A
range of information regarding music and various theories
of how it plays its part in the universe.
Musica
universalis or music of the spheres is a medieval philosophical
concept that regards the proportions in the movements
of the celestial bodies - the sun, moon and planets
- as a form of musica (the medieval Latin name for music).
This music was not thought of as an audible sound, but
simply as a mathematical concept. The Greek philosopher
Pythagoras was frequently credited with originating
the concept, which stemmed from his semi-mystical, semi-mathematical
philosophy and its associated system of numerology.
At
the time, the sun, moon and planets were thought to
revolve around the earth in their proper spheres - the
most thorough and imaginative description of the concept
can be found in Dante's Divine Comedy. The spheres were
thought to have been created by God in proportional
relations that were reflected in the whole-number relations
of the pure musical intervals.
The
medieval concept of music comprised three different
forms of musica: musica universalis, musica mundana,
and musica instrumentalis. Only musica instrumentalis
actually referred to sounds made by musicians (both
singers and instrumentalists)....
