The Science of Music
-
Select format
-
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Publication date:
- 19 December 2024
- 02 January 2025
- ISBN:
- 9781009502580
- 9781009502542
- 9781009502559
- Dimensions:
- (228 x 152 mm)
- Weight & Pages:
- 0.489kg, 246 Pages
- Dimensions:
- (229 x 152 mm)
- Weight & Pages:
- 0.336kg, 244 Pages
You may already have access via personal or institutional login
Show more authors 
You may already have access via personal or institutional login
Book description
How did the medieval Islamic intellectual tradition conceptualize, produce, and disseminate scientific knowledge? What can we learn about medieval Islamic civilizations from the way they examined and studied the universe? In answering these fundamental questions, Mohammad Sadegh Ansari provides a unique perspective for the study of both musicology and intellectual history. Widely considered to be an art today, music in the medieval Islamic world was categorized as one of the four branches of the mathematical sciences, alongside arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy; indeed, some philosophers and scholars of music went as far as linking music with medicine and astrology as part of an interconnected web of cosmological knowledge. This innovative book raises fascinating questions about how designating music a 'science' rather than an 'art' impacts our understanding of truth and reconstructs a richly holistic medieval system of knowledge in the process.
Reviews
‘This book is a remarkable exploration of how music, mathematics, philosophy and cosmology interacted, were learned, studied, patronized and transmitted in medieval Baghdad, from the earliest translations of Greek texts through the classic works by al-Kindi, al-Farabi, and al-Urmawi, to the lesser-known works of later commentators.’
Dwight Reynolds - University of California, Santa Barbara
‘Ansari’s Science of Music is an epic and original study of the medieval Islamic inheritance of ancient Greek musical thought. Through close readings of Greek science, Arabic manuscripts and their multilingual paratexts, Ansari shows how medieval students engaged with their teachers, refined core musical concepts, and developed original knowledge systems.’
Kristina Richardson - The University of Virginia
‘Ansari’s rich monograph on the branch of Islamic mathematics known as music is a significant achievement. Patient textual analysis, careful social and intellectual history, and insightful reflections about the place of music in the history of science make this book an inviting entryway into a fascinating world awaiting discovery.’
Alexandre M. Roberts - University of Southern California
Contents
References
Metrics
Altmetric attention score
Full text views
Full text views helpTotal number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.
Accessibility Information
Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.