The field of Australian concert or classical music is a broad one, consisting of disparate sources, writings, scores and recordings. Scholars, performers and composers of Australian music benefit from an ability to analyse music and texts in relation to historical contexts and themes. In this subject, students will gain a broad knowledge of the history of Australian concert music. They will also examine and debate the various issues and ideologies that appear repeatedly in writings on Australian culture, such as landscape, migration, national identity, representation of Indigenous culture, the British Empire, modernism and historical progress. This unit will draw on research from Australian History and Musicology to equip students in methodologies, theories and skills crucial to the research of Australian music. The emphasis will be on historiographic analysis and understanding the meaning and value of music within its historical context.
1 x 2hr seminar/week
weekly class exercises (20%), 1 x annotated bibliography for research paper (20%), 1 x written research proposal (5%), 1 x draft research paper (25%), 1 x 4000wd research paper (30%)