrate learning outcomes B1-6, B7, and B9. https://www.york.ac.uk/arts-creative-technologies/information-for-staff-and-students/music-learning-outcomes/

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark	Group
Essay/coursework	100.0	A
Essay/coursework	100.0	B

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

Either of:

1. An essay of approximately 3000 words, which explores in detail examples of the European classical song repertoire from the period discussed in the module (scope and approach of essay to be agreed in tutorial) (100%);
2. A video podcast of approximately 20-25 minutes in length, which explores and presents examples of the European classical song repertoire from the period discussed in the module (scope and approach of podcast to be agreed in tutorial) (100%).

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark	Group
Essay/coursework	100.0	A
Essay/coursework	100.0	B

Module feedback

Report form with marks to student within University designated turnaround time.

Indicative reading

Reading list TBC.