SYNESIS IN ARISTOXENIAN THEORY PLORA KR. LEVIN New York Taausactions avo Hocee pois or tk Aveaaw Pir lelogrcal Assocare Cn (ay a2 ) SYNESIS IN ARISTOXENIAN THEORY FLORA KR, LEVIN ‘New York in memoriam Miciem W. Hassell ‘Music must be conceived by human beings. Although the sounds of + music derive immediately from the vibrating string or the column of sir, the ordering of these sounds into a melody which moves'the listener is a function of the human mind. Conceived by the mind, music speaks to other minds, which recognize in it not merely the sounds of melody but representations of human feelings. And although one ‘can analyze precisely the physical properties of sound and interval or dissect meticulously the anatomy of melody, the affective power of music eludes objective representation, In fact, the more closely music is assimilated to its physical form, the farther is one removed from its source and energy. The recognition of this fact is a fundamental achievement of Aristoxenus, the fourth ccntury 2c, musical theorist. His epochal contribution to the history of ideas consists in a theory of music based on the notion # ris povoucts Edvears, construed here to be “musical intuition” or “competence,” i.e. an inherent mental capacity comprising one’s implicit musical knowledge. Formulated ALS) lit esveons (ESveons) 1 being derived by Plato Crat, 412A from ovnévas faci pn” Aga ett ge oats Be OT ee, _ ‘occurrence in tS, ee taal em, Ob nt ‘reference to some fculry of the mind; thus, Arist. EN 1143At3 (ro pases Miyeras Eundaor) Plato Crt 43ta bpdrqots renal Géveaus); Eur. Her. 655 (Edveais nal oogia): Pind. Nem, 7.60 (ovrou .« » $pendv); Thue. 1.75 (wipns Eordocus); Arist de An. 141083 (Géveaus a8 oppoted to Syvoua). Is appearance with an objective genitive denot ng incligence tn thin, sage in respec to something, a8 in Pato Cra 4130 (rf 708 Suxaiov omdon), i exemplified in Arstoxenus" construction 4 ris novoucfs Ebvo, ‘but the later citation isnot included in LSJ. The glos matherwit or native spec fot byeons for example, in Thue. 1.38 (obeelgfundons), lea mont eling instance OCs ‘eference toan inherent Knowledge, the sense in which tis uied, I believe, by Aritoxenun, ‘Oftheten occurrences of Etveous and Gorin ia the Harmon, only two are wed bYan FLORA R. LEVIN bis72 on this notion, his theory, transmitted to us in the fragmentary docu- ment known as Harmonics? represents more than a “descriptive anatomy"? of ancient Greck music. It is, beyond this, I believe, an attempt t0 account for the mental process responsible for the creation Avixoxenos in the genent sense of “understanding or “comprehension” HS. Macran, The Harmonies of Arsexenns (Onford 1903), secordingly eranslater Ham. 3 {p, 167): “Furthermore, iis euenial to a cleat comprehension of these points leis rp rodran Gtrcur] and Harm. 16 "When i (2 defition) pus him way of undertanding [es 18 Eordrai| the thing defined” The other instances of {Eiveous in Aristoxen’ text clearly refer to some kind of mental activity that is more igsfiant than the English words “understanding” and “comprehension” suggext “That Macrn was aware of 2 complex meming is apparent Grom his variety of trasl- tions, 21, for example on™ (p. 18), “apprehension” (p. 193), intellectual apprehension” (p. 193), “intellectual proces” (p. 193). In ths paper 1 argue that ‘ye for Arstxen is musical intuition, Arstoxemus states atone point (Herm. 38) UE Enis mele co oe aby low wih te aad en what is taking place with expect to it every distinction” (my translation). Thit Tnlir more than mere recognition ot wiper undetanding of melodies; i sugges, rather a total musical competence. ‘This contruction is devived from the not tngite comptes” fr which sz Noam Chay, Apes ofthe Theory of Shmiex (MIT Pres, Cambridge 1963) 4. The orienation of this paper is im many inporant per intend by te work af Choma and moder gui ‘The following abbreviations are wed: Jane=C. von Jan, Muse soiptres Grae (Leipsig 1899): D=L. Deuter, Fanblicus, De via Pytheeie(Leipsig 1937); Diking = 1. Daring, Pulm, Hanmante (GBeborg t930): DupuiamJ. Dupuis, Thcon of Smyme, Expoie eran mathenutaram ad legend Plane wlio (Pais 1993); Hoche= R. Hoche, Nicmachar, Inrodutionis arate Hib (Leipeig, 1863): Wieningtot-ingrar ington-Ingram, Aries Quitilianus, De masa (Leipzig 196), The tretne has come down to us in three books designated in most ofthe MSS by the title, “The Harmonic Elements of Aristoxenus.” That i hat been compl {om at many 21 three of four works ofthe author at been suggested by scholars on the busi of various inconsstencics, repetitions and omisions in its treatment ofthe sbject ‘The first book defines the scope of harmonics and its subsidiary subjects, che second redefines it exablihing the principles (cha) from which is awe are deduced, che third ‘comprises theorems and proofs in the manner of Eucis Elements, breakin off abruptly inthe course of examining the species ofa fourth Missing elements of the theory may be deduced from material contained in treatises writen centaries later 2, for example, Ceonides, Hagog? Hermonlt and Gaudentins, Harenikt lapet, which purport to tranumit Avinoxenian docrine. It is not certain, however, that there writers have Iranded down the theory without coruption. Cf. R. P. Winnington-Ingram, Mode dn Ancient Crerk Mai Cambridge 1936) 11. Scholatly opinion on the problem of the work's lick of unity and its probable compilation from a multiplicity of treaties is Alscused by Macran above, note 1) 89-92. More recently the question has been given penetrating analysis by 1 da Rios, Araaven! Elementa Harmonica (Rome 1954) wh the" Prolegomena" (vi-cxvi),preestsher own well considered throught cxvi-cx¥i). 11, Henderson, Ancient Greek Musi" The New Oxford History of Music (Ancewt snd Orel Masi, eB. Wellese (London 1957) 143. Vol. 103] “‘sywasts” IN ARISTOXENIAN THEORY 213 and comprehension of music. The importance of Aristoxenus’ theory resides then not primarily in its description of musical phenom- ena, however crucial for our knowledge of Greek music this may be, but, more fundamentally, in its delineation of the possibilities for such phenomena to occur. ‘The mental process by which music is conceptualized and translated into sound and performance is represented by Aristoxenus in the a priori notion of musical synesis or intuition. In his words (Harm, at) for, fact, the uhimate factor in every visible activity isthe intellectual process [synesis]. For thi latter is the presiding and determining principle; _andasfor the hands, voice, mouth or breath—it is an error to suppose that they are very much more than inanimate instruments. -And if this intellectual activity [syuesis] is something hidden deep down in the soul, and is not palpable or apparent to the ordinary man, a8 the operation of the hand and the like are apparent, we must not on that account alter our views. We shall be sure to miss the truth unless we place the supreme and ultimate, not in the thing determined, but inthe activity that determines, The activity that determines is conceived by Aristoxenus to be # ris povorniis Eveos (Harm, 33) ot musical intuition, In effecr, Aristoxenus’ theory of music may be regarded as his answer to the question, What is music? The nature of music, whose deeper ‘meaning the probings of science and empiricism were unable to reveal, ‘was understood by Aristoxenus to be an activity of the human mind, For him, musical thought was a reality, the ultimate cause of the musical art that, objectified through performance, could be understood by other minds. In this respect, Aristoxenus’ theory of music may be enlisted as evidence for Aristotle's dictum (EN 11goa12~t4): “All art is concerned with creation, and to practice an art is to contemplate how to create something that admits of existence or non-existence, and the efficient cause of which is in the maker but not in the thing made.” For Aristoxenus the efficient cause of music is a mental faculty, termed by him synesis. ‘The method adopted by Aristoxenus for determining the nature of ‘music was to abstract from musical activity a cognitive system in which “English tranaations are those of Macran (above, note 1).