Musical Analysis - Early to Classical

Studying one work each week, a wide range of music will be analysed - concentrating on works from the Baroque and Classical periods. Different works may require slightly different approaches but common principles of analysis will be developed.

The purpose of musical analysis is to understand the underlying structure of the works which we consider to be beautiful and worthwhile in their own right. Some aspects of this structure have been consciously planned by the composer but others, often remarkable instances of hidden structure, occur subconsciously. A starting point for analysis will usually be a simple description of the work's obvious features, whether it falls into several movements, how the themes are disposed within the movements and so on. This term's analysis concentrates upon works from the Baroque and Classical periods.