Like a reading room, this course takes students through the history of ideas in order to put the discursive legacies of musicology into historical and critical perspective. Students analyse a wide range of texts, individually and collectively, as a window onto the diversity of theoretical fields of research in musicology, from the founding narratives of the canon to gender or postcolonial studies, via traditional music, performance studies or listening studies.

What makes a work of art? What are the components that contribute to its uniqueness?
This course looks at the role of performers and the many historical and contextual factors that contribute to the constant rewriting of musical works. In a broad sense of interpretation, the study alternates between analysis of sound recordings and comparison of stagings, editions and writings. By sharing a sensitive experience, students are able to immerse themselves in aesthetic and historical questions and to gauge the subjectivity of artistic choices: in this discrepancy, the ability to be surprised rather than judged and to develop a plasticity of perception, in the service of a situated rendition and listening, is at stake.

Cultural mediation involves creating the conditions for encounters with art and through art. It encourages the circulation of works and the development of musical and choreographic practices based on a sensitive experience. It builds bridges between different cultural universes through exchange and reciprocity. It enriches professional artistic careers. In this sense, mediation is a practice in movement, and it is subject to the same artistic demands and the same research dynamic as all other practices.
From the point of view of public policy on culture, mediation initially focused on access to heritage and creative works (cultural democratisation), then widened to include participation by individuals (cultural democracy), then recognition of the contribution made by individuals (cultural rights). Contributing to cultural mediation in and through one's art is an integral part of being an artist, and one that is increasingly recognised. This is why it is so important for a higher education institution in the performing arts such as the Conservatoire de Paris to carry out mediation initiatives and provide mediation training.

The aim of this course is to give students the maximum possible understanding and mastery of the principles of signal processing and sound synthesis, so that they can apply these principles in their future work as sound engineers. This also includes the ability to create their own versions of existing sound synthesis and sound processing tools and any missing tools that may be required.