Last modified: 13 Nov 2025 15:46
There was an abundance of song in nineteenth-century Britain. On the street and in the home, on the stage and in the classroom, singing was by turns ordinary and astounding – a feature of everyday life and a wonder to behold. This course introduces students to some of the best-known songs and singers of the era while providing them with the tools to explore many more pieces and performers off the beaten track. No detailed prior knowledge of nineteenth-century song is required.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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The course is taught in a series of ten seminars where the emphasis is on discussion of set reading and listening as well as students’ independent research. In the first weeks we explore methodological questions related to the historical study of songs and singing, drawing on musicology, performance practice, print culture, political history, Victorian literature, and other related fields. Students are encouraged to explore a range of critical and creative approaches to the course material; ideally no two students will have the same experience of ’19 Songs’.
As the weeks go by, and each seminar introduces new case studies, students develop a sense of the different sorts of songs that were popular in the British nineteenth century alongside the settings in which they were typically sung. Christian hymns, national anthems, operatic arias, street ballads, children’s choruses, and music-hall numbers are just some of the songs we explore. To help students gather their thoughts along the way, everyone on the course keeps a physical scrapbook or ‘commonplace book’ with notes, pictures, and cuttings relevant to nineteenth-century song. This book, which should include at least 19 entries on nineteenth-century song, forms part of the assessment. Each student will also give a short oral presentation and either write an essay or submit a creative alternative (e.g., a composition, arrangement, or performance agreed with the course coordinator).
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 70 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
One option is a 5,000-word essay. Alternative submissions of an equivalent value - e.g. 14-minute recorded performance or 8-minute composition - are also possible. Written feedback will refer to relevant guidelines for different types of assessment. Whatever the type of assessment, credit will be given for engaging with the themes and material of the course. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Create | Be able to: discuss complex issues with clarity and respond to material in the course to produce a historically informed piece of work. |
| Factual | Understand | Be able to: appreciate nineteenth-century songs in their literary, musical, and cultural contexts, understanding the formal and stylistic factors that bear on the history of this repertoire. |
| Factual | Understand | Be able to: describe relationships between singing and society as well as the circulation and reception of nineteenth-century songs. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Be able to: reflect on the political and aesthetic legacies of nineteenth-century songs, singing, and singers, including the implications for present-day composition, performance, and scholarship. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
The portfolio is a scrapbook – or ‘commonplace book’ – containing clippings, drawings, and notes relating to the course. This is submitted along with a reflective piece of writing (approx. 500 words) that provides a supporting narrative. Credit will be given for including and elaborating on material beyond what is provided in class. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Formative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Oral presentation (formative assessment). |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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|
||
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
One option is a 5,000-word essay. Alternative submissions of an equivalent value - e.g. 14-minute recorded performance or 8-minute composition - are also possible. Written feedback will refer to relevant guidelines for different types of assessment. Whatever the type of assessment, credit will be given for engaging with the themes and material of the course. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Factual | Understand | Be able to: describe relationships between singing and society as well as the circulation and reception of nineteenth-century songs. |
| Conceptual | Create | Be able to: discuss complex issues with clarity and respond to material in the course to produce a historically informed piece of work. |
| Factual | Understand | Be able to: appreciate nineteenth-century songs in their literary, musical, and cultural contexts, understanding the formal and stylistic factors that bear on the history of this repertoire. |
| Reflection | Evaluate | Be able to: reflect on the political and aesthetic legacies of nineteenth-century songs, singing, and singers, including the implications for present-day composition, performance, and scholarship. |
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