MU1115: INTRODUCTION TO HISTORICAL MUSICOLOGY

Assessment Submission Deadline:

10am on Tuesday 5th May (British Summer Time)

THIS ASSESSMENT IS DESIGNED TO TAKE ONE HOUR

• Please answer ONE question. No credit will be given for attempting any further questions.

• Please complete your answers electronically on the Exam Answer Paper file provided,
inserting (a) the course number/name and (b) your candidate number. For each question
you attempt, please clearly state the question number.

• Please do not include your name or Student ID Number anywhere on your work to ensure
your work is marked confidentially.

• Word Limit: The suggested word count for this assessment is 700 words. You will not be
penalised for longer answers, but shorter, succinct and well-conceived answers tend to
receive better marks than longer rambling ones.

• Referencing: You are not expected to use referencing nor to include a bibliography, but you
are welcome to mention authors’ names when drawing on their work.

• Academic Misconduct: We will be checking assessments for academic misconduct and any
suspected offences will be investigated. Please remember:
o The work submitted is expected to be your own work and only your work. You may
not ask for help with the assessments from any source.
o Avoid plagiarism: Don’t copy and paste work from elsewhere into your essay.
o Avoid collusion: You must not give help to anyone else, including sending them any
parts of your work, even after the 23 hour time period has finished.

• Submitting your Work:

o All answers should be submitted in a single document (the Exam Answer Paper).
o Please save your answer with a filename in the format: Course Code_Candidate
Number e.g. MU1116_2000001
o Your document must be submitted through Turnitin using the submission links on
the module Moodle page.

If you any questions in relation to completing the assessment or if you are have any difficulty
completing this assessment on time please e-mail us at: PDA@rhul.ac.uk
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Attempt ONE question

1. Lydia Goehr’s 1992 book is titled The Imaginary Museum of Musical Works. What role
does the idea of a ‘museum’ play in the music that we perform today?

2. What are the potential problems for considering music history in terms of ‘national
schools’? You should provide AT LEAST TWO different examples from music history in your
answer.

3. Virtuoso performers have often been viewed as ‘mere entertainers’, sidelined from the
central course of music history. What values underpin such a view, and how might those
values be challenged?

4. In his book Capturing Sound: How Technology has Changed Music (2010), Mark Katz
argues that ‘recording does more than record’. Discuss this idea with reference to traditions
of performance practice AND/OR the preservation of folk music.
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