Poslední úprava: Mgr. Matěj Kratochvíl, Ph.D. (06.10.2017)
This course aims to show, how music is an important part of our lives and how through music we can connect not
only geographically distant places but also the past with the present. During this course we shall cross several
borders – geographical, historical, between musical genres, and between music and other art forms.
Music will be the main part of our focus, but we will use the music to learn about other things and about the ways
the music is connected to other arts, politics, technology, and the society in general. We shall talk mainly about
Czech music and culture, but we shall see how it has always been connected to the neighboring countries and
how the music traveled across the borders.
Therefore, when we will be talking about Leoš Janáček, we shall not so much analyze the notes, but we shall look
how his music connected contemporary trends in classical music with the folk culture he was researching.
Similarly we shall see how the aristocracy served as an important factor influencing musical forms, how the
relation between local musicians and internationally connected nobility worked. We shall discuss the tension
between artistic freedom and ideology during the communism and how those tensions manifested in rock music,
jazz, or in films.
Although it is focused on music, the course does not require any previous knowledge of music history or theory.
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Matěj Kratochvíl, Ph.D. (05.10.2018)
This course aims to show, how music is an important part of our lives and how through music we can connect not
only geographically distant places but also the past with the present. During this course we shall cross several
borders – geographical, historical, between musical genres, and between music and other art forms.
Music will be the main part of our focus, but we will use the music to learn about other things and about the ways
the music is connected to other arts, politics, technology, and the society in general. We shall talk mainly about
Czech music and culture, but we shall see how it has always been connected to the neighboring countries and
how the music traveled across the borders.
Therefore, when we will be talking about Leoš Janáček, we shall not so much analyze the notes, but we shall look
how his music connected contemporary trends in classical music with the folk culture he was researching.
Similarly we shall see how the aristocracy served as an important factor influencing musical forms, how the
relation between local musicians and internationally connected nobility worked. We shall discuss the tension
between artistic freedom and ideology during the communism and how those tensions manifested in rock music,
jazz, or in films.
Although it is focused on music, the course does not require any previous knowledge of music history or theory.
Sylabus -
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Matěj Kratochvíl, Ph.D. (06.10.2017)
1) Czech culture between East and West - Central Europe and cultural identity 2) Anatomy of a folk song - Folk music as a part of local culture and a border crossing phenomenon. 3) Between high and low - Folk culture as inspiration for classical music - Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů… 4) Folk music and politics - folklore revival movement, communism and folk traditions ofter the WW II. 5) Aristocracy and Czech culture - Aristocratic families as sponsors and taste-makers of the musical culture 6) Czech popular music in the course of the 20th century - arrival of jazz, popular music during the WWII and the communism. 7) Czech classical music during the second half of the 20th century. 8) Music in Czech films
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Matěj Kratochvíl, Ph.D. (06.10.2017)
1) Czech culture between East and West - Central Europe and cultural identity 2) Anatomy of a folk song - Folk music as a part of local culture and a border crossing phenomenon. 3) Between high and low - Folk culture as inspiration for classical music - Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů… 4) Folk music and politics - folklore revival movement, communism and folk traditions ofter the WW II. 5) Aristocracy and Czech culture - Aristocratic families as sponsors and taste-makers of the musical culture 6) Czech popular music in the course of the 20th century - arrival of jazz, popular music during the WWII and the communism. 7) Czech classical music during the second half of the 20th century. 8) Music in Czech films
Podmínky zakončení předmětu -
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Matěj Kratochvíl, Ph.D. (04.10.2019)
Assignments:
1) Read the two texts and write short reaction paper (approx. two pages) containing a short summary of the text and your opinion about it:
a) Excerpt from Philip V. Bohlman: Music, Nationalism and Making of the New Europe
Deadline 17th November 2019
b) Tony Mitchell: Mixing Pop and Politics: Rock Music in Czechoslovakia before and after the Velvet Revolution
Deadline 15th December 2019
2) Write an essay about a piece of music related to the Czech culture (approx. five pages). You can choose a work of classical music, recording, a concert, opera or musical performance, jazz, rock, popular music. The essay should focus on the way how the music can be related to the idea of „czechness“ in different ways. It can be seen through musical content (quotations of folk music, references to important works of famous Czech composers etc.), it also can focus on a commentary by composer / performer who expresses her or his view how the music reflects Czech identity, it can be the way a particular piece or genre of music is used and became connected to national identity (e.g. rock music used by skinheads and other ultranationalists).
Deadline for the essay is 10th January 2020
Send all assignmets to kratochvil@hisvoice.cz. No printed copy is required.
Poslední úprava: Mgr. Matěj Kratochvíl, Ph.D. (04.10.2019)
Assignments:
1) Read the two texts and write short reaction paper (approx. two pages) containing a short summary of the text and your opinion about it:
a) Excerpt from Philip V. Bohlman: Music, Nationalism and Making of the New Europe
Deadline 17th November 2019
b) Tony Mitchell: Mixing Pop and Politics: Rock Music in Czechoslovakia before and after the Velvet Revolution
Deadline 15th December 2019
2) Write an essay about a piece of music related to the Czech culture (approx. five pages). You can choose a work of classical music, recording, a concert, opera or musical performance, jazz, rock, popular music. The essay should focus on the way how the music can be related to the idea of „czechness“ in different ways. It can be seen through musical content (quotations of folk music, references to important works of famous Czech composers etc.), it also can focus on a commentary by composer / performer who expresses her or his view how the music reflects Czech identity, it can be the way a particular piece or genre of music is used and became connected to national identity (e.g. rock music used by skinheads and other ultranationalists).
Deadline for the essay is 10th January 2020
Send all assignmets to kratochvil@hisvoice.cz. No printed copy is required.
