The Music of the Spheres: Music, Science, and the Natural Order of the Universe [Paperback]

For centuries, scientists and philosophers believed that the universe was a stately, ordered mechanism, both mathematical and musical. The perceived distances between objects in the sky mirrored (and were mirrored by) the spaces between notes forming chords and scales. The smooth operation of the cosmos created a divine harmony that composers sought to capture and express. Jamie James allows readers to see how this scientific philosophy emerged, how it was shattered by changing views of the universe and the rise of Romanticism, and to what extent it survives today - if at all. From Pythagoras to Newton, Bach to Beethoven, and on to the twentieth century of Einstein, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Cage and Glass. A spellbinding examination of the interwoven fates of science and music throughout history. Wide ranging and elegantly written. By the end of it you can almost hear the cosmic music yourself. Wall St. Journal A provocative, engaging reassessment of the Western musical tradition and its relation to science. Publishers Weekly
...a graceful and entertaining account of matters seldom presented to the general reader. The New YorkerSpringer Book Archives