THEOSOPHY AND MUSIC
The Theosophical theory of sound
An Indian philosopher Iqbal Taimni (1898-1978) writes that the term "Logos of a manifested system", used in the Theosophical literature, is equivalent to the Hinduist concept Shabda Brahma, where Shabda means "sound" in its most broad meaning. Hinduists claim that the first act of creation was the emergence of a "subtle" sound vibration that gave "birth" to all forms of the material world. Each sound created a form, and combinations of sound created complicated shapes. Taimni mentiones patterns which are called Chladni's figures that prove the "creative ability" of sound. (Taimni, 1969, pp. 277, 281)
The Secret Doctrine states, "Sound may be produced of such a nature that the pyramid of Cheops would be raised in the air." (Blavatsky, 1888, p. 555; Godwin, 1987, p. 6) Instructions for the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society contain tables and diagrams of correspondence between the musical scale and other "septenary principles" of Theosophy. (Blavatsky, 1980, pp. 562, 564; Rudbog, 2010, p. 258)
Musicologist Luciano Chessa says that, in the Theosophists Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater's opinion, sounds and noises create in "matter" of the thin plane the "forms" visible to some people. They argued also that whenever a "composer writes music", his emotions are reflected in the shape of "luminous projections" in his aura. They called these projections "thought-forms". In the process of performing a composition, the musician also "expresses" his own emotions, which "produce other thought-forms". Moreover, the music itself produces "sound-forms", that may be called music-forms, which, although similar to thought-forms, are not them technically and, therefore, are not reflected in the aura, but they are projected, as Chessa notes, "onto the sky above the performance venue." (Besant; Leadbeater, 1905, p. 75; Chessa, 2012, p. 104)
Moreover, he adds, "thought-forms" are created, according to Theosophy, also by hearers who react to "both the music and the [music] forms". In addition, the thought-forms of the performer and the hearers, as well as the sound-forms created by the music, arise simultaneously, although the thought-forms are not capable of influencing "more voluminous sound-forms." Besant and Leadbeater argued that, just as thought-forms correspond to thoughts and emotions, the characteristics of each music-form "correspond" to the elements of the music that gave rise to this form. For each "musical characteristic (harmony, melody, rhythmical articulation, form, timbre, etc.) there exist a corresponding form and color that render that characteristic with extraordinary precision." The size of music-form and the time it takes to stay in space varies depending on the "dynamics, timbre, quality of musical execution, and other parameters". The more the "spiritual" significance of music, the clearer, brighter and more voluminous its music-form. In addition, these forms emit vibrations in all directions throughout the "entire duration of their existence" (sometimes more than 2 hours). Thus, a musician, due to the vibrations of the music-form created by him, can influence, according to the Theosophists, many people, without meeting them on the physical plane. (Chessa, 2012, p. 104)
Fig. 1. The Theosophical "music-form", composer Charles Gounod. (Besant; Leadbeater, 1905, p. 80)
The Theosophists as musicians
Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891) was the key ideologist of the Theosophical Society. In Prof. Joscelyn Godwin's opinion, music was among her "many accomplishments." (Godwin, 2012) According to Prof. Wouter Hanegraaff, she inherited the "intellectual and imaginative talents [including musical] from the maternal family line." (Hanegraaff 2017, p. 11)
In 1844, on her first visit to London, she took piano lessons from Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870), and later she performed "at a charity concert" with Clara Schumann (1819-1896) and Arabella Goddard playing Robert Schumann's piece for three pianos. A few months before her arriving in America, she had traveled under the pseudonym "Madame Laura" to Italy and Russia with several concert tours. (Godwin, 2012; Шабанова, 2016, p. 38)
There are many testimonies of occult musical phenomena observed in the presence of Blavatsky. For example, many hers companions "were regaled with most exquisite music", which by itself appeared in any place of the room where they were located. The play on the closed musical instruments, which she was also demonstrating, is well known to the members of the spiritualist seances. (Sinnett, 1886, pp. 87, 108; Kuhn, 1992, p. 79; Melton, 2001, p. 1074)
Emma Hardinge-Britten (1823-1899) participated in the formation of the Theosophical Society in 1875. Her musical talent manifested itself already in childhood, and at the age of 11 she gave music lessons. According to Godwin, from among the first Theosophists she was the only one professionally associated with music – she worked in the Paris studio of Sebastien Erard as a "piano demonstrator" and composed "music for her spiritualist educational program". There are several compositions and songs written by her under a pseudonym "Ernest Reinhold". In the 1840s and early 1850s, she was an opera singer and then an actress at the Adelphi Theatre and other theaters in London. (Melton, 2001, p. 218; Godwin, 1994, pp. 200, 202)
Edmond Bailly (1850-1916) was a poet, musician, publisher, and one of the leading Theosophists in France. He had classical music education. In 1887, he established the publishing house "Independent Art" (Librairie de l'art Independant) for the support of occultism and symbolism. His first step as a publisher was the publication of the famous Kabbalah book Sefer Yetzirah. In his office he opened a salon that turned into a meeting place of the writers and musicians of Paris. The spiritist seances were also held here, often with the participation of Debussy (1862-1918) and Satie (1866-1925). They played their music on the piano placed in the back room. (Pasler, 2007, p. 85; Godwin, 2012; Churton, 2016)
In September 1912, a magazine The Theosophist published a note on the new music work of Bailly:
Those who were present, in 1906, at the third Congress of the Federation of the European Sections of the Theosophical Society, will remember that curious Egyptian chant which was sung by a chorus to the accompaniment of harps, under the direction of Monsieur Bailly. In the Transactions of the Congress the score was printed together with a short introductory note. Since then M. Bailly has continued his researches concerning this ancient piece of music and considerably amplified his notes. The above mentioned booklet is the result: a re-edition of the score and a recast and greatly extended introduction. (Manen, 1912)
Fig. 2. An ancient Egyptian anthem, "restored" in 1906 by Edmond Bailly. (Bailly, 1912)
Cyril Scott (1879-1970), a composer and writer, had been actively participating in the work of the Theosophical Society. He claimed that not only many aspects of politics and culture are reflected in music, but also that "changes in musical style often mysteriously precede and influence changes in politics and culture." (Leland, 2011) As Theosophist, he studied the occult influence of music, after which he published his findings in a book Music and Its Secret Influence, dedicating it to the Master Koot Hoomi and to the memory of his pupil, Nelsa Chaplin. (Melton, 2001, p. 1371) He believed that the mahatma not only played an important role in "his musical career", but also inspired him to write this book. (Godwin, 1994, p. 366) He stated that "his personal contact" with the mahatmas began in 1919-20. (Tame, 1984, p. 264) According to musicologist Arthur Hull (1876-1928), Scott's Theosophical and occult studies "deeply influenced" his music. (Hull, 1919, p. 179)