December 9th, 2005
The University of Wisconsin’s Division of Continuing Education offers a host of music classes. Even if you’re like me and have not an ounce of musical ability, there’s still several opportunities to learn about music. Here’s some music appreciation courses that are offered:
Bach’s cantatas: how they work and how to listen to them
Johann Sebastian Bach’s church cantatas rank among his crowning achievements. They are based on written texts of various kinds, and understanding the texts can clarify Bach’s musical aims. This course looks at some of Bach’s most important cantatas in their historical, theological, textual and musical contexts. The course does not presuppose any prior familiarity with Bach’s music. We focus on different cantatas each time the course is taught.
Great composer series: Vivaldi, Wagner, Holst, Shostakovich
In this nine-week course you learn about and experience the lives and music of four great composers: Vivaldi, Wagner, Holst, and Shostakovich. In a style light on jargon and rich in listening, this course is for anyone interested in learning more about the major composers of Western classical music.
Musical traditions of the Celtic world
This five-week course explores traditional music and instruments from the Celtic countries/regions of Brittany, Galicia, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man, and discusses their similarities and differences. Live demonstrations and multimedia examples enhance this rich exploration of Celtic music.
Opera theater excursion
Join opera and early-music expert John W. Barker for a trip to the Chicago Opera Theater for a matinee double-bill performance of two landmark early English operas, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Charles Dibdin’s The Padlock. Fee includes performance ticket, round-trip chartered coach to Chicago, lecture en route, and dinner in Chicago following the performance.
NEW Verdi: the lesser-known operas
Of Giuseppe Verdi’s 28 operas, nine are regularly heard staples of the international repertoire and seven others receive frequent productions. In this four-session course we sample these latter seven, along with Verdi’s 12 other operas (mostly early works), all of which are musically and dramatically rich.
ONLINE Celtic music: regional cultures and modern success
Meet the musicians and explore the history and culture of the music fueling the Celtic trend. The course’s extensive Website is complemented by the book Celtic Tides and an excellent compilation CD from Green Linnet. The seven units include reading, listening, and written assignments asking for your informal responses to thought-provoking questions.
ONLINE World music: soundscapes in a changing world
Music today moves effortlessly across geographic boundaries. Explore the social and cultural settings of music in your own life and across the world. Understand basic concepts of sound and music to appreciate artists from Eminem to Tuvan throat singers. Multiple musics in familiar places offer a chance to move into different worlds of experience. Communicate with the instructor via e-mail throughout the 10 units.
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