MHST 570B Topics in the Renaissance: Music of Ockeghem
A detailed study of the biography and works of Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 1420-97), leading musician at the French royal court for decades and composer of some of the most elegantly complex works in the history of Western music. Includes comparative analysis of his works and those by his more important contemporaries, with emphasis on their varying aesthetic and compositional priorities. Other topics include the interrelatedness of notation and composition; intertextuality and the chanson; the early history of the cyclic mass; how to read and work with late-medieval music manuscripts. Course requirements will include two essays on analytical and/or historical topics to be determined in consultation with the instructor.