~ Dr. Jerry Liang 1998

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 MA in Music

Specialist Modules:
Renaissance Studies

18th-Century Studies

Opera

Further Options

Other Modules

Students should note that the following modules, although not offered in 2003-2004, reflect current staff research interests: Baroque Dance: a study of form and functions, Baroque Performance Practice, Opera in London (1710-1843), Opera and National Traditions.

MA in Composition (new)
The MA in Composition is a specialist degree designed to provide training
for composers at MA level.

Degree Structure
Students take five modules: the core modules for this particular MA (listed below) plus one module chosen from ‘Further Options’ for the MA in Music (above). The optional module may also be selected from the listed studio modules within the new MSc in Sonic Arts (as appropriate): contact Professor Michael Alcorn for further details, m.alcorn@qub.ac.uk.

Core modules:

Studio modules (optional):
Composition Environments I and II
This pair of half modules focuses on the compositional potential of particular software packages. Specific projects enable the student to gain an understanding of the compositional potential of the programmes and to see how they might influence the music created.

Electroacoustic Composition
Students taking this module compose an extended composition using any of the electroacoustic resources of the School of Music. Students receive individual tutorials which explore technical and compositional issues as they arise during the composition process. Students are expected to make a full and experimental use of resources chosen.

Students should note that they must consult Professor Alcorn before enrolling in any of the studio modules listed above.

Further information about modules available and their assessment

110MUS700 Research Methods
An introduction to music bibliography: the resources available in the QUB library; the computer catalogue; BIDS and other on-line resources. An introduction to the study of manuscripts and printed editions: watermarks; paper studies; rastrology; format; collation. Current issues in musicology such as “authenticity” and evaluating the process of musical analysis. A limited number of parallel sessions may be developed for the students taking the MA in Composition. Continuous assessment (essays and seminar projects): seminars and discussion groups.

Double Modules
320MUS800 Dissertation
A dissertation of 15,000 words on a subject approved by the Director of School. It is also possible to create a catalogue and contextual commentary as an alternative within this module (length and specifications to be determined on a case by case basis). The object of this module is to shed light on the chosen subject, either through the presentation of previously unknown facts or material, or through an original interpretation of existing knowledge, and to show a grasp of appropriate methodology. The student will develop an ability to work unaided and to show initiative. Other skills acquired include a development of research and/or analytical skills, the ability to construct a reasoned argument, and to exercise critical faculties. Assessment is by Dissertation or by Catalogue and Commentary.

320MUS824 Edition and commentary
An edition from a manuscript or printed source of the student’s choice from the period 1500-1800, subject to the availability of material (consultation with the Head of School is required). The edition will include an introduction and editorial commentaries. Students are encouraged to make use of Sibelius or other music software in presenting the musical text of their edition.

320MUS851 Composition portfolio (MA in Composition only)
This module offers wider scope to the graduate composer who has already adjusted to the demands of composition within a Masters curriculum. The student is expected to produce a portfolio containing an average of five scores, at least one of which is fairly substantial; there may also be a programme of shorter composition exercises, tailored to the needs of the students and included as part of the submission. Assessment is by portfolio.

PLEASE NOTE: For any double modules, students are strongly advised to arrange at least two or three meetings with their supervisor during the first semester of enrolment, with a further three or four in the second semester. A substantial portion of the work should be presented to the supervisor directly after Easter break. Regular supervision during the summer months is not always possible.

MA in Composition
110MUS753 Words and Music
This course explores the earlier 20th Century through both the music and the writings of some of its greatest figures; analytical explorations of those works are thus related to the study of leading ideas and cultural trends in this most turbulent and diverse period of music history. Each composer constitutes a seminar topic, centred upon a specific work and an important piece of text; composers’ studies will include Stravinsky and Bartok. Assessment is by seminar presentation (with accompanying submission) and written project.

210MUS754 Set Works Post 1945
The student studies three diverse works from the period since 1945, working on each for several weeks before submitting a written project. Analytical work will be complemented by the working of exercises that explore techniques or other features found in those compositions; the study of music from the later 20th century will thus have a special emphasis on composition-based learning. The course seeks to give the student in-depth contact with substantial modern scores, placing particular emphasis on the discovery of different compositional strategies so as to aid the development of the student composer.

Renaissance Studies
110MUS721 Notation
This course teaches the wide range of skills needed to make editions of music from original manuscripts and printed sources of the 15th and 16th centuries. Students are taught to read early handwriting, to transcribe mensural notation and instrumental tablatures and to acquire facility in techniques of editing. Assessed course work.

210MUS722 Analysis of Renaissance Music
The course focuses on three main areas: Josquin studies; the use of pre-existing material; and the relationship between words and music. The main principles of the modal system as applied to polyphony are explained in depth, and students study the compositional processes of Renaissance music, notably the relationship between text and music, as understood in terms of structure, rhetoric and word painting. Assessment is by one three-hour contexts paper, and one take-away analysis paper.

18th-Century Studies
210MUS789 Manuscript Studies
This module develops essential skills pertinent to the interpretation of manuscripts in order to be able to formulate ideas concerning ‘authentic’ performance. Students also develop the ability to produce critical editions using a textual-critical approach. This module will concentrate on music manuscripts produced during the later Baroque period (1700-1750). Assessment will be by two projects.

210MUS792 Culture and National Identity in the long 18th Century
The general theme of culture and national identity will be explored by examining influences on the artistic style or attitudes of figures such as Bach, Handel, Beaumarchais, Rousseau, Coleridge and De Quincey. Cultural developments in particular centres, such as London, Paris and Rome, will be examined by considering genres such as the pastoral or representations of culture in print. Folksong collecting in Eastern Europe and colonial cultural identities during the British Raj may also feature. This module will be taught by members of staff in the Schools of Music, English, History, and Modern Languages and is open to Humanities students in general (subject to permission from their home Department or School). Through study of specific issues centred around the theme of national and cultural identities, students will develop an appreciation of the links between artistic, social and political developments. Assessment is by seminar (presentation plus handout) and two essays (the first on a ‘set’ topic, the second chosen from an interdisciplinary menu). Students will develop critical, appraisal and presentational skills.

Opera Studies
110MUS730 The Aesthetics of Opera
Opera originated in the collision of performance with aesthetic debate at the end of the sixteenth century and its history has been shaped by continuing dialogue between performance and aesthetics. This module will look at the history and performance of opera as a continuum in which reform and evolution is stimulated by aesthetic change. Subjects of study will include: The birth of opera, the myth of Orpheus and the harmony of the spheres (Peri, Monteverdi, Gagliano); frost people frozen in time- the aesthetics of French Baroque Opera (Lully, Charpentier, Rameau); ambivalence as an aesthetic force- opera in Stuart and Georgian England (Dryden, Dennis, Granville, Raguenet); dance as a dramatic force (Weaver, Noverre, Gallini); opera and enlightenment (Rousseau, Gluck Mozart); opera and landscape (Weber, Smetana, Britten); opera and the long night of the soul (Schopenhauer, Wagner); cruelty and absurdity (Martinu, Virgil Thomson); opera-fopera- ‘producer’s opera and authenticity (Poutney, Vick, Gubbay). The module will be taught as a series of seminars and the assessment will be by essay, seminar and project. Students will develop critical, appraisal and presentational skills.

210MUS733 Studying Mozart’s Operas: Sources, Contexts and Analysis
This module situates Mozart’s great Viennese operas in their rich and varied musical and dramatic environments. We shall investigate how contextually based analysis of Mozart’s operas sheds new light on their musical and dramatic significance. As a case-study of source-based research, we shall focus on Mozart’s last Da Ponte opera, Cosi fan tutte. This module is taught in seminars, and is assessed by a single essay and an analysis project.

Further Options
110MUS799, 210 MUS 799 Independent Study
This module allows the student to pursue a focussed topic or skill which is not covered by any of the present pathways. Available in the fields of musicology, composition, performance (whole module), or music technology (normally a half module). The student will work with an individual tutor, and the module will be assessed by a series of projects, which may involve any combination of compositional exercises, essays, or analyses, as appropriate. This module is only offered in special circumstances, and requires both the permission of the Head of School and an interview with the pertinent tutor.

110MUS751 Composition (Single)
This module allows new graduate composers to plan and deliver a small-scale portfolio of works composed in the first semester. As a more direct adjunct to this task, the student may be asked to work on short compositional assignments with specific technical aims, such as writing within confined registers, or using specified pitch materials or textures. Assessment is by portfolio submitted at the end of first semester; this portfolio is expected to contain two or three scores, one of which should be quite substantial. The exercises may form part of the submission. Students are expected to have appropriate background in composition at undergraduate level; enrolment in this module is only possible after consultation with the convenor, Professor Piers Hellawell.

210MUS 797 Arts Administration
This module involves a work placement (1.5 days per week, February- April) with the Ulster Orchestra. There is a maximum of two places in this module per annum, one with the Orchestra’s Education Department, the other with Marketing. Students are therefore advised to declare an interest in this module at the earliest opportunity; a separate interview may be necessary. If there is a surplus of applicants, candidates taking a general MA in Music will be favoured. Students will develop an understanding of issues facing arts organisations and the approaches to addressing them while developing personal skills in the work place and ideas for project management and development.

210MUS770 Recital (single module)
The student presents a recital programme, approved by the Director of School, to last 40-45 minutes. The programme should be coherently structured. It should demonstrate technical and interpretative powers that approach professional standards. The module aims to advance the student’s skills through private practice, to develop an advanced technique on the chosen instrument or voice and to develop the ability to project a musical interpretation. Students will be expected to demonstrate an ability to contextualize their repertory in an historically informed manner. Assessment is by public recital (75% of the assessment) plus either an essay (circa 3000 words) or a lecture (15 minutes) appended to the recital (25% of the assessment). In addition to receiving practical tuition, students will be assigned an academic supervisor by the Postgraduate Admissions Tutor.

More detail information please link to the website as below:

School of Music

　
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