C2 How the octave got its name
How things are called sometimes reveals a lot about the approach or the world view of the person who has chosen the name. The example of the passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) clearly shows that Nicolas Monardes (* 1493- † 1588) carried the Christian world view including the then widespread symbolism in his wealth of experience with him and that this plant - a newcomer from the New World - reminded him of the martyrdom of Christ. The uncritical acceptance of his point of view shows that his contemporaries did not think otherwise, and in early books on botany there are even pictures depicting the passion flower with cross nails, crown of thorns and lancet point. Today such a procedure would be rejected as unscientific. A naming on the basis of such analogy would be out of the question, especially concerning the deliberate falsification of the image.
Jean Franeau, Jardin d'hyver ou cabinet des fleurs, Douai 1616
Quite a similar process happened about 1000 years earlier, when Christians studied the vibrational behavior of the string with the help of the monochord while using antique records. They, too, saw what they saw - and heard what they heard - only in front of their own educational background, and this consisted largely of a thorough knowledge of the Holy Scriptures.
The experience of consonance is still understandable today. The acoustic merging of the same notes (prim) as well as the listening experience of two strings, one of which sounds at twice the frequency (octave). The slightest deviation is perceived as unpleasant and unclean, because interferences appear, which are perceived as annoying volume fluctuations. However, if the pitch is hit clean, the prim and octave are perceived as surprisingly pleasurable events - comparable to beams of light that unexpectedly break between clouds. And the listening experience has a medicinal and mental healing character, because it embodies the dissolution of all tensions and the end of any unrest. The vast majority of people - especially those capable of empathy - are touched by this effect which makes some of them cry. These are tears of happiness because harmony is rare in the world and now it is within reach and so tender. The experience is like looking through a keyhole in paradise. While tuning, the approach to the consonance announces itself by a decrease of the beats. If accordance is reached, we speak of pure intervals. Consonance is nothing but pure beauty.
But to choose the name octave for the doubling of frequency must seem strange from today's point of view, and it is to ask for the reason why. The way of thinking regarding the symbolic reference to the Scriptures has already been explained using the example of the passion flower. Why should this not have happened in the field of acoustic as well?
If we consult contemporary writing sources such as the book on music of Aurelius Augustinus, his interpretation of the consonance must already give rise to thinking, because he brings the total merger in connection with dearest love. And moving from this superlative to the divine is not a big step: We find the repetition of one and the same as well as the merger in the Trinity, where Father, Son and Holy Spirit may still be described separately, but can only be perceived as a single divine experience. God is at the beginning of all things - Primus, the first, too.
The octave is about the Eight - which we encounter in numerous works of art - referring to the eight blessings of the Sermon on the Mount. Looking at both together, the prim stands for the beginning (A) and the octave for the end (Ω), which gives both highest priority. The idea of God and the perception of music merge together. A higher esteem can not be given to music.
Few examples of sacral art, an altar in Besançon or the capitals in Cluny show that the numbers as such received the same appreciation and that they were associated with the sound material. Additional clues are given by the octagonal shape of baptisteries, because only through the sacrament of baptism it was possible to attain bliss. So when it comes to being close to God, in Occident around the year 1000 you could not miss the number 8.
Everything else can be explained as consequence. The insertion of a major and minor Second (literally: a small and a big two) and of a minor an major Third (literally: a small and big three) corresponds neither with mathematical or logical thinking, with the exception that otherwhise the symbolik reference would collapse. The same applies to the statement that one octave consists of five whole-tone steps and two semitone steps - but mathematics teaches that five whole and two half give six.
Both observations complement and confirm each other, for any wanton behavior must lead to a clear disruption of rational connections. In the illustration of the Passiflora, the crown of thorns appears like a foreign body because it is one. Therefore, the presentation lacks credibility, which can be easily confirmed by comparison with the original.
Passiflora incarnata
Outlook on future research:
With regard to the analysis of symbolic fine structures, the presented results permit logical conclusions in the sense of thinking ahead according to a recognized pattern. Accordingly, recognizing the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the seven tone steps to the octave is not devious, nor is the analogy to the Jacob's Ladder. Certainly, also written evidence is needed - and even Augustine describes the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit as steps on the way to God.
Moreover, it is obvious from the inscription of the capitals of Cluny that each tone had a definite meaning, and it would be a good idea to take the liturgical colors by analogy, since they too were only intended for specific occasions. We surely have to expect regional characteristics.
In music too, there is a new level of observation, because the so-called "leading tone" (or "yearning sound") strives not for dissolution but for salvation - he leads to the eight and thus to bliss.
In general, the results presented allow greater open-mindedness in the design analysis of cathedrals and cloisters. We would like to mention Giovanni Acciais' comments on the Cathedral of Sessa Aurunca, in whose layout he recognized the step sequence of the church key tetrardus plagalis, as well as the studies by Rainer Straub entitled "The singing stones of Moissac" and "The singing stones of Monreale" in which he pointed to striking parallels between plastic capital design and certain occasion-bound choral singing. Moreover, exposing this vast symbolic reference provides a foundation for any kind of musical-theological analysis. Symbolism used e.g. by Johann Sebastian Bach, no longer proves to be an individual projection. It is in the continuum of a tradition of more than 1000 years.
With regard to the methodology, it becomes more than clear that the educational horizon of the time of origin provides the key to understanding - and that makes polydisciplinary action indispensable. As an example folklore studies on religious customs are mentioned. Friday the 13th is still a household expression today. Less self-evident, however, is that there is a clear connection to the 13 participants at the Last Supper minus Judas and Good Friday. Both misfortunes - treachery and death - taken together will definitely not lead to anything good. Conversely, we find the hope of a good success in the custom of putting a sign of Christ on every significant beginning. In instrument making we find numbered mechanical parts, the 1 being replaced by a cross. In monastic life a special prayer, the prim, should accompany the beginning of work and the beginning of the day. Only in a synopsis of disciplines the great context of meaning becomes apparent.
Two perspectives:
If we come to evaluation, it is important to distinguish: If symbolism is understood in the sense of a parable, as given by the example of light in the scriptures "I am the light of the world", this is a creed. But if one wants to persuade - e.g. in missionary activity - the arbitrary reference can be described as an instrumentalization of the phenomenon of consonance. Certainly: Anyone who considers creation as God's work must simply refer to the world manufacturer in all things. The reverse conclusion: We make a connection, that’s why other people must be convinced of the beliefs, does not work. But what works is the emotional impression of Western music, and that makes many contemporaries to churchgoers, who would not come just because of the sermon. From a secular point of view, sacred music - like sacral architecture as well - is a marketing tool with a psychogenic effect. For the spiritually oriented person, it opens the way to revelation, because behind the sensory impressions he suspects the divine. Only recently Benedict XVI formulated: "In the encounter with God who meets us in the liturgy in Jesus Christ, the great and pure response of Western music has grown and for me it is a proof of the truth of Christianity." That's exactly what a personal creed sounds like.
The two perspectives presented are anything but new: in the interplay of music and architecture - be it in Gothic cathedrals or baroque churches - "stagings" with a revelatory character can be observed, and that is exactly where the term theatrum sacrum comes from. Many people have denounced the overpowering splendor - iconoclasts and Protestants - although the latter appeared more restrained in the architectural sector, but paid close attention to music preservation.
It represents a final piece of enlightenment to gain knowledge of cultural-historical contexts and simplifies access for anyone interested in occidental art. The Catholic world view does not have its name in vain. What wants to be understood as holistic is reflected in everything. The constant reference to the Holy Scriptures leads to a strong sense of a spiritual home and Thomas van Kempen (* 1380- † 1471) was confirmed in his faith, as he wrote "To whom everything is One, who relates everything to the One and all looking in the One whose heart can stand firm and live constantly in the peace of God "(De imitatione Christi, chapter III 6,2).
In context with the current debates on the acceptance of religious symbols, it may be noted that perhaps not all Western music-, but in any case the sound system from which it emerged, can be described as a most impressive acoustic sacred space of which the keyboard gives a visual impression. With a range of 88 keys - the organ has still more - 76 octaves give the inner structure through consonance. © Aurelius Belz, 2017