Music is more than just an accompaniment to human living. In it we pour out our hopes, dreams, fears; through it we work through our griefs and joys, with its help we carry out the work of shaping ourselves into who we wish to be. This is true to such an extent that music does not only reflect thoughts that have been worked out in literature or philosophy; it also provides new thoughts, moving our collective cultural understanding forward.
This course aims to help you understand the role music has had in Western thought and to equip you with the ability to listen to music with an ear to its intellectual content even without the need for formal musical training.
Core to the course are a series of demonstrations of what it could look like to plumb the conceptual depths of a piece of music. There are three examples of classical music, and one of jazz music, underscoring that no one form of musical expression is privileged when it comes to expressing the realities of the human heart.
The course concludes with a list of pieces for extended listening, a list that will both make you aware of the major works of orchestral music in the West and guide you to experiences that will enrich and deepen your understanding of your own humanity.
Lessons
Lesson 1: Music in Western Culture
Lesson 2: Music in the Humanities Curriculum
Lesson 3: Music in the Humanities Classroom
Lesson 4: Music in the Classical Quadrivium
Lesson 5: Demo 1: Beethoven Symphony #7, 2nd Movement
Lesson 6: Demo 2: Tchaikovsky Symphony #6, 1st Movement
Lesson 7: Demo 3: Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47
Lesson 8: Classical Riffs
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Note: you will need to sign up for a free ClassicalU account (if you don't already have one) before you can complete your purchase.
Explore this topic with this conversation between Jesse Hake of ClassicalU and Junius Johnson about music in the Western tradition:
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Dr. Johnson uniquely combines his analytic thinking with his vast theological knowledge and his love for wonder and imagination to expand our view of reality and what is possible.
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Junius’ classes have revitalized my hunger and thirst to keep growing, to be a mind awake. Junius’ experience and training is vast, but he is also gifted in articulating complexities, connections, concepts, et cetera, in a lively and warm manner that is accessible to the amateur while fully satisfying the most experienced.
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Participating in a course led by Dr. Junius Johnson is a wonderful journey of exploration, seeking hidden gems in unexpected places. It is an opportunity to learn to look deeper than the surface, both in reading and in the mundane of life. A delightful feast for the mind that lasts far beyond the actual banquet.