Great Lieder of the Long 19th Century



Overview

This course charts the development of the Lied during the 19th Century. We will progress chronologically through time, introducing the composers, concepts and ideologies that helped shape the Lied into what we know today.

Each week will be dedicated to understanding a specific composer, using selected Lieder as case studies. For each Lied that we study we will closely examine both text and music to gain a better understanding of the composer’s style.

Numerous festivals, including the Oxford Lieder Festival, are dedicated to the Lied genre. Therefore, this course is dedicated to understanding, analysing, and acknowledging the foremost Lieder composers and their contributions to the genre. We will discuss the influence of society on the development of the Lied, as well as exploring the intellectual and musical sources that influenced the composers.

Programme details

Courses starts: 25 Sep 2023

Week 1: Introduction. Course Overview. Where does the Lied originate? 

Week 2: The intellectual, social, and musical sources of 19th-Century German Lieder

Week 3: Franz Schubert

Week 4: Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn

Week 5: Robert and Clara Schumann

Week 6: Franz Liszt and Peter Cornelius

Week 7: Johannes Brahms

Week 8: Hugo Wolf

Week 9: Gustav Mahler

Week 10: Extension of Lieder, Overview and Recap of Romantic Lieder

Certification

Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.

To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.

Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £257.00
Take this course for CATS points £10.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Elizabeth Hepach

Elizabeth Hepach is a lecturer of music theory and musicology topics who has gained international teaching experience, both in the US, Germany, and England. Her dissertation focussed on the Mörike Lieder of Hugo Wolf and she enjoys teaching music to all ages, from young children to adults.

Course aims

To learn about the developments, influences, and techniques of noteworthy composers of 19th Century (German) Lieder.

Course objectives: 

  • To be able to situate each discussed composer in the larger context of the 19th Century Lied genre. 
  • To explore case studies of selected composers in order to better understand their compositional style and their contributions to the genre.
  • To understand the intellectual, social, and musical sources that influenced each composer.

Teaching methods

This course will consist of lectures and class discussions. This class can be viewed as a conversation on 19th Century German Lieder with lively discussions welcome from participants. There will be relevant images and resources shown, musical examples played, and where possible, a look through musical scores. 

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  • identify contributions of 19th Century German Lieder composers and to place them in the context of music history;
  • be able to identify some elements of each composer’s compositional style;
  • place each composer among their own cultural and social history. 

Assessment methods

You will have two options for assessment in this course. 

Option 1: PORTFOLIO – Here, you will present 3 short essays (each a maximum of 500 words) throughout the term. Each essay will answer a question presented from that week’s teachings. 

Option 2: FINAL ESSAY – This option allows you to draw upon the entire course to answer a single question within your essay (approx. 1,500 words). You will be given a selection of questions, from which you can choose one to write about. 

Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form

Application

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form (Word) or enrolment form (Pdf).

Level and demands

No prior musical knowledge is required for this course and each session is taught at an introductory level. As with most music courses, some background knowledge of reading music is beneficial, but not required.

Most of the Department's weekly classes have 10 or 20 CATS points assigned to them. 10 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of ten 2-hour sessions. 20 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of twenty 2-hour sessions. It is expected that, for every 2 hours of tuition you are given, you will engage in eight hours of private study.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support