Music--Philosophy and aesthetics

Over the last several years the Broward County, Florida school system has experienced a dramatic decline in music programs. In Broward County, as in many school systems across the nation, programs in music and the other arts are finding themselves reduced because of curtailed funding. The problems are constantly debated by school board members and top administration officials. Meanwhile, young people are deprived of music. A major concern of the music community has been an inability to propose a truly self-justifying curriculum. Therefore, an aesthetically based curriculum supplement has been developed with the intention of cementing the place of music in the overall elementary school curriculum. This will be a major approach to curriculum building with instruction, which will include music theories, musical styles and periods, musicians, composition and historical facts. The objective is to create an understanding of music, establishing music as an integral part of school curriculum.

The choral compositions of James M. Stayton, a neo-romantic impressionistic composer are showcased and the individual works are analyzed both descriptively and formally. Compositional influences and styles are discussed at length with inspiration coming from such composers as Brahms, Faure, Morten Lauridsen and Stuart Glazer. Texts range from Sacred scriptural and Mass Ordinary to poets such as Emily Dickinson, Sarah Teasdale, James Weldon Johnson and Christina Rosetti. The formal analyses include an in depth breakdown of individual sections of each piece as well as musical examples. Each formal analysis also includes a charted breakdown of the entire piece by measure, section and key center. The descriptive analyses explain vocal, and instrumental usage as it pertains to effect and the text. Each descriptive analysis also discusses the particular inspirations by which each piece was structured.