Music, the Art Beyond the Five Senses BY CHARBEL T. FAHED, GRAND MASTER OF MASONS, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Beyond the Five Senses of Human Nature, there is what some call that Sixth Sense, which is beyond explanation or concrete evidence in real-life experience. A vast horizon of spiritual activities may be laid open to the inquisitive mind and to those who are seeking self-improvement in order to satisfy their thirst for knowledge in the Liberal Arts and Sciences. Here these seekers may quench their thirst from a well of infinite and voluptuous ecstasy. Here, perhaps, is the dwelling place, indeed the origin, of music.
feel that its treble is pounding on one’s heart and hugging one’s spirit? It is perhaps no accident that some of the world’s greatest composers – Haydn, Mozart, Liszt, Sibelius, and Sousa – were attracted to join the fraternity and, in many cases, write music for ceremonial Masonic purposes. I recently had an opportunity to visit this autumn’s production of Mozart’s Masonic-influenced opera Th Magic Flute by the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. It was an impressive and beautiful performance which everywhere brought out the connection between music, mathematics, and Masonry! In her work Th Masonic Thread of Mozart, Katherine Thomson writes that “in spite of all of its varied elements – magic, pantomime, solemn ritual – The Magic Flute is a complete unity, and its unity is essentially due to the music.” I would argue that the unity is due to the “Triple M” – Music, Mathematics, and Masonry!
In Freemasonry, we are familiar with music as one of the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences. Pythagoras, our ancient Friend and Brother, is known for the Music of the Spheres. Albert Pike, writing in Morals and Dogma, notes in his mystical way that in “the Kabala [sic], the last Seven Sephiroth constituted ATIK YOMIN, the Ancient of Days; and these… correspond with… the Seven notes of the musical octave.” (“Knight of the Sun” Degree Lecture, p. 727, classic edition) There is a nexus between music and mathematics, and as a mathematician I know that the human ear responds logarithmically to sound in general. Yet music can resonate better in sub-layers of sound and integrate more smoothly with the components that relate these signals to the body. Music motivates the dormant strings of the brain to bring forth energy to the entire system of the universe, as well as to the individual soul. Perhaps for this reason, music is used in diverse applications in life as a balsamic treatment. It improves the health the patient and speeds his recovery in the hospital. It brings sleeps to those with insomnia and quiets the nerves from tension. It helps infants into a pleasant sleep and nice dreams. It spreads joy to the listener and relieves the burdened heart. It disseminates happiness and eliminates tension.
Some of the greatest composers in the world have been Masons, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn Sketches by Cordelia Dreisonstok
Music is one of the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences which Masons are encouraged to use in order to develop their faculties and enhance their knowledge in practical life. Accordingly, music is highly encouraged to be played in Lodges and major ceremonial events in order to make them more successful and render their performances more solemn. Would one notice the difference between a march or procession with and then without music? Would one 16 The Voice of Freemasonry ISSUE 4, 2019
Music is a subset of education, the natural education which emanates from the soul and requires careful incubation to mature and display its splendid power and magic. Mathematics in turn supports the idea of harmony and proportion in music, thus tempering a chaotic world of chaos and disruption – symbolized in Th Magic Flute by the Queen of the Night. The high-frequency soprano sound of the Queen, full of rage, represents confusion in a world of darkness disguised by the pomp of mundane power and false glory. Sarastro’s Temple of Wisdom (a stand-in for Masonry which gives the opera its ethical dimension) triumphs and restores equilibrium. Finally, a sweet and pleasant music represents the hearts of young lovers, resulting in a pleasant conclusion – one which overcomes all trials and brings forth the shining light of truth and reason.
This production of The Magic Flute and the music of Masonic composers can lift the spirit and, like Masonic lectures in our various degrees, teach the sublime truths of Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty. Yet even the greatest music in the world – like our Gentle Craft itself – is but a gateway into the Eternal, a sublime intimation of that “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1).
