GF Handel Messiah Chorus

GF Handel Messiah Chorus Order Description 1 MUSIC 102 - Expository/ Descriptive Essay Assignment : • You r assignment is to write a n expository or descriptive essay. The instructions for the st ructure of the essay are listed below. Study carefully and follow all the instructions ! • Select one of the following pieces from the “Reading and Listening” assignment list as the subject of your essay : J.S. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto #2, movement I G.F. Handel, Messiah: Amen Chorus • Use the listed NAXOS recordi ng , not the YouTube recording , to complete this assignment. Y ou may choose to reference (and cite) a written score if you desire . However, this is not required . Scores of these works can be found on imslp.org (International Music Score Library Project). Most of the observations and descriptions yo u include should come primarily from what you hear. • The essay is to be 600 - 700 words of text (not counting footnotes or the bibliography ). Use only Microsoft Word to write and submit your essay. Check carefully your word count. Set the word count feature to not include footnotes . • Style: Follow guidelines in Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 8 th E dition (Chicago: U niversity of Chicago Press, 2013 ). Use bibliography - style foot notes and include both a separate title page and bibliography . S ee correct formatting example s and instructions in Turabian. Refer particularly to Chapters 15, 16, 17 and the Appendix ; S ections A.1 and A.2 • Specific Formatting Instructions: Use only Times New Roman 12 - point font for everything (title page, text, footnotes, bibliography). Include no illustrat ions, text only. Include page numbers at bottom center of each page beginning with the first page of text. No page number should be assigned to or shown on the title page. 2 • Electronic Submission: Upload an electronic copy of your paper through I - Learn before the beginning of class on the date due . • Grading – See the Essay Grading Rubric . Note that you need 70% ( 15 of 21 points ) to pass on your first subm ission. R ewrites require 80 % ( 17 of 21 points ) to pass. Do it right the first time. It’s easier that way. Note that about 60% of the grade comes from your content presentation and organization while 40% comes from correct spelling, gramm ar, formatting and citations. Pay attention to all of these details . Sources : • R ecording Source -- You must cite the specific recording (located on the Naxos Music Library) of the piece of music you are writing about in both your footnotes and bibliography . Refer to Turabian for detailed instructions . • Required Additional Sources -- You must include and cite a min imum of three additional sources used for background and contextual information ( composer, period, piece, style characteristics, etc.). One of these three sources must be the Oxford Online Music Dictionary [formerly Grove’s Di ctionary ] which can be accessed through the McKay Library. One of the three sources must be a printed source ( i.e. not an on - line source). There are sufficient resources available to you both online and in the M cKay Library for these additional sources . Y ou will need to correctly cite all the sources and information you use in your essay's footnotes and bibliography. For this assignment use only author - attributab le sou rces. Do not use Wikipedia or any other similar anonymous sources. • Time References – You need to include some additional information in your footnotes that Turabian does not require . Whenever you refer to what happens at a specific point in the piece of music you must, for this assignment , add a time 3 reference indicating where the reader can loc ate the exact point in th e NAXOS recording you are referencing . This information consists of a time reference given in minutes and seconds and placed in a f ootnote just before the final period in the footnote. Examples: (2:13) for a specific moment in the piece or (2 :13 - 2:45) to indicate a specific passage. Thesis , Themes and Hints : • Choosing Thesis and Themes -- Your essay should describe how the piece you chose is an example of the general Baroque musical style. Your essay must have a focused thesis centered on this concept with several supporting specific themes. The thesis must be supported with specific examples of typical Baroque character is tics from your chosen themes that you find in the music . Your paper should not be merely a general overall description of the piece. Themes you may want to consider could be related to any of the basic elements of music we have been discussing in class (melody, rhythm, harmony, texture, timb re , form ). Your themes could also be more narrow aspect s of any of these basic elements, such as instrumentati on, dynamics, meter, phrase structure, etc. What i s there that is characteristically Baroque about whatever themes in the piece you have chosen to describe ? You only have 600 - 7 00 words. Be careful not to pick theme s or a corresponding thesis that is either too broad or too nar row to adequately cover and factually support. • Outline Before You Write -- Before beginning to w rite, layout your basic paragraph structure. What mate rial are you going to cover and at what point in your essay? After finishing your first draft edit and rewrite and edit and rewrite again . Print a hard copy and r ead your draft out loud. Rework awkward or confusing sentences. Have a friend read your essay and give you suggestions. Don’t just turn in a rough or first draft written the night before the assign ment is 4 due. Give it your best effort the first time around. That is really the only way to get meaningful feedback about what needs to be improved. Please do no t ask me to read your essay and then tell you to correct something you already know needs to be corrected. • Write as a M usic ian -- Use musical concepts and terminology. Assume your reader has a basic understanding of general music terms. If you are not certain how to describe something in musical terms, look it up. • Not Creative Writing – When writing a scholarly, fact - based essay, there is no need to try and draw the reader’s attention or intere st to your subject. Assume your reader is already interested in the subject matter. This is not creative writing. Just deal with the facts. Present them as clearly and concisely as you can. Use precise and clear language. Write short sentences. Use as few words as possible. Anything you write or claim you make must be supported by the facts you present or source citations you provide. Include no “filler.” Writing a n E xpository/ D esc riptive E ssay : A n expository or descriptive essay describes something in detail, according to the disciplines that govern t he thing being described. In this case, you are going to describe specific aspects or themes of a single piece of music. The conventions and terminology of the discipline of music, consequently, govern y our descriptive method and content. An essay describing a piece of music, for purposes of this assignment, has the fo llowing elements presented in this basic order. • Thematic I ntroduction and Thesis : Y our first paragraph should tell us what piece you are going to talk about , what specific element s /theme s in the piece you are going to describe, and particularly why you ar e going to talk about them (your thesis about Baroque characteristics ) . After reading your thesis sentence , your reader should understand 5 how everything you subsequently include in the essay is relevant to your thesis . In other words, clearly state your cho sen theme s and thesis . • P erformance F acts : Since you are describing a recording, give the discography for the piece. Who performed it? Kate Turabian’s Manual of Style sets fort h the rules for citing sound recordings in both footnote s and the bibliography . • Contextualization : Briefly answer the following: W ho? What? Where? How? Why? When? Who wrote the piece? When was it written? What or who was it dedicated to? Is it a portion of a larger work? Does it have a text, and if so, what does it say? But provide th is information as briefly you can . • A pplicable “Thesis - R elated” Descriptions : This by far should be the majority portion of your essay. Descriptions made by musicians employ correct and precise musical terminology and concepts. Musicians would uses terms such as “ accelerando ” instead of “became faster,” or cantabile instead of “pretty playing.” There are numerous lists of musical terminology to help you select the appropriate descriptor s for music. Remember that all foreign words should be italicized . Y our description s should always elaborate and be related to the theme s and thesis stated in the thesis se ntence of your first paragraph. Do not include anything that does not relate to or directly support your stated thesis. • Conclusion : Briefly summarize how the description s and examples you have included have worked together to produce an effective validation and proof of your thesis statement . Remember that just stating something does not make it true. You must prove or support everything you claim. Make sure to restate your thesis in your conclusion. Spring 2015