Syllabus:

• History of Czech lands and Brno - it´s architecture and institutions
• Early music: from the Middle Ages to ca 1550
• Early music: the musical chapel of Emperor Rudolf II. (1576-1612)
• Music of the 17th Century: Michna, Vejvanovský, Biber
• Music of the 18th Century: Zelenka, Vivaldi and others
• The Classical Era, Mozart in Prague
• The Czech lands 1800-1860, Early reflections of the Folk music
• Bedřich Smetana
• Antonín Dvořák
• Janáček
• Martinů, Haas, Hába, Schulhoff
• After 1945: Novák, Husa, Eben
• Czech film music

 

Important informations:

Attendance of the course is compulsory. 

Assigned readings

Before each seminar, students are required to read the assigned readings, which provide background information and serve as the basis for class discussion. In addition, the following books are essential reading for those interested in the particular subjects.

Essay

One essay of ca 2000 words is to be submitted by e-mail to the teacher. The particular topic should be discussed in advance.

Deadline 1st of December 2012. Subject matter: Any concerning Czech music, targeted or comparative. Specialized themes are preferred to those more general.

Lecturer can be reached preferably by e-mail or during office hours (wednesdays 2.15-3.15 PM, building N, 6th floor), by appointment also at other times.

The lessons will take place on Tuesday from 3.50 p.m. to 5.20 p.m. in room N43 of the Faculty of Arts, building Janáčkovo náměstí 2a. Teaching starts on 18th of September 2012, last lecture is on 11 of December 2012. Attention: There is no lecture on Tuesday the 23rd of October.

Other course activities: Possible visits to the National Theatres in Prague, Brno, Bratislava and Staatsoper in Vienna. See googlecalendar 

 

Additional reading:

Related articles in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London, 2001 (available for MU IP-adresses at www.grovemusic.com).

Related articles in Lebrecht, Norman: The Companion to 20th Century Music. London 1992.

Černý, Jaromír (ed.): Historical Anthology of Music in the Bohemian Lands (up to ca 1530). Prague 2005

Mihule, Jaroslav: A concise guide to the life and work of Bohuslav Martinů. Polička 2008.

Newmarch, R. The Music of Czechoslovakia. Oxford, 1942, 1969.

Sehnal, Jiří: Pavel Vejvanovský and the Kroměříž music collection. Perspectives of seventeenth-century music in Moravia. Olomouc 2008.

Štěpánek, V. and Karásek, B. An Outline of Czech and Slovak Music. Prague, 1964.

Tyrrell, J. Czech Opera. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Tyrrell, J. Janáček: Years of a Life, I (1864-1914), II (1914-1928). London, 2006, 2007.

 

Assigned reading for next lecture (25-09-2012) see below in pdf format

Jaroslav Pánek: The Historical Beat of Europe’s Heart

Kouba, Jan and Tomislav Volek: A Historical Survey of Czech Music