In what ways can a set work be "contextualised"?

In many ways, the contextual analysis of a set work is considered secondary up until A-level, in favour of the analysis of technique and style. Upon the inclusion of "contextual understanding"* as a relevant factor in the assessment of a set work, a significant problem presents itself: with the wealth of information provided by the full context of any piece of music, how is it that relevant facts can be separated from the irrelevant? Here, I shall provide a method of simplifying this process, which can be further refined according to personal interest and preference. Firstly, it is easier to sort the available information into the categories of personal and societal. These should be relatively easy to delineate. Personal information could include: location and travel; significant life events, including (but not limited to) love, physical/mental trauma or disabilities, and political and philosophical views. For instance, to analyseSchumann's Dichterliebe without acknowledgement of his bipolar disorder and his borderline obsessive love for his wife Clara would be to ignore a potentially vital factor in explaining the extremes of tone present in this work. Similarly, to fully analyse Wagner's operas, one must understand, to an extent, his adherence to Schopenhauer's philosophical teachings, particularly with regard to his belief in the supremacy of music over drama. More directly, pieces such as Chopin's Prelude Op.28 No. 15, nicknamed Raindrop, are thought to be influenced mainly by his surroundings in a Majorcan monastery, and the sound of raindrops on its roof. Haydn’s situation is also particularly notable, as his prolonged employment with the Esterhazy family kept him composing for a particular court for a large portion of his career, with distribution of his work being completely controlled by his employers. Societal information is, understandably, far broader in scope than the personal. For these, it is necessary to establish what would have been "current events" for the composer, and to what extent they would havehad an effect on them. Were there any significant military conflicts, and would the composer have come into direct contact with them? If not, why? This question is heavily tied into the composer’s own political and philosophical views, as well as potential trauma that they may have experienced. The songs of Ivor Gurney were heavily influenced by his PTSD, a condition from which he suffered after his involvement in World War I, and which caused him to spend the last years of his life committed to an institution. Protest of war are also be a very present factor to consider, from the conscientious objection of Benjamin Britten, to the protest songs of Bob Dylan. Prolonged social upheaval in the wake of these momentous events must also be considered, with events like the 1789 French Revolution leaving a lasting impact across the artistic landscape all through the 19^th Century, and the World Wars of the 20^th Century are seeming to leave a similarly severe mark on our current cultural landscape. What political movements were active around them, and were they active within them? For instance, composers such as Sibelius, Grieg and The Russian Five were openly engaging with the nationalist sentiment within their respective countries, whilst many composers actively engaged in political and cultural discourse, with a particularly interesting example being the War of the Romantics, where Clara Schumann and Brahms led a movement directly opposing the Weimar school of composition, led by Liszt and Wagner, leading to a series of biting criticisms directed both ways. What technology was available to them, and in what ways did this help and hinder them? Technological development becomes an indispensable part of the analysis of music in the 20^th Century, especially regarding the invention and improvement of recording technology, which completely changed the production of popular music, with everything from the forces used to the duration of the piece itself, with the restrictions of the early technology leading to shorter songs and larger groups, and the later improvements allowing for more intimately-sized groups and longer songs, as well as the addition of more sophisticated editing techniques to create effects that can’t be achieved with live performance. Similarly, movements such as Minimalism utilise recording effects for early projects such as Steve Reich’s It’s Gonna Rain, which uses different playback speeds to create the phasing technique that would later be a staple technique of the movement. After establishing the information pertinent to your set works, it then becomes a matter of tailoring it to whichever aspect of the composition you are being questioned upon. I hope that this provides a basis for understanding how to contextualise a piece of music effectively, without becoming too preoccupied with irrelevant details.*According to AQA's terminology.