What is “Italian” about Italian music? What do Italians think about their own music, and what is its image/sound abroad?

The course aims to answer these questions by engaging with several musical genres (opera, instrumental, pop music, film music, folk), discussing interconnected topics (politics, economy, culture, and so on) and listening to a wide variety of music.

Italian music is engrained in public and private rituals and connects people across the world and across the vast community of history. Yet while we know that we like Italian music, and that it has a certain effect on us, it is often difficult to determine why, and harder still to explain what it is that makes its sound “Italian”. This course takes on those issues. It aims to introduce you to a variety of music, and a range of ways of thinking, talking, and writing about Italian music. We will explore music as a cultural phenomenon, considering what music has meant for different people from different societies across the ages and across geographical boundaries.

• To connect music as you hear it to culture and history, in addition to making connections between music and other disciplines (literature, drama, art, economics, technology, etc.).
• To contribute to the classroom experience by participating openly and collegially, working with each other to make the course enjoyable and intellectually rigorous.
• To experience the history of Italian music as a culture different than your own, to see music as emerging not from a vacuum but as one strand in the fabric of society.
• To combine auditory perception with intellectual thought--i.e. becoming a close and attentive listener.
• To engage with the history of music in Italy, acquiring essential information on historical context, major--and minor--works, composers, styles, and genres.

Presentation: 25% of the final grade

Each student will be asked once (throughout the entire course) to present on a topic related to the class and previously arranged with me.

Opera/recording review: 25% of the final grade

Before the end of the course, you will write a 1-page report on a piece you have either attended in person at a concert or through a recording. More info during the first class.

 Final written exam: 25% of the final grade

The exam will be based on the readings and topics covered in class.

I value participation in the class as an active contribution to the general discussion and to specific tasks. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand during lectures, group assignements, or other activities.

Class attendance: 25% of the final grade.