Goals:
Class: Music 97a: Music History and Repertory: Medieval to Baroque
Introduction/Background: This class surveys Western music from the middle ages to ca. 1750 and is required of all music majors. In this two-day activity in section, students studied baroque acting gestures and the music of Handel's opera Acis and Galatea. Opera singers during the baroque period used specific gestures to emphasize words and illustrate emotions. This activity teaches students that opera - especially baroque opera - is more than the notes that appear on the page. By asking the students to perform baroque gestures and critique the gesture that a performer uses, they experience opera in an embodied way.
Procedure:
Before Class
In preparation for day one, the instructor gave each student an index card on which was written the name of one of two arias or the chorus in Acis and Galatea. Verbally and in an email, students were instructed to study the musical characteristics of the aria or chorus whose name was on the index card they had chosen (email instructions attached). The students used the scores of the arias and chorus, which were printed in their course books.
During Class: Day 1
During Class: Day 2
The students presented their YouTube videos and discussed as a class the presence or absence of baroque gesture in each video. Finally, they debated how they would stage the final aria of Acis and Galatea.
Materials:
Comments:
Choose 3-4 basic baroque acting gestures for a student to learn; fewer gestures would sacrifice variety, and more gestures would inundate the students with too much information.
instructions part 1.docx | 35 KB | |
instructions part 2.docx | 35 KB |