LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to develop awareness of the central questions of musical theatre in its historical development in the modern and contemporary period, giving students the necessary theoretical instruments for a critical evaluation of the interaction between music and theatre in the broader sense of the term.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at developing – at the level of knowledge – the awareness of the central questions of musical theatre in its historical development in modern and contemporary age, giving students – at the level of abilities - the necessary theoretical instruments for a critical evaluation of the interaction between music and theatre in the broader sense of the term.

6 CFU

At the end of the course students will be able to competently understand the musical theatre phenomena studied in class, remember and aknowledge the contribution of different components that compose the aesthetic object of extreme complexity; he/she will have the tools in order to analyze such complexity and will be able to apply this knowledge in the critical evaluation, also in creative terms, of the meaning that each component brings to the overall dialectic. 

9 CFU

The above mentioned learning outcomes will be achieved on a deeper level of awareness, both in the extent of the context the phenomena discussed are inscribed and in the more detailed analysis of the musico-dramatical questions implied.

PREREQUISITES

Basic knowledge of history of music and theatre in Europe, 17th to 20th centuries.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures with systematic use of audiovisual support: CD, DVD, web.

Students are warmly invited to attend classes, because of the listening and watching experiences the course offers.

Lectures will be held in class in presence. There is going to be NO live streaming.

The recording of all lectures will be made available once the course is over.

Students are warmly invited to enroll to Aulaweb, where study materials are going to be uploaded.

The teacher is available to discuss the preparation for students willing to study in a language other than Italian.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Unique Musical Theatre

Johann Sebastian Bach never happened to write operas for a number of historical, biographical and professional reasons. His entire vocal output, however, develops a continuous and vital relationship with musical theatre. The catalogue of Bach’s so-called cantatas constantly dialogues with a variety of secular genres – dramma per musica, serenata, intermezzi – popular with Courts, educational institutions, aristocrats, and bourgeois Bach worked for. On the side of sacred music, Bach’s Passions and Oratorios (and even Motets), are driven by a powerful dramatic tension. Bach’s listener (the believer in his Leipzig congregation or today’s universal audience) is being involved and moved by sophisticated musical strategies, which are able to most effectively convey the desired message. Each work obeys to a specific dramaturgy which organizes the story being told through music-dramatical forms. Characters from myth, religion, history, and allegory are given life by Bach’s music in a powerful way which is able to shake consciences – the actual place where the drama takes place, lacking a proper stage. Bach introduced operatic forms, features, and scenic ghosts into his vocal output, which eventually builds up a spiritual theatre – an imaginary theatre with no sets nor costumes and possibly for this reason the more powerful and impressive – rightfully belonging to the great dramatic tradition of the 18th century.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Required Readings - Part 1 only (6 CFU).

1. J.S. Bach, Passioni, Messe, Mottetti e Magnificat, ed. R. Mellace, Milano, Ariele, 2017
2. J.S. Bach, Cantate e Oratori, IV, Milano, Ariele, 1996, pp. 132-141, 164-171, 184-207
3. R. Mellace, La voce di Bach. Passioni, Oratori, Messe, Mottetti, Magnificat, Roma, Carocci, 2022 (disponibile dal 28 ottobre 2022)
4. R. Mellace, Johann Sebastian Bach. Le cantate, preface Christoph Wolff, Palermo, L’Epos, 2012, pp. 617-626, 631-639, 651-653, 672-676, 680-682, 699-702
5. Listening experience (or score, for those who can read music) of the following J.S. Bach's works: St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, St. Mark Passion, Cantatas BWV 205, 208, 211, 212, 213

N.B.:nn. 1-3 can be purchased and are available in the University Library. N. 4 will be uploaded, after lessons have started, in the course's Aulaweb. 

Instructions are going to be given in class on how to find librettos and recording concerning n. 5.

Required Readings - Part 1+2 (9 CFU)

1. J.S. Bach, Passioni, Messe, Mottetti e Magnificat, ed. R. Mellace, Milano, Ariele, 2017
2. J.S. Bach, Cantate e Oratori, IV, Milano, Ariele, 1996, pp. 114-121,132-171, 184-207, 216-251
3. R. Mellace, La voce di Bach. Passioni, Oratori, Messe, Mottetti, Magnificat, Roma, Carocci, 2022 (disponibile dal 28 ottobre 2022)
4. R. Mellace, Johann Sebastian Bach. Le cantate, preface Christoph Wolff, Palermo, L’Epos, 2012, pp. 617-626, 631-639, 651-653, 664-667, 672-676, 680-684, 695-702
5. J.E. Gardiner, La musica nel castello del cielo. Un ritratto di Johann Sebastian Bach, Torino, Einaudi, 2015, pp. 364-457.
6. Listening experience (or score, for those who can read music) of the following J.S. Bach's works: St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, St. Mark Passion, Christmas Oratorio, Easter Oratorio, Cantatas BWV 201, 205, 206, 207, 208, 211, 212, 213

N.B.:nn. 1-3 and 5 can be purchased and are available in the University Library. N. 4 will be uploaded, after lessons have started, in the course's Aulaweb. 

Instructions are going to be given in class on how to find librettos and recording concerning n. 6.

Enrolling in the course's Aulaweb is warmly recommended.