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The
composition classes are divided into two sections: an individual lesson of
1 hour every two days and a seminar in English every other day.
The content of the one-to-one lessons will vary according to the student's
level and will be aimed at creating a new composition during the course, to
be performed at the final concert (performers and time permitting).
Diverse
composition techniques will be studied according to the student's aesthetic
preferences from traditional tonal harmony to more elaborate musical
expression.
Students
will learn about musical scripting software, particularly using Sibelius
notation software.
The seminars will study in some detail the most significant influences on
contemporary music including
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Nationalism
The
development by 19th-century composers of a musical style that would express
the characteristics of their own country. They did this by including tunes
from their nation’s folk music, and taking scenes from their
country’s history, legends, and folk tales, as a basis for their
compositions. Nationalism was encouraged by governments in the early
20th century for propaganda purposes in times of war and political tension.
Composers of nationalist music
include Jean Sibelius, Edvard Grieg, Antonin Dvorak Carl Nielsen, Zoltán Kodály, Aaron Copland, Edward Elgar, Dmitri
Shostakovich, and Stephen Foster.
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Neo-classicism,
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As
its name implies, Neo-Classicism was a kind of "new
classicism". It combined musical elements from the Classical Period with the newer trends that
were emerging early in the twentieth century. These classical elements
included tonal centers, clarity of form, and melodic shape. To these (and
many other) classical elements, neo-classicists added such modern
flavourings such as quirky rhythms, spiky dissonances, and large amounts
of chromatics.
The
neoclassical movement was fairly widespread, with many composers from all
over Europe (and the U.S.) contributing to the sub-genre. Some of the
more recognized neoclassical composers are Igor Stravinsky, Paul
Hindemith, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, and Aaron Copland, to
name only a few. The motivation for the neoclassicism was simple: the
heavy musical experimentation of the early part of the century left some
composers wanting to "reconnect" with musical tradition. They
did this, but at the same time held on to musical aspects that they had
been developing during the Modern Period. The aim was not to revive old
musical idioms but to simply acknowledge tradition.
While
neoclassicism was a reaction against the chaotic musical period from 1910
to 1920, so too was Arnold Schoenberg's new twelve-tone method. Both
tried to bring control over the previously wild music of the 20th
century. The difference is that the twelve-tone method did this by
creating an entirely new musical language, while neoclassicism did it by
revisiting tried-and-true musical heritage.
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Impressionism,
A
French movement in the late 19th and early 20th cent. It was begun by
Debussy in reaction to the dramatic and dynamic emotionalism of romantic
music, especially that of Wagner. Reflecting the impressionist schools of
French painting and letters, Debussy developed a style in which
atmosphere and mood take the place of strong emotion or of the story in
program music. He used new chord combinations, whole-tone chords,
chromatics, and exotic rhythms and scales. In place of the usual harmonic
progression, he developed a style in which chords are valued for their
individual sonorities rather than for their relations to one another, and
dissonances are unprepared and unresolved. Although conceived in reaction
to romanticism, musical impressionism seems today the culmination of
romanticism. Its influence was widespread and is evident in the music of
Ravel, Dukas, Respighi, Albéniz, de Falla, Delius, C. T. Griffes, and J.
A. Carpenter.
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Twelve-tone technique
or dodecaphony.
Twelve-tone technique is a system of musical composition
devised by Arnold Schoenberg. Music using the technique is called twelve-tone
music. Josef Matthias Hauer also developed a similar system using unordered
hexachords, or tropes, at the exact
same time and country but with no connection to Schoenberg.
Schoenberg himself described the system as a
"method of composing with 12 notes which are related only to one
another". Schoenberg invented the
twelve-tone techniques, which is a method of composition based on a fixed
order of the twelve chromatic tones (Benward, 303). It is a system in which
the twelve pitch classes are placed in a specific order, forming a set that
then become a compositional tool (Sadie, 286). It was developed around 1920
as a means of providing a coherent basis for complete chromatic music.
The basic difficulty in
composing in atonal idiom is intelligent control of melodic and harmonic
forces. "There are ways of harnessing these forces by contrapuntal and
harmonic means that are similar to those used in the early development of
Western polyphony" (Marquis, 185). However, these ways are much more
complex than the tradition Western polyphony. Therefore, Schoenberg
invented the matrix system to help composing.
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Jazz
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Minimalism.
In music, the
minimalist movement was, like minimal art, a reaction against a
then-current form, with composers rejecting many of the dry intellectual
complexities and the emotional sterility of serial music
and other modern forms. Generally, minimalist compositions tend to
emphasize simplicity in melodic line and harmonic progression, to stress
repetition and rhythmic patterns, and to reduce historical or expressive
reference. The use of electronic instruments is common in minimalist music,
as are influences from Asia and Africa. Among prominent minimalist
composers are Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, La Monte Young, and
John Adams.
Musical analysis and listening will also be an important aspect of the
course, stimulating debates and encouraging students towards their own
creativity.
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