Overview
In this unit, you will study the history and cultural development of western art music from the Romantic era of the 19th century through to the Modernist era around the turn of the 20th century. Your studies will focus on prominent musicians, composers and their repertoire through the analysis of scores and recordings. You will also investigate important forms and instruments; aural characteristics of the music, as well as the technological, sociological and political events that influenced musical trends during this period.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
For entry into this unit, you must have completed 72 credit points in this course.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Staff reflection
Review Assessment 3: Pre-recorded Video Presentation
Review Assessment 3: Pre-recorded Video Presentation, with a view to revert back to a Research Essay in order to better assess the use of Gen AI agents.
- Describe the important musical, structural and aural characteristics of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Analyse musical works from prominent art music composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Describe the contribution of significant composers and musicians to the development of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Contextualise the principal stylistic trends of western art music within the important social and political movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | ||||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 30% | |||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 40% | |||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Microsoft Office
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
d.reaston@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 10 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Unit Introduction; Music Analysis
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 17 Mar 2025Module/Topic
The Romantic Lied and the Music of Schubert
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 24 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Early 19th Century Nationalism
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 31 Mar 2025Module/Topic
Music and Literature
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 07 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Virtuosos and the Concerto
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 14 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 21 Apr 2025Module/Topic
Exoticism
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 28 Apr 2025Module/Topic
The Italian Art Form
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 05 May 2025Module/Topic
Music of the Future
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 12 May 2025Module/Topic
Total Art Work: the Music of Wagner
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 19 May 2025Module/Topic
The Late Romantic Symphony
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 26 May 2025Module/Topic
The Late Romantic Symphony
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 02 Jun 2025Module/Topic
Early Modernism and the Music of Mahler and Strauss
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 09 Jun 2025Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 16 Jun 2025Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
In this assessment, you are to analyse three different musical settings of a poem by the Romantic poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem and the three settings (scores and recordings) will be available on the Moodle website. Through engagement with the score and recordings, you will complete the following tasks:
Task 1: Harmonic Analysis
- On the scores provided, analyse the harmony of each piece using chord symbols. This analysis should concentrate on the piano parts. Write your answers on each score, and save your analyses as a PDF (.pdf).
Task 2: Melodic Analysis
- On the scores provided, you are to analyse the melody of each piece in context with its harmony. This analysis should concentrate on the vocal parts only. Each note of the melody should be labelled to show its intervallic relationship as a scale degree to the harmony (example – 1, 5, b7, 9, 13). This can be done above the vocal stave on each score and saved as a PDF (.pdf).
Task 3: Written Analysis
- Using the scores and recordings provided, together with your harmonic and melodic analyses from Task 1 and 2, write a 750–1000 essay comparing the three musical settings of Goethe's poem. Some things to consider:
- How does the music (overall tonality and mood, rhythm, harmony, melodic range and shape, vocal performance, piano accompaniment) reflect the text (meaning, narrative) in each song?
- How has the text been set to music in each song? For example, are any words or phrases repeated? How has the text been phrased/spaced musically? For example, is the melody continuous, or are there any piano interludes between phrases? What effect does this have?
- What are some aspects of each setting which you find effective?
- Which setting do think was most successful and why?
Assessment Submission and Presentation
You must submit:
- A PDF (.pdf) document compiling your answers for Tasks 1 and 2.
- A 750–1000 word essay as a Microsoft Word Document (.docx) for Task 3. Your essay must use 12 point Times New Roman font; must use double spacing for the body of the assignment; may use sub-headings to organise your assignment clearly; and must adhere to the CQUniversity APA Style Guide.
Week 5 Friday (11 Apr 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 7 Friday (2 May 2025)
Task 1
- Accuracy of chord symbol analysis for piece 1 (12%)
- Accuracy of chord symbol analysis for piece 2 (12%)
- Accuracy of chord symbol analysis for piece 3 (12%)
Task 2
- Melodic analysis of piece 1 is complete and accurate (7%)
- Melodic analysis of piece 2 is complete and accurate (7%)
- Melodic analysis of piece 3 is complete and accurate (7%)
Task 3
- Written analysis is considered, reflective, and complete (35%)
- Accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar; clarity of writing style (5%)
- Meeting delivery requirements (presentation, word count, style guide) (3%)
- Describe the important musical, structural and aural characteristics of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Analyse musical works from prominent art music composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Describe the contribution of significant composers and musicians to the development of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
2 Written Assessment
This assessment will consist of specific repertoire related tasks to be done on a regular basis throughout the term. These tasks include:
- listening to, and analysing specific repertoire
- score reading and annotation
- answering repertoire related questions in written responses.
Tasks will be accessed through the Moodle website and submitted for grading and feedback intermittently throughout the term. An overall grade for this assessment will be calculated at the end of term.
Week 12 Friday (6 June 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Results will be available on the Moodle website at the end of term.
- Accuracy of repertoire related tasks (100%)
- Describe the important musical, structural and aural characteristics of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Analyse musical works from prominent art music composers of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Describe the contribution of significant composers and musicians to the development of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
3 Written Assessment
In this assessment, you are to research one of the following topics, and present your research as a 2000–2500 word essay.
Topic 1: Discuss the piano music of either Fanny Mendelssohn or Clara Wieck Schumann, in relation to Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, respectively. Your focus should compare the musical stylistic influences of either Fanny to Felix or Clara to Robert, and discuss the legacy of either Fanny or Clara's music. This discussion should be contextualised within the representation of women's music in the 19th century more generally. Provide appropriate score samples, images and video excerpts to support your research.
Topic 2: Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms were both innovative figures in 19th century chamber music. In this topic, you are to compare the chamber works of each composer (Schubert to Brahms) and discuss the stylistic influences, innovative quality and legacy of the music. Provide appropriate score samples, images and video excerpts to support your research.
Topic 3: The Mighty Five (or Mighty Handful) is the name given to a group of Russian composers comprising of Miliy Balakirev, César Cui, Alexander Borodin, Modest Musorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. In this topic, you are to discuss the music of one of these composers. Your discussion should focus on the composer's use of orchestration, as well as the incorporation of folk elements in specific musical examples. Use appropriate score samples, images and video excerpts to support your research.
Assessment Submission and Presentation
Your assessment must be submitted as a Microsoft Word Document (.docx) and:
- Must use 12 point Times New Roman font, and double spacing for the body of the assignment
- Include your name and student number on each page as part of a header or footer
- Must adhere to the CQUniversity APA Style Guide
- All music score excerpts and or recorded audio/video examples should include an in-text reference, and full details included in the reference list.
*The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows:
- No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment.
Please refer to the Moodle Assessment tile for specific details.
Review/Exam Week Monday (9 June 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Assessment to be returned at the end of term.
Content:
- Appropriateness of introduction and conclusion (10%)
- Accuracy of information and depth of treatment of the topic (20%)
- Flow of information and development of argument or theme (15%)
- Use of primary sources to support argument or theme (15%)
- Ability to critically evaluate research findings (15%)
General points:
- Referencing system precision (10%)
- Accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar; clarity of writing style (10%)
- Meeting delivery requirements (presentation, word count*, style guide) (5%)
- Describe the important musical, structural and aural characteristics of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Describe the contribution of significant composers and musicians to the development of western art music of the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Contextualise the principal stylistic trends of western art music within the important social and political movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
