History in Greek Philosophy

Great thinkers in Greek philosophy believed that music was for the most part one of the strongest instruments to sway the behavior of its inhabitants when it concerned the arts. Various modes moved the public in several ways. The songs addressed the laws of the day. Therefore, making it easy for the populace to follow because little ditty’s would be embedded in the mind as they are song or hummed. A relaxed manner called the Dorian that was associate with the mythical gods was considered not only calming but orderly. The Phrygian method associated itself with mythical figures as well, but of a more frenzied or lascivious atmosphere during this period. The Greeks had their methods of curtailing various behaviors through music, because of the awareness of the effects it had on people. However before we pass judgment to quickly, keep in mind that we take precautionary methods as well to regulate the variety of music the youth and young adults listen too! We call it Parental advisory place on CD’s, DVD and mpeg downloads and some requesting that you acknowledge that you are of age to purchase.

In Music of the Spheres, Pythagoras a mathematician and scientist reduces the notes within a Phrygian melody to curve the youthful passions that made him (the youth) out of control in the city of Taormina who was on the verge of setting the city ablaze. As Pythagoras observed the stars, he changed the melody with in a song and played it during this time which calmed the savage beast or youths. This gives rise to a notion and fact that music could be set to mathematical equations and scientific formulas and become relevant as the stars are when they are in harmony. Interesting that the change in several notes calm could calm someone so quickly and effectively just by the shifting of notes from a notion concerning the stars. Down through the centuries consonance and dissonance along with scales have been explored in death to their meanings compared with the scientist who studied the stars, these maestros in their own right where scientist as well studying and mastering the styles and sounds of music placing them together to make harmony.

Music in Liberal Arts

When we look at theories, we attribute to the Greek culture their studious review of music, and passing it on to other culture, because of their methodical script of note taking. The Romans followed suit in obtaining all that was written and taking it as their own to enrich it culture in all the lands that it inhabited allowing scholars to build upon the Greek theories and discoveries. Maritianus Capella a North African formulated what is called seven intellectual disciplines or liberal arts. Within these disciplines are grammar, logic, and rhetoric together they are called the trivium. The last four of these arts are arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and you guessed it music. Which composed the quadrivium, though the music is under the sciences as time marched on these disciplines where known more as the liberal arts, and they allowed for free and forward thinking, allowing for critical thinking instead of being applied only for a trade or craft?

Focusing on the discipline of music it is interesting that various texts where produced during the twelfth century making way for various theories from the Greek period to continue it march down through the ages. The notion that the science of music was still applicable to scale, melodic interval, consonance and dissonances derived via number and ratios within this science. The harmonies according to Boethius “could be divided into three general types: musica mundane (music of the spheres), musica humana (music of the human body), and musica instrumentalis (earthly vocal and instrumental music). These concepts have been held in high regard by the writers during the middle ages and are still found in over 137 medieval manuscripts. However Boethius is the most sought after work of the fundamental of music disciplines.

We have discussed philosophy and disciplines, now let take a look at the harmony of the stars from aesthetics approach. The tale is set in the orient, the enchantment theNaked Saint written by Willhelm Heinrich Wackenroder. The Saint who was placed in a cave alongside a river and this was his place for people to make their journey for a place of solitude, but the saint did not have any such peace or tranquility, due to the constant churning of the proverbial wheel of time that he was fixated on and how it reached from them to the stars and its constant revolutions that noisily rotated giving him no peace the sounds that resonated in his head continually plagued him with the responsibility of ensuring that time would not stand still. When he was asked about his circumstances and exactly what he was doing he replied harshly as if they could comprehend what he felt was a burden that he alone must endure. As people came to watch him it inflamed him to know end how could they come and watch me stand or walk back and forth contemplating the clock, did the not see the importance of monitoring the huge clock? But he was the only one that could see all they say was a man walking back and forth talking to himself and standing pondering something; of course this would be a strange site.

However, on the same token the saint could not figure out how with such a monstrous task would anyone come out to see him an pick wild herbs and ask what he was doing, he thought this to be rich, and would hurriedly run back to tend to the wheel. This went on and on, at times tears flowed because of the burden he felt was placed on him, and that he and only he could comprehend. One night, though it was like many upset and contemplating the responsibility that he could only endure, there was a moonlit night and he happen to by chance view two lovers in the light of the moon sailing along the river which obviously flowed by the saints cave. From that picture resonate a sound the quieted the noise within him and allowed him to feel the passion that these lovers felt, dissolving all the turmoil that he held on to with his fruitless responsibility to maintain the wheel of time. He simply let go and allowed the sound of true music to penetrate his entire being and finally being released of this wretched enchantment he was free to float away to the stars in the bliss of the marvelous new lease on eternity that has been presented to him.

D.Ford