Description
WRITINGS ON MUSIC
Book Summary
This work recovers the fundamental texts that Robert Fludd, a key figure in Renaissance Hermeticism, dedicated to music. Far from a conventional technical treatise, the book explores music as an expression of a universal harmony that connects the cosmos, the human being, and the divine. With an introduction by musicologist Luis Robledo, this edition presents the translation of these visionary writings, offering the reader a unique window into 17th-century musical and philosophical thought.
What is it about?
Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus, was an English physician, astrologer, and Hermetic philosopher. In his works, music is not limited to the art of sound but is conceived as a reflection of the structure of the universe. The book collects his texts on music theory, in which he develops the idea of "mundane music" or the music of the spheres, inherited from the Pythagorean and Platonic tradition. Fludd relates musical proportions to divine creation, human anatomy, and alchemy, creating a complex symbolic system. The edition includes an introduction that contextualizes his figure and his influence on later musicology.
Main themes
- Renaissance Hermeticism and its relationship to music
- Theory of universal harmony or the music of the spheres
- Correspondences between the microcosm (human being) and the macrocosm (universe)
- Philosophy of music as a symbolic and metaphysical language
- Influence of the Pythagorean and Platonic tradition on musicology
Who is it recommended for?
This book is intended for musicologists, philosophers, historians of art and thought, as well as readers interested in Renaissance spirituality, Hermeticism, and esoteric currents. It will also be of great value to those seeking to understand the philosophical foundations of music theory prior to the Baroque.
What this book contributes
- Access to fundamental texts by Robert Fludd, previously unpublished or difficult to find in Spanish.
- An integrative vision of music as a cosmic phenomenon, not just an aesthetic or technical one.
- Keys to understanding Hermetic thought and its influence on Western culture.
- Expert contextualization thanks to the introduction by musicologist Luis Robledo.
- A recovered edition of a reference work, now available to new generations of readers.
Technical specifications
- Author: Robert Fludd
- Publisher: Biblioteca Nueva
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Music, music theory and musicology, philosophy, philosophy: aesthetics, popular philosophy, humanist and secular alternatives to religion
- Collection: Essays
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: March 2022
- Number of pages: 224
- Weight: 288 g
Editorial review
This is a valuable edition for specialists and enthusiasts of the history of musical ideas. The recovery of Fludd's writings allows access to an unusual perspective, where music is understood as a totalizing knowledge. The work is especially relevant for those studying Hermeticism, Renaissance philosophy, or the evolution of musical thought before modernity. Its symbolic and metaphysical approach distinguishes it from conventional technical treatises.