Humans often color their own lives with immense complexities, giving unique shapes to both their material and spiritual experiences. These "colors" are the roots of the human mind, which tirelessly reasons with theories, questions the universe, or perhaps tells stories about life itself. Because of this, we constantly search for mediums to find answers to the intricacies brewing in our own minds. This search begins with philosophy, which questions everything; science, which seeks to prove; and religion, with all its doctrines and cultures. Yet, humanity has another way to explain its tangible experiences: art.
Lately, I've been spending my free time listening to Handel's music while reading or studying. Handel's work feels like setting off fireworks in my head; it's like hearing something that cannot be described merely with words like "beautiful art." I must admit, my love for this baroque music has made me curious, leading me into questions: is there a deeper meaning behind Handel's compositions?
Through his art, the Baroque-era composer interpreted music's meaning through a poem, which he then brought to life in his work titled "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day", a vocal composition (a cantata). The poem Handel referenced is far from simple. It was written by John Dryden, who was himself interpreting art through Johannes Kepler's book Harmonia Mundi (The Harmony of the World). Kepler, a Lutheran scientist, based his work on mathematics and astronomy but blended it with mystical elements. This revelation made my initial question far more complex than I had anticipated. It led me to reflect on a new question: "What was art in the lives of these three figures?"
To answer this, one must start at the root: Harmonia Mundi.
In short, the book attempts to explain that the universe is structured and exists in harmony (a concept not limited to music) by reviving Pythagorean theories through the orderly movements and distances between the planets. Parts of the book also discuss configurations and, strangely enough, elements of music. And so, I will attempt to draw a common thread through the interpretation of Harmonia Mundi, which originates with Kepler and connects him to Dryden and, ultimately, to Handel, revealing a work of art deeply intertwined with life and its relevance.
"...From harmony, from Heav'nly harmony, This universal frame began: From harmony to harmony Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing full in man."
This thread begins with Kepler, who arrived at his conclusions in Harmonia Mundi by classifying the planets into a "Celestial Choir," calculating the orbital speed of each planet in our solar system. These voices are: Mars (tenor), Jupiter and Saturn (bass), Mercury (soprano), and Venus and Earth (alto). I believe that for Kepler, art was a medium of empirical science combined with astrology. This is because the essence of art is not just about beauty or truth, but about creating a new truth (poiesis). This means art doesn't always have to be a painting; it can be an idea poured into a book, just as Kepler did.
Furthermore, we have the musical notation assigned to Earth as the alto voice in Kepler's depiction. "The Earth sings Mi, Fa, Mi," a phrase that can be interpreted to mean that on our planet, misery and famine are rampant (Miseria, Fames, Miseria). This could be a reflection of the times Kepler lived in (around the 16th and 17th centuries), showing that he also saw art as a medium for telling the truth about reality through his theory of musical notation.
Dryden's poem, featured in the opening of Handel's "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day", illustrates Kepler's concept of Harmony. It suggests that musical harmony is a subjective human product, whereas the harmony Kepler refers to in Harmonia Mundi has a broader meaning—one that can interact with the human soul, transcend the physical body, and point towards something spiritual or heavenly.
Finally, the end of the thread that connects Handel to Dryden is how Handel acknowledges Harmonia Mundi. His "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day" is a tribute to Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. In my view, when Handel included Dryden's verse, he was seeking a connection—a way to express that music is the gravitational center of the Earth. He also seemed to want to integrate the harmony found in Kepler's theories and his book.
Thus, Handel defined art as something more than superficial; it was something profound, with a powerful essence that informed his musical compositions. In his life, art—that is, music—was not merely a matter of rhythm or beautiful arrangements of notes, but something that could convey a deeper meaning through its connection to other fields of knowledge.
I believe this is what makes me love Handel's music so much—we share a similar understanding of art as something comprehensive, requiring its own harmony to truly interact with us. My reflection, following this common thread, is that life needs art, and in this specific case, music. Through music, we can color our lives, pouring emotion into compositions that hold truths that exist alongside their beauty.
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