MUTH 316 - Tonality in Early Music

FC CNDP DDHU

4 credits
In this course, we will investigate tonal structure in 16th- and 17th-century music, studying such diverse repertoire as the frottola, metrical psalmody, Baroque guitar tablature, Monteverdi’s madrigals, and J.S. Bach’s chorales. Using the Selch Collection’s extensive holdings of 16th- and 17th-century music and music theory books, we will gain familiarity with Renaissance-era notation and sources, and we will explore the benefits and limitations of using Renaissance music theory to analyze Renaissance music. By studying large groups of related pieces–corpora–we will explore the compositional decisions and listening strategies that govern so-called “pre-tonal” repertoires.

Prerequisites: two courses in MUTH 250-299.