Newtonian Music

Written by one of the greatest composers of the eighteenth century, this treatise on harmony was acquired by Isaac Milner, undoubtedly not to study actual music, but as a means to perceive Newtonian science in action. In addition to composing operas and other kinds of music, Jean-Philippe Rameau was important as a theorist. In accordance with the imperatives of the Age of Reason, Rameau sought to establish the metaphysical basis of music. At a time when musical language had become more complex owing to the greatly expanded use of chords and keys, this task proved onerous. During the course of a long career, Rameau produced numerous treatises in which he rejected Pythagorean theories only to replace them with something similar. For Rameau the principle underlying music was to be found in the overtones of the ‘Corps Sonore’ (by which he meant the sounding string). By presenting his findings as a work of experimental science, Rameau sought to associate himself with methods made famous by Isaac Newton in his Opticks. It was for this reason that Rameau became known as the ‘Newton of Harmony’, although in reality his methods owed more to the seventeenth-century French philosopher Descartes.

Author: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Title: Démonstration du principe de l'harmonie [Demonstration of the principle of harmony] (Paris, 1752)
Shelfmark: D.16.29
Provenance: Formerly owned by Isaac Milner (1750–1820)

D.16.29