Ok- so instead of writing notes on this book in outline format (like I am prone to do), I am going to write a commentary. This will result in less fluid thought transitions, but maybe you are all sick of the norm. All the following is copied straight out of my Evernote (If you don't know what that is, GET IT. www.evernote.com) So, read along, folks!
(Note to self- learn how to embed youtube videos)
But the Phrygian harmony? I can totally tell this piece will start riots.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYi1ExWbwoA Silly Greeks.
But here's my thing with Die Zauberflöte, and many other operas with this problem. Are the evil female roles composed with "tonal instability" (4) because they are female, or because they are evil? I have no problem with Mozart creating that air of uncertainty if it is effective (which it certainly is), but Pamina's arias seem sane http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtG5A1WFYWI
I find it funny nowadays the three main topics of music are God, drugs, and girls (and by girls I mean sex.) However, it seems a shame that musical theorists in the past feel any music meant for women were not only weak and instable, but could not have anything at all do do with men.
I don't know about you, but after reading about it, I HAD to look up Langue D'amour. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_2g8a9DnWU
Here is my take on composers who are women vs. Women Composers. Much like the rise of female CEOs, they are not known as Female CEOs, they are just the boss. Our culture now is changing, to a point where it is extremely difficult to decipher the gender of a composer of a contemporary piece. While I will be interested to discover in this class the context in which female composers were limited in writing, I feel this should no longer be the case: we are in a completely different culture.
I think the entire purpose of this course (either why it is offered ANYWHERE or why I personally am taking it) is because we as a culture have not actually changed our teaching styles. We keep looking back to the past and drawing from there to create a future. A separate course on Women in Music is a band-aid to the problem, whereas the entire approach to Musicology needs to be redefined so all is incorporated. (But wait... that's a blog for another class...)
Maybe a lunch break, then on to Chapter 2...
