Week Four Slides

Week Four Viva Slides

Week 5

Georg Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685, to Georg and Dorothea Handel of Halle, Saxony, Germany. From an early age, Handel longed to study music, but his father objected, doubting that music would be a realistic source of income. In fact, his father would not even permit him to own a musical instrument. His mother, however, was supportive, and she encouraged him to develop his musical talent. With her cooperation, Handel took to practicing on the sly.

When Handel was still a young boy, he had the opportunity to play the organ for the duke’s court in Weissenfels. It was there that Handel met composer and organist Frideric Wilhelm Zachow. Zachow was impressed with Handel’s potential and invited Handel to become his pupil. Under Zachow's tutelage, Handel mastered composing for the organ, the oboe and the violin alike by the time he was 10 years old. From the age of 11 to the time he was 16 or 17, Handel composed church cantatas and chamber music that, being written for a small audience, failed to garner much attention and have since been lost to time.

Despite his dedication to his music, at his father’s insistence, Handel initially agreed to study law at the University of Halle. Not surprisingly, he did not remain enrolled for long. His passion for music would not be suppressed.

In 1703, when Handel was 18 years old, he decided to commit himself completely to music, accepting a violinist’s position at the Hamburg Opera’s Goose Market Theater. During this time, he supplemented his income by teaching private music lessons in his free time, passing on what he had learned from Zachow.

Though working as a violinist, it was Handel's skill on the organ and harpsichord that began to earn him attention and landed him more opportunities to perform in operas.

Handel also began to compose operas, making his debut in early 1705 with Almira. The opera was instantly successful and achieved a 20-performance run. After composing several more popular operas, in 1706 Handel decided to try his luck in Italy. While in there, Handel composed the operas Rodrigo and Agrippina, which were produced in 1707 and 1709 respectively. He also managed to write more than a few dramatic chamber works during this period.

Touring the major Italian cities over three opera seasons, Handel introduced himself to most of Italy’s major musicians. Unexpectedly, while in Venice, he met multiple people who expressed an interest in London’s music scene. Enticed to experiment with a freelance music career there, in 1710 Handel left Venice and set out for London. In London, Handel met with the manager of the King’s Theatre, who commissioned Handel to write an opera. Within just two weeks, Handel composed Rinaldo. Released during the 1710–11 London opera season, Rinaldo was Handel’s breakthrough. His most critically acclaimed work up to that date, it gained him the widespread recognition that he would maintain throughout the rest of his musical career.

After the debut of Rinaldo, Handel spent the next few years writing and performing for English royalty, including Queen Anne and King George I. Then, in 1719, Handel was invited to become the Master of the Orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music, the first Italian opera company in London. Handel eagerly accepted. He produced several operas with the Royal Academy of Music that, while well liked, were not especially lucrative for the struggling academy.

In 1726 Handel decided to make London his home permanently, and became a British citizen. (He also Anglicized his name at this time, to George Frideric.) In 1727, when Handel’s latest opera, Alessandro, was being performed, Italian opera in London took a hard hit as the result of a hostile rivalry between two female lead singers. Frustrated, Handel broke away from the Royal Academy and formed his own new company, calling it the New Royal Academy of Music. Under the New Royal Academy of Music, Handel produced two operas a year for the next decade, but Italian opera fell increasingly out of style in London. Handel composed two more Italian operas before finally deciding to abandon the failing genre.

In place of operas, oratorios became Handel’s new format of choice. Oratorios, large-scale concert pieces, immediately caught on with audiences and proved quite lucrative. The fact that oratorios didn’t require elaborate costumes and sets, as operas did, also meant that they cost far less to produce. Handel revised a number of Italian operas to fit this new format, translating them into English for the London audience. His oratorios became the latest craze in London and were soon made a regular feature of the opera season.

In 1735, during Lent alone, Handel produced more than 14 concerts made up primarily of oratorios. In 1741 Dublin’s Lord Lieutenant commissioned Handel to write a new oratorio based on a biblical libretto assembled by art patron Charles Jennens. As a result, Handel’s most famous oratorio, Messiah, made its debut at the New Music Hall in Dublin in April 1742.

Back in London, Handel organized a subscription season for 1743 that consisted exclusively of oratorios. The series opened with Handel’s composition Samson, to great audience acclaim. Samson was eventually followed by a run of Handel’s beloved Messiah.

The piece you are listening to today is 'See the conquering hero come' from the oratorio Judas Maccabaeus composed in 1746. The oratorio was devised as a compliment to the victorious Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland upon his return from the Battle of Culloden in April 1746.

If you are interested in finding out more about the context of the composition of this piece, check out this optional Battlefield Britain documentary about the Battle of Culloden:

Syllabus Update

I have decided to update the syllabus to remove the summary component of the Barzun discussions. In the future, you will only be required to highlight interesting parts of the chapter and lead discussion time with three questions. In addition, the time limit will now be a maximum of 7 minutes per presentation. Please let me know if you have any questions!

                                                                                                          Dr. Parker

Week 3 Viva Slides

Individualism and Protestantism: Viva Slides

Week 4

Week 4

Old Hundredth is a hymn tune from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (1551) and is one of the best known melodies in all Christian musical traditions. The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Loys Bourgeois (c. 1510 – c.1560).

Although the tune was first associated with Psalm 134 in the Genevan Psalter, the melody receives its current name from an association with the 100th Psalm, in a translation by William Kethe entitled All People that on Earth do Dwell.

The Genevan Psalter was compiled over a number of years in the Swiss city of Geneva, a center of Protestant activity during the Reformation, in response to the teaching of John Calvin that communal singing of psalms in the vernacular language is a foundational aspect of church life. This contrasted with the prevailing Catholic practice at the time in which sacred texts were chanted in Latin by the clergy only. Calvinist musicians including Loys Bourgeois supplied many new melodies and adapted others from sources both sacred and secular. The final version of the psalter was completed in 1562. Calvin intended the melodies to be sung in plainsong during church services, but harmonized versions were provided for singing at home.

Week 3

Orfeo: The Root of All Opera

Viva Slides

Viva Voce Information

Vive Voce Notecard Guidelines

You need to bring the following each week for the notecard check:

1. A thesis card, with a clearly stated thesis and a brief explanation of your reasoning and source. This card should also list several potential counter-theses.
2. A supporting arguments card, with a list of your three supporting arguments
3. Three to six data cards with data from the textbooks or lectures that provide evidence of the truth of your argument
4. Three to six anecdote cards with story summaries that help to prove your supporting theses
5.  Three to six quote cards with quotes from class, assigned work, and other reliable texts.

If your viva notecards do not pass the check, to receive credit, you will need to bring an edited set of cards the following week with all the recommended changes completed.

                      Viva Voce Notecard Check Grading Sheet

                                                                                                                                            ____/50

         A thesis card, with a clearly stated thesis and a brief explanation of your reasoning and source. This card should also list several potential counter-theses. ___/10

         A supporting arguments card, with a list of your three supporting arguments. ___/10

         Three to six data cards with data that provide specific evidence of the truth of your argument. ___/10

         Three to six anecdote cards with stories that help to prove your supporting arguments. ___/10

         Three to six quote cards with quotes from class, assigned work, and other reliable texts. ___/10

                               

                                     Viva Voce Grading Sheet

 Student Name: __________________________________                              ___/500 (+EC___)

Topic: __________________________________________

Presentation: (300)

·         Clear thesis that takes a defensible position                                                                ___/25

·         Effective "Although clause" in the thesis                                                                    ___/25

·         An Introduction to the three topics that mentions all three supporting theses            ___/20

·         Clear supporting thesis for point 1                                                                               ___/20

·         Data that clearly support point 1 thesis                                                                       ___/25

·         Quotations and/or Anecdotes that clearly support point 1 thesis                                ___/25

·         Clear supporting thesis for point 2                                                                               ___/20

·         Data that clearly support point 2 thesis                                                                       ___/25

·         Quotations and/or Anecdotes that clearly support point 2 thesis                                ___/25

·         Clear supporting thesis for point 3                                                                               ___/20  

·         Data that clearly support point 3 thesis                                                                       ___/25

·         Quotations and/or Anecdotes that clearly support point 3 thesis                                ___/25

·         Conclusion that sums up your three points and restates the central thesis                  ___/20

 Additional Requirements: (200)

·         Historical accuracy                                                                                                     ___/125

·         Use of hands                                                                                                             ___/12.5

·         Eye contact with audience                                                                                        ___/12.5

·         Posture                                                                                                                     ___/12.5

·         Enunciation and clarity                                                                                             ___/12.5

·         Volume                                                                                                                        ___/25

EC: Did the student wear formal clothing?                                                                       ___/15

Viva Voce Questions

Week 1: Was Martin Luther a reformer or a revolutionary?

Week 2: How did the transition from the medieval to the modern era transform popular conceptions of history?

Week 3: How did Protestant reforms reflect the growth of individualism?

Week 4: How did theology influence the political goals of the Puritans in England?

Week 5: In what ways is Rousseau’s thought misunderstood?

Week 6: In what ways was the American War of Independence not a revolution?

Week 2