Topic for 2023-2024: Musicke’s Recreation: Studies in Renaissance Music with an Emphasis on Performance

This hands-on history course explores the way music enhanced the lives of women in the courtly society of Renaissance France. Playing instruments and singing were essential to the well-educated noblewoman, defined by her intellect, talent, poise, and refined bearing. Music-making promoted these attributes of sociability. In this course you will learn to play the viola da gamba while studying its repertory in historical context. We will examine the biographies of a number of women of the French nobility as we play the music of their time. Students must also rehearse on Monday evenings with the Collegium Musicum, culminating in a performance for the college community. While some experience playing string instruments is recommended, singers, keyboardists, and players of other instruments will be welcomed.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 10

Prerequisites: MUS 100 or exemption from MUS 100.

Instructor: Fontijn

Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video

Typical Periods Offered: Fall

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall

Notes: This is a topics course and can be taken more than once for credit as long as the topic is different each time.