GLST 490: Final Class Source: Google Images

Agenda for Today We will go over the last reading in the courseware – the one on European music. Then we will do a review for the final exam (Monday, December 13 th at 1 p.m. in Building 355, Room 203). If there's time, I would like to get your feedback on the course and suggestions for changes if it is offered again. Maybe we can also listen to Cheymus' presentation and hear a couple of songs on Olivia's tape player. Source: Google Images

European Music As described in the chapter from Bohlman, Vienna – both past and present – is the quintessential example of a musical cultural hearth. This role also may partly have to do with Vienna's former status as the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which dominated Central and Eastern Europe and drew on all of the cultural influences from that far-flung realm. Its wealth also permitted a rich musical and cultural infrastructure. Bohlman notes three possible views of Vienna's music: that it was the right place for the emergence of a unique canon; that it drew from the cultural periphery (many of its 'stars' were outsiders), and that it serves today as the cultural backdrop for clashing juxtapositions.

European Music Using this as a starting point, Bohlman raises the issue of what constitutes “European” music. Would Andean street musicians be part of that? Would the music of Islamic Spain? What about the music of all the immigrant groups that have arrived in Europe over the past half-century? What are your thoughts on this issue? He also notes that, despite continental or nation-state divisions, music and culture often are often associated with regional or cultural identities. The examples he gives are those of the Lake Constance Region, and that of the Roma, Jewish, and the Saami peoples. He describes how Roma musicians have influenced and also absorbed different musical traditions. Like the Jews, they performed the function at times of being almost a professional musical caste. Sometimes, this was one of the few arenas in which they were accepted.

European Music While music has long been an 'amateur sport, the enhanced trade and urbanization of the Middle Ages yielded what Bohlman describes as “highly skilled music specialists who traveled to urban centers, courts, and fairs, picking up new styles and repertories. Eventually, urbanization resulted in the mass production of instruments and sheet music. The music of transnational groups (Roma, Saami, and Celts) continues to cross nation-state boundaries. Bohlman also discusses how 'classical' composers, such as Bela Bartók, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Antonín Dvořák were very interested in and borrowed from folk forms of music (the same could be said for Chopin). In some cases, they sought to use these traditions to promote a nationalist agenda and purported to see in them a greater 'unity' than they probably in fact possessed.

European Music Another facet of the role of music in relation to nationalism is that states – such as Bulgaria under communism – sought to create a distinct identity for the nation through music, whereas oppressed nations, such as Estonia under Soviet rule, used song festivals as a way of asserting national pride and identity and resisting the Soviet yoke. Europe has contributed much to the mythology and actuality of the virtuoso – the super-talented musical being whose skills seems to defy earthly limits (the same could be said of Mozart's compositional prowess). While virtuosity is certainly present in folk and amateur music, there is less tendency than in 'high art' or elite music to shine the spotlight on the 'star'. (Chamber orchestras, though, it should be noted are fairly egalitarian.)‏ Instruments, such as the piano invented in Italy, have helped revolutionize music.

European Music At other times, instruments have run afoul of religion – both Islamic and puritanical Christian who banned instruments from church. We might also remember more recent criticisms of rhythm and blues and rock n' roll as “the devil's music.” Moreover, how they are played has often been subject to intense control. In a song by Hugh Marsh and Robert Palmer, Nazi directives and Soviet (Stalinist) denunciations regarding jazz are set to music. Both of these regimes sought to stamp out jazz' “cosmopolitan,” “decadent,” “Judeo-Negroid” spirit (pick your adjective). (See The Bass Saxophone by Josef Škvorecký.) Any thoughts as to why this might be so? The rest of the chapter deals with the annual Eurovision Song Contest, how culturally diverse it has become, and how much a vehicle it has become for politics and nationalism.

Review for Final We covered most of the course material on the delayed mid-term. So what will be on the final? First of all, what are the top 5 or 6 main learnings from this course? Very few of you chose the question from the mid- term as to how changes in the blues reflected changes in Afro-American life, so I may revisit that one. Maybe also be able to talk about the role blues played in Afro-American culture, especially in the past. Be familiar with the meaning of all the themes/ concepts listed in the course outline and be able to apply them.

Review for Final One could talk about how jazz served as the 'soundtrack' for the first half of the 20 th century. Anything covered today in the discussion of Europe would be fair game. We haven't spent a lot of time on Canada, but I might welcome your observations on how Canada has been impacted by, but also shaped, popular music. Maybe a little bit about the content of Oscar's talk and the video Cadillac Records; I'm open to suggestions about other things that you think would be appropriate for the exam. The format will be the same as last time: short answers and longer essay questions.

Your Feedback and Suggestions How did you like the course overall? Any things that you learned that stand out for you? What is your evaluation of the readings? Of the lectures? Of the assignments? Of the two guest speakers we had? Of the films? Things you would change if the course were to be offered again relating to any of the above? Any topics or genres you would like to have seen covered that weren't? I've certainly enjoyed teaching this course and having you all as students... It’s been awesome experience for me.