| Unit name | Music in Soviet Russia 1917-1991 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MUSI30079 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Carter |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Music |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
From the 1917 Revolution until the fall of Communism in 1991, Soviet Russia produced some of the greatest music of the twentieth century. The changing fortunes of its cultural life prompted bizarre swings from modernism to conservatism and, in its later years, massive upheavals in musical language and form. While Shostakovich is still the central (though controversial) figure of the Stalin years, younger composers such as Schnittke, Part, Ustvolskaya and Silvestrov came to maturity in the 70s and 80s with their own unique ways of dealing with 20th century changes in musical language. This unit will cover core repertoire from the whole Soviet period of a variety of genres including symphony, opera, chamber music and film music.
Aims:
This unit aims to develop understanding of the complex relationship between art and politics and to acquaint students with a wide range of music from a major non-Western 20th-century culture. It will focus on topics including: music as propaganda, socialist realism, Jewish music, polystylism and spirituality. While there will be a certain amount of factual input from the unit director, the main focus will be on student participation in seminars, founded on specified readings and including an opportunity to engage in oral presentation and counter-argument.
At the end of this unit, a successful student will:
1) recognise and discuss key works of Soviet repertoire
2) understand and explain the relationship between culture and politics in Soviet Russia with sound critical awareness grounded in both Soviet history and major musical works
3) demonstrate a good up-to-date working knowledge of the main English-language secondary sources
4) demonstrate a sound grasp of reception issues in the US and UK
5) comment on a range of musical and aesthetic issues such as socialist realism, propaganda and polystylism
6) clearly present their understanding of the unit's topics to a non-specialist audience (style of BBC4 documentary slot)
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including lectures and self-directed exercises.
1 x 3000 essay (60%) ILOs 1-5, 10-minute podcast (40%) ILOs 6
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MUSI30079).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
