MUSIC 2MT3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Athanasius Kircher, Music Therapy, Middle Ages
18 Dec 2019
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Document Summary
Definition: used complex languages, but no symbol system for reading. Believe in the power of music to affect mental and physical well-being: music and medicine were almost interchangeable in these cultures. Songs used in important rituals (healings, exorcisms etc. ) Music played an important part in rational medicine in the first civilizations that appeared in what is now iraq between 5 and 6000 b. c. Important role in magic and religious healing ceremonies. Believed to be a positive vehicle for sacred emotion. Hymns were considered effective against certain unspecified respiratory diseases. Advances in anatomy, physiology and clinical medicine marked the beginning of the scientific approach to medicine. Treatment of diseases still based on the 4 humors. Physicians prescribed music as a preventative medicine. Many epidemics occurred during this time, music was considered a powerful tool to improve emotional health. Medicine continues to be informed by the four humors.
