ID:
502075
Duration (hours):
42
CFU:
6
SSD:
MUSICOLOGIA E STORIA DELLA MUSICA
Located in:
CREMONA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Secondo Semestre (02/03/2026 - 12/06/2026)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the main compositional techniques developed over the past fifty years. They will be able to identify the principal systems for organizing sonic space in representative works from the second half of the twentieth century, with particular attention to those in which the concept of model and archetype constitutes a central dimension. Students will also have become familiar with concepts such as timbre, sound, time, physical space and acoustic space, mimesis, and model. Finally, they will be able to relate contemporary compositional practices to the theoretical frameworks of the past.
Course Prerequisites
Knowledge of the main stylistic trends and compositional techniques of the early twentieth century is required, as well as the ability to critically read theoretical texts and to read orchestral scores. Furthermore, given the central role of information from the fields of acoustics and psychoacoustics, as well as from digital sound analysis, it is recommended that students attend the Laboratory of Musical Collections Digitization either beforehand or concurrently.
Teaching Methods
The course will be conducted through lectures supported by PowerPoint presentations and handouts, listening sessions and critical discussions of theoretical texts, student seminar presentations including discussions and analyses of selected scores, and, finally, lectures by invited composers and scholars.
Assessment Methods
The exam includes a seminar presentation on a selected work (to be agreed upon with the instructor), to be delivered during the course and submitted in written form one week before the exam, as well as an oral examination focusing on the discussion of theoretical issues, the works analyzed during the course, and the relevant bibliography. Instructions regarding the structure of the seminar presentation and the written paper will be provided during the course and made available on the Kiro platform.
Texts
Grabócz, Marta. Entre naturalisme sonore et synthèse en temps réel: Images et formes expressives dans la musique contemporaine. Paris: Éditions des Archives Contemporaines, 2013.
Hauer, Christian. “De la métaphore en musique – ou du sens.” In Iannis Xenakis, Gérard Grisey. Métaphore lumineuse, edited by Makis Solomos, 31–42. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2003.
Lalitte, Philippe. “Apports et influences de la psychoacoustique.” In Théories de la composition musicale au XXe siècle, edited by Nicolas Donin and Laurent Feneyrou, 1575–1602. Lyon: Symétrie, 2013.
Lanza, Mauro., & Valle, Andrea, Systema Naturæ. Paris: À la Ligne 2016.
Murail, Tristan. Modèles et artifices. Texts compiled by Pierre Michel. Strasbourg: Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2004.
Pressnitzer, Daniel, and Stephen McAdams. “Acoustics, Psychoacoustics and Spectral Music.” Contemporary Music Review 19, no. 2 (2000): 33–59.
Pustijanac, Ingrid. “The Metaphor of Sound as être vivant and Its Role in Contemporary Compositional Poetics.” In Out of Nature: Music, Sound, and Acoustic Ecology, edited by Candida Felice and Simone Caputo, Chigiana III/2 (2020 L): 217–238.
Smalley, Denis. “Spectromorphology: An Explanation of Sound-Shapes” (I–II). Musica/Realtà 50/52 (July–November 1996): 121–137 / 87–110.
Le Timbre: Métaphore pour la composition. Edited by Jean-Baptiste Barrière. Paris: IRCAM – Christian Bourgois, 1991.
Further bibliographic references and readings will be indicated and discussed during individual teaching units and made available on the Kiro platform, together with all teaching materials.
Hauer, Christian. “De la métaphore en musique – ou du sens.” In Iannis Xenakis, Gérard Grisey. Métaphore lumineuse, edited by Makis Solomos, 31–42. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2003.
Lalitte, Philippe. “Apports et influences de la psychoacoustique.” In Théories de la composition musicale au XXe siècle, edited by Nicolas Donin and Laurent Feneyrou, 1575–1602. Lyon: Symétrie, 2013.
Lanza, Mauro., & Valle, Andrea, Systema Naturæ. Paris: À la Ligne 2016.
Murail, Tristan. Modèles et artifices. Texts compiled by Pierre Michel. Strasbourg: Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2004.
Pressnitzer, Daniel, and Stephen McAdams. “Acoustics, Psychoacoustics and Spectral Music.” Contemporary Music Review 19, no. 2 (2000): 33–59.
Pustijanac, Ingrid. “The Metaphor of Sound as être vivant and Its Role in Contemporary Compositional Poetics.” In Out of Nature: Music, Sound, and Acoustic Ecology, edited by Candida Felice and Simone Caputo, Chigiana III/2 (2020 L): 217–238.
Smalley, Denis. “Spectromorphology: An Explanation of Sound-Shapes” (I–II). Musica/Realtà 50/52 (July–November 1996): 121–137 / 87–110.
Le Timbre: Métaphore pour la composition. Edited by Jean-Baptiste Barrière. Paris: IRCAM – Christian Bourgois, 1991.
Further bibliographic references and readings will be indicated and discussed during individual teaching units and made available on the Kiro platform, together with all teaching materials.
Contents
The course will focus on the concept of model—in its natural, mathematical, electronic, visual, and multimedia forms—and on the idea of archetype as key elements in the compositional thought of the second half of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first century. Particular attention will be devoted to how these notions inform different approaches to musical form, sound organization, and perception.
The program will include the study and analysis of compositional techniques such as Klangfarbenkomposition, spectral music, saturationism, and mixed music, exploring their theoretical premises and aesthetic implications. Selected works by composers including Gérard Grisey, Giovanni Verrando, Fausto Romitelli, and Mauro Lanza will serve as primary case studies.
A section of the course will be dedicated to the presentation of different analytical methodologies relevant to these repertoires, such as spectromorphological analysis (Thoresen and Smalley) and sonographic analysis developed and employed by various research groups active in the field of digital sound analysis.
An integral part of the course will be a series of guest lectures by invited composers and scholars. In particular, part of the program will include the conference L’artista plurale (March 4), featuring Simon Steen-Andersen, Eva Reiter, Daniele Ghisi, and Alessandro Perini, as well as a special meeting with Thierry De Mey (May 5–6, 2026).
The program will include the study and analysis of compositional techniques such as Klangfarbenkomposition, spectral music, saturationism, and mixed music, exploring their theoretical premises and aesthetic implications. Selected works by composers including Gérard Grisey, Giovanni Verrando, Fausto Romitelli, and Mauro Lanza will serve as primary case studies.
A section of the course will be dedicated to the presentation of different analytical methodologies relevant to these repertoires, such as spectromorphological analysis (Thoresen and Smalley) and sonographic analysis developed and employed by various research groups active in the field of digital sound analysis.
An integral part of the course will be a series of guest lectures by invited composers and scholars. In particular, part of the program will include the conference L’artista plurale (March 4), featuring Simon Steen-Andersen, Eva Reiter, Daniele Ghisi, and Alessandro Perini, as well as a special meeting with Thierry De Mey (May 5–6, 2026).
Course Language
Italian
More information
Non-attending students are requested to contact the instructor at least two months before the exam in order to agree on the topic of the written paper and the supplementary bibliography.
Degrees
Degrees (2)
MUSICOLOGY
Master’s Degree
2 years
MUSICOLOGY
Master’s Degree
2 years
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