PRESENTATIONS

Groups and dates:
11/7: Dvorak (9am) and Chopin (11am)
11/8: Barber (9am)
11/14: Rimsky-Korsakov (9am) and Liszt (11am)
11/15: Bruckner (9am) and Mendelssohn (11am)
11/20: Schubert (9am) and Schumann (11am)
11/21: Sibelius (9am) and Grieg (11am)
11/22: Debussy (9am) and Dvorak (11am)
11/27: Mendelssohn (9am) and Wagner (11am)
11/28: Chopin (9am)
11/29: Berlioz (9am)


JOURNALS #8-10 DUE MONDAY 11/27

I decided to lump these last journals together. It is a listening journal, like #5.

Journal 8= choose 5 different pieces from the Baroque period and write down these things as you listen:
1. Title/composer
2. Ensemble name (for ex. Seattle Symphony or Dale Warland Singers...) and conductor name (very important--every conductor in the world has a different style and different interpretation. As future lovers of music--I hope--you should have a good idea of which conductors you prefer).
3. Instruments you hear
4. Notes on melody, harmony, rhythm, form, etc.
5. Keywords, feelings, ideas, stories
6. Likes and dislikes

Journal 9=choose 5 different pieces from the Classical period and go through the same process as the one above (refer to your book for suggestions for composers. Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven are considered Classical composers, although Beethoven kind of stradles the Classical and Romantic periods).

Journal 10= choose 5 different pieces from the Romantic period and go through the same process.

For each era you may choose one composer. So, for the Baroque period, if you really like J.S. Bach you could pick 5 different pieces of his and write about them. Or, you may choose different composers. Another twist on this might be choosing the same piece, like a symphony, and finding 5 different conductors who have recorded the same piece and compare interpretations.

You should listen to 15 pieces total.
You should use your deep or active listening skills.
Make it a fun/pleasurable experience. Get yourself a latte or a cup of tea and a comfortable chair and dim the lights and really listen. Think of this as a form of therapy. I don't want you to rush through it or abhor it while you're doing it because it's for a class. You all chose to take music in the humanities (not art or theatre) and for the last few weeks I want your experience to be as enjoyable as possible.
This can probably be done in one sitting (one hour) if you spend 4 minutes of deep listening on each piece. You can spend more time on this, but please don't listen to less than 4 minutes of music for each piece.

These journals, 8-10, are all due on Monday, Nov. 27.

If you have any questions, please ask.

The music you choose may be on your discs that came with the book, or you may choose different pieces from the library's selection, or you may download songs from iTunes. If you don't want to drag a bunch of CDs home, the library has listening stations in the lower level, with headphones available for check-out (they also have cassette players and record players).

I really wanted to do this listening journal because I feel we haven't done enough (there is so much music!). But the last thing I want you to feel is hatred/bordom/apathy for this assignment. If you're not into this idea, I'm open to suggestions. If you'd rather write about the history of these periods (like the last few journals) I'm open to that. Or, if you have another creative idea, run it by me and we can work it out. Either way, it must be something comparable, and it will be worth 30 points total.

Happy day!