History of music (the tonal age)

Duration

30h Th, 3d FT Tr. Pr.

Number of credits

Lecturer

Christophe Pirenne

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The tonal era corresponds to the period in music history from 1600 to World War I. The course will therefore cover the history of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music in succession. It will discuss the main styles and compositional techniques, as well as iconic composers.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of this teaching unit, students will be able to:

- Provide an overview of the chronology of music history (possibly in parallel with courses in history, art history, or literature covering the same periods).

- Identify and characterize the major periods in music history.

- Recognize and describe the main instruments and genres of Western "classical" music when listening to them.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

None. It is not necessary to know anything about music to take the course.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

During the 2025-2026 academic year, we will attend three concerts together. However, these will be subject to the conditions of access to the concert halls. Participation in these concerts, outside of regular class hours, is mandatory.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Further information:

The lecture is accompanied by audio recordings and slideshows.

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus


Further information:

The PowerPoint presentations are available on eCampus.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions )


Further information:

A three-part written exam worth 100 points:

- Music listening tests. These involve identifying a piece of music, a composer, a form, instruments, or a period. The excerpts used in the exam were heard during the course and are available on eCampus (30 points).

- A series of short questions on specific points covered in the course (50 points).

- One or two open-ended questions requiring a more detailed response (20 points).

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

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Contacts

Association of one or more MOOCs

Items online