Current Courses
MUS 512Topics in Medieval Music: Guillaume de MachautThis course is focused on the musical and poetic works of Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377). Taking our cue from the multi-media manuscripts that preserve Machaut's oeuvre, we will consider the poetic and musical output together, paying particular attention to the ways in which text, music, and image interact. Topics covered will include Machaut's narrative poetry and his construction of authorial voice, the important musico-poetic genres in which he composed (motet, virelai, ballade, rondeau, lai), competing current theories about 14th-century compositional process, and the question of text-music relations.Anna Zayaruznaya
MUS 525Topics in Music from 1400 to 1600: Renaissance MusicThe transmission of music in the later Middle Ages. This seminar will address the question how music circulated in written form in the 13th to 15th centuries, and how we can read and understand musical sources, not merely as repositories of repertoire, but as products of contemporary musical culture, suited and designed for particular contemporary needs.Rob C. Wegman
MUS 532CompositionEmphasis will be placed upon the individual student's original work and upon the study and discussion of pieces pertinent to that work.Barbara A. WhiteDaniel L. TruemanDmitri Tymoczko
MUS 534Ends and Means: Issues in Composition"Composing for Shakuhachi": This seminar is a hands-on workshop in composing for the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), with a culminating performance by visiting shakuhachi master Riley Lee on April 3. Seminar activities include transcription and analysis of traditional shakuhachi honkyoku, with a focus on the syntactical and performative nature of the instrument. We'll also study modern compositions, including those by visiting composer/performers on the instrument, and discuss intercultural matters as they arise. For the concert program, arrangements, improvisations, and technological ministrations are welcome.Barbara A. White
MUS 537Points of Focus in 20th-Century MusicAn analysis seminar mainly focusing on pieces chosen by the participants. My goal is to focus on very recent music (i.e. music of the last 10 years), though we may consider a few twentieth-century classics as well. We will probably undertake some small composition projects based on the techniques we discover.Dmitri Tymoczko
MUS 542Instrumentation and PerformanceThe course is a study of the characteristics of individual instruments, including extended contemporary techniques and writing arrangements for chamber ensemble and for orchestra. Special attention is given to problems of combining voice and instruments. The arrangements written for this class are performed by the Composers' Ensemble at Princeton and the Princeton University Orchestra, and problems of performance involving notation, rehearsal, and conducting are dealt with.Barbara A. White
MUS 549Topics in Tonal Theory: BrahmsThe music of Brahms: analysis, criticism, reception.Scott G. Burnham
