MUSC 205A Church Music: Hymnody and Liturgics

Proposed Course Outline: Fall Semester, 2010            Dennis Marzolf

YFAC 209  344-7370 (Office)            507-625-8278 (Home)            dmarzolf@blc.edu

            This two credit course examines the history of the liturgical practices of the Christian Church and the development of hymnody. Special emphasis on the Lutheran reformation of the liturgy, as well as on the Lutheran chorale. It may be taken for religious studies credit. It is beneficial for all students to have completed RS 110 and 111.

The course is offered from 10:30-11:20 on Tuesday and Thursday.

Required Texts:

A Brief History of Christian Worship, James F. White,

Abingdon Press, 1993

Documents of Christian Worship, James F. White. Westminster John Knox Press, 1992

Course Methods: Through readings, hymn study, class lectures and discussions the students will learn to understand and appreciate the practice of liturgy in the Christian Church, and the special role of music within that practice.  By the end of the term students will be able to identify the four liturgical blueprints of the western Christian tradition, and they will be able to relate the worship practices of current denominations to those blueprints. They will also be able to discuss the major eras and movements in church history and their impact upon the patterns and content of Christian worship. The reading load is significant; however there will be no writing project in the class beyond an occasional well-crafted sentence in the daily quizzes.

Evaluation: Most sessions will begin with a quiz designed to reinforce the material of the previous sessions and the assigned readings and hymn studies for the day. These quizzes (of ten to twenty points each) will accumulate to form the bulk of the grade; a larger exam will be given at the end of the course. Please keep track of your “record” with each day. A = 90% +; B = 80%-89%; C =  65%-79%; D = 55%-64%; F 54% or less.

Course Etiquette: Daily quizzes will be given promptly at the beginning of each class session.  Missed quizzes cannot be “made up”.  At the end of the class I will delete two of your low quiz scores for the term. Excused absences for BLC functions will be allowed; all excused absences must be communicated to Prof. Marzolf in writing (dmarzolf@blc.edu) at least 36 hours prior to the beginning of the class. 

Students will dress appropriately.  Gentlemen: no caps or hats in the building; ladies and gentlemen alike will be subject to the “toe touching” dress code which will be explained on the first day of class. No cell phones or texting. Laptop computers are welcome, as long as their use does not detract from your active participation in the course (I will check) there are times when it will be very helpful to have the computer in class since frequent references are made to various web resources. You are here voluntarily at significant expense and energy. Cheating on the quizzes will not be tolerated; and when and if such accusations can be proven you will face expulsion from the class and possibly the college.  These rules of etiquette will help us to pass our time together in happy consideration of one another and will help to make our experience in this class as fruitful as possible.

“Habits of Mind” (http://www.habits-of-mind.net/) will be incorporated into the course in the hope that all students will begin to see the role of active and purposeful choice awareness in scholarship and life.

All students will be invited to cultivate the following specific skills, or competencies, in this course:

+Development of an understanding that music is a gift of God, to be used to reflect His glory and to benefit those who encounter the music.
+Support the worship experience of the campus community by active participation in daily chapel, weekly vespers, and the special liturgical celebrations on the campus.
+Growth in an appreciation of the role of music in the Lutheran church, school and home.

+Understanding of the history and development of the liturgy and hymnody of the Western Church, and its framework for the development of musical forms for choir and instruments, especially the organ.
+Understanding of the unique musical heritage of the Lutheran Church, and development of a sense of responsibility towards the further cultivation of that heritage through ongoing study, composition and performance.

+Grow in an understanding of Bethany’s unique approach to the Liberal Arts in which every course of study is to be approached at the foundational level, in light of the historical, ethical, theoretical and social aspects of each discipline, along with the Lutheran notion of Christian Vocation which allows students to gain a heightened awareness and practice of cognitive skills which will foster a spirit of lifelong learning.

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Proposed Course Outline

(Reading Sources and abbreviations: Handout, ELH = Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, SCM=The Story of Christian Music; BH=A Brief History of Christian Worship; DW=Documents of Christian Worship) 

1. Course Intro; Memorizations; dates, lists, hymns; Habits of Mind

Daily Question Assignment; You will prepare 12 questions for each day which will be used as the basis for the daily quiz. Logistics will be explained. Readings assigned for the day should be completed prior to that class period. You will need to bring DW to class each day.

2. Worship Ways: I and II. “To/Of”; “Eternity in a Span”

3. Worship Ways: III Blueprints 1; Mass

4. Worship Ways: III Blueprints 2. Office

5. Worship Ways: III Blueprints 3 and 4; Prone, Private Devotionals

6. Worship Ways: IV The Song of the Church

7. Worship Ways: V Lutheran Hymnody

8. Worship Ways: VI Space and Symbol

9. BH 1. Worship in the Churches of the New Testament Era, p. 13-39

10. BH 2. Worship in the Churches of the Early Chriatian Centuries, p. 40-74

11. BH 3. Worship in the Churches of the Middle Ages, p.75-103

12. BH 4. Worship in the Churches of the Reformation Period, p. 104-141

13. BH 5. Worship in the Churches of Modern Times, p. 142-177

14. Psalms in Temple Worship SCM 20-21

Music in the Synagogue SCM 22

Music in the Early Church SCM 24-28

Spread of Christianity SCM 26

15. Beginning of Western Middle Ages SCM 29-32

Worship in Fifth Century Jersualem SCM 30

The Monastic Tradition SCM 33-37

Antiphons SCM 35

Cantillation SCM 36-37

16. Music of the Spheres: Medieval World View SCM 38-40

Eleventh Century Mass SCM 41

Music for the Liturgy SCM 42-43

Development of Notation, SCM 44

From the Ear to the Page SCM 45-48

17. Rich Church, Poor People SCM 46-48

From Gregorian Chant to Polyphony, SCM 49-54

18. Wycliffe’s Challenge, SCM 55-56

Luther and the Reformation, SCM 58-63

19. Renaissance, SCM 59

Lutheran Song, SCM 62

20. Swiss Reformers; Calvinist Tradition, SCM 64-65

Genevan Psalter, SCM 66

21. Reformation in England SCM 67-71

22. Catholic Reformation, SCM 72-77

Organ Music, SCM 76-77

Power of Music, SCM 81-82

The Development of Oratorio SCM 84-86

23. The Music of the Lutheran Church SCM 87-88

 Herman, Eber, Nicolai, Heerman, Neumeister, Kingo

Christmas in the Nicholaikirche SCM 89

Heinrich Schuetz SCM 90-91

J.S. Bach SCM 94-97

Bach’s Cantatas SCM 95; Bach:

24. Pietism SCM 97-100

Freylinghausen, Brorson; Zinzendorf

Denmark and Norway (Handout, Oxford History of Christian Worship)

Moravian Brethren SCM 98

25. Turmoil in England: Commonwealth and Restoration SCM 101-104

English Congregational Music SCM 110-117

26. The Decline of the Lutheran Hymn SCM 130-132

Restoration and Neo-Confessionalism; Church of England and the Tractarians SCM 133-136

Lutheran Common Service and Lutheran Hymnody in English

27. Christianity Comes to the New World SCM 182-190

Revival SCM 138-140; Camp Meetings SCM 192

Path Divides SCM 141-142; Africans in America SCM 191-195

North and South, White and Black SCM 196-206; The Charismatic Movement SCM 212

28. Vatican II and the Liturgy  SCM 223