Overview

The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination describes various systematic musical ecologies of the cosmos by examining attempts over time to define Western theoretical musical systems, whether practical, human, nonhuman, or celestial. This book focuses on the theoretical, theological, philosophical, physical, and mathematical concepts of a cosmic musical order and how these concepts have changed in order to fit different worldviews through the imaginations of theologians, theorists, and authors of fiction, as well as the practical performance of music. Special attention is given to 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.

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9781793650351

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Reviews

Keeping one foot firmly planted in his field of specialty (musicology), Kendall adroitly steps across boundaries to address the impact of 'the Music of the Spheres' on narrative (Dante, Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Milton, Melville, Charlotte Bront , and Steinbeck), poetry (Christian hymnody), and philosophy. A model of interdisciplinarity.--Sam McBride, La Sierra University Long before the age of Hubble and Webb, our species was attuned--literally--to the cosmos, its movements and meanings, though mainly through the imagination and not the telescope. Music, mathematics, theology, and speculative philosophy have all played a crucial role in helping us to comprehend the universal order and our place in it. Dr. Kendall traces this intellectually ambitious history with admirable aplomb, presenting the reader with fascinating insights on nearly every page.--Walter Aaron Clark, University of California, Riverside

Long before the age of Hubble and Webb, our species was attuned--literally--to the cosmos, its movements and meanings, though mainly through the imagination and not the telescope. Music, mathematics, theology, and speculative philosophy have all played a crucial role in helping us to comprehend the universal order and our place in it. Kendall traces this intellectually ambitious history with admirable aplomb, presenting the reader with fascinating insights on nearly every page.--Walter Aaron Clark, University of California, Riverside Keeping one foot firmly planted in his field of specialty (musicology), Kendall adroitly steps across boundaries to address the impact of 'the Music of the Spheres' on narrative (Dante, Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Milton, Melville, Charlotte Bront , and Steinbeck), poetry (Christian hymnody), and philosophy. A model of interdisciplinarity.--Sam McBride, La Sierra University

Long before the age of Hubble and Webb, our species was attuned--literally--to the cosmos, its movements and meanings, though mainly through the imagination and not the telescope. Music, mathematics, theology, and speculative philosophy have all played a crucial role in helping us to comprehend the universal order and our place in it. Dr. Kendall traces this intellectually ambitious history with admirable aplomb, presenting the reader with fascinating insights on nearly every page.--Walter Aaron Clark, University of California, Riverside

""Keeping one foot firmly planted in his field of specialty (musicology), Kendall adroitly steps across boundaries to address the impact of 'the Music of the Spheres' on narrative (Dante, Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Milton, Melville, Charlotte Brontё, and Steinbeck), poetry (Christian hymnody), and philosophy. A model of interdisciplinarity."" ""Long before the age of Hubble and Webb, our species was attuned--literally--to the cosmos, its movements and meanings, though mainly through the imagination and not the telescope. Music, mathematics, theology, and speculative philosophy have all played a crucial role in helping us to comprehend the universal order and our place in it. Kendall traces this intellectually ambitious history with admirable aplomb, presenting the reader with fascinating insights on nearly every page.""

Author Information

David Joseph Kendall is associate professor of music at La Sierra University in Riverside, California, where he also serves as associate chair of the Department of Music.

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