“A tone is at the foundation of everything in the physical world.”

This is one of many astonishing statements made by Rudolf Steiner in this collection of lectures on the inner realities of music. These lectures are an unusual treasure, as they are the only series of lectures that Rudolf Steiner gave primarily on music (other than the lecture cycle for the tone eurythmy course, Eurythmy as Visible Singing). The lectures are supplemented by two question-and-answer sessions and two short addresses.

In the first group of four lectures, given in 1906, Steiner explains why music affects the human soul so powerfully. Music has always held a special position among the arts because it is the only art form whose archetype, or source, lies not in the physical world, as with architecture, sculpture, and painting, but purely in the spiritual world—the soul’s true home. Music thus directly expresses through tones the innermost essence of the cosmos, and our sense of wellbeing when we hear music comes from a recognition of our soul’s experience in the spiritual world.

In the later lectures and addresses, given between 1920 and 1923, Steiner discusses our experience of musical intervals and shows how it has undergone profound changes during the course of evolution. The religious effects of music in ancient times and the union of music with speech are considered, as well as the origin of musical instruments out of imaginations that accompanied singing. New insights are offered on the nature of the major and minor modes and on future directions of musical development.

This book is a brilliant and inspiring companion for anyone seeking deeper insight into the mystery of music.

Eight lectures, two question-and-answer sessions and two closing addresses, held in Cologne, Berlin, Leipzig, Dornach, and Stuttgart in 1906 and 1920 to 1923. GA 283

4 Blackboard Drawings in colour.

10 March 2025; Translated by Maria St. Goar, Alice Wulsin, Frederick Amrine, and Clifford Venho;; SB; 220pp; 235 x 152 mm; Paperback;