Analysis Seminar & Courses - Winter 2025
Modality
(as mid 19th-Century composers reconsidered it)
It’s 1850. Classicism has faded away and the Romantic Era is now firmly established. A new field of scholarship is on the rise: Music History. Composers acquaint themselves with Medieval and Renaissance music for the first time in hundreds of years. Meanwhile, the globe is expanding. Composers from Eastern and Northern Europe flock to Paris and Vienna bringing with them sounds yet unknown to the French and the Germans. Into this milieu, a rush of new ideas and harmonic systems flourish as these myriad forces are set to collide.
In this six-week course, I will show you how to utilize modality as a compositional weapon; a means of expanding your own style and sound world. We ‘ll do so by studying the music of three great mid-19th Century composers: Faure, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff.
Classes meet Mondays at 6-7pm ET beginning 1/13 to 2/17. All can be viewed asynchronously and are recorded for return viewing.
Entire 6 week course = $450 Each individual session (a la carte) = $100
Use the form below to sign up!
1/13 Faure Poemes d’un jour, Op. 21
1/20 Faure Requiem, Op. 48
1/27 Brahms Zwei Gesange, Op. 91
2/3 Brahms Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2
2/10 Rachmaninoff Second Suite, Op. 17
2/17 Rachmaninoff Second Piano Concerto, Op. 18
PAST ANALYSIS SEMINARS - AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
Analysis Seminar & Courses - Fall 2024
Potentially the most important composer they never taught you in school, Faure’s music and legacy loom large over not just French music but American as well, as he counted both Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger as his pupils. In this deep dive, we explore his early, middle, and late works (including the Requiem, La bonne chanson, the 1st Violin Sonata, and many more), highlighting musical advancement in Harmony, Counterpoint, and Form.
All-access pass to the complete 12 week Analysis Seminar. Can also be purchased a la carte! Meets Tuesdays at 5:30pm ET.
Ready to keep it going??? We’ll start with Challan 1st Inversion and Sequences of 7ths and 9ths this term and see how far we get! This course is by invitation only (i.e. for returning students to this class). However, if you’d also like to join, send me an message below and we’ll discuss it.
This course covers first and second inversion Challan exercises, sequences of 7th and 9th chords, with supportive analysis. Meets Tuesdays at 7pm ET. By invitation only!
All classes meet 12 times and can be viewed asynchronously at your convenience. Analysis Seminar requires no additional out-of-class work and can be taken a la carte. The other three courses do require work both in- and outside of class and must be taken in their entirety.
Here are the details for each course:
Analysis Seminar - The Life and Music of Gabriel Faure
Potentially the most important composer they never taught you in school, Faure’s music and legacy loom large over not just French music but American as well, as he counted both Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger as his pupils. In this deep dive, we explore his early, middle, and late works (including the Requiem, La bonne chanson, the 1st Violin Sonata, and many more), highlighting musical advancement in Harmony, Counterpoint, and Form.
This course meets at 5:30pm ET on Tuesdays and can be taken a la carte. Here’s the schedule:
9/17 Cantique de Jean Racine
9/24 Apres un reve , Lydia & Au bord de l’eau
10/1 Rencontre & Clair de lune
10/8 Violin Sonata Mvt 1
10/15 Violin Sonata Mvts 3-4
11/5 Nocturne No. 2
11/12 Pavane
11/18 Piano Quintet No. 1 Mvt. 1
11/25 La bonne chanson
12/1 Requiem
12/8 Noctunre No. 7
12/15 L’horizon chimerique
Advanced Keyboard Harmony
Ready to keep it going??? We’ll start with Challan 1st Inversion and Sequences of 7ths and 9ths this term and see how far we get! This course is by invitation only (i.e. for returning students to this class). However, if you’d also like to join, send me an message below and we’ll discuss it.
If you have any questions about joining a course, please contact me here:
Analysis Seminar - May ‘24
Sonata-Allegro
In 1918, Debussy completed his penultimate work : the Cello Sonata.; clocking in at a tidy 11 minutes. The same exact year, Vaughn Williams completed his Second Symphony which needs about 45 minutes to experience. Both of these pieces have the exact same form.
What is it about the Sonata that is so enduring? How can it be so stretched by some composers and condensed by others? In four short lectures we will walk through the evolution of the Sonata from it’s origins in the Baroque through to its 20th Century descendants.
Classes meet via Zoom each Tuesday at 7:30 pm ET. All courses are recorded and available for a-synchronous watching or repeat viewings. Some students will wish to interact during the session, others will watch at their own time and pace. Everyone is welcome!
Episode List
Ep, 1 The Monolith: Bach WTC Book 2 F Major Prelude
Ep. 2 The Temple: Mozart Keyboard Sonata K.332
Ep. 3 The Skyscraper: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 8 ‘Pathetique’
Ep. 4 The Spaceship: Debussy Violin Sonata
Analysis Seminar -
Spring ‘24
Chopin Nocturnes
Chopin didn’t invent the Nocturne, but he placed it front and center into our consciousness.
This Spring 2024, Dr. Boyle offered a 12 week immersive study of 12 of the 18 Chopin Nocturnes published in his lifetime. Topics covered included: formal design, modality, melodic construction, hyper-metricity, contrapuntal analysis, harmonic modeling, and the general manipulation of time. The seminar is designed for the professional-level Composer, Pianist, or Chopin Enthusiast!
Episode List
Ep, 1 Op. 9 No. 1 Bb minor
Ep. 2 Op. 9 No. 2 Eb Major
Ep. 3 Op. 9 No. 3 B Major
Ep. 4 Op. 15 No. 3 G Major
Ep. 5 Op. 27 No. 1 C# minor
Ep. 6 Op. 27 No. 2 Db Major
Ep. 7 Op. 48 No. 1 C minor
Ep. 8 Op. 48 No. 2 F# minor
Ep. 9 Op. 55 No. 1 F minor
Ep. 10 Op. 55 No. 2 Eb Major
Ep. 11 Op. 62 No. 1 B Major
Ep. 12 Op. 62 No. 2 E Major
If you would like to purchase any previous episodes, please list the ones you would like in the form below: