The Bible and the Arts of Europe

• Week 1
  “In the beginning”: an introduction to the Bible, with focus on the King James version.  When and where were biblical narratives first written and compiled (especially with respect to the Protestant Bible). The Creation narrative—artistic depictions and a close look at Joseph Haydn’s magnificent oratorio, The Creation.
• Week 2
  Can, or ought, the Bible be read as “literature”? What are its literary elements? Then, biblical storytelling at its best: the fable of Abraham and Isaac, as told in the Bible, then composed as a canticle by the modern composer Benjamin Britten. Next, Britten’s setting of Noah’s flood; and finally, depictions of Moses and the Exodus in art, sculpture and film.
• Week 3
  Women in biblical narratives reveal the patriarchal environment in which the narratives were conceived: women are often portrayed as seductresses, temptresses, assassins, evil-doers. But there are many positive women in scripture. We will hear parts of Bach’s setting of Mary’s prayer, the "Magnificat".
• Week 4
  Hope and despair: no two books of the Bible have inspired more great art, poetry and music than the Book of Job and the Book of Isaiah. A close look at the magnificent Book of Job leads to the life and art of English poet William Blake and the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams; and the hopefulness in Handel’s incomparable oratorio, Messiah, inspired by the Book of Isaiah.
• Week 5
  The two great migrations of the ancient Jews, the Exodus and the captivity in Babylon, give rise to some of the greatest poetry and art. We’ll consider paintings depicting the Exodus, some film clips, and beautiful lyric poetry composed during the captivity: the Psalms of David (including Bobby McFerrin’s lovely setting of the 23rd psalm). We close with Mendelssohn’s magnificent oratorio Elijah and verses from the Song of Solomon.
• Week 6
  The New Testament. Some of the great art inspired by the life of Jesus and the mission of Paul, including the music of Bach and Beethoven. A look at some of the great medieval cathedrals. We’ll move to the 20th century to consider Ken Russell’s film Salome’s Last Dance and two fine musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Understand the origins and development of the Bible
• Appreciate the Bible as literature, including how its forms, imagery, narratives and language reveal the most powerful urges of the human imagination
• Recognize the Bible’s centrality in the formation of Western culture reflected in the great works of European art, architecture, poetry, music and drama inspired by the Bible

• Lectures
• Participation in discussions
  
• Supplementary resources accessed through Canvas
  
• Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)

No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.