MHMUS 414 — J.S. Bach: Major Vocal Works

3 credits
Fall
Jonathan Yaeger

Prerequisite: MHMUS 311 . This course is a close study J.S. Bach’s two Passion settings and the Mass in B-Minor. Students will spend four to five weeks carefully scrutinizing each piece in consideration of sources and the challenges they pose, liturgical and theological context, and harmonic and textual analysis. The class will reflect on Bach’s performance practice as well as that of the student and investigate each piece’s reception history and present place in culture and repertoire. While there will be no midterm or final exam, students will write three succinct, focused papers, each no more than one thousand words, on topics of the instructor’s choosing.