Early music in the 20th century
Course Code: MD504
Duration: 10 sessions (over 11 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Center for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
The sustained search for ‘original’ styles of early music performance throughout the twentieth century has been dubbed both ‘authentic performance’ and ‘historically informed performance’ and has created a sea-change in listening habits over the course of the last century. This course charts the main developments in early music performance practice throughout the twentieth century and explores the legacy of key musical pioneers through case studies in biography, historic publications, recordings and broadcasts.
What will we cover?
- The changing performance practice of baroque, renaissance and medieval music
- The influence of folk and non-Western music practices in early music performance
- The socio-political influences on early music research and performance
- Case studies including: Wanda Landowska, The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Alfred Deller, Noah Greenberg, David Munrow, Thurston Dart The Clerks of Oxenford, Gustav Leonhardt …and more.
- Explore the recorded legacy of the early music revival.
- Vibrato: some arguments for and against.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Identify key features of early music performance practice in more than one genre
- Demonstrate a deeper understanding of the relationship between research and performance
- Recognise and understand the different approaches of key early music performers.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for anyone with an interest in listening to early music and who wishes to find out more about the history of performing this repertoire. We will look at various scores and historical documents during this course but you do not need to read music notation to participate in these activities. All texts will be in English, or accompanied by an English translation. You you can access further course materials online though Google Classroom during the course.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Sessions will comprise combinations of lecture, question-and-answer, quizzes, guided listening, video and score study. You may wish to do extra reading outside class or extra listening via Google Classroom.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You may also wish to purchase some of the music books or recordings discussed in class, links to these materials will be available online after each session.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
To find out more about music history classes Music history courses in London and online which lists our full programme of classes ordered by term, and by day of the week. You may then click on each title to read the full course outline.
Edward teaches music history and music theory at City lit where he is Head of Programme: Advanced Studies in the School of Performing Arts. His specialism is early music (medieval, renaissance and baroque periods) and he completed his PhD in historical musicology at King's College London (2013) on the performance of medieval music. Outside of teaching, Edward is a regular contributor to Gramophone magazine and has lectured for Dartington International Summer School, London's Southbank Centre and The British Library. He has also worked as a researcher for BBC Proms and written for the journal Early Music (OUP). His recent essays are published in: The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Historical Performance in Music, (Cambridge University Press); The Montpellier Codex: Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music 16 (Boydell Press); Recomposing the Past: Representations of Early Music on Stage and Screen (Ashgate 2018); and 30-Second Classical Music (Ivy Press).
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
