The Music of the Celestial Spheres

Aurelio Porfiri

A great philosopher like the Roman Boethius (480–524), whom the Catholic Church recognizes among the saints, made very important reflections on music. He said that there are three types of music: mundana, humana, and instrumentalis.

Mundana music is that produced by the harmony of the celestial spheres; humana music is that generated by the harmony of the movements of the soul; while instrumentalis music is that produced by the sound of instruments.

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This tripartition was of decisive importance especially in the Middle Ages, and I believe we, too, should recover it in some way to better understand sacred music.