Students are examined on their knowledge of Western music history from the Middle Ages to the present. The test consists of fifty short-answer questions.
The following two questions are typical. The answers given are the sort that would be deemed acceptable.
Sample Questions:
- Identify the Dies irae and explain its significance in the
history of music.
The Dies irae is a Gregorian chant, part of the Requiem Mass, whose melody was quoted as a symbol of death or the diabolical by many composers of the l9th and 20th centuries.
- Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of the Wayfarer") -- Who wrote it? Why is it significant in the history of music?
Mahler; it was the first song cycle composed with orchestral (rather than piano) accompaniment
In preparation for the examination you might review music history with the aid of a comprehensive text such as:
- Grout-Palisca, History of Western Music
- Seaton, Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition.
