16^th-Century Counterpoint (aka: Species Counterpoint)

Music 205, Fall 2003; MW 12:30-1:20

Princeton University Department of Music

People:

* Dan Trueman, Professor (Precepts TTh 12:30-1:20); dan@music.princeton.edu

* Brooke Joyce, Preceptor (Precepts MW 1:30-2:20); wjoyce@princeton.edu

Overview:

This will be a hands-on, practical course in the composition of 16^th-century (primarily sacred) vocal music. The motivations for this are many: the music we will study is, in short, beautiful; being essentially pre-functional, in a tonal sense, it also provides a rich perspective historically, technically and conceptually on the music of later centuries, including our own; learning to compose in the style of this music is a deep and challenging way to really understand it, and this kind of understanding is meaningful beyond the confines of the music itself. In addition to composing, we will spend a lot of time singing both music from the period and your own projects, in lecture and in precept; this helps us get the sound of the music in our ears and body.

Texts:

required:

* A Practical Approach to Sixteenth Century Counterpoint, Robert Gauldin

* Gregorian Chant and Sacred Music of the 16^th Century, G.F. Soderlund and Samuel Scott

recommended, but not required:

* Counterpoint, Knud Jeppesen

* The Study of Counterpoint, J.J. Fux

* Masses and Motets, Palestrina (Dover collection)

Grading:

There will be two assignments each week, graded on a scale of 0-7 as follows:

7: perfect, artistic

6: no mistakes or issues

5: minimal mistakes/issues

4: good work, some mistakes

3: decent work, several mistakes

2: many many mistakes

1: poor

0: not handed in

Most assignments will probably receive a 3 or 4. 7’s will be very very rare (as, we hope, will be 1’s), and, depending on the nature of the assignment, sometimes impossible. Some assignments (the final 2-voice assignment and the final 3-voice assignment) will be weighted as two assignments when we calculate the final average for your assignments.

Assignments will be due at 12:30pm on both Monday and Wednesday of each week. Late assignments will *not* be accepted; exceptions will be granted only due to extenuating circumstances, of which we must be notified by your Dean. In some situations, and only if the original assignment was submitted on-time, we may invite you to revise an assignment and re-submit it the following class.

The final project will likely be two complete Mass movements, due on Dean’s Date; we will meet during final’s week to sing each other’s pieces. There will be no final exam.

Grading Breakdown:

-- Assignments: 60%

-- Class/Precept Participation: 20%

-- Final Project: 20%

Syllabus:

The following is a weekly calendar of topics for the semester. As noted earlier, there will be, with a couple exceptions, two written assignments per week:

Week 1 (9.15): Introduction, white-note melodies

Week 2 (9.22): White-note duos and dissonance

Week 3 (9.29): Points of imitation with white-notes, black-note melodic issues

Week 4 (10.6): Free two-voice counterpoint, with and without imitation

Week 5 (10.13): Double counterpoint and canonic structures

Week 6 (10.20): Compositional structure, interior cadences, two voices.

MIDTERM BREAK

Week 7 (11.3): Three-voice white-note issues

Week 8 (11.10): Cadences in three-voices

Week 9 (11.17): Three-voice black-note issues, points of imitation

Week 10 (11.24): More with three-voices, Paraphrase technique

Week 11 (12.1): Four-voice composition

Week 12 (12.8): Familiar Style, points of imitation in four voices

Major markers will be the final two-voice assignment (due during midterm exam week), and the final three-voice assignment (due immediately after Thanksgiving break), and, of course, the final project (due Dean’s Date).