Music: Mystery, Art and the Human Being

by Rudolf Steiner, Matthew Barton (Translator), Michael Kurtz (Introduction), Michael Kurtz (Editor)

Overview

What is music? Steiner regards the essence of music as spiritual, inaudible to the senses. The world of tones, carried on vibrations of air, is not the essence. The true nature of music, the spiritual element in music,' he says, 'is found between the tones, in the intervals as an inaudible quality.' Rudolf Steiner spoke repeatedly of music as something inherent both in the cosmos and in human beings. It played an important role in many forms of ritual and worship, and people once perceived a link between music and the world of stars, which was seen as the dwelling of the gods. Nowadays our view of music is divorced from such religious outlooks, but research repeatedly demonstrates the profound effects it continues to have on us. In this unique anthology of texts, compiled with a commentary and notes by Michael Kurtz, Steiner describes the realm of spiritually resonating harmonies of the spheres and our intrinsic connection to that cosmic music. He also explores the phenomenon of musical listening and experience, as well as Goethe's approach to music.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855845268
Publisher:	SteinerBooks, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/28/2016
Pages:	196
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. Steiner termed his spiritual philosophy anthroposophy, meaning "wisdom of the human being." As an exceptionally developed seer, he based his work on direct knowledge and perception of spiritual dimensions. He initiated a modern, universal "spiritual science" that is accessible to anyone willing to exercise clear and unbiased thinking. From his spiritual investigations, Steiner provided suggestions for the renewal of numerous activities, including education (general and for special needs), agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, philosophy, Christianity, and the arts. There are currently thousands of schools, clinics, farms, and initiatives in other fields that involve practical work based on the principles Steiner developed. His many published works feature his research into the spiritual nature of human beings, the evolution of the world and humanity, and methods for personal development. He wrote some thirty books and delivered more than six thousand lectures throughout much of Europe. In 1924, Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches around the world.

Matthew Barton is a translator, editor, teacher, and poet, and taught kindergarten for many years at the Bristol Waldorf School. His first collection of poems was Learning To Row (1999). He has won numerous prizes for his work, including an Arts Council Writer's Award and a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 'Musica Mundana'-The Music of the Spheres as Universal Force 7

2 The Human Being as Music-'Musica Humana' 23

3 The Art of Music-'Musica Instrumentalis' 49

4 The Intervals as Fundamental Musical Phenomena and Human Evolution as Reflected in our Experience of Them 91

5 The Effects of Music, and the Human Experience of Tone 125

6 Rudolf Steiner on Goethe and Schopenhauer, and their View of Music 143

7 Rudolf Steiner on Diverse Composers 153

Notes 187

Sources 191