Sorry to be pedantic. In my world of poetry research, it’s sort of like “the.”
And what a fascinating class. Would love to hear details. MUCH more exciting than Population Genetics or Shroedinger Equations. Things got better for me after I switched into History of Art. But there was still Bosch and Breugal since my advisor taught it. Sigh.
You misconstrued me; I was not implying anything pejorative: I appreciate the proper use of an exotic word, if a more common one does not suffice (especially when I have taken the time to learn it).
I actually first heard it during a lecture by Bob Larson about 1972, on his book, Rock and the Church. His thesis was that the waltz was in harmony with the body’s heart pulse, but that the anapestic beat (the rock beat) was in opposition to it, physiologically and spiritually.
It did not convince me to give up Larry Norman or (later) Daniel Amos, but I remember looking up the word. I did not have use of it until I began studying classical music in my forties.
I started out as a biology major, took physics for majors, and, of course, organic chemistry and genetics, so I can somewhat relate. I was very adept at them, but they did not really satisfy me - and my burgeoning health problems (which led me into diet and nutrition as my vocation) were already making life onerous. I back-doored into music when I was laid off in 1999.
The music literature class was taught by a Ph.D. She was intelligent and knowledgeable, but she was an extreme Marxist who frequently digressed into screeds against white males, which made it unpleasant for me. You might have enjoyed some of the focus on libretti and poetry, e.g., W. H. Auden (who was a student of J.R.R. Tolkien).
The focus was on literary analysis, and writing papers with proper documentation, and without plagiarism. It was rather dry. I think a good music history course, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, or Romantic, is actually more informative and enjoyable.
I honestly enjoyed The History of Jazz and The History of Rock more than the Music Literature course; both were taught by a journeyman jazz musician (who also directed the jazz choir in which I sang). Although I perform classical choral works, I am a pop guy at heart.