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Harmonies of heaven and earth : the spiritual dimensions of music from antiquity to the avant-garde / Joscelyn Godwin.
| Author/creator | Godwin, Joscelyn |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Rochester, VT : Inner Traditions International ; [New York, NY] : Distributed to the book trade in the U.S. by Harper & Row, ©1987. |
| Description | 208 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Part I. Ascending Parnassus. The marvelous effects of music ; Hearing secret harmonies -- Part II. The great work. Music alchemy music and the currents of time -- Part III. The music of the spheres ; The cosmological framework ; Planet-scales, TypeA ; Modern schemes: Titius-Bode and Goldschmidt ; Planet-scales, Type B ; Planets, tones, and the days of the week ; Planet-scales, Type C ; Systems with movable tones: Eriugena, Anselmi ; Kepler's planetary music ; Intervals and the astrological aspects ; Tone-zodiacs ; Angelic orders and muses: the great chain of being ; The three means ; 13. Gurdjieff's Law of Octaves ; The harmonics series and its symbolism ; The subharmonic series ; The Lambdoma and the Pythagorean table ; Beyond manifestation: 1/1 and 0/0. |
| Abstract | What lies beneath the surface of music and what gives it its transcendent power? For many people, music is the primary catalyst for experiences of expanded consciousness. Musicians and lovers of music--all those who have ever reflected on its inner reality--must have felt that a true philosophy of music cannot deal with physics and psychology alone. It must include the universal and mystical aspect of which Plato, Kepler, Rameau, and Novalis wrote, and of which Wagner said: "I feel that I am one with this vibrating Force, that it is omniscient, and that I can draw upon it to an extent that is limited only by my own capacity." The spiritual power of music surfaces in folklore, myth, and mystical experience, embracing heaven and earth, heard as well as unheard harmonies. The author explores music's perceived effects on matter, living things, and human behavior. He then turns to metaphysical accounts of the higher worlds that are the birthplace of harmony, following the path of musical inspiration on its descent to Earth, and illuminating the archetypal currents that lie beneath Western musical history. A final section gives the fullest account ever published of theories of celestial harmony, from Pythagoras to Rudolf Steiner and Marius Schneider. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliography (pages 199-205) and index. |
| Biographical note | Joscelyn Godwin, Professor of Music at Colgate University, New York, is the author of "Mystery Religions: Music, Mysticism, and Magic"; and works on Robert Fludd and Athanasius Kircher. He also has translated "The Multiple States of Being" by Rene Guenon and edited works of Alessandro Scarlatti. |
| LCCN | 87013691 |
| ISBN | 0892811676 (pbk.) : |
| ISBN | 9780892811670 (pbk.) |
| ISBN | 089281165X (hard) : |
| ISBN | 9780892811656 (hard) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML3845.G63 1987 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |