MUSIC 120 SPRING 2008 SYLLABUS:
Lecture Topics, Reading & Listening Assignments Schedule*
In terms of the listening assignments, the following schedule lists only the focus piece or pieces (in bold face) for any given
week. Consult the “MUSIC 120: LISTENING ASSIGNMENTS” handout for the complete list of each week’s listening
assignments as well as for the respective CD track numbers and online resources.
Week 1: (3/31–4/4) – Introductions and Overview: Elements of Musical Style: Music of the Baroque I
Focus Piece: Monteverdi’s “Tu se morta”
Reading: All course handouts; Read Kamien: Part I, “Elements,” pp. 4–57; Part II, “The Middle Ages
and Renaissance,” pp. 67–69, 80–82; Part III, “The Baroque Period,” pp. 96–103, 110–111, and 116–
119.
FROM ONLINE RESERVES: Read plot synopsis and libretto from Monteverdi’s opera, L’Orfeo
Explore the Music 120 Course Website: http://students.washington.edu/whitney8/music120sp08
Get acquainted with the “Glossary and Example Locater,” pp. G1–G25, found in the back of the
Kamien (Music: An Appreciation) textbook. In addition, explore the multimedia website for Kamien,
Music: An Appreciation, 6th ed. (see “MUSIC 120: LISTENING ASSIGNMENTS” handout, Week 1,
for directions to the Kamien website).
Week 2: (4/7–1/11) – Music of the Baroque II
Focus Pieces: Purcell’s “Dido’s Lament,” and Vivaldi’s La Primavera (three movements)
Reading: Kamien, pp. 119–129
Week 3: (4/14–4/18) – Music of the Baroque III
Focus Pieces: Bach’s Cantata 140, “Sleepers Awake” from Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, a
Voice is calling Us); and from Handel’s Messiah, “Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted” and “Hallelujah
Chorus”
Reading: 103–110, 130–147
Week 4: (4/21–4/25) – Classical Era I
MONDAY APRIL 21, 1st MIDTERM EXAM
Focus Piece: Mozart’s Symphony No. 40
Reading: 148–153 (Ch. IV opener), 154–192
Week 5: (4/28–5/2) – The Classical Era II
Focus Piece: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5
Reading: 193–205
Week 6: (5/5–5/9) – The Romantic Era I
Focus Pieces: Schubert’s “Erlkönig”; and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Fourth Movement
(“March to the Scaffold”)
Reading: 206–212 (Ch. V opener), 213-252
Week 7: (5/12–5/16) – The Romantic Era II
Focus Pieces: Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), First Movement; Verdi’s “La donna
è mobile,” and Wagner’s Prelude (Vorspiel) to Tristan und Isolde
Reading: 252–285
Week 8: (5/19–5/23) – The Modern Era I
MONDAY MAY 9, 2nd MIDTERM EXAM
Focus Pieces: Debussy’s Prélude é L’Après midi d’un Faune (Prelude to ‘The Afternoon of a Faun’);
selections from Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Reading: 286–318
Week 9: (5/27–5/30) – The Modern Era II
MONDAY MAY 26—NO CLASS
Focus Pieces: Schoenberg’s “Mondestrunken”; Ives, “The Unanswered Question”
Reading: pp. 318–333, 337–348
Week 10: (6/2–6/6): – American Modernism and Post-1945 Art/Pop
Focus Pieces: Varèse’s Poème électronique (opening segment); Beatles selections—Tomorrow
Never Knows,” “Within You Without You,” and “A Day in the Life,”
Reading: 349–363, 398–401 (“The Beatles”), and 412–416 (East Indian classical music, “Shankar”)
FINAL EXAM** WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 8:30–10:20 AM, TO BE HELD IN OUR REGULAR
MEETING PLACE (RM. 126, BRECHEMIN AUDITORIUM IN THE MUSIC BLDG.)
* Additional readings and listening material may be assigned.
** NOTE: NO makeup exams will be scheduled—so, be sure to SHOW UP FOR THE EXAMS as
SCHEDULED and on TIME!
FINALLY: INFORM YOUR PARENTS OR OTHER CONCERNED PARTIES THAT THE LAST
DAY OF CLASS NEITHER MARKS THE END OF THE QUARTER NOR THE END OF YOUR
FALL QUARTER ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITIES. TRANSLATION: Tell them to book your flight
home—or to any flight to Hawaii or Fort Lauderdale—for some date AFTER THE FINAL EXAM TAKES
PLACE ON JUNE 11.
NO “EARLY” EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN (i.e., before JUNE 11) AND NO MAKE-UPS
WILL BE SCHEDULED