WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 47The sky is an endless source
of inspiration for artists and composers.
Here’s a look back at how the stars
have inf luenced music. by Joel Davis
as they move through the sky? The idea
of the “music of the spheres” is at least
2,500 years old. The Greek philosopher
Pythagoras of Samos (ca. 570–490 B.C.)
noticed that simple mathematical ratios
exist among harmonious frequencies. He
proposed that the Moon, Sun and planētes
asters (“wandering stars”) all produced
a kind of metaphysical “hum” as they
moved in their paths around Earth. These
sounds, the “music of the spheres,” were
undetectable by the human ear, but inf lu-
enced the quality of all life on Earth.
Today, the music of the spheres is noth-
ing more than a fascinating piece of archaic
philosophy. But another kind of celestial
music has been around for centuries: songs
and other music about or inspired by astro-
nomical objects or events. They include
classical oratorios, jazz standards, folk
songs, and even a few rock ’n’ roll tunes.
Handel’s total eclipse
A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon
passes in front of the Sun as seen from
Earth, and completely blocks the Sun’s
disk. The dark inner lunar shadow races
across Earth’s surface, cutting a narrow
path of totality in which night brief ly
falls. Totality lasts only a few minutes for
observers along the path. For example, at
its longest, the total eclipse of August 21,
2017, lasted for 2 minutes, 41.6 seconds
near Carbondale, Illinois. For most of
human history, solar eclipses were mysteri-
ous, terrifying events, omens of disaster.
But they also might have been sources of
artistic inspiration — it is quite possible
that a solar eclipse (or maybe two!) inf lu-
enced one of the greatest Baroque compos-
ers and one of his most famous works.
On May 3, 1715, a solar eclipse traced a
path of totality in England from Cornwall
across London to Norfolk. Totality lasted
for 3 minutes, 33 seconds in London. On
May 22, 1724, another total solar eclipse
was visible at sunset from southern Wales
to Sussex. The path of totality ran south of
London. At the time both eclipses occurred,
George Frideric Handel was among
London’s citizens.Handel was born in 1685 in Germany,
and while still a boy he showed great musi-
cal talent. After attending university, he
took positions as a cathedral organist, a
violinist and harpsichordist, and later a
composer and performer for Catholic car-
dinals in Italy. Handel moved to England
in 1710, and by 1713 he was living in
Barnes, about 6 miles (10 kilometers)
southwest of central London.
Four years later, he had moved
to the northwest part of
London, and in 1723, he bought
a mansion in the exclusive
Mayfair district of central
London, where he lived for the
rest of his life.
It was in London that Handel
became famous, and his magnifi-
cent Messiah sealed his fame for
the ages. When Handel finished
Messiah in 1741, he immediately
began another project. Like
Messiah, this would be an oratorio,
a large musical composition for
orchestra, choir, and soloists, with
identifiable characters and arias.
He titled the new project Samson.
The text (by Irish writer Newburgh
Hamilton) was based on John
Milton’s dramatic poem Samson
Agonistes, a retelling of the famousDO THE MOON AND THE PLANETS SING
Left: The Leonid meteor storm of April 1833
produced hundreds of thousands of meteors
and struck awe and wonder into all who saw it.
Among them was Joseph Harvey Waggoner,
whose account inspired artist Karl Jauslin
to paint the storm. This image, in turn, is
an engraving produced by Adolf Vollmy,
based on Jauslin’s painting. ADOLF VOLLMY
George Frideric Handel is one of many artists
struck by inspiration upon viewing a total solar
eclipse. The composer likely witnessed at least
one, if not both, of the total solar eclipses that
crossed England in 1715 and 1724. THOMAS HUDSON;
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS: PHROODRight: In 1619, Johannes Kepler published
Harmonices Mundi (Harmony of the Worlds).
In it, he looks for “harmonies” analogous
to those between musical notes in the
distances and speeds of planets in the
solar system. While no such harmonies
appeared to exist with regard to planetary
distances, he did discover a pattern
governing a planet’s speed with respect
to its position in its orbit — this would
become Kepler’s third law. JOHANNES KEPLER:
HARMONICES MUNDI, LINZ 1619; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS: URS WERRA