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Music and the occult : French musical philosophies, 1750-1950 / by Joscelyn Godwin.

Van Pelt - Albrecht Music Library ML3800 .G57213 1995
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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Godwin, Joscelyn.
Series:
Eastman studies in music ; v. 3.
Eastman studies in music ; [3]
Standardized Title:
Esotérisme musical en France, 1750-1950. English
Language:
English
French
Subjects (All):
Music and occultism--France.
Music and occultism.
Music--France--Philosophy and aesthetics.
Music.
Harmony of the spheres.
Symbolism in music.
Music--Philosophy and aesthetics.
France.
Physical Description:
261 pages : illustrations, music ; 24 cm.
Place of Publication:
Rochester, New York : University of Rochester Press, 1995.
Summary:
"This book is an adventure into the unexplored territory of French esoteric philosophies and their relation to music. Occultism and esotericism flourished in nineteenth-century France as they did nowhere else. Many philosophers sought the key to the universe, some claimed to have found it, and, in the unitive vision that resulted, music invariably played an important part. These modern Pythagoreans all believed in the Harmony of the Spheres and in the powerful effects of music on the human soul and body. Faced with the challenge of the rationalist Enlightenment, then with that of modern scientism, they adapted their occultism to the prevailing style ... A widely published musicologist and authority on esotericism, Godwin is able to give a clear and concise context for these philosophers' often surprising beliefs, and he demonstrates how this "speculative music" influenced composers such as Satie and Debussy, who were familiar with occultism. His long study of music and the Western esoteric tradition makes him uniquely qualified to unravel the strange story of these forgotten sages."--Publisher's description.
Contents:
The harmony of the spheres in the Age of Enlightenment
Pythagoras in Egypt and China
Fabre d'Olivet
Fourier and the Fourierists
Wronski and the Wronskians
The Pythagoreans of mid-century
Edmond Bailly and universal harmony at the fin-de-siècle
Saint-Yves d'Alveydre and his Archéomètre
Speculative music encounters modernity.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-254) and index.
ISBN:
1878822535
9781878822536
187882256X
9781878822567
0187822535
9780187822534
0187822530
OCLC:
31815433

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