Proposal Letter

Hello All,

Here is a rough draft of my project proposal letter which I hope to submit by the end of the week.  Feel free to express and criticisms you may have, they would be greatly appreciated. (I know the way it looks in the post isn't very neat...for some reason it didn't copy over from my Word document well.)

April 8, 2013

Dear Dr. ***** ******,                                                                                 

            Let me begin my letter by saying what a satisfying journey the past few years at RIC have afforded me.  Both the high points and the low points of my academic career have rewarded, challenged, and shaped me into the student I am today.  As a student in the B. A. Music program, an undeniable high point has been to study under such fine faculty members who all highly accomplished in their respective fields be it History, Theory, or Performance.  Though a relatively smaller school, RIC should pride itself on having a Music faculty who’s members could all successfully compete for positions at elite conservatories worldwide.  In no way do I feel that my three years at RIC have put at a disadvantage, either musically or academically.

            Looking ahead to my senior year, after much thought and prayer I have come to the conclusion that it would be wise for me to glean further academic and musical development by completing a departmental honors project in music.  Therefore, the purpose of this letter is to express my desire for you to approve my proposed project. 

            Over the course of my studies, I have found myself increasingly drawn to the field of music history.  More specifically, it has always been a fascination of mine to attempt to grasp the ideological, theoretical, cultural and psychological frameworks of composers in order to understand how their unique experiences shaped their music.  One composer that has always struck me in this regard is Johann Sebastian Bach.  In particular, how his career and musical output were impacted by his Lutheran faith.  Researching Luther’s views on music I came across the following quote in an article by Walter E. Buszin entitled “Luther on Music:”

The fact that we posses a great body of German Protestant church music is mainly attributable to Luther’s understanding and love of music.  Calvin’s indifference, or rather hostility, to music effectively thwarted the rise of a comparable musical literature in the countries that espoused Calvinism (80).

Considering the masterpieces by German Lutheran composers such as J. S. Bach and Heinrich Shütz, this claim by Buszin is not unrealistic.  Therefore, the first aim of my project is to analyze the validity of this claim by presenting and contrasting Luther and Calvin’s views on church music.  Secondly, I wish to examine the lives and times of German composers Heinrich Schütz, Dietrich Buxtehude, and Johann Sebastian Bach, illustrating how various environmental factors, specifically Lutheranism, shaped their careers and music.  My project will likely manifest itself in a thirty-five to fifty page paper.

            In regards to a faculty advisor for my project, Dr. ****** ****** has kindly agreed to work with me.  This past fall I had the wonderful privilege of doing an independent study with him on the Life and Work of W.A. Mozart.  It was the highlight of my semester and I covet the opportunity of studying under him again.

Thank you very much for your consideration.  If you have any questions regarding my project please do not hesitate to contact Dr. ****** or myself.

            Respectfully,

           

            Luke

Bach Among the Theologians

The Thursday before spring break, I found myself with a lot of free time between my last class and my evening activities so I decided to make use of the moment and made my way to the library where I found a book that seemed to be a good source for exploring more about my topic.  The book is Bach Among the Theologians by Jaroslav Pelikan.  I just finished reading the second chapter [The Musical Heritage of the Reformation].  In the chapter, Pelikan explores the relationship between Luther's theology, Luther's Hymn's, and Bach's settings of Luther's music.  Though I plan on reading the chapter again to make sure that I have a firm grasp of what Pelikan is trying to convey, I enjoyed how he explained the clear relationship between Luther's theological treatment of sin and Bach's setting of a chorale by Luther for his cantata for the Sunday closest to Reformation Day.

"The same affirmation of the Reformation heritage is audible in Bach's other settings of Luther's hymns.  A leading Swedish interpreter of that heritage in the twentieth century, Einar Billing, once summarized it in the proposition: Regard nothing as the theology of Luther that cannot be reduced to a simple corollary of the forgiveness of sins...Luther's faith was rooted in a profound awareness of the crisis of the human predicament.  I his own language he spoke of that awareness as Anfechtung.  Quite appropriately, Bach built his cantata for the Sunday nearest Reformation Day in 1724...around the words and music that Luther wrote for his hymn version of Psalm 130 in 1523 "Aus tiefer Not schrei icy zu dir [In deep distress I cry to thee]."  Luther called Ps. 130 one of the "Pauline Psalms," along with Psalms 32, 51, and 143, because they dealt with so many of the topics of the epistles of Paul (who does indeed quote them) in their depiction of Anfechtung and the sense of sin; and this hymn was sung by the congregation for Luther's burial on 20 February 1546:"
                             Out of the depths I cry to you;
                             O Father, hear me calling.
                             Incline you ear to my distress
                             In spite of my rebelling.
                             Do not regard my sinful deeds.
                             Send me the grace my spirit needs;
                             Without it I am nothing. (LBW 295)
-Pelikan, 20-21.

Here is Bach's setting of the text.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjHzIFWKPOA

Where I Fit

No matter what field one calls home, be it biology, history, political science, or psychology, one inevitably finds oneself being drawn into a certain arena within their field of study.  A psychologist feeling a pull into the corner of personality theory within the larger room of psychology, for example.  It is in this niche in their field that the individual researcher chooses to settle down and explore, sifting through and bringing to the table interesting and not so interesting pieces of information that will then be reworked to provide an enhanced perspective on the data accumulated.  Such is the nature of research.

As a music major considering the prospect of an honors project, at times it seems quite daunting for me to settle on a topic within my field.  Also, being the kind of person who has the tendency to jump from project to project, it feels slightly counterintuitive. That being said, the desire to be grounded in a topic and find a place where I fit in the field of music is something that I feel I must do.

Music, as a field, can be divided into 4 sub categories: Theory, Composition, History, and Performance.    Most musicians seeking to advance their education at the Masters level will generally settle on one of those areas of study.  Of the four, I gravitate towards the field of music history.

Since I know that I want my project to focus on something within the realm of music history, I know need to settle on the period of music history that I want to take my project from.  Music history can be divided into roughly 7 periods: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th century.  Out of these, I feel a pull towards the music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Several avenues are now presented to me now that I've settled on specific time frames within music history.  In short, the same 4 sub categories I referenced earlier (Theory, Composition, History, Performance) reappear as possible routes for my project to take.  Additionally, the possible choice of settling on discussing sacred or secular music also presents itself.  Naturally, as the nature of this blog suggests, I am settled on dealing with sacred music.  In reference to the first predicament or what sub category, my project will inevitably touch on the sub-fields of theory, composition, and performance within the overarching framework of a historical research topic within music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.  All I have left to do is settle on a topic.

Without a doubt, the most significant event within the presented time frame that affected sacred music during this period was the Reformation.  This climactic event holds much interest for me and seems to me an ideal subject for my honors project.  As someone who becomes easily interested with many different subjects, honing a thesis on how the Reformation impacted sacred music will be an ideal adventure as it will include venturing into studying not only music and composers of the time but also the theological and political battles that were raging in various countries and how the beliefs of reformers, such as Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, were manifested in music production and performance.

Though this project will most likely not be of any great interest to the average student, and is not on a subject that would receive more than a few lectures of attention in the typical music history couse, it holds a great deal of lure for me.  I know I will enjoy exploring this little corner of the World of Music.

Links to Other Music/Sacred Music Blogs

This blog by Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker, is exceptionally good.  We read his book The Rest is Noise in the Music of the 20th Century class I took last spring. His blog covers a wide range of topics within instrumental ["classical"] music. The Rest is Noise

I think this blog could be very helpful.  It's the official sacred music blog for the University of Notre Dame. Music and the Sacred

Shifting to a different front, this blog is on the subject of music therapy...another field in which I am interested. Music Therapy Research Blog

Going back to the roots of sacred music, this blog covers Gregorian chant.  I appreciate how it has a lot of links and youtube videos of performances. Chantblog

I really like this site.  It has various blogs/articles covering modern sacred music. Worship Corner