Music
Spring 2012
The courses at a glance:
Choral Music II: The Romantic Period
An introduction to Wagner’s operas I – from The Flying Dutchman to Tristan and Isolde
DAYSCHOOL: The stories Music tells
DAYSCHOOL: Weber - a forgotten master?
Choral Music II: The Romantic Period
From the early 19th century onwards, the ‘Big Choral Work’ took on a special significance in European music life. Not only was it often part of the ambitious composer’s route to greatness, but commissioning such works became a common way of marking especially significant national or civic occasions.
In this respect, two types came to the fore, the oratorio and the requiem setting, both of which will figure highly in this course. However, we shall also look at ways in which major choral works might remain within the Church, or might even move into completely secular subject matter.
Though this course follows on from last term, and will follow a similar pattern (i.e. we shall concentrate on individual works rather than attempt a general history of the topic), it is designed to be entirely self-standing.
Recommended reading:
Requiems by Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi and Fauré; Brahms, German Requiem
Mendelssohn, Elijah; Schumann, Paradise and the Peri; Liszt, Via Crucis
...with the proviso that we shall not necessarily be studying these particular works!
Day : Wednesday Time: 10.15am - 12.15pm.
8 sessions, starting 11 January - 14 March 2012
Venue:
Brook Road Methodist Church,
Davyhulme,
Urmston
Manchester
M41 5RQ
| Price | Concessions |
Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
|---|---|---|---|
£80 |
n/a |
10 |
30 |
Bookings cannot be guaranteed after 29th December 2011.
Send bookings to:
Gareth Curtis,
25 Westbourne Park, Urmston, Manchester M41 0XR
curtismusic@btinternet.com tel: 0161 747 8687
An introduction to Wagner’s operas I – from The Flying Dutchman to Tristan and Isolde
As we approach the bi-centenary of Wagner’s birth, I hope to run three self-contained courses tracing his operatic career from The Flying Dutchman through to Parsifal.
The first of these will begin with The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser and Lohengrin, showing how Wagner’s distinctive approach to music drama emerged, and placing him in the context of German opera of the period. Tristan and Isolde is, of course, regarded as a crucial work in the development of 19th-century music, and we shall end the course by exploring its methods and influence in detail.
Recommended reading:
The English National Opera Guides on these four operas (Nos.12, 39, 47 and 6 respectively) each contain translations of the libretti (useful for the course!) and essays on the plots and backgrounds of the works.
Day : Mondays Time: 2 - 4 pm.
8 sessions, starting 16 January - 5 March 2012
Venue:
Brook Road Methodist Church,
Davyhulme,
Urmston
Manchester
M41 5RQ
| Price | Concessions |
Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
|---|---|---|---|
£64 |
n/a |
10 |
30 |
Bookings cannot be guaranteed after 29th December.
Send bookings to:
Gareth Curtis,
25 Westbourne Park, Urmston, Manchester M41 0XR
curtismusic@btinternet.com Phone: 0161 747 8687
DAYSCHOOL:
The stories music tells
Gareth Curtis
This course is connected with my ‘...for the listener’ series, and explores the narrative quality of music.
Of course, the obvious way to tell a story in music is to use words – supposing, though, that we only have instruments? How can music tell a story or even conjure up a specific atmosphere (i.e. not just happy or sad) which is outside the realms of melody and harmony? To what extext, for example, might music contain signals which we recognise or interpret? And what artistic purpose does this sort of thing really fulfil?
Finally, some would suggest that music can have a narrative quality without referring to anything external. What might this mean? How far, for example, might this possibility help us to understand a symphony movement?
Dayschool: Saturday 11th February, 2012
Time: 10 am-4 pm
Venue:
Brook Road Methodist Church,
Davyhulme,
Urmston
Manchester
M41 5RQ
| Price | Concessions |
Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
|---|---|---|---|
£19 |
£16* |
16 |
30 |
* if booked before January 28th, 2012.
Send bookings to:
Gareth Curtis,
25 Westbourne Park, Urmston, Manchester M41 0XR
curtismusic@btinternet.com Phone: 0161 747 8687
DAYSCHOOL:
Weber - a forgotten master?
Gareth Curtis
Over the years, Weber’s reputation has drifted – perhaps because his music sounds as if it belongs to the Romantic period, yet he died before Beethoven and Schubert. Tricky as it may be to place nowadays, in his time he achieved wide and enthusiastic acclaim. Commentators as diverse as Berlioz and Wagner regarded him as one of the greatest and most influential composers of the period; and, in Paris at least, the number of performances of his works at orchestral concerts was only surpassed by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
This study day will briefly survey the sheer range of his output. However, we shall also spend time on a few key masterpieces (including the 1820s operas Der Freischütz and Euryanthe), exploring Weber’s remarkable contribution to the development of German Romantic music.
Recommended Listening:
Weber: Clarinet Concertos and Overtures; Der Freischütz
Dayschool: Saturday 24th March, 2012
Time: 10 am-4 pm
Venue:
Brook Road Methodist Church,
Davyhulme,
Urmston
Manchester
M41 5RQ
| Price | Concessions |
Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
|---|---|---|---|
£19 |
£16* |
16 |
30 |
* if booked before March 10th, 2012.
Send bookings to:
Gareth Curtis,
25 Westbourne Park, Urmston, Manchester M41 0XR
curtismusic@btinternet.com Phone: 0161 747 8687