Marin Mersenne and the Study of Harmony

Marin Mersenne and the Study of Harmony delves into the central role of music among the early modern sciences by focusing on the work of the French polymath Marin Mersenne (1588-1648).

Leendert van der Miesen is a musicologist and historian, with a focus on the connections between music, science, and sound in the early modern period. He has held fellowships at the Collaborative Research Center 980 in Berlin, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, and Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute for Art History.

Note on typography and citation, List of figures, List of music examples, Introduction: Harmonies at Work, 1. Music, the Measure of Sound, 2. Instruments between Art and Nature, 3. Collecting Curiosities: Images, Observations, and Earwitnesses, 4. The octave pleases all: Questioning the Universality of Music, 5. Counting and Composing, Conclusion, Appendix A: Composition of Harmonie universelle, Appendix B: Composition of Harmonicorum libri XII, Acknowledgments, Bibliography, Index