B6 Papal confession
What does it mean, when Benedict XVI announces on the occasion of a speech expressing thanks, that the western music would have „the location of its source in liturgy“ and for himself would be a „trooth-proof of Christianity“? – so happened in Castel Gandolfo on July 4th, 2015. The full text can be found in blog B2 of this page. What is the comprehensible link between music and church? Here is not a question of one or more composers, but of music as such, and thus of the Western sound system. With this material, musicians and instrument makers have to deal with every day.
Anyone who is concerned with musical theory probably asked himself why the octav (lat. octava, the eighth) is actually called octav, if it consists in diatonic view of 5 whole tones and 2 semitones. 5 whole and two halves are 6 ! In chromatic view, the octave consists of 13 keys and 18 sound names. So what is right then: 6, 8, 13 or 18?
If we have a look at the intervals, we meet such as the "minor and major second", literally translated from German: a "small and a big two", but this also does not lead to a mathematical understanding nor the variant in the English: "b-flat", the "flattened" b. If we press one of those keys with double-designation, e.g. Cis/Des, we start a prepared function sequence and at the other end of the piano action a hammer strikes a string that does not sound in any of the frequencies to be expected.
With the well tempered tuning a new system of order is applied. Only the Prim and Octav - the epitomes of consonance - remain acoustically, what they were. According to partial tone construction, „the so-called octav“ represents the second partial tone of a given sound of a string, mathematically characterized by the doubling of all partial tone frequencies. With the calculation in cent it is divided into 1200 sections. The 8 is no more required.
Similar confusion can be observed by trying to get some sort of order through the alphabet. At least in the English language area the continuous A-B-C-D-E-F-G is still in use. But how did C major reach the zenith of the circle of fifth as the only flawless key without additional sign? Acoustically, the use of other letters would not change anything.
Therefore you can only get an understanding of all those who remember music theory as the driest material of the school days, because all these things were expected of them without adequate justification. In the context of the generally high educational requirements, this may well be regarded as hardly acceptable. The presented facts make clear that our sound system must be based on an extra-acoustic theory. The German expression "Kirchentonarten" (church sound modes) points to a theological connection.
Much easier access is given to those who do not consider things from a logical-, but from a theological point of view, what Benedict XVI has obviously done. The manuscript for the 2nd edition of Sacred Phones was available to him - as well as to his brother Georg - at this time.
From a purely physical point of view, high and low notes are not existing, and therefore no „tone-ladders“ - „Tonleiter“ is a German expression - but only rapid and less rapid vibrations. The relationship to the spatial dimension is connected with the dream of Jacob, for in this dream he saw a ladder which ascended to heaven, and on this ladder he saw angels ascending and descending. According to the Church father Aurelius Augustinus, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit form the stages on which man reaches God. These are: godliness, piety, charity, valor, mercy, love of the enemy, and wisdom. In other words, Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, and Si, the initial syllables of the hymn to John, praise the one who announced the coming of Christ. John the Baptist was patron of church music before he was replaced by St. Cecilia. So what follows after 7? From a mathematical point of view, the 8. Viewed theologically, the proximity to God as a reward for a virtuous life and as compensation for suffered suffering. Which number exists to express God's nearness? It’s the 8 beatitudes, as they are mentioned in the sermon of the mount. Theologians and art historians could present numerous visual examples of the significance of the number 8. With the Prim – we think of the Trinity and the doctrine of the coincidence of the three in one - and the Octav, the epitomes of the consonance a first circle is given. It can be found on an altar plate in Besançon dating from around 1050.
In a ring of circles, the Chi-Rho is found with the alpha and omega, including the lamb, above the dove, all in three concentric circles, surrounded by the words: HOC SIGNUM PRAESTAT POPULIS CAELESTINA REGNA, what means: This seal gives man the kingdom of heaven. The musical point of view was also taken into account, since the music belonged to the quadrivium. Ton confirm this view, we should have a look on the colum-capitals of Cluny, dedicated to the 8 Church modes. There, each mode (tone) appears in a mandorla, an insignia, which is usually reserved for the Majestas Domini. These pictorial and written documents are carved in stone.
After adding the 5 chromatic notes, C, like Christ, came in the zenith of the circle of fifth which had previously been a circle of bliss, according to Messiah's statement: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." Beyond the Bosporus, comprehensively all this is of no importance.
The keyboard of the piano shows several historical layers one above the other. It was only by sticking to the given number of keys - for attentive listeners demanded a great deal more - that it was possible after centuries of scholar dispute, to arrive at the tempered tuning. To this persistence we owe moving musical works, because what would be Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, and all the others without order in the interferences?
The Catholic world-view (gr. Catholikós, universal) shows God at the beginning of all things. Hence our chronology starting with the birth of Christ. And after seeing ourselves as well as everything around us as God's creation, the corporate identity of the world-creator had to be recognized in everything - so the idea. Therefore, the 12 keys in major and minor harmonize with the 12 hours of the day and night as well as with the 12 months of the year. Therefore our weekdays are designed in analogy to the history of creation. Therefore we find the Christian symbolism in all areas of nature and art as well as in ideomatic expressions in various repetitions. Every number of 1-15 has at least one clear theological reference, including, of course, the 13, which is avoided in many locations for precisely this reason. The constant reference to the Bible was of great influence on European culture for many hundred years, and it is astonishing, why these important connections are not taught at our schools.
Despite this, the Western harmonical system represents one of the most valuable cultural heritages of Christianity. Just the realization that five more abilities beyond one's own opinion are needed: love of neighbor, valor, mercy, love of enemies and wisdom, makes it a world cultural heritage of highest value. This legacy can only be defended by application and it is upsetting enough that it was not respected in the time of the crusades.
Musicians therefore have a cultural heritage under their hands, not just any, but an acoustic sacred space. The stay in it is particularly familiar to organ builders, because organs and churches belong to each other in a very special sense. When Jacob awoke from his dream, he realized: "Here is nothing other than the house of God, and here is gate to heaven.“ Like altars, organs are part of a liturgical concept and do not infrequently carry the meaningful inscription: MUSICA DONUM DEI.
All this may give new impetus to the discussions about religious symbols in classrooms, but the matter is about harmony among people and the ability to learn how to deal with other opinions. Daniel Barenboim shows this in conscious collaboration with musicians from Palestine and Israel. It is also not far to think of the pentecost-miracle, for music is a language which is understood by all men, and the dove is not for nothing both a symbol of the Holy Spirit and as well a symbol of peace.
So, if we are talking about the cultural values of Europe - the 12 stars of the European flag remind us of the circle of fifth and the dial of the clock – the ethical content of our sound material is one of these values. It is on the same level as democracy, because respect for the other can sometimes become more important than a fundamentalistic insistence to one's own opinion. A humanity with interest in the future cannot afford the renouncement of synergy. Piano and organ builders know what happens when they hold onto the perfection of individual intervals. This approach leads inevitably to dissonance elsewhere. The technical term for placing intervals according to the principle of considering the next is tempering and temperantia (moderation) is one of the 4 cardinal virtues. There is still a long way to go until the content is taught in schools again, but only then our society will be able to take again possession of one of its most valuable cultural assets.