Below is a score and recording of an unlabeled work. This work is the subject of your assignment.
1. For your own understanding's sake, please begin by numbering the measures in this piece. Then, just as we have done so several times before, after careful consideration and much listening, create a diagram on a new sheet of paper showing the piece's major sections and their subgroupings (noting key areas and significant harmonic/melodic arrivals). Label large sections of the movement with capital letters and subsections with lowercase letters. Determine the overall form of the piece, and when you have done so, use appropriate terminology to clarify the role of the works' sections (e.g. if it is a minuet and trio, label the large A and B sections "minuet" and "trio"; if it is in sonata allegro form, use the designations PT and ST; if it is a concerto, use R1/S1/etc. in addition to thematic and sectional labels). Do not hand in the score.
2. Take notes on the piece; these will not be handed in, but they are vital to a thoughtful analysis. Specifically, in your diagramming and listening, let the piece draw your attention to its particular formal aspects (e.g. the manipulation of a particular motive or theme, the harmonic language, quotation, how solos and groups relate, etc.). With an ear toward history and style, consider additionally how this piece adheres to and/or differs from other works written in the same form. As you familiarize yourself with the piece, take note of the questions and curiosities it raises—especially those that are both specific and far-reaching.
3. From the experience or carefully attending to the piece and pre-writing freely about it, please then write (and submit in hard copy) a formal thesis-driven essay (in 500 to 800 words) that persuasively, intelligently, and insightfully argues for the centrality of (and clarifies the function) of whatever particular formal aspect you choose to engage with. Use it as a lens through which to think about the work's overall form, process, and effect. Staple it to your diagram.
15 percentage points of your final course grade will be awarded as follows:
Diagram: depth of information and correlation (3 pts.), accuracy of information (3 pts.), clarity (1 pt.)
Essay: clarity and suitability of thesis (2 pts.), depth and breadth of analytic insight (4 pts.), argumentative and textual style (2 pts.)
This assignment is due in class on Friday, December 7. Good luck.