Unit A: 19th Century Composition
Nineteenth-Century Composition involves the study of advanced harmony and compositional techniques as encountered in repertoire of the nineteenth century. It includes detailed study of characteristic harmonic idioms as demonstrated in the Lied tradition throughout the 1800s, and in nineteenth-century contrapuntal German choral music. The study of applicable repertoire is enhanced by the students’ own compositional workings in the style of among others, Schubert and Bruckner.
Unit B: Orchestration
Arrangement and Orchestration concerns the study of advanced arrangement for mixed choir divisi, orchestra and chamber ensemble. It includes detailed consideration of instrumentation and harmonic and timbral voicing appropriate for larger instrumental and vocal forces. The study of applicable repertoire by composers of the late nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries is enhanced by the students’ own workings as they further their knowledge of orchestration, arrangement of folk material, and reduction of larger works to chamber ensemble.
Core: Stage 3 Composition
Option: Yes – available in Stage 3 or Stage 4
Unit A: 19th Century Composition
The study of advanced nineteenth-century harmony in Lieder repertoire by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf and Richard Strauss, in orchestral music of Wagner, and in choral music of Bruckner. The composition of piano accompaniment and choral motets in the style of these composers, using harmonic and contrapuntal devices exemplified in the work of the composers studied. The analysis of compositional techniques employed in the works studied.
Unit B: Orchestration
The study of advanced arrangement, handling modality with flair and fluency in choral and orchestral contexts. Advanced choral writing, incorporating the study of recent choral compositions, and those from the twentieth-century canon. Instrumentation and detailed study of the function and workings of instruments of the orchestra. Orchestration and the manipulation of orchestral forces for the creation of successful timbres appropriate for a range of musical settings.
Unit A: 19th Century Composition
Characteristic nineteenth-century compositional techniques are acquired through the study of repertoire from the German Lied tradition, solo piano repertoire, and choral and orchestral repertoire of the 1800s. A combination of listening, ear training, exercises in advanced harmony, score analysis, and pastiche composition form the basis of the learning methods, taking place in the context of a weekly class.
Unit B: Orchestration
Characteristic arrangement, instrumentation and orchestration techniques are acquired through the study of repertoire from orchestral and choral composers from the last hundred years. A combination of listening, core study and analysis, exercises in detailed instrumentation, and the practice of creating chamber reductions or orchestral works form the basis of the learning methods, taking place in the context of a weekly 1.5 hour class.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Formal Examination | 60 |
| Other Assessment(s) | 40 |