Module description
The history of love is intricately bound up with the history of song. From the earliest lyrics of classical antiquity to contemporary pop song, expressions of love are articulated as acts of the voice: canso, chant, chanson, cantus. 'Love Song' examines the relationship of heart to voice through the lens of the medieval troubadours. As the earliest records of vernacular love lyrics set to music, the songs of the troubadours, who were active in the courts of twelfth-century France, hold special significance in the history of music. This course introduces students to their music and poetry, to the social and political environment in which it was performed, and to the songbooks in which later audiences and scribes archived and re-performed the tradition. The course will then trace legacy of the tradition in later medieval repertories (in the music of the Northern trouvères, the works of Dante), through to later nineteenth-century incarnations (Verdi and Wagner), and into the pop and art music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (Bob Dylan and George Benjamin).
The course is wide-ranging in terms of critical approaches and methodologies. Students will work first-hand with the medieval sources, learning to decipher and sing from early notated sources; exploring the material arts of love (trips British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museums); and working analytically with the music under discussion. At the same time, the course will introduce students to writings from history, literature, art history, psychoanalysis and anthropology, and will foster an interdisciplinary approach to the evidence. Finally, there will be a creative component, and students will work together to design and perform a homage to the troubadours.
Assessment details
Creative Portfolio [30%]
3000 word essay [70%]
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable and practical skills appropriate to a Level 5 module and in particular will demonstrate:
- Development of music-analytic skills in field of early music
- Development of intedisciplinary approach to song (from medieval to modern)
- Skills in working across a range of evidence: musical, historical, literary, manuscript
- Skills in integration of knowledge through writing, presentation and class debate
- Musicianship skills (performance and transcription of musical repertories studied)