Of Human Music

The Nature of Human Music

Human Music then is that harmony which can be understood by anyone who turns to the contemplation of himself: for that thing which mingles the incorporeal vivacity of reason with the body is nothing other than a certain adaptation and temperament — as of grave and acute voices — which makes almost a consonance. This is that which joins together the parts of the Soul and holds united the rational part with the irrational; and it is that which mingles the elements, or their qualities, in the human body with reasonable proportion.

Here one must above all take note of why I have said that it can be understood by anyone who turns to the contemplation of himself — so that it should not be thought that Human Music was, or was called, that order which Nature observes in the generation of our bodies. For Nature (as the physicians say, confirmed also by Augustine) when she finds the human seed in the womb of the woman, corrupting it over the space of six days converts it into milk; which in nine days she transforms into blood; and within the space of twelve days produces a mass of flesh without form. But little by little introducing form into it, in eighteen days she makes it become human — so that, the generation being completed in forty-five days, the Omnipotent God infuses the intellectual Soul. And truly this most marvelous order has in itself concord and harmony, considered in the distance from one number to another: for from the first to the second is found the form of the consonance Diapente; and from this to the third that of the Diatessaron; and from the third to the last that of the same Diapente. And again from the first to the third, and from the second to the last, the form of the Diapason; and from the first to the last is clearly seen that of the Diapasondiapente, as can be more easily seen in the figure.

[Site Editorial Note: Here Zarlino’s original text contains a numerical diagram showing the proportional relationships between the five stages of embryonic development (6, 9, 12, 18, and 45 days). The diagram maps the intervals between these numbers to musical consonances: 6 to 9 yields the Diapente (3:2), 9 to 12 the Diatessaron (4:3), 12 to 18 the Diapente (3:2), 6 to 12 and 9 to 18 the Diapason (2:1), and 6 to 18 the Diapasondiapente (3:1). The figure demonstrates that the numerical order of generation is itself harmonically constituted.]

But this I shall not call Human Music.

Human Music Known from Three Things

Human Music, we shall say, can be known from three things: that is, from the Body, from the Soul, and from the Joining of the one with the other.

From the Body — as from things that grow, from the humours, and from human operations. In things that grow, we see every living being change its state with a certain harmony: men become from children old, and from small great; plants from humid, green and tender become arid, dry and hard. And although we see and have such changes before our eyes every day, nevertheless such a mutation cannot be seen — just as in Music the interval found from the acute voice to the grave cannot be heard when one is singing; since it can only be understood, not heard.

From the humours, as we see in the temperament of all four Elements in the human body. And in human operations we know it in the rational animal, that is in man: for he is so governed and directed by reason that, proceeding through due means in his working, he conducts his affairs with a certain harmony to a perfect end.

The Harmony of the Soul

Such harmony is also known from the Soul — that is, from its parts, which are the Intellect, the Senses, and Habit. For according to Ptolemy, these correspond to the ratios of three consonances: that is, of the Diapason, the Diapente, and the Diatessaron.

The intellectual part corresponds to the Diapason, which has seven intervals and seven are its Species — whence in it are found seven things: Mind, Imagination, Memory, Cogitation, Opinion, Reason, and Knowledge.

To the Diapente, which has four Species and four intervals, corresponds the sensitive part in four things: Sight, Hearing, Smell, and Taste — since Touch is common to each of the four named senses, and above all to Taste.

To the Diatessaron, which is formed of three intervals and contains three Species, corresponds the habitual part: in Growth, in Summit, and in Decrease.

Similarly, if we wish the parts of the Soul to be the seat of Reason and of Desire — together with Anger — we shall find in the first seven things corresponding to the intervals and species of the Diapason: Acuteness, Ingenuity, Diligence, Counsel, Wisdom, Prudence, and Experience. In the second we shall find four things corresponding to the species and intervals of the Diapente: Meekness or Temperance of spirit, Animosity, Fortitude, and Tolerance. In the third, three things corresponding to the intervals and species of the Diatessaron: Sobriety or Temperance, Continence, and Respect.

Beyond this, such harmony is also considered in the faculties of the soul — in Anger, in Reason, and in the Virtues; as one would say in Justice and in Fortitude — for these things come to be tempered among themselves in the manner that in the sounds of a consonance the grave sound is tempered with the acute.

The Harmony of Soul Joined to Body

This harmony is known lastly from the joining of the Soul with the Body — through the natural friendship by means of which the body is bound to the soul, not with corporeal bonds, but (as the Platonists hold) with the spirit, which is incorporeal, as we saw at Chapter 4 above. This is that bond from which every human harmony results; and it is that which joins the diverse qualities of the elements in a composite — that is, in the human body — following the opinion of the Philosophers, who concordantly affirm that human bodies are composed of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. And they say that flesh is generated from the temperament of all four elements together; the Nerves from earth and fire; and finally the bones from water and earth.

But if this seems strange to us, we cannot reasonably deny that they are composed at least of the elemental qualities, by means of the four humours which are found in every body — namely Melancholy, Phlegm, Blood, and Choler. Which, although they are contrary one to another, nonetheless in the mixture or composite (as one wishes to call it) stand harmonically united.

Indeed, if through excessive cold and heat, or through too much eating, or through some other cause we do violence to one of the humours, there follows instantly a distemperament and infirmity of the body; nor does it restore itself to health until they are reduced to their former proportion and concord — which could not be when there were not that bond, spoken of above, of the spiritual nature with the corporeal, and of the rational with the irrational.

The Definition of Human Music

This harmonic concord therefore of the spiritual nature with the corporeal, and of the rational with the irrational, is that which constitutes Human Music: for while it perseveres, as it were by reason of numbers, inwardly united with the body, the body retains with the soul the being animated; and not being impeded by any other accident, has power to do what it wills. But when the harmony dissolves, it corrupts; and losing with the soul the being animated, remains in darkness, and the Soul flies to immortality.

And well was it said “as it were by reason of numbers”: for the ancients held the strong opinion that when one was drowned or truly killed, his soul could never go to the place appointed for it until it had completed the musical number with which from its birth it had been joined to the body. And because they held it for certain that such a number could not be transgressed, therefore they called such accidents Fate, or Fatal Course. The Poet alludes to this opinion, introducing Deiphobus — who was killed by the Greeks — saying these words:

Explebo numerum, reddarque tenebris.

But because these things pertain more to the discourses of Philosophy than to those of Music, I shall leave off speaking of them further, contenting myself with having said these few things and having shown the variety of Animastic Music — of which, as of that which serves little or nothing for our purpose, I shall make no further mention.