Harmony - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Harmony, a concept both mathematical and mystical, represents the art and science of combining musical tones simultaneously to produce chords and chord progressions. Often perceived simply as "sounding good together," harmony is, in reality, a complex system governed by aesthetic preferences, cultural conventions, and the physics of sound itself. Though some may think of it as a fixed set of rules, its evolution reveals a continuously shifting landscape.
The seeds of our understanding of harmony can be traced back to ancient Greece. In the 6th century BCE, Pythagoras and his followers explored the numerical ratios underlying musical intervals, believing these proportions mirrored the cosmos. While a direct primary source explicitly detailing their use of multi-voiced harmony during this period is elusive, later accounts, such as those found in Boethius’s "De institutione musica" (circa 500 CE), build upon this foundation. This text laid the groundwork for medieval musical theory, influencing the development of polyphony - music with two or more independent melodic lines. The early Middle Ages, with its nascent nation-states and shifting religious doctrines, provided a fertile ground for these musical experiments, though the precise nature of early harmonic practices remains a subject of academic debate.
Over centuries, harmony transformed from primarily modal systems, characterized by melodic emphasis, to the tonal systems dominant in Western music from the Baroque period onward. Figures like Johann Sebastian Bach, through mastery of counterpoint and harmonic progression within the tonal framework, reshaped the musical lexicon. The Romantic era saw an expansion of harmonic language, with composers like Richard Wagner pushing the boundaries of tonality, paving the way for atonality and serialism in the 20th century. Consider the unresolved dissonance that colors much of Igor Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring”; is it chaos, or a new order waiting to be deciphered?
Today, harmony thrives within diverse musical genres globally. From jazz improvisations to pop song arrangements, it reflects societal values and individual expression. The enduring significance of harmony lies not only in its structural function but also in its capacity to evoke emotion, build sonic landscapes, and connect with the deepest parts of the human spirit. As we continue to experiment with and explore musical structures, the question remains: what undiscovered harmonic landscapes await us?