THMUS E527 — Introduction to Text-Music Relations in German and English Art Song

3 credits
Spring
Loretta Terrigno

Prerequisite: THMUS 511 or THMUS H511 . This course is an introduction to analyzing songs by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms as well as selected art songs in English by Joseph Haydn, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, and Charles Ives. Using these examples of German and English art song ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries, we will explore the development of art songs as a genre while also discussing different methods for understanding the relationship between words and music. We will analyze single pieces, including Schubert’s songs Wanderers Nachtlied (D. 768) and Dass sie hier gewesen (D. 775), as well as selected examples from Schumann’s song collections Opp. 24 and 25, Brahms’s Magelone Romances, Op. 33, Canzonettas by Haydn, and the Songs of Travel by Vaughan Williams, among other pieces. Students will acquire basic skills in scanning and analyzing poetry and working with translations, as well as developing a basic understanding of harmony and text setting in these pieces. No prior experience with the German language is necessary.