Impressionism - Music and Aesthetics

The course takes a selection of works by Debussy and Ravel as its point of departure. These works will be analysed from a purely musical analytical perspective, as well as from an aesthetical perspective. The aesthetical perspectives are to a large extent based upon thoughts on creativity and the arts, from Debussy and Ravel's own time.

Knowledge:

An examinee with a completed qualification in MUSV3112

• has in-depth knowledge of the music of Debussy and Ravel
• has in-depth knowledge of style and structural traits in impressionistic music
• has in-depth knowledge of the concepts of impressionism and symbolism in general
• has in-depth insight in the concepts of impressionism and symbolism as applied to music in particular
• has in-depth insight in the poetics of Stephane Mallarmé
• has general knowledge of the philosophy of Henri Bergson

Skills:

An examinee with a completed qualification in MUSV3112

• can express his/her deepened knowledge in a convincing way, both in writing and speech
• can individually find and musically analyse the style and structural characteristics of impressionistic music, and give an aesthetical interpretation of the same characteristics
• can individually find and assess relevant research based knowledge to illuminate a problem within the subject
• can, based on his/her deepened knowledge, discuss academic texts in a diversified way, enter a dialogue with the texts of others and carry out his/her own reasoning, both in writing and speech.

A course-reading syllabus and a syllabus of musical texts will be distributed within lectures and seminars, and studied individually.

The text for the home examination should have a length of about 10 pages.