"Music of the soul" ('animae musica'): Marsilio Ficino and the revival of 'musica humana' in Renaissance Neoplatonism
Ficino explained the relationship between music, the soul and body along with the cultivation of singing as an integral part of intellectual and spiritual exercise – as the 'contemplation of the divine'. This article elucidates the "musica humana" which underlies the Platonic the...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Reformation & Renaissance review
Year: 2017, Volume: 19, Issue: 2, Pages: 122-134 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Ficinus, Marsilius 1433-1499
/ Music
/ Platonism
/ Renaissance
/ Musik
/ Soul
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| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Ficino explained the relationship between music, the soul and body along with the cultivation of singing as an integral part of intellectual and spiritual exercise – as the 'contemplation of the divine'. This article elucidates the "musica humana" which underlies the Platonic theology of music reclaimed by Ficino, in terms of the "animae musica" that exists in reason alone. It explains how the "animae musica" was perceived and pursued by Ficino, drawing upon his theory of the music-spirit ("spiritus") relationship. It argues that the "musica humana", which consists only in the voice, is embodied when the "animae musica" is imitated by the music involving speech ("sermo"), which the Platonists find in the "gravis musica" that is vocal, poetic and modulated. It then explains why as a human imitation of "divina musica", vocal music in various metres, especially metrical psalmody, lies at the core of the sixteenth-century reform of sacred music. |
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| ISSN: | 1462-2459 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Reformation & Renaissance review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14622459.2017.1341627 |