String Instrument Literature, Spring 2024 • School of Music, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • MUS 560, Section A, CRN 73091 • Students have a choice of asynchronous online attendance or in-person classes Fridays 1:00-2:50, Room 0304 Music Building (lower level, east corridor) • Instructor: Rudolf Haken • email rlhaken@illinois.edu • Office hours by appointment (in-person or Zoom)
SYLLABUS - SPRING 2024
[SYLLABUS FOR Fall 2024 CAN BE FOUND AT www.rudolfhaken.com/stringlitfall2024]
I. Online / in-person modality
All lectures for this course are posted on YouTube, with links provided in section VII below. For each week’s videos you’ll need to submit an assignment as described in Section IV below. Students are given the choice of in-person attendance or asynchronous online attendance. “Asynchronous online” means you don’t need to be available during the listed class time of Fridays 1:00-2:50, Room 0304 Music Building (lower level). Class meetings are optional, and are held for those students who feel they benefit from discussing material with their peers and their professor in person. We will not watch the videos together as a class. Instead, students are expected to watch videos before class on their own so that class time can be devoted to discussion. All required videos for the semester have already been posted, thus you have the option of working ahead in anticipation of particularly busy weeks (such as mid-terms or recitals). Please email me as soon as possible at rlhaken@illinois.edu with your preference for asynchronous online or in-person attendance. If you’ve indicated a preference for in-person lectures but need to be absent from one of the class sessions, or, conversely, you’ve indicated a preference for online participation and decide you’d like to attend a particular class session in person, it won’t be a problem. Just be sure to let me know as long in advance as possible, and submit the "reaction paper" by the due date. If you know you’ll be busy on a Friday afternoon and evening, I recommend watching the videos and submitting the reaction paper earlier in the week, or even a few weeks in advance.
II. Course Summary/Description
This is the first in a two-semester sequence covering literature for bowed instruments from ancient times to the present. Spring semester covers music from ancient times through ca. 1825 for bowed instruments from cultures across the globe.
III. Curricular requirements for Master’s candidates
Two semesters of String Instrument Literature are required of all Master's performance candidates in violin, viola, cello, bass, electric violin and electric viola. These may be taken at any time during your Master’s studies. However, be sure one of them is during a Spring semester, and the other during a Fall semester. “Part 1” is offered every Spring semester and covers repertoire through ca. 1825. "Part 2" is offered every Fall semester and covers repertoire from ca. 1826 to the present. You may take Part 2 (Fall semester) before Part 1 (Spring semester), although you might prefer to take them in chronological order.
IV. Assignments
Listed in Section VII below are videos you are required to watch before class time each Friday. By Sunday following class you are required to submit a “reaction paper” of 150-200 words. (Note: Your first assignment for the Spring semester,, on Instrument Classifications, is a more extensive paper that counts double for grading.) A “reaction papers is a short essay giving your impression of the music or lecture you’ve heard, how it relates to other music or other philosophies, how it affects you and might influence you. You have the option of watching videos and submitting reaction papers ahead of schedule. If you’ve indicated a preference for in-person lectures but need to be absent from one of the class sessions, it won’t be a problem and won’t affect your grade (although I ask that you let me know as soon as possible). Just be sure to submit the "reaction paper" by that Sunday.
V. How to submit assignments
For each student in the class I’ve created a cloud folder viewable only by that student and me. I’ll send you a link to your personal folder, to which you should submit the reaction papers each week. Instructions for creating filenames are included in each assignment listed in Section VII. You may submit reaction papers as doc, docx, pages, or txt files.
VI. Clarification of terms used in videos
Names of musical compositions, performing groups and recordings are presented in their original form, even where titles might be confusing, outdated, or in some cases objectionable. The objectionable aspect is primarily in reference to terms for the Roma (Tzigane, Zigeuner, and Gypsy). We need to be sensitive to the pejorative connotations, even in cases where no harm was intended. Some Sinti (whose ancestors are from Sindh in modern-day Pakistan) consider themselves to be Roma, while others consider the Sinti to be a separate ethnicity. The terms Roma and Romani have only a coincidental similarity to Roman and Romanian, and in fact refer to entirely different ethnicities. This can cause confusion particularly when discussing musical styles, and care must be taken to use appropriate terms.
VII. Timeline for Spring 2024
Fri, Jan 19, 2024
We won’t have class or assignments during the first week of the semester. I suggest getting started on the Jan 26 assignment soon since it is more time-consuming than the other assignments and counts for double the points in grading.
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Fri, jan 26, 2024
Watch the video linked below before class time Friday, January 26, 2024. Lecture topic is instrument classifications. See assignment details below. Assignment will be due Sunday, January 28, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-01-26” and upload it to the personal cloud folder I’ve created for you.
Lecture #1 - String Lit - University of Illinois https://youtu.be/B3OWZ1UgnwY
Assignment:
This lecture is on instrument classifications. The video contains clips of 35 bowed instruments from Africa, Asia and Europe. Your assignment is to group these instruments into “instrument families” and describe their characteristics. Your classifications should be done from an engineering standpoint, rather than a cultural or historical standpoint. That is to say, each instrument should be grouped according to how the sound is produced and amplified, and how it is played. For example, you could create one family containing all the kemenches; one containing the viola da gamba and arpeggione; and so forth. In some cases, you may find that an instrument is so unique as to constitute its own family. You may create your own names for instrument families, or you can use names from an extant classification system such as Hornbostel-Sachs, whichever you prefer. You may create as many or as few instrument families as you see fit, and make categories as broad or as specific as you like.
Give a name for each instrument family you’ve created. For each of your instrument families, follow the four steps listed below. Keep in mind that this is a general guide, and you’re welcome to modify the categorization methodology to your own needs. Your descriptions can be as short or long as needed.
What is the sound production mechanism for the instrument family? (How do the musician, bow, hair, strings and resonator interact in order to produce sound? “Resonator” is the part of the instrument that amplifies the sound, such as the body of a cello.) Comment on the shape of the bow. How is the bow tightened? How does it resemble other bows you know of?
How are pitches changed? (In order to change pitch, does the player bend the string, or press keys, or place fingers between the strings, or place fingers on top of the strings on a fingerboard? If there is a fingerboard, is it fretted? Does the instrument have tuning pegs?)
How many strings does the instrument have? Does it have sympathetic strings?
How would you describe the sound of the instrument? Does it resemble the sound of another instrument?
Timecodes for each instrument clip are listed below, as well as in the YouTube video description:
0:00 Opening remarks 1:44 Lolo Mouth Bow (Burkina Faso) 3:19 Goje (Senegal) 3:56 Endingidi (Uganda) 5:14 Imzad (Algeria) 6:10 Masenqo (Ethiopia) 7:14 Riti (Senegal) 8:21 N'jarka (Mali) 8:36 Sarangi - bowed lute (India) 9:50 Dilruba (India) 11:09 Ravanahatha (Sri Lanka & India) 13:06 Rebab (Mysore, India) 13:46 Dhodro Banam (West Bengal, India) 14:13 Sarinda (Pakistan & India) 15:23 Morin Khuur horse-head fiddle (Mongolia) 19:13 Sattar - bowed lute (Uyghur nation) 20:43 Erhu (China) 25:50 Troh Khmer (Cambodia) 26:26 Kamancheh (Iran) 27:09 Kemenche (Armenia) 27:37 Kemençe (Turkey) 28:40 Rebab (Turkey) 29:17 Pontic Lyra - Kemenche (Greece) 29:55 Vielle – under chin (Catalonia) 30:40 Vielle - vertical (Sephardic Spanish) 31:34 Gusle (Balkans - Eastern Europe) 32:25 Viola d'amore (Italy) 36:27 Viola da gamba (Italy) 40:37 Baryton (Europe) 42:30 Viennese Violone - fretted bass (Austria) 43:49 Violoncello da Spalla (Italy) 44:32 Arpeggione (Austria) 45:28 Hardanger Fiddle / Hardingfele (Norway) 47:34 Nyckelharpa (Sweden) 50:07 Tagelharpa (Scandinavia) 50:43 Crwth - bowed lyre (Wales)
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Fri, feb 2, 2024
Watch the video linked below before class time Friday, February 2, 2024. Lecture topic is 18th century performance practice. Write a “reaction paper” of approximately 150-250 words based on this lecture. (You will not be penalized if your essay is over 250 words.) Discuss your reaction to the content of the video, how it might affect the way you play or think about music, and bring up any relevant issues you see fit. Essay will be due Sunday, February 4, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-02-02” and upload it to the personal cloud folder I’ve created for you.
Lecture #2 - String Lit - University of Illinois https://youtu.be/I1rQ-LoY5H4
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Fri, feb 9, 2024
Watch the video linked below before class time Friday, February 9, 2024. Lecture topics are trio sonatas and piano trios. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words is due Sunday, February 11, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-02-09.”
Lecture #3 - String Lit - University of Illinois https://youtu.be/_fwrAasqNs8
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FRI, FEB 16, 2024
Watch the video linked below before class time Friday, February 16, 2024. Lecture topics are consort of viols and concerto grosso. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words is due Sunday, February 18, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-02-16.”
Lecture #4 - String Lit - University of Illinois https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-SJQ_yD9i4
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FRI, FEB 23, 2024
Watch the two videos linked below before class time Friday, February 23, 2024. Write a “reaction paper” of approximately 150-250 words based on these videos and the biographical and historical material provided. (You need to write just one reaction paper of 150-250 words each week, covering material from all of that week’s videos.) Reaction paper is due Sunday, February 25, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-02-23.”
1. Ensemble Ibérica "Spanish Baroque" concert highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5RqyLbgGrs&t=3s Only the following two selections from this video are required: 2:23 Allemande & 6:17 Danza del Hacha, Both selections are composed by Antonio Martín y Coll.
Read about the composer at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Mart%C3%ADn_y_Coll
Francisco José de Castro lo Spagnuolo (ca.1670-ca.1730) was a Spanish composer who lived and worked primarily in Italy. He added the moniker “lo Spagnuolo” to indicate his Spanish heritage. His sonatas follow the fugato style of Arcangelo Corelli’s chamber sonatas, beginning with a Preludio, followed by up to three dance movements.
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FRI, MARCH 1, 2024
Watch the six videos linked below before class time Friday, March 1, 2024. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words is due Sunday, March 3, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-03-01”
1. Erhu - Ballad of North Henan Province 豫北叙事曲 https://youtu.be/7fdFGEg-9R8?t=42 Watch from 0:42-3:18
Map of Henan (Chinese province) https://www.google.com/maps/place/Henan,+China/@33.7928861,109.0129825,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x35d692e354d4df61:0x82b2157827a21acb!8m2!3d34.7657099!4d113.75322
Map of Azerbaijan https://www.google.com/maps/place/Azerbaijan/@40.1541065,45.5060332,7z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x40307cd91aa21ddf:0xe6c9526b3e83cd08!8m2!3d40.143105!4d47.576927
3. Taqasim Violin (Kurd G) | (تقاسيم كمنجة (كرد صول https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGe7rlOaBis
Music from Kurdistan, a region shared by Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan
4. Utkur Kadirov plays "Surnay Dashnobodi" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gAVoKaaD8k Music from Uzbekistan, played on a modern violin.
Map of Uzbekistan https://www.google.com/maps/place/Uzbekistan/@41.2934554,60.0739849,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x38ae8b20a5d676b1:0xca0a6dad7e841e20!8m2!3d41.377491!4d64.585262
5. Kobyz player Akmaral Akbayeva https://youtu.be/E2SspNgSpp0?t=207 Only the following two portions of the video are required: 3:27-5:26 and 6:02-7:32. This video features music from Kazakhstan, played on a kobyz. Read about the kobyz here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobyz
Map of Kazakhstan https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kazakhstan/@46.5940518,49.0384383,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x38a91007ecfca947:0x5f7b842fe4b30e1b!8m2!3d48.019573!4d66.923684
This video features Anatolian folk music. (“Anatolia” is an historical name for Asia Minor, a peninsula in western Asia, comprising most of modern-day Turkey. The term “Anatolia” is a Greek word meaning “the East” as this region is to the east of Greece.) Following are notes on this video by its producer, Uğur Önür: “From time to time, I go through my archives and come across very valuable videos. In 2015, I visited the late Yörük Şakir in Antalya [city in Anatolia on the Mediterranean in southern Turkey.] I compiled Yörük tunes from him. [The Yörüks are a Turkish people inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia.] He was performing both the violin and the kabak kemaneyi [traditional Anatolian fiddle] masterfully, and he was doing this in a theater setting. Although he was sick he did not falter, and played, screamed, and burst into excitement as if he were a young 30-year-old man. We played together as well, which is a memory from that day to us. His playful personality, his energy in his music was incredible. Rest in peace. I will share other videos in the future. Enjoy watching.”
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FRI, MARCH 8, 2024
Watch the four videos linked below before class time Friday, March 8, 2024. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words is due Sunday, March 10, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-03-8”
1. Sonata decima, Isabella Leonarda (1620–1704) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HcX-CEwn-k Sonata Op 16 No 10 by Isabella Leonarda, composed in Bologna ca. 1693
Read about the composer here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Leonarda
2. Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Sonata #2 in B-flat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJvFUeyQYZE Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, 1665-1729, Paris.
Read about the composer here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lisabeth_Jacquet_de_La_Guerre
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FRI, MARCH 22, 2024
Read the essay linked below before class time Friday, March 22, 2024. Topic is interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas, Partitas and Suites. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words is due Sunday, March 24, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-02-22.”
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FRI, MARCH 29, 2024
Watch the five videos linked below before class time Friday, March 29, 2024. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words is due Sunday, March 31, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-03-29.”
4. Old Time Fiddle Tune - unknown title https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRYOpIlfwKU Title of the tune is “Laughing Boy”
5. Lonesome John... Appalachian fiddle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtYG6kv3A5Y
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FRI, APRIL 5, 2024
Watch the five videos linked below before class time Friday, April 5, 2024. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words is due Sunday, April 7, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-04-05.”
1. “Gnaal" - the bowed lyre (taglharpe) "Funeral march" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muRr8WqrU48 www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7sK5OiJHHQ
Map of Scandinavia https://www.google.com/maps/place/Scandinavia/@61.7320346,0.0533718,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4664bcea4d8e22cd:0x7186faed0155b381!8m2!3d62.2786475!4d12.3401709
2. Ramund (Danish folk song) on Nyckelharpa - Myrkur https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF-jgV3EuIY
4. Christian Borlaug spiller Fanitullen på hardingfele https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc-WGo4N8h8
5. Christian Borlaug hardingfele https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV5AfRTGGFM
6. "Stóðum Tvö í Túni" on Langspil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJH_67xFKdM
Translation of “Stóðum Tvö í Túni” – “There were two of us in the field”.
Read about the langspil here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langspil
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FRI, APRIL 12, 2024
Watch the seven videos linked below before class time Friday, April 12, 2024. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words will be due Sunday, April 14, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-04-12.”
1.Turlough O’Carolan - Carolan’s Concerto https://youtu.be/px6i3OL7o-4?t=23
Map of Mid Wales. https://www.google.com/maps/search/mid+wales/@52.3841116,-6.4023773,7z/data=!3m1!4b1
This is from Oswald’s “Curious Collection of Scots Tunes”. Read about the composer here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oswald_(composer)
4. Scots Baroque || Pianodrome Sessions https://youtu.be/2IdsBE9mnCw?t=341 Only the following portion of the video is required: 05:41 The Bonniest Lass in a’ the Warld (William McGibbon 1690-1756)
Read about the composer here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGibbon
5. McGibbon Sonata No. 5 in G Major: Adagio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuusXdELpVU Composer: William McGibbon 1690-1756. This is the third movement of a sonata with the composer’s indication “in imitation of Corelli”.
6. McGibbon Sonata No. 5 in G Major: Allegro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTOhSWRKlE8 Composer: William McGibbon 1690-1756. This is the fourth (final) movement of a sonata with the composer’s indication “in imitation of Corelli”.
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FRI, APRIL 19, 2024
Watch the two videos linked below before class time Friday, April 19, 2024. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words will be due Sunday, April 21, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-04-19.”
1.Chevalier de Saint-Georges - Violin Concerto in A Major - Royal Scottish National Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On2luLSf7XI Violin Concerto Op 7 No 1 by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799).
Read about the composer here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges
In your reaction paper include a summary of the composer’s biography.
2. AMAZING Mozart 3 - 3rd movement Cadenza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHTtES2qLhM
Giles Apap’s cadenza for the final movement of Mozart’s third violin concerto. In nearly all concerto performances in Mozart’s era, cadenzas were improvised, often including folk elements and light-hearted humor. Giles Apap does this, but uses musical material with which Mozart’s audiences wouldn’t have been familiar. Given that Apap’s performance occurred over 200 years after the concerto was written, was it aesthetically appropriate for Apap to use contemporary folk elements, or would it have been more authentic to limit himself to elements familiar to Mozart’s audiences?
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FRI, APRIL 26, 2024
Watch the three videos linked below before class time on Friday, April 26, 2024. “Reaction paper” of 150-250 words will be due Sunday, April 28, 2024. Name your file “Your Name - String Lit - 2024-04-26.”
Read about the composer here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesca_Lebrun
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VIII. Grading
There are 13 assignments (one for each Friday). For each of these, an assignment is due by the Sunday after the lecture date, as described in section VII above. The first assignment (on instrument classifications) is worth twice as much as the others. Therefore the first essay is worth 1/7 of your semester grade, while each of the others is worth 1/14 of your semester grade. An essay uploaded late will have 50% of its credit deducted. There are no “right” or “wrong” essays. They just need to be well thought-out and indicate that you’ve watched the videos and read the materials attentively and reflected on them. Grading system: 90-100% A; 80-89% B; 70-79% C; 60-69% D; below 60% F.
IX. Syllabus for Fall 2024
Fall 2024 syllabus can be accessed at www.rudolfhaken.com/stringlitfall2024
To obtain disability-related academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the course instructor and the Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) as soon as possible. To contact DRES, you may visit 1207 S. Oak St., Champaign, call 217-333-4603, e-mail disability@illinois.edu or go to the DRES website. • We recognize that each person expresses and experiences gender and sexuality in a variety of ways. For this reason, we aim to utilize language that is both non-sexist and gender inclusive. This attentiveness to identity creates a space where our transgender/non-binary students feel safe and honored and our cisgender students are provided with an awareness of the gender expansiveness that they may experience throughout their musical careers.