Music and the circle – symbolism of art (The symbolism of the circle in the musical treatises of medieval scientists of Middle East)

Abstract

It is well known that the culture of a people is formed within a general cultural context. Eastern culture is permeated with symbols, among which the symbol of a circle occupies a special place. The symbol of a circle is associated with the idea of infinity and harmony in art, particularly in the musical arts. Scientists and musicians of medieval East, such as Al-Kindi, Abu Nasr al Farabi, Ibn Sina, Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, Abd al-Qadir Maraghi, and others paid great attention to the symbolism of the circle. Al-Kindi, the “Brothers of Purity,” and others were followers of the cosmogony Pythagorean direction, whereas the theories by al Farabi, Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, Abd al-Qadir Maraghi can be referred to as the practical, theoretically speaking, materialist direction. So, Al-Kindi used the symbolism of the circle and sphere to describe divine reality and its relation to worldly phenomena. He compared God to the center of the circle or sphere, and everything else to the radius and spherical shells that emanate from this center. Safi al-Din al-Urmawi was the first scientist who introduced the term “dowr” – “circle” into musical terminology as a model for the structure and development of the modal and rhythmic basis of music. His famous treatise on music, “Kitab al-Adwar,” is translated from Arabic as “The Book of Circles.” Safi al-Din al-Urmawi’s theory is based on the practice of playing the oud. Urmawi provides a schematic representation of modal and rhythmic circles in his work. Abd al-Qadir Maraghi explains the structure of modal circles in his treatise “Jame’ al-Alhan” (Collection of melodies). Many treatises on music began to be called “adwar” by analogy with Urmawi’s work in subsequent centuries. Therefore, we see that the symbol of the circle played a significant role in the musical treatises of the medieval East. This applies equally to philosophy and epistemological concepts, literature, and art.