French Musical Culture
From the Middle Ages to the 20th century, French Music went through tremendous transformations. From Gregorian monophonic music to polyphonic complex works, from troubadours poetry to the beginning of instrumental music and romantic virtuosity, from sacred and court music to the invention of modern public concert, from the birth of tonal harmony to the advent of atonality, music has constantly changed of form and social frame.
By studying every significant period (the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Baroque, Romanticism and Modern music), we will enlighten their specificities and their main features. We will also look at history, history of ideas and arts to understand the background and the transformations of french musical forms throughout history. We'll also focus on the evolution of the links between text and music in French Music. Finally, we will try to answer this question: does such a thing as what we call “French Music” really exist?
We will work on different medias and resources: -musical extracts, -videos, -texts (lyrics, historical sources and comments), -other visual materials like painting, architecture and sculptures. We will also dedicate one session per week to different workshops, including oral presentations, reading and writing of specific musical press articles, discussion.
No previous knowledge in music is required.

Required Text
• Jean et Brigitte Massin (dir.), Histoire de la Musique Occidentale, Fayard, ISBN : 2213020329