UCL - Aesthetic and philosophy of music

[MUSI2871]

[15h] 5 credits

This course is taught in the 2d semester.

This two-yearly course is taught in 2009-2010, 2011-2012,...

Teacher(s): Brigitte Van Wymeersch

Language: French

Level: Second

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

Comprehension of problems and stakes of philosophy of music and aesthetic on the basis of precise questions, both historic and thematic. The course and guided works will allow students to acquire a sufficient detachment to deepen their own critical approach towards musical art.

Main themes

In-depth study of some musical philosophical movements, from Antiquity up to now. This study enables students to analyse, in the light of history, basic notions in terms of aesthetic and musical critic ( notion of beauty, taste, musical pleasure, emotion, style, active listening, time and space, imitation, ).

Content and teaching methods

Contents :
Themes vary from a year to another. The professor emphasizes key periods that witnessed the birth of basic notions for the understanding of music, or fondamental concepts, studied in a diachronical way.

Teaching methods:
The lectures will be given ex-cathedra by the professor. Those are agremented with musical exemples, pictures and videos.
Students prepare the sceances through the reading of an article or a chapter coming from a reference monography.
Recommended reading:
In addition to the general bibliography, obligatory/compulsory reading will be displayed at the beginning of the year, according to the theme chosen by the professor.

General bibliography:
- Le sens de la musique, ed. de Violaine ANGER, Paris, éd. rue d'Ulm (Aesthetica), 2005, 2 vol.
- Articles consacrées à la philosophie de la musique (B. VAN WYMEERSCH) dans Esthétique et Philosophie de l'art. Repères historiques et thématiques, sous la dir. de L'atelier d'esthétique (D.LORIES, TH. LENAIN. et al.), Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2002.
- E. LIPPMAN, A History of Western Musical Aesthetics. Lincoln & London, University of Nebraska Press.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisite: none. This course is obligatory for students in musicology.
Evaluation: oral examination at the end of the session.
Course material: a summary, a PowerPoint presentation and a bibliography of the course, as well as a lecture calendar will be available on the intranet.