Paper 1: Assignment, Sound Files, and Texts
Paper, Presentations, Exams and Projects
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Paper 1
Paper 1: up to 5 pages. Outline due Friday, September 30; first draft due Friday, October 7; final version due Tuesday, 10/18. Texts and translations will be distributed in class.
Topic 1: Discuss aspects of persona and mode of address in the first and last songs of Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (on Blackboard and on reserve, M 1621.4 S4 Op42 Bz11 CD). Look at poetry and music both, separately and together.
Topic 2: Trace the use of poetic imagery (image, symbol, metaphor, simile) in Schubert’s song Ganymed (on Blackboard and M1620.S3 S2 FD17 on reserve). Then discuss ways in which the composer translates those poetic modes of communication into music.
Topic 3: Create a model (or personalize an existing one) for song analysis which assigns value to song’s components: text (language, words) and music. Then apply your model to one of the following songs: Schumann, Waldesgespräch (in Liederkreis, op. 39, on Blackboard and on reserve, M1621.4 .S4 op.48 FD52 CD), Ich grolle nicht (#7 in Dichterliebe, op. 48, on Blackboard and on reserve, M1621.4 .S4 op.48 FD52 CD), or Schubert’s Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt (on Blackboard and on reserve, M1620.S3 J3 BK83 LP).
GUIDELINES:
1. What's your point?
2. What's your plan to support your point?
3. USE SOURCES. Cite sources without extensive quotes; integrate quotes smoothly into your text. If you use a bibliography, you can embed your quote attributions in the text thus:
“The nineteenth century art song has been defined as ‘a combination of poetry and music, a miniature Gesamtkunstwerk, a composite musical form’” (Agawu 1992, 4).
More extensive notes can be embedded as normal foot- or endnotes, using a superscript number. Do not use the same number twice!
See Hallmark’s book, German Lieder, for a model of these techniques.
4. Be very specific about your song's text and music. Number the lines of text for easy reference.
5. Assume that your classmates are your audience -- write primarily for them (i.e., yourself). Inform, convince, even entertain, if appropriate. However, I am also your audience -- write for me as well. Pay attention to clarity of thought, grammar, the mechanics of writing, correct attribution of sources.
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Notes on Agawu's article on song analysis
-Documents
-These are my notes based on my reading of Kofi Agawu's article, "Theory and Practice in the Analysis of the 19th century Lied," Music Analysis 1992, vol. 11 no. 1. This journal is available in the Periodicals section of the College Library if you want to look at the article itself.