Description
A considerable bulk of the music that pervades the “Western” region of the world at present is governed either by contemporary popular styles or by classical and theatrical genres dating from the eighteenth century onward up through at least the middle of the twentieth century. Underlying this titanic body of diverse repertoire – shaped by multifarious strands of defined musical “classics” of our time – dwells a wellspring of musical riches stretching back across the eras all of the way to the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean. It is upon this temporally long underpinning— this archaic heritage of musical philosophy, analysis, composition, and practice—that all later musical developments, including its works, its theory, its ethics, and its politico-social evolutions are built. If you are intrigued to learn about the foundations of our modern musical system and to expand your engagement with some of the early music that characterized the eras of old Music Appreciation Lexington Community Education | Winter 2025 33 then this class is for you. We will survey some of the most salient and seminal genres, styles, composers, and musical works spanning from Ancient Greece to the advent of tonality around the conclusion of the seventeenth century. We will also briefly explore the development of music notation as well as touch upon a few of the principal concepts of Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance/early Baroque Music Theory. In addition to lecture, this class will be further enlivened through multiple listening examples and discussions.
