GRMUS H660 — Music, Performing, and the Public

This course surveys the complex intersections between compositions, performing musicians, and public audiences from a broad historical perspective that runs from roughly the 15th to the 19th century. Topics discussed will include performative cultures of the medieval and Renaissance periods, the role of music notation and commercial printing in disseminating music, European music in the early Americas, the rise of public opera and concert cultures, and the changing status of the musical work throughout these developments. Alongside these broader topics, the seminar will also include discussion of repertoires that have been shaped by this dynamic. The course will be primarily discussion based: students will read and discuss recent scholarship on these topics, and situate their own performative experiences within the historical developments studied.