MUHL 251 Essay Assignment

Baroque Music Program Notes

Assignment Description
The assignment is to write program notes for a hypothetical concert of Baroque music.
Choose two pieces composed in the Baroque era by different composers (one piece from each composer).
Make sure the pieces you select make sense together as part of a unified concert program (e.g., do not
combine an opera chorus and a flute sonata).
You may not write about any part of any work that appears in the Norton Score Anthology.

Objectives and Points to Keep in Mind

Program notes generally have two objectives, ideally woven into one continuous thread:
1. To provide some interesting historical context for the music (e.g., something about the works position
in the history of the genre, the composers biographical circumstances when the piece was composed,
whether the work was written for a specific purpose or for certain performers).
2. To introduce any interpretive or technical insights that might increase the audiences enjoyment of the
music (e.g., general discussions of the character of each movement, unusual or innovative features of
the work, crucial moments in the piece to notice, particular performance challenges, technical highlights
in the areas of rhythm, harmony, melody, form).
In writing program notes, you must tread a fine line: you do not want to write too technically for the general
audience member, nor do you want to bore readers who may be trained musicians or knowledgeable concertgoers. Use some musical terminology (related to tempo, articulation, form, or harmony, for instance), but try
to use those terms in such a way that a general sense of their meaning would be apparent to any reader.

Getting Started with Your Research:

You need to do some basic research to gather information for your essay.
Start by checking Oxford Music Online (http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com; link also available on the course
Blackboard site and the PAL homepage).
Do a search in the RU library catalog (link available on the PAL homepage).
There are several books on course reserve that may be helpful as well.
Do not rely on Google or similar internet searches for your information. Use trustworthy sources!

Working with Your Sources:

For this assignment you do not need to provide footnotes or a bibliography, as they are not typically found in
program notes.
This does not mean that you are free to plagiarize the work of other writers!
Read about the composers and pieces you have chosen, combine that with your own ideas and observations,
then come up with your own way to convey the information you find most interesting, appropriate, or
compelling.
I expect you to integrate the information gathered in your research with your own analytical, stylistic,
and interpretive insights. Apply the knowledge you have gained this semester, as well as your unique
perspectives as a thoughtful musician.

Continue

Requirements:
The assignment is due at the beginning of class on Thursday 12/1/11 (not 12/2 as stated on the syllabus).
Any assignment turned in after the start of class on the due date will be subject to late penalties, as described
on the syllabus.
Your program notes for each piece must comprise 500750 words, totaling 10001500 words for the whole
assignment.
Write the program notes using standard paragraph organization and layout.
Attach a title page with the following: paper title, your name, course number, instructors name, and the
date.
For each of the pieces you discuss, list the following information at the top of the page:
o
o
o
o
o

Composers full name

Composers dates
Full title of the work (including subtitles, if applicable)
Op., BWV, or other catalog number (if applicable)
Year of composition

The finished paper must be computer-printed legibly (no smeared ink-jet printouts).
Use a 12-point font, with double line spacing.
Page margins should be one inch on each of the four sides; this will yield approximately 2628 lines of text
per page.
Number the pages at the top (the title page does not count as a numbered page).
Staple the final copy in the upper left-hand corner. Do not expect me to provide you with a stapler.