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
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