M653 paper assignment

The paper assignment for M653 consists of a series of short bibliographic projects on a piece of Baroque music and, at the end of the semester, a paper of moderate length (10-15 pages) on a specific issue raised by the piece. Here are the various steps and the due dates for each. (I will provide you with a folder for this work; please re-submit all the previous stages each time you submit a new one. Keep backup copies so you can revise and re-use this material.)

1. Topic. Identify a piece of music from the period covered by this course that interests you and that you would like to know more about. You may choose a small collection, such as a printed set of sonatas or an integral manuscript volume, instead of a single work. Write a one-page proposal identifying the work and explaining how and why you chose it.

    To hand in: 1-page proposal

2. Sources. Learn about the sources and transmission of your work: How do we have the musical text of this piece? From manuscript sources? A composer's autograph? Early copies? A printed edition supervised by the composer? Where are there copies of this? Other early printed editions? Is a facsimile of the original source available? Where does your information come from? If applicable, what is the source of the text? Is the author known? What are the principal non-musical sources of the text, if any?

    To hand in: 1-3-page summary

3. The musical text and modern editions. Are there several versions of the piece? Important variants in the sources? What stems from the composer and what represents later changes, corruptions, or arrangements? Is the work available in modern editions? What kind of users are they aimed at? How much editorial intervention is there? Do the editions make intelligent use of the sources? Where does your information come from?

    To hand in: 1-2-page summary, plus bibliography of modern editions

4. Background and secondary literature. What kind of piece is this? Where are a few good places to read about the history of this kind of piece? When and where was the work composed? Broadly speaking, where does it fit in the composer's output? Where are a few of the best places to read about the composer and about his/her composition of this kind of piece? What has been written about the work? What are the main issues that have been pursued? What still needs to be done?

    To hand in: 3-4-page summary, plus bibliography of secondary literature

5. Recordings and performance practices. Has the work been recorded? Reliably? In an informed way? Where does your information come from? What are the most important performance practice issues connected with the piece?  What contemporary sources give the most useful information about these issues? What modern writings are most useful in understanding them?

    To hand in: 2-3-page summary, plus discography and bibliography, plus a brief topic proposal for your 
                     paper

6. Final paper. Pick a topic raised in your research, and write a well-organized essay of 10-15 pages (2500-3750 words) on it. Include a revised selective bibliography, discography and lists of modern editions and sources; don't count these in the page total.

    To hand in: 10-15-page paper, plus supporting documentation