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Joscelyn Godwin— Harmonies of Heaven and Earth: Mysticism in Music


Probably the best short introduction to this subject for anyone who's interested but has no idea where to start. A fast-paced overview of the theory of music from a wide-angle conceptual/historical lens, this book is brimming over with exciting material that should be (and secretly is) the lifeblood of all musicianship. If you can't grab a musician by the lapels & yank them out of their 'rhythm and notes' stupor, maybe you can try to introduce him/her to something inspiring. This might be the quickest way. Actually, any person interested in the relation between ratios, sound & numbers to the physical properties of the human being and the cosmos shouldn't neglect the study of music as a, if not THE, place where such things can be ascertained. This book will introduce you to the key figures who have understood and applied such facets of knowledge, and presents a coherant achronological survey of many of the musical insights the western world has accumulated.

Due to Godwin being one of the more forgiving of the people aligned with theTraditionalists, there is some coverage of Theosophical stuff (grrr). But it's only what is pertinent and would be conspicuous to leave out. Also, it's rather good to see someone explore the possibilities of these things in modern terms, since they belong to "antiquity" only insofar as modern historicity automatically assumes their absence & thus relegates them to either a half-assed "avant garde" or the preservationist futility of ethnomusicology. Accordingly, Godwin does not limit his considerations to Boethius, the Divine Tetrachord or Robert Fludd, but brings us right up into Stravinsky, Stockhausen, and Boulez (a recent glimpse at a book written on the theory of Bartok and Kodaly which we are now devouring, reveals either that we are not out of our minds, or that they too were mad as hatters). Godwin even considers the possibilities of rock music, which might be a stretch - - - but I guess we hope not, since we're stuck in its bleak, murky quagmire ourselves.

Would've liked to see more Messian, but that's nothing new. We'd love to see Godwin go all the way into that, but of course he'll need hundreds of pages... this is enough to get you going anyway.

"In Thy Music, we will SEE Music"
"In Thy Light, we will HEAR Light"

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