This course will use music as a device to examine issues such as war, racial discrimination, refugee / homelessness, rehabilitation, and personal suffering. Works to be examined may include: Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem – critique and reactions to the World Wars; James MacMillan’s Cantos Sagrados – a work highlighting the tragedies of political repression in Latin America; and Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed – a piece of social justice that humanizes the black men who were unarmed, yet killed by authority figures. Along with the music, there may also be discussion of individual artists who have been outspoken about social issues, such as Leonard Bernstein in the 1960s, Dimitri Shostakovich under Stalin’s rule, and contemporary pop and jazz artists.
Students that have earned credit for MU 3510 cannot receive credit for MU 3201.