MofA Week 5: Music and the Metaphysical

topics:

• Music and metaphysics
  • Islamic religious (metaphysical) discourse concerning music's legitimacy (the music polemic)], as an artistic practice, or as a spiritual practice
    • Spiritual practice of sama`; secular practice of ghina'
    • Islamic sources
      • Qur'an: no clear verdict; verses are subject to highly subjective interpretation (e.g. Luqman 6 as anti-music, Fatir 1 as pro-music
      • Hadith: more clear evidence can be brought on either side.
    • Ibn Abi al-Dunya (d. 894): In Dhamm al-malahi, condemns music as a form of malahi (entertainment), a diversion from piety.
    • Many authors condemn stringed instruments (linked to secular music and its contexts), but accept percussion; sometimes the flutes (e.g. nay) are also acceptable.
    • Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali (d. 1111). Music is to be used for spiritual purposes, to remember God. Legitimacy is related to the listener, and context. Music evokes what is in the soul. Importance of context: ikhwan, zaman, makan (brethren, time, place). Acceptable music: pilgrimage songs, battle songs, certain lamentations, spiritual applications. Unacceptable music: female singers in public; forbidden instruments (strings); improper lyrics; when listener is ruled by lust; listening to music for its own sake.
    • There is a rich lode of contemporary sama` polemic on the web, both pro and con. I've compiled some of it [here. Try to find your own examples...
  • Music in metaphysical discourse: Arabic philosophical writings concerning music
    • Considerations
      • Metaphysics: beyond physics. However, note that Arabic writings do not always separate the science of musical sound (physics) from metaphysical speculation (as we have done in this course).
      • Such discourse stands in an ambiguous relation to musical practice and experience; it is a quasi-autonomous discourse.
      • Ethical/cosmological/therapeutic linkages via musical harmony (microcosm <-- music --> macrocosm).
      • Sources: Greek philosophy (Pythagoreans, Plato, Aristotle), Hellenistic trends (Gnostics, neo-Platonists). Arithmetic, elements of the body (four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile), elements of nature (earth, fire, air, water), seasons, astrological constellations,
      • Number (arithmetic) as foundation of all harmony: connected to the physical, spiritual, musical
    • Philosophers
      • Ya`qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (d. 870), "philosopher of the Arabs" (he was of Arabian origin). Wrote 13 treatises on music, of which six survive. Music is one of the four mathematical sciences (geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, music). Exhibits ethical, cosmological, therapeutic approaches to music. Generalized theory of harmony: Music is linked to the universe through harmony, governing its macro- and microcosmic effects. Networks of correspondences: four strings of the oud (instrument of the philosophers), 4 elements, 4 humors, 4 seasons. Instruments create harmony between soul and universe.
      • The Ikhwan al-Safa (Basra, Iraq, 10th century) provide a philosophical-scientific treatment of music (Fifth Epistle) within a comprehensive encyclopedia work. Note the prominent position of music in their division of scientific knowledge. Music reflects harmony of the universe, as sounded in the harmony of the spheres, is related to astrology. Music also helps man to achieve spiritual equilibrium, creating inner harmony and fostering healing by balancing the four humors.
      • al-Farabi (d. 950). Aristotelian; less concerned with cosmic correspondences.
      • Ibn Sina (d. 1037). Rejected cosmological and astrological theories, but embraced medical-musical ones. Rhythm indicates health or illness. Musical cures via 8 rhythmic modes.
    • Theosophers (Sufi philosophers)
      • al-Ghazzali. Music is neutral; it evokes what is already in the listener's soul
      • Ibn Arabi: Soundless sama` vs. sounded (divine, spiritual, natural); listeners hearing with the (lower) soul vs. listeners hearing with the (higher) mind.
      • Sufi interpretations of the nay, its micro- and macro-cosmic significances: 7 holes, 7 heavens, 7 planets; 9 holes, human body; the voice that cannot speak
      • Correspondence theory: mode (maqam) - mood - season - disease
• Music in metaphysical (religious) practice
  • Music in Islamic practice in Arabic-speaking regions
    • Mainstream Islamic practice
    • Mystical (Sufi) practice
      • dhikr or hadra
      • Sama`
  • Music in Church practices in Arabic-speaking regions
  • Applying the word "music" (etic, not emic description)
• Relation between religious and secular musics
  • Vocal training in Qur'anic recitation, adhan, Sufi ritual imparts certain qualities
  • Ambiguities: repertoire, texts, "shaykh" and "mutrib" (e.g. Shaykh Sayyid Darwish)
  • The 20th century bifurcation between religious and non-religious sonic types