In this project, you will analyze two settings of the same poem and write a paper (1000–1500 words) comparing and contrasting the two composers’ interpretations of the poem and illustrating the techniques they employ to project their interpreted meaning of the text.

This project is the culmination of Unit I of this semester and should demonstrate mastery of several course objectives: text-music relationships*, harmonic syntax*, writing about music, and technology. (This project represents the final evaluation for topics marked with an asterisk.)

Part I: Reduction and harmonic analysis

Find the poem “Mondnacht,” by Josef Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff, as well as scores and recordings for the settings of that poem by Johannes Brahms (WoO 21) and Robert Schumann (Liederkreis). Perform a thoroughbass reduction (bass and figures) of both songs, perform an interpreted functional bass analysis of both reductions and a Roman-numeral analysis of both reductions, and typeset the reductions in music notation software. Be sure to include all keys; multiple layers of functional bass symbols where necessary to reflect prolongation, applied chords, modulation, etc.; and label all modulations according to type (diatonic pivot, chromatic pivot, direct, etc.).

Part II: Analytical paper

Write a 1000–1500 word paper (about 4–6 pages, double-spaced) that explains the text of the poem and provides a comparative analysis of Brahms’s and Schumann’s settings of it.

In the paper, you should describe the tone, voice, structure, meaning, imagery, sound, etc. of the poem, as well as the formal structure of each musical setting, and any text-setting devices employed by the composers. However, the bulk of your paper should be spent engaging the composers’ interpretations of the poem and the specific musical details that lead you to your interpretation of their interpretations. Highlight critical differences and similarities between the two musical settings and discuss the significance of those specific musical details for the projected meaning(s) of the text.

As in the past, be sure that your paper makes an argument. You should have a clearly identifiable thesis, and all analytical details included in the paper should support that thesis and participate in a coherent, logical, linear flow. Not every detail of your musical and poetic analyses should appear in the paper, only those critical to your argument.

The paper and reductions/analyses are due at 12am on Monday, February 25 (that’s midnight at the end of Sunday, beginning of Monday). Submit them as email attachments, or files in your DropBox assessment folder (with an email letting me know they have been submitted).

The paper should be double-spaced, using an 11- or 12-point serif font, with 1-inch margins on each side. The paper should conform to The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., and/or Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed. (They present the same style guidelines, though CMoS provides more detail on musical terminology and nomenclature.) If quoting authors, use CMoS’s author-date style of citation, rather than footnotes or endnotes.

Be sure that in addition to following the general guidelines of CMoS, you pay attention to include a proper title page, a header on all pages except the title page that includes your last name and page number, and a references page at the end for any source you site or which you make substantial use of in your preparation (including course textbooks, and any scores or recordings you consult in your studies). No paper is complete without those elements.

Assessment rubrics

Following are the relevant assessment rubrics for this project (copied verbatim from the Unit I rubric page). Keep them in mind as your are putting your project together.

Text-music relationships

The following will be demonstrated in a 1000–1500 word paper due at the end of the unit. (More details on the paper forthcoming on the course website.)

The objectives for this topic are for each student to be able to 1) describe the tone, voice, structure, meaning, imagery, sound, etc. of a Romantic poem in German (with the assistance of an English translation); 2) describe the formal structure of the musical setting and any text-painting devices employed by the composer; 3) describe the composer’s interpretation of the poem based on his/her musical setting of it; and 4) interpret the composer’s interpretations by critically evaluating it in light of your interpretation of the text and other interpretive and musical possibilities available to the composer.

Your grade for this criterion will simply be the number of these objectives you demonstrate in your paper. If you can clearly describe the main features of the poem and music but do not interpret, you get a 2. If you also accurately describe the composer’s interpretation, you get a 3. If you can also offer a nuanced interpretation of the composer’s interpretation in light of other possibilities, you get a 4.

Harmonic syntax

The objective for this topic of study is to cap our study of harmonic syntax in tonal music, with each student able to perform an accurate thoroughbass reduction of a piece of music that involves diatonic and chromatic elements, modal mixture, and modulation.

Grades for this criterion will be assigned according to the following rubric, primarily in light of both a German art song analysis project. Harmonic analyses of dictation passages will also contribute to this assessment.

Mastery (4) – Student can produce a thoroughbass reduction (bass and figures) of a German art song, with a functional bass analysis and a Roman numeral analysis, with all modulations labeled by type, typeset in music notation software with minimal errors.

Working knowledge (3) – Same as mastery, but with more than minimal errors.

Incomplete knowledge (2) – Student demonstrates fundamental misunderstanding of one or more conceptual elements (functions, mixture, proper nomenclature, chordal roots, etc.) or makes substantial errors in analysis (such as long passages analyzed in an incorrect key) or moderate errors in reduction.

Poor knowledge (1) – Student demonstrates fundamental misunderstanding of multiple conceptual elements or an inability to reduce art song texture to a thoroughbass line.

No significant attempt made (0) – Student does not submit a complete analysis project on time, or demonstrates knowledge below passing level for Elementary Theory II.

Writing about music

Generally, writing will be assessed according to following five criteria:

• Identify and write appropriately for a target audience.
• Generate an original thesis based on evidence (that is, your analysis).
• Construct clear linear argument in support of a thesis and devoid of unnecessary details.
• Use musical terminology appropriately and effectively.
• Demonstrate mastery of Chicago Manual of Style for writing on music and citing sources.

For each written work (there is one at the end of Unit I), you will receive a grade on the standard four-point scale equal to the number of these criteria you satisfy by the deadline, minus one. (I.e., fulfill all five and get a grade of 4; fulfill three and get a grade of 2; etc.)

There will be three written assignments during the semester. You will be allowed to reassess one of those papers after its deadline. At the end of the term, your median grade will be your final grade for this category.

Exceptions: If any of your papers at the end of the semester stand at a 0 or a 1, you cannot receive a final writing about music grade higher than a 2, no matter how solid your other papers are. Likewise, if any of your papers at the end of the semester stand at a 2, you cannot receive a final writing about music grade higher than a 3. (In other words, a final grade of 4 is reserved for those with three passing papers.)

Technology

Work in this category is on-going throughout the semester, so no grade will be given at the end of Unit I. However, students are expected to produce their reduction/analysis in music notation software. The accuracy and cleanness of that will be considered toward the final grade in this category.