Music of the Spheres is a collection of brief original articles, book and record reviews, and other miscellanea on music from the point of view of an ethnomusicologist. The name might be long, but the idea is simple: music is part of human life – all of it, from religious ceremonies and identity formation to economic markets and political manoeuvring. Music is everywhere to be found and integrated into the web of culture of every society on earth, thus the sheer number of perspectives to be taken on music and life are neigh on endless. These are the topics that interest me.
But the mass of music journalism and materials available to the non-specialist – and you really can’t be blamed for not wanting to read 600 page books on how to blow a flute – pass over these fascinating realms of knowledge and help perpetuate the misconception that music is an art hopelessly detached from life – a mere amusement for teens and amateurs. This, in my opinion, is a disservice.
Music of the Spheres hopes to address this myopia and deal with many of the plethora of topics and insights of music in/as life to the fore, and, simultaneously, to spur on discussion. My sole aim is to bring the musical everyday into focus, for all of us to see, hear, and feel. Nothing here is new – it merely tries to reveal the trees standing in the forest around us.
This expansive and interconnected view of music is hinted at in the double meaning of the site’s name. On the one hand, music of the spheres (musica universalis) is part of the ancient Greek philosophy relating the movement of heavenly bodies, human bodies, and sound to each other in one grand theory mixing mysticism, cosmology, and mathematics. On the other, it refers obliquely to the middle name of the great jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk. This span of eras, genres, and realms contained within the title itself shall remain as a reminder of the true breadth of music across the whole span of life.
