PAPERS

MAN, MUSIC AND MASONRY
FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION
RITUAL IS GOOD FOR YOU!
WILLIAM LITTLE
MANY FAITHS, ONE BROTHERHOOD
THE LADDER OF JACOB
LODGE HUMANITAS NO. 840

MAN, MUSIC AND MASONRY

Each of these words in the title justifies many lectures in its own right. However, my purpose this evening is to present some reflections and draw these different threads together. I have already had the privilege of presenting papers at the Victorian Lodge of Research and elsewhere which go to some depth regarding man and society, the spiritual aspect of his nature, and also the role of masonic and other rituals in his personal development. (cf  The Sacred and the Profane: Study of Religious Man (Golden Jubilee Chapter of Research 1988), Rites of Passage and Masonic Initiation 1994, and Why Ritual? (Ritual and Health) 1995.) I will endeavour to avoid going over material which is included in these papers. For this reason I will be concentrating on the first two aspects - Man and his Music, but I hope what I have to say will also be of interest to you as Masons.

The Importance of Music

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) wrote that "The aim and final reason of all music is nothing other than the glorification of God and the refreshment of the Spirit." Another writer says that Music is the only cheap and unpunished rapture on earth. It is that and much more. It is an aid to living, a shield against despair, and a triumph of the human spirit.

Let us look at a few more quotations on music from the world's great writers. Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) said: "Music is the only sensual pleasure without vice." Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) wrote: "Sure there is music even in the beauty and the silent note which Cupid strikes, far sweeter than the sound of an instrument. For there is a music wherever there is a harmony, order or proportion; and thus far we may maintain the music of the spheres; for those well ordered motions, and regular paces, though they give no sound unto the ear yet to the understanding they strike a note most full of harmony." In his Hymn to Harmony, William Congreve (1670-1729) wrote "Music alone with sudden charms can bind the wand'ring sense, and calm the troubled mind."

What then, is Music? Each of these writers I have quoted has a different perspective on this subject - on what it is and what affect it has on us. Many feel that music has so many 'uses' for people that it is hard to imagine us living without it. Yet it is curious how little thought has been given to it as a vital force in human affairs.

The Influence of Music

It is clear that music fills a deeply-felt need in the human psyche - not forgetting its central importance to those of the animal kingdom. This need for soothing melody manifests itself soon after birth. A fretful child, for example, will settle down contentedly to the strains of a lullaby. Long before it can understand a single spoken word, the child is profoundly influenced by melody, rhythm  and tone. And even before birth, the foetus is continually bombarded by the mother's heartbeat and the rushing of blood in the placenta. In the more mundane world of film-making, what would a film be like without its musical background? (I have recorded a lot of film music and commercials over the years, and the way in which the music score is integrated with the visual aspect, sometimes frame-by-frame, is quite extraordinary.) What would a shopping centre be without its muzak? (A much better place!) Recently I came across of an autobiography of an American monk in which he reflected that the devil has a most effective weapon with which to distract people from the spiritual realities of life, and that is NOISE!

Music can have a positive or negative influence on us; it can be constructive and beneficial, or detructive and harmful. A report in the newspapers on a recent court case overseas, where a family was murdered by one of the children, includes a discussion/debate in court as to whether a particular song of a heavy metal rock group had a decisive influence on the child and his violent actions. The lyrics of the song in question are certainly very negative within the child, and they would have reinforced an already established negative view of the world and his family. Whether there is a direct causal correlation between the music and the child's destructive actions is open to debate, but it certainly cannot be ruled out, in my view.

Ancient Man

Let us now go back to prehistory. To build fires and shelters, to hunt with more than just the hands and teeth - these were the essentials to the survival of a thin-skinned, relatively weak creature, the homosapien. To make music, on the other hand, seemed to go beyond the bare necessities of basic existence into a dimension unknown to the other inhabitants of the earth, extending into the world of the spirit or soul of Man. Yet our ancestors did just this, venture into the world beyond, the world of harmony, of music. The human spirit has always found its main outlet for self-expression in the arts, and music was most likely the world's first art-form.

It is generally believed that the first musical instrument as such was a hollow reed which someone had the curiosity to blow through. Having done this, early man was not content just with this pleasing effect. He had to see what what would happen if graduated holes were punched in the reed. Out came an articulated vocabulary of notes. Archeological findings indicate that musical instruments go back thousands of years, and primitive forms of musical notation have been found chiselled on stone tablets as early as 2,000 years B.C.

But, why this concentration of effort by our predecessors on something which did not seem to be essential to their survival? Perhaps ancient man realised (as we do today) that music is not as irrelevant as it first appears. Although you could not touch it (it is an intangible thing - in other art-forms such as sculpture, you can see and touch the finished article), I believe ancient man knew intuitively that forms of musical expression had very useful applications, and indeed was a necessary part of life. Above all, he found that it lightened the burdens of life, and transported him away from the problems of daily life, at least for a while. It was an existential experience, one which he desired to repeat over and over again.

Early Man found a form of relaxation and entertainment through music. It was something not only for themselves to do, but also one in which the whole family or tribe could participate (e.g. the Aboriginal corroboree). Also, it was something which they could control as distinct from the elements in the world around them which they could not.

Ancient man also knew that music has the power to change people's moods, usually for the better. Music made people forget their troubles and generally feel good, before anyone thought of making wine. Miraculously, a song or a rhythmic chant seemed to get the work done faster. It took your mind off your aching back as you toiled in the field in the hot sun. (Remember the Negro songs used when labouring, and the folk songs used during planting and harvesting.) It was soon realised that a certain kind of music could inspire a man to face death in battle with a heady mixture of confidence, courage and ferocity (hence the drums and bugles, also the bagpipes, still used today). Whoever composed the first patriotic song (or in those days, a tribal song), forged a mightly political weapon. As the Scottish patriot Andrew Fletcher (1655-1716) said, "Give me the making of the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes the laws." (Plato made similar observations about the power of music in society.) And today, in our own country, there was much discussion and exploration to find a National Song which will accurately reflect the human psyche and ethos of this nation. It was indeed a civilised person who composed the first love song.

Music also had a role in the mating ritual, and this it still has today. The music of tribal festivities associated with marriage and the seasons, is perpetuated today in a modified form in our own disco and rock music. The girations of pop stars and the conditioned response of adolescents show very clearly that we have not moved far from our ancestors' puberty rites! 

Music was also used to give worship to the gods, as it still is today. This is not surprising, as many cultures believed that music had been bestowed on them as a gift from the gods. The Greek philosophers of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. believed also that it was of divine provenance. They thought of it as one of the disciplines controlled by the goddesses they called the Muses - hence the name Music. This did not prevent our ancient brethren closely examining its nature, however. They were acutely aware of the sway it held over behaviour through its influence on people's feelings and emotions. Like many a social critic since, Plato (c429-384BC) would cheerfully have banned certain types of music he considered to have a corrupting influence on the listener, if he had the power to do so. He viewed "far-out" music as a threat to the body politic. He gave this warning: "Musical innovation is full of danger to the State, for when the modes (or as we would say today, the scales and chords) of music change, the laws of the State always change with them". (Some totalitarian States have held similar views.) This is how powerful an influence Plato believed music had on people in his day. And so, in this sense, the Greek philosopher might be considered a predecessor to our modern music and social critic who speaks out against the negative aspects of rock or disco music of today. (But I wonder what Plato would have thought of the music of Stravinsky, Bartok or Schoenberg!)

Music as a Language

It has been universally acknowledged that Music gives the world a unique language, one which can be both earthly and ethereal. Mankind has always associated music with the gods, and this is partly because they saw it as a form of communication between the earthly and the spiritual realms of the universe. Great sacred music has almost a divinity of its own. Gregorian Chant of the Christian Church is the example par excellence - it is still used in traditional church worship and for prayer and meditation many hundreds of years after its original compsoition. A 17th century abbott (Angelo Grillo) expressed this quality when he wrote to the famous composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), thanking him for a copy of his latest madrigals: "I can assure you of the eminent worth of your melodious gift; it seems to me to belong not so much to the earth on which I accept it, as to the heaven in which I listen to it."

There has always been music for special state and solemn occasions. For instance, it is recorded in the Bible the musical skills of David, also the musical offerings which went with the sacrificial ones at the dedication of King Solomen's Temple. In more recent times, we have watched on television great occasions such as Royal Weddings, Papal visits to places around the globe such as St. Paul's Cathedral, London, Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, and the music which enhanced those religious and historic occasions.

There has always been a music for the people, and a music for the aristocracy. But by the time of the Renaissance (14th-17th cent.), the two streams began to influence each other. And a little later secular and the sacred music also began  to overlap and sometimes merge. We also find that there were simple (or folk) instruments used by the peasant class of the day and those of a more sophisticated design used only by the rich and educated. Here too, we notice that in the last couple of centuries the instruments for the few (i.e. for those who could buy them and who who could afford the training) were becoming more readily available to the general population. By the 19th century, for example, the piano had become the standard entertainment and musical device in the middle class family home all around the world, as much as the television set was the status and cultural symbol of the 1950s and 1960s. I think it would be true to say that by the end of the 19th century, most people were either playing a musical instrument, singing in a choir or listening to music at public concerts. Music-making became a universal past-time in the home, music hall, in the theatre and concert hall for the general population. And its revival in popularity among the general populace (in both the amateur and professional forms) gave rise to a fresh wave of speculation in the 19th century as to what music really means to mankind. So, once again, the question arose: why music?

Why Music?

The German philosophers, who were then probing the deepest reaches of thought, attached great significance to this question. Hegel (1770-1831) concluded that music is in fact latent in every listener, and that the external sounds merely draw it out. Schopenhauer (1788-1860) observed, as many educators have since,  that it is the one art-form which works directly on the individual's feelings and not via the medium of thought; it therefore touches something in our being more subtle than the intellect or mind. (It can bypass the discursive mind, hence its use as a tool in spiritual exercises, therapy (especially for the handicapped), and as muzak in public places.) Another philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), reasoned that art in general is a natural defence against pessimism. (Ancient man would agree with this view.) And so the creation of art in its various forms is a necessary human activity for mental and spiritual health and also for social cohesion. Nietzsche saw music as an aspect of fantasy or freeplay of the imagination, and declared that fantasy and creative imagination is a sustaining and restorative force in life. (Just check on how many people watch 'soap operas' on T.V. as a soporiphic and as their world of fantasy, also the use of New Age music as background music in the home and shops.)

Why Do We Need Music? Because, in so many ways, it brings out the best in humanity. Poor twisted man though he was, Neitzsche was very perceptive when he wrote: "Without music, life would be a mistake". A rather extreme statement perhaps, but I have some sympathy with his view. It is interesting to note too that the only joy these gloomy philosophers seemed to have experienced during their lives was through listening to or playing music - Schopenhauer played the flute, and Nietzsche the piano.

Music and Healing

As early as 1830 there were studies into what affects music has on people, and it was found that it causes definate physiological responses:

1. Music influence the circulation of blood.
2. Music causes blood pressure to rise and fall.
3. Variations in circulation depend on pitch, intensity and timbre of the sound.
4. The idiosyncracies of each individual are apparent in the variations of blood pressure.

Today, we have a new vocabulary to express these rediscovered links between music and health. Once again, music is not only establishing new paradigms in society and being used as a tool in the healing process, but it is also seen as an essential ingredient in maintaining good health - in mind and body.

In contemporary society an increasing number of people are taking a more holistic approach to health and healing, and we also find medical practitioners are doing the same, to the extent that some are setting up clinics which bring together a number of disciplines and healing procedures and which a few decades ago were considered unorthodox or ineffective. Part of this development includes a greater appreciation of the role of vibrations/sound in its myriad forms. Societies, ancient and modern, are being studied anew with this in mind, exploring how they used music/sound in their healing arts, alongside natural medicines, therapies etc.

This change in techniques is reflected in the courses which are being taught at universities and other institutions. In my own case, I have had students who are extending their Bachelor of Music Degree into a Bachelor of Music Therapy. Melbourne University has a well-established degree in this field, and its graduates are much sought-after throughout the healing and medical profession in Melbourne and elsewhere. (One of my students became the first full-time staff member in music therapy at the Royal Children's Hospital.)

This link between music and health is so vast that I can only touch on it briefly in this paper. But I wish to present one dramatic example, a report made by the French physician, psychologist and ear specialist Dr. Alfred A.Tomatis. He reports as follows:

"I had visited a monastery which had been taken over by a new abbot, a young monk. He had changed the internal rule of the abbey by modifying everything a little after the Second Vatican Council, and he was therefore something of a revolutionary.

When I arrived, there were those who wanted the retain the Latin, others who were for the existing rule, and still others who wanted to change and revolutionize everything. Finally everything was changed. They even eliminated chanting from the daily schedule. You know that Benedictines chant from six to eight hours a day, but this abbot succeeded in demonstrating that chant served no useful purpose, and that without it they could recapture that time for other things.

Well, in fact, these people had been chanting in order to "charge" themselves, but they hadn't realised what they were doing. And gradually, as the days passed, they started to get bogged down; they became more and more tired. Finally they got so tired that they held a meeting and frankly asked themselves what it was that was causing their fatigue. They looked at their schedule and saw that their night vigil and the rhythm of their work deviated excessively from the norm of the rest of the world, and they seldom slept. They decided that they should go to bed early and wake up, like everybody else, only when they were no longer tired. Well, everyone knows from physiology that the more you sleep, the more tired you are, and so it was for the poor Benedictines - they were more tired than ever - so much so that they called in medical specialists to help them try to understand what was happening. They finally gave up on this after a procession of doctors had come through over a period of several months, and the monks were more tired than ever.

Then they turned to specialists of the digestive system. One of the great French doctors arrived at the conclusion that they were in this state because they were undernourished. In fact, they were practically vegetarian  - they ate a little fish from time to time - and he told them that they were dying of starvation. I think my colleague's error was in forgetting that they had eaten as vegetarians ever since the 12th century, which one would think might have engendered some sort of adaptation in them. Anyway, once they started eating meat and potatoes like the rest of the world, things only got worse.

I was called by the Abbot in February, and I found that 70 of the 90 monks were slumping in their cells like wet dishrags." (Music: Physician for Times to Come, ed. Don Campbell, pp 13/14. Quest Books, TPH, U.S.A., 1991.)

Well, during the next few months the good doctor assessed the situation of the monks and made many changes. In brief, he reintroduced chanting immediately and began "re-awakening their ears". Also, all of them had returned to their previous activities, that is their prayer, their few hours of sleep, and their strenuous work schedule.

Dr. Tomatis' appreciation of the role of sound (amongst other things) - in this case in the form of the Gregorian chant, and the use of prayer and mantras, ensured that the monks would be "stimulated" back to health. You see, it is not just the pitch of each note in the chant that matters, but also the overtones. Dr. Tomatis established from extensive research that this form of chant is a great energy food for the brain, as well as the body. One is not hypnotised by the chant as one might suspect, quite the opposite. Apparently, it directly affects the cortex, and thus one is awakened into a higher level of awareness, alertness, consciousness.

I will leave this fascinating subject at this point, but I think the example I have given is sufficient to justify the claim that music/sound has a direct affect upon our health, upon the mind and the body and the link which exists between them.

What of Music Ability?

It is true to say that sheer intelligence has never been enough to make a great musician or composer. Musical genius is largely a matter of having what experts can only describe as "a gift from God". (However, I would like to add that everyone has the capacity to work in all the art-forms to some degree.) One of the mysteries of the art is how musical geniuses are able to master the bewildering complexities of music before other children have learned the alphabet. Not only that, but to interpret them with a mature touch, and also to compose masterpieces, e.g. Mozart writing 6 flute sonatas at eight years of age. (Those who accept the concept of reincarnation would be able to provide a possible answer to this enigma.) Yet talent alone is not enough either. To play or write music at its best takes considerable self-sacrifice, perseverence, discipline, and a great deal of effort. It has been said that a work of art takes 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration! Read the lives of composers like Beethoven, Mozart or Mahler, or artists like Michelangelo and you will see how true this is! And as a professional musician, I can also vouch for the accuracy of this statement.

The Symphony Orchestra

I will now make some observations about the symphony orchestra, which is where I spend most of my time.

There can be no harder-working group of artists than a symphony orchestra. A good orchestra in full-flight is a miracle of precision, teamwork and collective panache. This is achieved through an exacting regimen of both private practice and general orchestral rehearsals which hone the skills of the players to razor sharpness. Orchestral conductors are sometimes reviled as tyrants, but they know that they must work their players very hard to do justice to the music they are to perform. Also, I can truly say from personal experience that the really great conductors are able to lead the orchestra with respect coming from the players. They inspire, and they give that intangible 'something extra' which makes a performance of a composition something unique, an act of creation.  (This intangible 'something' in certain conductors - which is more than just charisma, I have experienced only a few times in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.)

It might be thought by some people that this passion for precision is all very well for the high-brows of the concert stage, but that it has no place among the free spirits of popular music. Such is not the case. It is no coincidence, for example, that the man known as the most consistently inventive of all jazz soloists of the recent past, clarinettist Benny Goodman, was also famous for the long hours of private practice and group rehearsal he imposed on himself and his band. He is not alone in this, of course; just go along to a rehearsal of Don Burrows, the Manhattan Transfer or Cleo Laine, Elton John, and you will see just how hard they work.  I have worked with them, and I can assure you they do work hard!

An  American composer, Aaron Copland (with whom I have had the privilege of working, and who died only recently), said that music is a language without a dictionary, whose symbols are interpreted by the listener according to some unspoken Esperanto of the emotions. This leads us back to Hegel's theory that the music is within the listener. And it follows that different kinds of music will affect different feelings and emotions in people, according to their conditions of life and their level of understanding at a given time. (This would explain why we never get bored with great music whether it be classical, jazz or rock or indeed any great work of art: each time we hear it or view it, it communicates something new.  It is a new existential experience for us.)

When it comes to different types of music, one man's meat is another man's poison! Classical lovers have been known to be physically sick from listening to certain rock music. On the other hand, I can report from my own experience that I have found in the symphony orchestra certain works rehearsed in an inadequate studio causing considerable discomfort and a rather unpleasant feeling in the stomach. (I also wear earplugs on occasions!!) So, the chances of discomfort for the performer and listener alike can be experienced in all of these traditions.

The argument over what is music and what is not will simmer as long as people can turn on and off the radio, and put on a record, go to concerts and either boo or cheer. As I have already said, the emotions that music bring out are mostly good ones: love, joy, humor, sadness. Though it has stirred men in war (e.g. Wagner's music in Germany, Vaughan Williams' and Elgar's in England), it more often has addressed those gentle feelings which people have when they are at peace with themselves and the world. However, many wonderful works do describe traumatic episodes in life and legend, but usually do so in such a way that gives the listener a better understanding of its significance to their own life (e.g. Beethoven's Eroica, Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, operas such as La Boehme, Traviata, Turindot.) The inherent dignity of the individual and the triumph of the human spirit in adversity are immortalised in the arts, such as music.

Music and Masonry

Having presented these thoughts on Music and its importance to our civilisation, I think I should bring this subject around to the Mason, and how he ought to see Music from a 'masonic point of view', if I can put it that way. Freemasonry extols the underlying reality of the universal qualities and attributes which we call Wisdom, Strength and Beauty. Beauty, we are told, is to adorn the inward man. For me Beauty is truly manifested in Music. It does indeed adorn the soul in a way quite different to other art-forms such as painting or sculpture. Thus I often replace the word Beauty in our ritual with the word Music. I suggest you do the same some time; it will give you a new slant on the word Beauty, as it will now include for you the harmony, proportion and architecture of melody - its phrase, harmony and rhythm. One writer on Freemasonry wrote that "Part of our work as Masons (he says) is to discover the true value manifesting in the unique function of each stone used to build the Temple planned by the G.A.O.T.U. We learn to pay heed to the words: 'His beauty shines through the whole universe'".

Beauty has to be discovered in what may in the beginning appear as ugly, uncongenial, for in all there is a hidden value to which the eyes have to open (cf Mark Degree). How often do we listen to a piece of music for the first time and recoil, yet on further listening we come to discover the composer's genius and the true value of his creation. And so we should study all the Liberal Arts and Sciences without prejudice, and not to give up our attempt to understand them on our first encounter. It should also be emphasised that it is unimportant as at what "level" we understand a piece of music. What is important is that the mind and our receptiveness to new experiences should remain ever-open and flexible to new possibilities in all the Arts and Sciences. You know, when Stravinsky's ballet 'The Rite of Spring' was first performed in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century, there were riots in the streets! (A vindication of Plato's words I wonder?)

Looking at the subject another way, it could be said that there is much similarity between certain aspects of Freemasonry and Music. Some analogies can be made. For instance, each of them is a self-contained and complete discipline in its own right. Each has a special language and structure which is based on certain laws and principles. Each becomes more completely known to the initiated through experience, inward reflection, study and outward application. More importantly perhaps, they are both concerned with transcendental things, with the soul of man and how it can express itself, and with man's relationship to higher realities, as well as the rest of humanity. Certain forms of music can also be described as a type of yoga or group meditation, as indeed Freemasonry and other ceremonial forms can be so described. They are both emphasising the existential moment, i.e. the personal and collective experience at that point in time. Deep down, then, Music and Masonry are both non-verbal disciplines - they communicate directly to the soul of man, each using the senses as the means of communication.

The chords in music (such as in a symphony) are like the building blocks of the spiritual Temple which we are seeking to build in Freemasonry. The Master of the lodge is like the conductor of an orchestra in that he leads a team, and creates something new (with non-physical things), every time he is 'at labour'. The Master is to give inspired leadership, to unify the work into a whole, to build, to create a spiritual temple out of living stones - the brethren. The orchestral conductor does exactly the same thing with his musicians. Having been involved in both disciplines for many years, I can see this striking similarity of methodology and purpose, and also the consequential experience and shift in consciousness which occurs by their correct application.

It has been more generally recognised these days that Music has an important part to play in our Masonic ceremonial. It helps to create the right atmosphere; it supports the ritual movements, and if we look closely at the words of the Odes in the different degrees, you will see how they reinforce the principles and teachings given in the Prayers, Obligations and Charges. Freemasons often do not appreciate sufficiently the value of music in the ceremonies of our various Degrees and Orders until it is absent. The organist and choir are often taken for granted, particularly if they be efficient and unobtrusive in their work. However, like any other art-form, we also have our fair share of bad music-making in Freemasonry! In such cases I believe that we are better without the music. Poor renditions of our music can only spoil our ceremonies and give the candidate a poor impression of the Degree he is going through.  The same can be said of the affect of poor music in church services, something  which I also have to suffer quite frequently!

Conclusion

I would like to conclude now by quoting the words of two great artists. The first is from one of the greatest composers of all time, Johann Sebastian Bach. It is a rather extravagent statement, but I think Bach can get away with it. He said of his Music:
                                     

The second quotation is from the founder of the Impressionist school, the French artist Claude Monet (1840-1926). He said:

"It is because I rediscovered and allowed intuitive and secret forces to predominate that I was able to identify with creation and become absorbed in it. My art is an act of faith, an act of love and humility."

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Footnote:

The presentation of the paper included a demonstration of several musical instruments, both antient and modern. They included: syrinx (panpipes), bamboo flutes, Mexican clay flute, okarina, shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute), the modern flute (concert flute made of 14 carat gold), and the piccolo.

The author was Principal Piccolo in the Melbourne Symphny Orchestra for nearly 30 years, and has acted for extended periods as Principal Flute. He has been a senior Examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board and is a Tutor in Flute at the Faculty of Music, University of Melbourne. He has produced numerous recordings and music publications. He is also a priest of the Liberal Catholic Church.