Dr.
Robert Agnew (shown above sitting atop an ancient Mayan observatory in Mexico)
is a Professor of
Music and Humanities at Edison State College in Piqua,
Ohio.
Born in Youngstown,
Ohio,
Robert has a
Masters Degree from Bowling
Green
State
University
and a Ph.D. from Michigan
State
University
Music
and the Stars
Many
astronomers enjoy listening to music as they observe the night sky.
Music and
the stars - a heavenly combination! The Ancient Greeks believed that
music was
central to the study of cosmology, and the “Music of the
Spheres” was a concept
that was central to European philosophy, religion, and science for
thousands of
years. Music was part of the quadrivium in the liberal arts along with
arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Music is a science, as well as an
art, and
has a basis in mathematics. One could almost be describing astronomy.
There
is actually much to relate astronomy and music. In a very real sense,
the
Voyager spacecrafts are a testament to that relationship, as they carry
twenty-six pieces of music each. Johann Sebastian Bach is included, as
is
Ludwig van Beethoven, and the great rock and roll artist Chuck Berry.
Given
the fact that the traditional study of music included mathematics and
astronomy, it should come as no surprise that many astronomers were
trained
musicians and composers. Chief among those was William Herschel.
Herschel was a
very successful composer and musician before his hobby, astronomy,
became his
obsession.
Working
with a telescope of his own design in England,
he discovered the
planet Uranus as well as undertaking, with his remarkable sister, the
first
systematic sweep of the night sky. His discoveries changed the dynamic
of
astronomy in the late 18th, early 19th centuries.
The
great astronomer Galileo Galilei was the son of the famous Renaissance
musician,
lutenist, and composer Vincenzo Galileo. Galileo, well trained in
music,
composed several pieces himself.
Many
composers and song writers have given astronomical titles to their
works.
Perhaps the most famous is the English composer Gustav
Holst’s “The Planets.”
The
German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen based a number of his pieces on
astronomical aspects, including his “Sternklang”
(Star sounds).
The
famous rock band, Pink Floyd, produced the innovative album:
“Dark Side of the
Moon”
One
of the most interesting of astronomical-musical works was written by
the
American avant-garde composer John Cage for his piece “Atlas
Eclipticalis.”
Cage placed staff paper on the pages of a star atlas and let the
ordering of
the stars determine the arrangement of notes for the music composition.
The
American composer George Crumb composed “Makrokosmos I, II,
III, IV.” The last
piece is titled “Spiral Galaxy,” and the score is
in the shape of a spiral. I
heard this piece in concert many years ago, and it was accompanied by
an
astronomical film.
The
Polish composer Henryk Gorecki composed a “Copernican
Symphony” to celebrate
the 500th anniversary of Copernicus’ birth. Nicolaus
Copernicus was a Polish
priest who, in the early 16th century, wrote the book “De
Revolutionibus,”
which went against tradition by placing the Sun in the center of our
solar
system. Paul Hindemith wrote the opera “The Harmony of the
World,” dealing with
the life and musical ideas of Johannes Kepler, who worked for years to
establish a connection between the harmony of planetary motions and the
harmonies in music. Working in the late 16th, early 17th centuries,
Kepler gave
us the laws of planetary motion.
The
20th century French composer Olivier Messiaen composed
“Illuminations of the
Beyond,” much of it dealing with astronomy.
The
Grateful Dead, a tremendously successful touring rock band, produced
the long,
improvisatory “Dark Star,” and the British
heavy-metal band Iron Maiden
composed “When Two Worlds Collide,” filled with
astronomical references.
The
Canadian rock band Rush put together “Cygnus X-1,”
one of many compositions the
band has recorded dealing with astronomy.
Of
course, many more composers and songwriters have expressed their
interest in
astronomy than is provided in this short list, but at least it affords
us an
ongoing testament that the Ancient Greek passion for music and
astronomy is
still alive.
©
Article &
image Dr. Robert Agnew 2008/2009