Spring 2023 Course Schedule | Friday

Early registration for Spring 2023 study groups ended January 27. Please note that study groups are assigned by lottery after early registration closes, and some study groups are now full. 

Please click here to view the list of courses with space available before registering. After registering, please contact the BOLLI Program Coordinator at bolli@brandeis.edu or 781-732-2992 to enroll in courses.

Spring 2023 courses begin the week of February 27 and run through the week of May 8. There will be no courses April 3-7. View the Spring 2023 schedule. View the Spring 2023 schedule.

All times refer to the Eastern Time Zone.

MUS3-5a-Fri From Handel’s Messiah to Bach’s St. John Passion: Oratorio in the Baroque Period

Study Group Leader (SGL) - Gil  Harel

Location:   This course will take place virtually on Zoom. Participation in this course requires a device (ideally a computer or tablet, rather than a cell phone) with a camera and microphone in good working order and basic familiarity with using Zoom and accessing email.

Friday– Course Period 1 – 9:30 am to 10:55 am

5 week course - March 3 - March 31

Description   The oratorio is one of the most important genres in western art music. It is based on a substantial story of religious or spiritual character, written for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, and often performed in churches and concert halls. These works are enjoyed year after year not only by paying audience members, but by singers at nearly every level. Though the genre invites direct comparison to opera, it is fundamentally different in ways that are both obvious and subtle. Our studies will more specifically analyze oratorios to consider their origins, e.g. how this genre came to be, who created it, and when and where they were created. We will discover how the oratorio evolved in the hands of Bach and Handel, and how their oratorios differ. And we will consider the striking depiction of violence in Bach’s St. John Passion and whether works like it may have inspired violence. Finally, we will reflect on how Handel’s popular work, Messiah, which premiered in 1741, has evolved in the nearly 300 years since then. These works provide students with an excellent opportunity to study language, theology, cultural Zeitgeist, and more.

Course Materials   While there is no textbook for this class, we will be using a variety of free online resources, including scores, libretti, program notes, and more. All listening excerpts will be available through YouTube, and all scores available through the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) or other sources. 

Preparation Time   Approximately 2 hours/week, split between listening and reading assignments 

Biography   Gil Harel (PhD, Brandeis University) is a musicologist and music theorist whose interests include styles ranging from western classical repertoire to jazz and musical theater. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Music at Naugatuck Valley Community College, where he has been presented with the AFT "Merit Award for Exemplary Service to the College" for 5 consecutive years. In 2020, he was honored with the coveted Connecticut Board of Regents (BOR) Teaching Award. When off campus, he is engaged in his other full time job: dad to Aria (3) and Liora (1).

MUS3-10-Fri1 “Tendin’ to the Roots:” A History of Country, Folk and Bluegrass Music

Study Group Leader (SGL) - Taylor Ackley

Location:   The Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes at Brandeis and at University of Massachusetts, Boston are collaborating on this course, led by Brandeis professor Taylor Ackley. The course will take place on the former campus of Mt. Ida College in Newton, 100 Carlson Ave, Newton, MA 02459. Ample, convenient parking will be provided. Once enrolled in this course, you will receive detailed directions.

Mask policy:   Masks will be optional in this class. 

Friday– Course Period 1 – 10:00am to Noon with a short break

8 week course - March 10, 17, 24, 31, April 14, 21, 28, May 5.

(No class April 7)

**Please note this class will run for 8 weeks from 10:00am-Noon and will take place at the former campus of Mt. Ida College in Newton.** Though this class meets for 8 weeks, it will count as a 10 week course in the lottery.

Description   “I’m a great nostalgist. That’s kind of my department, tendin’ to the roots of country music. I’m doing everything I can to preserve what I know.”

-Merle Haggard

From its birth amid the rapid changes in American culture in the first years of the 20th century, country music has offered listeners a respite from their modernist woes. Since then, this music, which bills itself as coming from a purer, simpler (and often imagined) time, has continually appealed to people from various backgrounds who feel left behind by an ever-changing world. Country music goes beyond describing and discussing these changes to engender an emotional response to the hardships of modern life. Whether you got laid off from your job, are stuck in a troubled relationship, had to leave home behind, are seeking connection to the divine, or are just plain old lonesome, there’s a country song for you.

Maintaining country music’s nostalgia has required constant innovation. Each era of this music’s history and its various offshoot genres (folk, bluegrass and Americana to name a few) is characterized by new responses to cultural, political and economic developments. Country music is rarely a passive participant. Rather, while looking to the past for inspiration and authenticity, this music has played a central role in shaping many Americans’ views of the present and hopes for the future.

Course Materials  The primary text for this course will be Bill C. Malone’s Country Music USA. Students should acquire the most recent edition: Country Music USA: 50th Anniversary Edition. University of Texas Press, 2018. ISBN 1477315357

Other readings will be provided in PDF format or as links to digital content. Listening will be provided in the form of YouTube Playlists and other digital sources.

Preparation Time  Approximately 30 pages of reading per week with about an hour of assigned listening

Biography  Taylor Ackley is first and foremost a folk musician. Born into a working-class family with a remarkable musical heritage, his work grows out of a rich expression cultivated across generations of pickers, singers, songwriters and fiddlers who populate his family tree. He holds a Master’s Degree and PhD in Composition as well as a Master’s Degree in Ethnomusicology from Stony Brook University, reflecting an intellectual and creative practice which explores American folk and popular music through analysis, composition, historical research, performance and ethnography. Taylor is a professor at Brandeis University and is currently working on a book titled Hearing Class.