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The Harmony of the Spheres: The Pythagorean Tradition in Music

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Yes, this is a highly specialized, scholarly, and esoteric collection but it contains the translated writings of philosophers of music not easily available. Not even the huge "Strunk's Source Readings (1998)" has the information which Godwin has collected and translated: Nicomachus, Pliny, Ptolemy, Kepler, Fludd; Arab writers Al-Safa, Al-Katib; the kabalist Ibn Latif. If you are a fan of Godwin's research as I am, these source readings will fill in the gaps in the history of music which is not taught. It is, however, a reference book first and foremost.

Jocelyn Godwin's 'The Harmony of the Spheres: The Pythagorean Tradition in Music' was published in '92 by Inner Traditions Publ. This 512 page text along with his 'Music, Mysticism and Magic' in '86 and 'Harmonies of Heaven and Earth' in '87 comprise a trilogy of monumental importance.

Building from the foundation of these two previous works Joscelyn Godwin presents a treatise encapsulating all the arcane and mundane wisdom of the ages to come to a conclusion that we knew all along in our heart of hearts. There is no separation, no "I and Thou" in the universe. All is one and music is the hidden key to unlocking this ancient truth. The cosmos is a musical, harmonious entity (Adam Kadmon)!

His scholarship is beyond repute, his research exhaustive and his conclusions, well you decide.

Drawing on classical, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim sources, Godwin's anthology offers a rich fount of inspiration to poets and musicians, scientists and occultists. More than half of the fifty-two texts have been translated into English for the first time from Latin, French, German, and Italian, including long passages on the subject of cosmic music from the Venetian Kabbalist Francesco Giorgi; the great Renaissance philosophers Kepler, Fludd, Mersenne, and Kircher; the German Pythagoreans Pete Singer and Albert von Thimus; and the rich esoteric tradition of modern France. An extensive bibliography and indexes are also included. Harmony of the Spheres is an essential resource for anyone with a serious interest in the spiritual dimensions of music.