Unit

School Of Communication Arts

Musics, Histories and Flights of the ImaginationWestern Sydney University Unit Code: 101519.1

Discipline: CREATIVE ARTS NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIED

Student Contribution Band: 1

Level: 1

Credit Points: 10

Equivalent Units
100394 - Contemporary Arts 1: The Past in the Present

About this Unit
In 2011 this unit replaced by 101740 - Music History 1. This unit maps a rich panorama of musical works, styles, genres and composers from the Middle Ages to the mid-nineteenth century. It shows how music evolved through the centuries and suggests that stylistic changes are linked to creative, musical minds, manifesting as innovative music on the one hand and as conformity to established practices on the other. Out of the abundance of new and old possibilities, the unit asks why composers choose to replicate some patterns to the neglect of others. What is meant by innovation and creativity? How do different genres and styles in different periods in music history come to the foreground while others recede into the background? The unit offers an appreciation of Western art music while considering the popular and folk traditions of the day. It explores how music gives rise to flights of the imagination as it connects with composers, performers and listeners.