Music history - Keeley Street - Online

Music History Courses in London and Online

City Lit offers an extensive programme of online music history and music appreciation courses with a focus on Western classical music, Folk, Jazz, Rock and Pop. There are new topics each year across a growing range of music styles and traditions.

To find out more about music history classes and to read our year-long selection of courses, please see the blog post Music history: your guide to our programme 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.

Our staff are all professional musicians who teach, write, broadcast, lecture and perform widely. In recent years they have worked with BBC Radio 3, Gramophone magazine, Birkbeck (University of London), The Open University, Oxford and Cambridge University Press, Early Music, The Orchestra of the age of Enlightenment, The Wigmore Hall and the Aldeburgh Festival.

Many of our students learn for pleasure but some also come to enhance their careers: recent examples include board members of music charities, marketing and administration professionals from orchestras and gap-year students considering university entrance.

Feel free to browse our programme and do email us at music@citylit.ac.uk with any questions.

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  1. Christmas Carols: a brief history
    Course start date:  Thu 7 Dec 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Edward Breen
    Discover the rich heritage of Christmas carols. Learn about traditional forms of the carol and the history behind selected examples from the medieval to twentieth century.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £29.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  2. Exploring opera 2
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Pauline Greene
    Join us to explore the history of opera over three enjoyable terms. In this second term we’ll explore the innovations of Mozart, the impact of the French Revolution and the early Romantics. NB: This course has no break week.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  3. Haydn: string quartets
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Karen Betley
    In Haydn’s hands the string quartet came of age, becoming a genre able to convey intimate and complex thoughts. Come and explore the ways in which Haydn adapted the quartet to such a task. NB: no break week.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00
  4. Great works: Stabat mater from plainchant to Pärt
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Trish Shaw
    This course examines a core Latin Christian hymn text, Stabat mater dolorosa, which has received dozens of musical settings over eight centuries, from the 13th century to the present day. Why does this particular text hold such fascination for composers, and how has its meaning been interpreted through music?
    Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £39.00
  5. Exploring opera 3
    Course start date:  Thu 25 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Pauline Greene
    Join us to explore the history of opera over three enjoyable terms. In this third term we’ll explore Verdi, Wagner and the early 20th century. Break week: 30 May 2024.
    Full fee £219.00
    Rating:
    95% of 100
  6. Operas in production
    Course start date:  Thu 25 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Pauline Greene
    Looking at five of the operas coming up in the 2023-24 season, we will discuss their composition, context, controversies and style, and then hear the story of the opera through musical examples. Break week 30th May 2024.
    Full fee £219.00
  7. Vibrato: a short study
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Jul 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Edward Breen
    What is vibrato and how is it used? Learn about the history of vocal vibrato and arguments surrounding its use.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £29.00
  8. Handel: politics & patronage
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Thu 21 Sep 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Karen Betley
    'Why do not British trees and forests throng To hear the sweeter notes of Handel's song?' so wrote a poet in 1740, comparing Handel to Orpheus. Come and explore the rise of Handel to classic status that took place here in London in the early 18th century. Break week: 26 Oct 2023.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00
  9. Exploring opera 1
    Course start date:  Thu 21 Sep 2023

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Pauline Greene
    Join us to explore the history of opera over three enjoyable terms. In this first term we’ll explore the ideas that fuelled origins of opera and the wonderful world of Baroque opera seria. NB: break week 26 Oct 2024.
    Full fee £219.00
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