This course is designed to expose the general student to the principal forms of traditional Western art music as well as multicultural music genres through the study of music history and literature. (Fall, Spring) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

This course will not use a conventional textbook. Written course materials and links to online audio material will be made available on the course Canvas site.

In this course you will develop an enriched appreciation of music by studying the various repertories of the Western European and American concert tradition—the music you probably know as “classical.” You will learn about historical, social, and artistic contexts of major musical works and develop a vocabulary to communicate cogently about their style, structure, and expressive qualities.

As an SUU general education course, Introduction to Music will develop your capabilities with respect to the following essential learning outcomes:

• knowledge of human cultures (in both the fine arts and humanities)
• inquiry and analysis
• communication

These outcomes will be assessed by examinations with both written and listening components, by attendance at musical performances, and by written responses to the performances attended.

Examinations

Two in class examinations on the topic of Baroque period and Classical period in the last week of September and October which together will comprise 20% of your final grade, will be administered either on Canvas or in class as indicated in the Course Schedule. Each examination will require you to identify excerpts from the works on the recordings by title and composer, and to answer questions about these works and composers as well as other concepts discussed in class and in the textbook. More information on the format of these examinations will be given in class.

Concert Attendance

Over the course of the semester you will attend at least five Music Department concerts or other musical events. (You may also substitute other collegiate- or professional-level performances. On or before the last day of class you will submit via Canvas a list of the performances you attended; this list should include the date of the performance and the name(s) of the ensemble or individual performer(s). Your performance attendance will constitute 15% of your final grade.

Concert Reviews

For three of the performances you attend you will submit a review of approximately 500 words. In each review must include the list of the date, location of the performance and the name(s) of the ensemble or individual performer(s). what the titles of the music numbers. Each review should be a thoughtful response to the performances you attend and should demonstrate at least some mastery of the vocabulary and concepts you are learning in the course. Your reviews may be submitted via Canvas at any point of scheduled dates during the semester, after which no reviews will be accepted. Together, the performances and reviews will comprise 15% of your final grade.

Group Presentation. One Group Presentation as a Tell/Share setting scheduled in the last third week of March. You will be asking to organize your own group with between 5 to 6 students lead by your group leader in the beginning of the semester. As the presenter, each group will choice one or multiple pieces of music about 5 to 10 minutes duration by your own favorite Romantic period music based on the study and your knowledge regards the Romantic period music. Each person in the groups should contribute should demonstrate at least some mastery of the vocabulary and concepts you are learning in the course. Group Presentation will comprise 15% of your final grade.

A Final Group Presentation as a Tell/Share/Showcase will be hold in the last week of classes. You will request to demonstrate/present in live show format front your classmates and instructor of this class. It is a mandatory task for each student and will constitute 30% of your final grade. You may start to build up your group in the earlier time of the semester, gathering your ideas then pick up your music idea for the final group presentation.

Grading Policy

Course Schedule of Spring 2026

Jan. 8 Unit 1 Fundamentals—The Middle Ages and Renaissance

Jan. 13/ 15 Fundamentals cont. Tonality, Modality, Volume/Dynamic, Rhythm

Jan. 20/22 Fundamentals cont. Harmony, Form Alleluia: Pascha nostrum (chant and organum)

The Middle Ages and Renaissance Machaut, Josquin

Palestrina, Weelkes

Jan. 27/29 Unit 2 The Baroque Music

The Early Baroque Monteverdi Purcell Baroque Instrumental Music Bach Fugue, Brandenburg Concerto no. 5

Vivaldi The Four Seasons

Feb. 3/5 Late Baroque Vocal Music Bach, Cantata no. 140

Handel, Messiah

Feb. 10/12 Review of The Baroque Music and Examination no. 1 of Baroque Music

Feb. 17/19 Unit 3 The Classical Period

The Classical Symphonies Haydn, String Quartet and Symphony no.95

Mozart, Symphony no. 39, no. 40

Feb. 24/26 Other Classical Genres Mozart Piano Concerto K 488

Marriage of Figaro Opera

Beethoben and his Symphony His life and his Symphonies

Mar. 3/5 Beethoven Symphony no. 5 and The four movements

Review of Classical Period and Examination no. 2 of The Classical Music

Mar. 17/19 Unit 4 The Romantic Period

Early Romantic Song Schubert, Schumann

Early Romantic Piano Music Chopin, Liszt

Early Romantic Orchestral Music Mendelssohn, Berlioz

Mar. 24/26 Romantic Opera Verdi, Wagner

Late Romantic Orchestral Music Tchaikovsky, Brahms 20

First Group presentation of Baroque Music

Mar. 31/Apr.2 Unit 5 The Twentieth Century

The Early Modernists Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg,

Apr. 7/9 Between Two World Wars Bartok, Copland

The Later Twentieth Century Cage, Ligeti, Adams

Apr. 14/16 Final group presentation. Concert Attendance report and Concert reviews due.

Listening List:

Unit 1: Fundamentals—The Middle Ages and Renaissance

A. Fundamentals

B. The Middle Ages

anonymous • Mass for Easter Day, Alleluia: Pascha nostrum (Gregorian chant, Middle Ages [precise date uncertain])

leoninus • Mass for Easter Day, Alleluia: Pascha nostrum (two-part organum, late 12th century)

machaut • Puis qu’en oubli (polyphonic chanson [rondeau], ca. 1363)

C. The Renaissance

josquin • Ave Maria . . . Virgo serena (motet, 1480s)

palestrina • Pope Marcellus Mass: Gloria (polyphonic mass, ca. 1560)

weelkes • As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending (madrigal )

Unit 2: The Baroque

D. The Early Baroque

monteverdi • Orfeo, Act III: aria, “Possente Spirto” (opera, 1607)

purcell • Dido and Aeneas: recitative, “Thy hand, Belinda,” and aria, “When I am laid in earth” (opera, 1689)

E. Late Baroque Instrumental Music

vivaldi • Violin Concerto in E Major, op. 8, no. 1, RV 269 (Spring, from The Four Seasons): first movement, Allegro (solo concerto, 1725)

bach • Brandenburg Concerto no. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050: first movement, Allegro (concerto grosso, ca. 1721)

bach • “Little” Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578 (organ fugue, ca. 1709)

F. Late Baroque Vocal Music

bach • Cantata no. 140: chorus, “Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme” (Lutheran church cantata, 1731)

handel • Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Act I: aria, “Empio, dirò, tu sei” (opera seria, 1724)

handel • Messiah (oratorio, 1741)

Recitative, “There were shepherds,” and chorus, “Glory to God”

Chorus, “Hallelujah”

Unit 3: The Classical Period and Beethoven

G. The Classical Symphony

mozart • Symphony no. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: first movement, Allegro molto (symphony, 1788)

haydn • Symphony no. 94 in G Major, Hob. I:94: second movement, Andante (symphony, 1791)

mozart • Symphony no. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543: third movement, Menuetto: Allegretto (symphony, 1788)

haydn • Symphony no. 95 in C Minor, Hob. I:95: fourth movement, Finale: Vivace (symphony, 1791)

H. Other Classical Genres

mozart • Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488: first movement, Allegro (piano concerto, 1788)

mozart • The Marriage of Figaro, Act I: trio, “Cosa sento! tosto andate” (opera buffa, 1786)

I. Beethoven

beethoven • Symphony no. 5 in C Minor, op. 67 (symphony, 1807–8)

First movement, Allegro con brio

Second movement, Andante con moto

Third movement, Allegro

Fourth movement, Allegro

Unit 4: The Romantic Period

J. Early Romantic Song

schubert • Erlkönig (Lied, 1815)

schumann • Dichterliebe, op. 48: no. 7, “Ich grolle nicht” (song cycle, 1840)

K. Early Romantic Piano Music

chopin • Nocturne in E-flat Major, op. 9, no. 2 (nocturne [character piece for piano], 1830–31)

liszt • Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 (rhapsody [character piece for piano], 1847)

L. Early Romantic Orchestral Music

mendelssohn • Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64: first movement, Allegro molto appassionato (violin concerto, 1844)

berlioz • Fantastic Symphony: fourth movement, “March to the Scaffold” (program symphony, 1830)

M. Romantic Opera

verdi • Rigoletto, Act III: quartet, “Un dì, se ben rammentomi” (opera, 1851)

wagner • Die Walküre, Act III: “Wotan’s Farewell” (music drama [opera], 1870)

N. Late Romantic Orchestral Music

tchaikovsky • Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy (symphonic poem, 1880)

brahms • Symphony no. 3 in F Major, op. 90: third movement, Poco allegretto (symphony, 1883)

Unit 5: The Twentieth Century

O. Early Modernists: Parisian Breakthroughs

debussy • Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (symphonic poem, 1894)

stravinsky • The Rite of Spring, Part One: “Dance of the Adolescents” (ballet, 1913)

P. Early Modernists: The Second Viennese School

schoenberg • Pierrot lunaire: no. 18, “Der Mondfleck” (song cycle, 1912)

berg • Wozzeck: Act III, Scene 5 (opera, 1917–22)

Q. Between Two World Wars

bartók • Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta: second movement, Allegro (orchestral suite, 1937)

copland • Appalachian Spring: variations on “Simple Gifts” (ballet suite, 1944)

R. The Later Twentieth Century

cage • Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata II (suite for prepared piano, 1946–48)

ligeti • Atmosphères (work for large orchestra, 1961)

adams • Short Ride in a Fast Machine (orchestral fanfare, 1986)

Your reviews may be submitted via Canvas at any point of scheduled dates during the semester, after which no reviews will be accepted.

Citizenship

I expect you to contribute meaningfully to the overall learning environment of the course. While I will not keep track of your attendance or of the quantity or quality of comments you make in class, I do reserve the right to adjust your grade downward if you exhibit an unacceptable pattern of absence, disruption, or non-participation.

Registration Restrictions

Registration Restriction(s): Intensive English Program majors may not enroll

General Education Category

Fine Arts