Music M401
History and Literature of Music I:
Antiquity to 1750

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Fall 2007


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Review Guide For Final Examination

The final serves both as an examination on the material covered since the second test and as a cumulative examination on the course as a whole. Reread the course objectives to make sure you understand what is being tested and why.

Once Again, Make a Time Line! Since the third exam, we have covered another hundred years, completing a journey of over 4000 years. Along the way, we have treated many pieces and composers by genre or nationality rather than in chronological order, in this and in previous units. Making a time line for the entire period since the Middle Ages (but especially since 1600, the beginning of the Baroque period) will help you to review the dates of compositions, composers, and important events and to see the chronological relationship of different types of music and schools of composition.


Types of Questions

The final may include the following types of questions:


Weiss-Taruskin Readings

Some short answer questions will draw upon the readings in Weiss-Taruskin. In reviewing Weiss-Taruskin, focus particularly on these readings: Rameau (WT 60), von Uffenbach on Vivaldi (WT 66), Bach's contract at Leipzig (WT 71), and C. P. E. Bach's reminiscences of his father (WT 72 and 73). Be prepared to identify a short passage drawn from these readings by who wrote it (or who it is about) and about when it was written, and to discuss the issues addressed in the passage and the significance for music history.


Terms and Names from Previous Units

The following terms and names from material covered on the first two examinations are fair game for short answer and identification questions. These items are arranged in large categories so that related items are grouped together. Reviewing these lists will also help you review the material in each category. In addition to the following, all composers on the listening list since the beginning of the semester and all terms and names related to material covered since the third exam are fair game for identification questions.


Topics for Review

The topics below are designed as a guide for organizing your review of music during the Baroque period, especially since the third examination. Organizing what you know in terms of these large themes and categories should help you prepare for the listening, short answer, and essay portions of the examination. In addition, see the Review Questions at the end of each chapter of the Study and Listening Guide. In preparing for possible essay questions, remember that you will be expected to describe examples from the music we have studied to support your points.

  1. The development of opera and related forms between 1600 and 1750 in Italy, France, and England, including the different circumstances and trends in each nation.
  2. Sacred music in the Baroque period.
  3. The origins and various uses of the concertato principle from Gabrieli to Bach.
  4. National styles and traditions in Italy, France, Germany, England, and Spain and the Spanish New World
  5. The development of solo instrumental music (keyboard and lute) from 1600 to 1750, including instruments used, forms and genres, playing styles, compositional styles, ornamentation, and mode.
  6. The development of instrumental ensemble and orchestral music from the late 1500s to 1750, including instruments and ensembles used, forms and genres, playing styles, compositional styles, ornamentation, and mode.
  7. Comparison of the careers, musical ideals, and styles of the major composers whose works we have studied. [In an essay question, the names will be supplied and may include any two of the following: Monteverdi, Schütz, Lully, Corelli, Vivaldi, Rameau, Bach, Handel.]


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Last updated: 27 August 2007
URL: http://www.music.indiana.edu/som/courses/m401/Exam4.html
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