The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination

The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination explores Western theoretical musical systems, their evolution, and their impact on different worldviews through various literary and artistic works. It covers music theory treatises, English-language hymnody, polemical works, Dante's Divine Comedy, English-language fiction, and the legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Format: Hardback
Length: 260 pages
Publication date: 08 November 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination explores the diverse and systematic musical ecologies of the cosmos, examining various attempts to define Western theoretical musical systems across different domains, including practical, human, nonhuman, and celestial perspectives. This book delves into the theoretical, theological, philosophical, physical, and mathematical concepts of a cosmic musical order, tracing their evolution to accommodate different worldviews through the imaginations of theologians, theorists, authors of fiction, and practitioners of music. Particular emphasis is placed on music theory treatises between the ninth and sixteenth centuries, English-language hymnody from the eighteenth century to the present, polemical works on music and worship from the last hundred years, the Divine Comedy of Dante, nineteenth- and twentieth-century English-language fiction, the fictional works of C. S. Lewis, and the legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Weight: 544g
Dimension: 159 x 235 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793650351