Music as Divine Order
Read MoreVitruvius explains how bronze vases (echea) tuned to resonate to specific musical harmonies (the fourth, the fifth, the octave) can enhance acoustic properties of theatres. According to Vitruvius, vases were placed in niches under the seats in Greek and Roman theatres. When the voice of an actor fell in unison with any of the vases its power would be increased so that it reached the audience with greater clarity. Vitruvius’ belief that the proportions of the human body provided a universal model of beauty applicable to architecture was adapted by Renaissance architects who proposed a corresponding model based on Pythagorean ratios.
Author: Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Title: De architectura libri decem decem [Ten books on architecture] (Venice, 1567)
Shelfmark: F.2.24
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