The Harmony of the Spheres

MUSIC / PHILOSOPHY The concept of the "Harmony of the Spheres" has fascinated inquiring minds for many centuries. Godwin's sourcebook traces the history of this idea that the whole cosmos, with its circling planets and stars, is in some way a harmonious or musical entity. Beginning with the creation myth from Plato's Timaeus, the author shows how this concept has continued to inspire philosophers, astronomers, and mystics from antiquity to the present day. Jewish, and Muslim sources, Joscelyn Godwin's anthology offers a rich fount of inspiration to poets and musicians, scientists and occultists. More than half of the fifty‑two texts have been translated into English for the first time from Latin, French, German, and Italian, including long passages on the subject of cosmic music from the Venetian Kabbalist Francesco Giorgi; the great Renaissance philosophers Kepler, Fludd, Mersenne, and Kircher; the German Pythagoreans Peter Singer and Albert von Thimus; and the rich esoteric tradition of modern France. All the passages are accompanied by introductions and notes explaining terms, clarifying concepts, and suggesting further reading. An extensive bibliography and indexes are also included. Harmony of the Spheres is an essential resource for anyone with a serious interest in the spiritual dimensions of music. Musician, scholar, and professor of music at Colgate University, Joscelyn Godwin is the author of numerous books, including Harmonies of Heaven and Earth: The Spiritual Dimension of Music. He is also the editor of Cosmic Music: Keys to the Musical Interpretation of Reality and Music, Mysticism, and Magic.

Joscelyn Godwin is an emeritus professor of music at Colgate University and the author, editor, and translator of many books, including Cosmic Music, The Golden Thread, and Atlantis and the Cycles of Time. Known for his translations of Fabre d’Olivet and Julius Evola, he lives in Hamilton, New York.

Preface and Acknowledgments I. Classical 1. Plato 2. Pliny The Elder 3. Nicomachus of Gerasa 4. Theon of Smyrna 5. Ptolemy 6. Censorinus 7. The Hymns of Orpheus 8. Saint Athanasius 9. Aristeides Quintilianus 10. Calcidius 11. Macrobius 12. Proclus 13. Boethius II. Medieval 14. Hunayn 15. Aurelian of Reome 16. John Scotus Eriugena 17. Regino of Prum 18. The Ikhwan Al-Safa" (Brethren of Purity) 19. Al-Hasan Al-Katib 20. Anonymous of the Twelfth Century 21. Isaac Ben Abraham Ibn Latif 22. Jacques De Liege 23. Ugolino of Orvieto 24. Giorgio Anselmi 25. Isaac Ben Haim III. Renaissance 26. Marsilio Ficino 27. Ramis de Pareja 28. Pico Della Mirandola 29. Franchino Gafori 30. Francesco Giorgi 31. Heinrich Glarean 32. Gioseffo Zarlino 33. Jean Bodin IV. Baroque 34. Johannes Kepler 35. Robert Fludd 36. Marin Mersenne 37. Athanasius Kircher 38. Angelo Berardi 39. Andeas Werckmeister V. Enlightenment and Romanticism 40. Isaac Newton 41. Jean-Philippe Rameau 42. Giuseppe Tartini 43. Louis-Claude De Saint-Martin 44. Johann Friedrich Hugo Von Dalberg 45. Arthur Schopenhauer 46. Fabre D'Olivet 47. Alphonse Toussenel 48. Peter Singer 49. Albert Von Thimus 50 Isaac Rice 51. Saint-Yves D'Alveydre 52. Azbel Notes Bibliography Index Nominum Index Rerum