Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint
[Tonal Counterpoint]

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[Course Content and Procedure| Online Contrapuntal Exercises |Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint Introduction|Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint Links|Books & Online Resources|Use of Technology]

Sixteenth-Century Vocal Counterpoint | Course Description
Special Studies in Music History | Course Description
Instructor: Dr. Gordon J. Callon

e-mail: gordon.callon @ acadiau.ca

Sample Examination


Course Content and Procedure:

This course is a study of tonal counterpoint in the eighteenth-century Baroque style. The main emphasis is on writing. It is assumed that the student will do a considerable amount of listening and analysis. This is necessary in order to become aware of the stylistic features of eighteenth-century Baroque music.

As an initial object of this study, each student should be able to write (compose), in two voices, a short work much in the style of a short prelude or canzona (like a Bach two-part "Invention"). Then, some three-part writing is studied as well.

It is expected that the student has, as a prerequisite, a firm and confident understanding of tonal harmony, including the use of secondary dominants, modulation, diminished seventh chords, and more straightforward chromatic harmony such as the Neapolitan sixth chord.

Most of the counterpoint excercises (used as assignments) are available online from this Link.

Use of Technology:

In Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint students need to use online Internet resources for the following:
  1. To access information concerning Counterpoint on the Internet. This may be accomplished by using links available as part of the Acadia Early Music Resources and Score Software Resources site, and through the links for Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint.
  2. If available, students will find useful online Music reference resources, especially the subscription sites Grove Music Online.
  3. Probably to complete and submit Exercuises (If music notation software is used for the exercises and assignments).
  4. The exercises and assignments for Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint are online, and may be accessed via the WWW, at: http://socrates.acadiau.ca/courses/musi/callon/3103-13/3113.htm#exercises.
  5. Many musical examples for Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint are online, and may be accessed via the WWW. One useful site is Online Scores for Study and Analysis.

Books & Online Resources:

There is no required textbook for this study of Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint.

See the Eighteenth-Century Baroque Counterpoint Links to online sites.

Since students are expected to listen to and analyse as much eighteenth-century counterpoint as possible, each student should be consulting scores by as wide a variety of late seventeenth-century and early to mid-eighteenth-century composers as possible. Some specific models include:

Scores of these composers, and other suitable scores are in the Music Collection of various academic and public libraries.

Some Online Scores for Study and Analysis, prepared for study of Baroque Music, are online at the Acadia Early Music Resources and Score Software Resources site.

Other scores can be obtained elsewhere online. For a list of some locations of online scores (of various types of music), see the links at: Online Music Scores (to Download).
Sample Examination   April 2008    Sibelius Scorch file; PDF file;
[FTP directory containing the Sibelius and PDF files of various samples, to download.
(when there, for this examination, Right-Click on file name: 3113-08.sib or 3113-08p.sib or 3113-08.pdf)].

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Last updated: 24 May 2008.
Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, & 2008 by Gordon J. Callon. All rights reserved.
e-mail: gordon.callon @ acadiau.ca
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