MusM Music (Ethnomusicology)

In this course unit students prepare a programme for live performance in January (25-30 mins), designed to explore a particular aspect of their chosen repertoire. The performance will be given in their chosen main or joint study instrument/voice, and in any genre, according to relevant experience and subject to approval by the course unit director.  

The performance is complemented by a written essay with reflective commentary. Students identify specific challenges or a thematic focus and formulate a contextualised approach, through practical strategies, embodied technique, interpretative approaches, and theoretical perspectives which focus on areas of  context.

Examples could include specific interpretative challenges posed by one or more of the chosen songs/pieces, historical approaches to interpretation or stylistic features, techniques, or any other related topic as agreed with their supervisor.  

• To enable students to experience preparing, rehearsing, and either performing or directing works related to their main study, in a historically and/or professionally informed way
•  To provide students with the opportunity to investigate a specific aspect of historical or contemporary performance (or, for MusM Composition students taking the ensemble-direction option, an exercise in musical arrangement) through a combination of practical and intellectual engagement with their chosen material
• To assess the relationships between practice and theory of performance
• To introduce students to research techniques that can be applied when writing about a defined aspect of historical or contemporary performance, or (for MusM Composition students choosing the ensemble-direction option), to introduce techniques of instrumental arrangement that can be applied in practice to the chosen repertory 

• Demonstrate advanced understanding of the intellectual contexts in which music is performed, concentrating on a specific aspect of either historical or contemporary repertory
• Show a well-developed ability to assess and discuss the relationships between practice and theory of performance

• Demonstrate the ability to apply research techniques that enable them to investigate a clearly defined aspect of their performance
• Show skills in applying theoretical understanding of issues in musical performance to practical interpretation in performance

• Demonstrate advanced technical skills on one instrument or voice, or (for MusM Composition students) in directing an ensemble
• Show sensitive and historically appropriate artistry and musicianship in performance
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate with the audience with strong projection and expression appropriate to the chosen repertory

• Produce high-quality performances with a disciplined approach to time management, self-motivation and critical self-awareness
• Show the ability to work under self-direction on a research project of their choice

A recital or a lecture-recital on the students’ chosen instrument/voice, presenting a programme designed to explore a specific aspect of either historical performance or contemporary performance;  

An essay discussing a challenge or problem specific to the recital programme;

Recital (summative) - 70%

Essay (summative)  - 30%

Re- sit assessment - as above.

Since the written assignments undertaken by students for MUSC 60131/2/0 vary widely in scope and content, it is not possible to produce a single bibliography for the course. However, the following provides a basic indicative list:  

General (Classical):  

Rink, John (ed.), Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding, ed. John Rink, Cambridge, 2002.

Rink, John (ed.), The Practice of Performance: Studies in Musical Interpretation, Cambridge, 2005.

Historical Classical Performance:

Brown, Clive, Classical and Romantic Performing Practice, 1750-1900, Oxford, 1999.  

Butt, John, Playing with History: The Historical Approach to Musical Performance, Musical Performance and Reception, Cambridge, 2002.  

Davies, Stephen, Musical Works and Performances: a Philosophical Exploration, Oxford, 2001.

Lawson, Colin and Robin Stowell, The Cambridge History of Musical Performance, Cambridge, 2012.

Lawson, Colin and Robin Stowell, The Historical Performance of Music: An Introduction, Cambridge Handbooks to the Historical Performance of Music, Cambridge, 1999.