Course Code:

VL1

Course Title:

Voice Literature 1 Survey of Italian Vocal Literature

Description:

Songs and arias of 17th, 18th and 19th century, musical styles and performance practice

Ms. Judy Honor

judy.honor@gmail.com
Requirements and Learning Activities:
a.

b.
c.

d.

e.
f.
g.
h.

Earn credit through oral presentations and performances of the assigned vocal piece. Students must be
able to present the assigned vocal piece with detailed information on the historical and literary
background of the music, and should reflect in the performance of the vocal piece.
Students must be able to learn proper pronunciation rules and IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) for
singing in Italian.
Students must be able to understand the features, types and manner of speaking in their disciplines.
Students must be have a pre-performance materials such as IPA translations of the song text, word-perword translations, poetic translations, historical background, music styles of the composer and its
compositional styles, vocal styles, interpretation, and setting (for operatic pieces) that is relevant to the
music.
Students will be able to use, within oral presentations, terminology, and concepts of different kinds of
vocal styles, such as, figured bass, embellishments, ornamentation, cadenzas, appoggiaturas, bel
canto, arias, cavatina, and the like.
Students must be able to adapt speaking to audiences
Must be able to learn basic vocal techniques of proper posture, and stage etiquette.
Receive appropriate feedback from teachers and colleagues, through discussions and presentations,
including suggestions for improvement, in written and oral format.
To be able to use technologies for research and speaking in their fields; to be able to utilize all available
resources such as books, web information, recordings and other appropriate materials to validate their
research, conclusions and opinions. Evidence of skills in this area must be shown in their oral and
written presentations.

Course Objective:
The purpose of this class is to expose the student to some of the beautiful Italian songs and arias, from early
years up to the 19th century opera music. Time will be spent learning performance practice of the time. The
student is expected to demonstrate an understanding of the different performance practice of the Italian vocal
music through performance, discussions, and written and oral documentation and presentation.

Basic Instructional plan and methods to be used:

Lecture
Group discussion
Audio and video presentation
DVDs
Audio-visual presentations
Experiential Activities

Requirements for Evaluation and Assessment:

10% Attendance
10% Written Exams
20% Documentation, research and oral presentations
20% Midterm Exam Presentation
40% Final Exam Presentation

Song Requirements:
2 Italian songs of 17th and 18th century, or any other art song
2 German Lied
1 Operatic Aria (in Italian or German language)
1 Italian/German Ensemble piece (duet, trios, quartets)

Composer List: (not limited to)

Jacopo Peri / Andrea Falconieri / Francesca Caccini / Gian Giacomo Carissimi / Antonio Cesti / Alessandro
Scarlatti / Giovanni Bononcini / Antonio Vivaldi / Domenico Scarlatti / Pergolesi / Giovanni Paisiello / Antonio
Salieri / Niccolo Jommelli / George Handel / WA Mozart / Claudio Monteverdi / Franceso Tosti / Stefano
Donaudy / Opera Composers

Reading Sources:

Textbook Web
Handout
Schedule:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15

Midterm
Finals
Recital