Reading Boethius and Listening to his Music

 


 I am thoroughly enjoying a rereading of The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius.  His full name is Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. I discovered him during graduate school and have returned to him from time to time.

Boethius was a Christian and humanist scholar who lived from 480-524.  He is one of the last Romans to be able to read and speak well both Greek and Latin.  He translated a number of Greek works into Latin for the enrichment of Latin only readers. Out of duty (the Roman sense of piety), he served in government under the Osgothic King Theodoric.  Rome was sacked by the Visgoths in AD 410.  Gibbon and others date the fall of the Roman Empire as 476.  Boethius wrote and lived at the end of an era and the dawning of the dreadful Dark Ages. 

Boethius was a Nicene Christian.  Theodoric was Arian.  Boethius got caught up in political intrigue and was accused by Theodoric and his supporters of treason.  In 523 he was arrested and sent to Pavia, Italy to await trial, sentencing, and execution.  During his time in prison, he wrote the Consolation of Philosophy.  

Should you read the Consolation you will note a number of things.  I highlight two. First, while Boethius is a Christian, he did not make a Christian confession in the Consolation.  He chose instead to offer an engaging philosophical conversation about fortune, providence, and happiness.  His dialogue partner is Lady Philosophy.  

A second observation you will note is that the Consolation oscillates between narrative and poems.  The poems were intended by Boethius to be sung, not spoken.  Book III begins "She finished singing, and the melody hung in the air, its sweetness still in my ears, which were eager for more." 

Imagine my delight the other day to learn that some ambitious scholars at Cambridge University in England have reconstructed the music that went with the poems.  Below are a couple of links that include an explanation of what the scholars did and how, and demonstrations of the music.  This is music that has not been heard for over a thousand years.  Sung in latin and played on period instruments.  Beautiful!

Reconstructing the Music of the Consolation

Boethius: Songs of Consolation (Sequentia with lyrics from manuscripts)


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