''Phonurgia Nova'' ("New Science of Sound Production") is a 1673 work by the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

scholar

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Society of Jesus, Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jes ...

. It is notable for being the first book ever dedicated entirely to the science of

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

, and for containing the earliest description of an

aeolian harp An Aeolian harp (also wind harp) is a musical instrument that is played by the wind. Named after Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the wind, the traditional Aeolian harp is essentially a wooden box including a sounding board, with strings stretche ...

. It was dedicated to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and printed in

Kempten Kempten (; ) is the largest town of Allgäu, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by the Romans, who called the town ''Cambodunum''. K ...

by Rudoph Dreherr.

Purpose and argument

Kircher was prompted to write the work because

Samuel Morland Sir Samuel Morland, 1st Baronet (1625 – 30 December 1695), or Moreland, was an English academic, diplomat, spy, inventor and mathematician of the 17th century, a polymath credited with early developments in relation to computing, hydraulic ...

had published a claim to have invented the speaking trumpet. Kircher wished to defend his own priority in this invention, asserting that he had used a "tuba stentorophonica" for many years at the shrine of

Saint Eustace Saint Eustace (Latinized Eustachius or Eustathius, Greek Εὐστάθιος Πλακίδας ''Eustathios Plakidas'') is revered as a Christian martyr. According to legend, he was martyred in AD 118, at the command of emperor Hadrian. Eustace ...

at the :it:Santuario della Mentorella to broadcast calls for the faithful to come to mass. As evidence he referred to his own work ''

Musurgia Universalis ''Musurgia Universalis, sive Ars Magna Consoni et Dissoni'' ("The Universal Musical Art, or the Great Art of Consonance and Dissonance") is a 1650 work by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It was printed in Rome by Ludovico Grignani and dedi ...

'', published in 1650. The work is divided in two books. The first, the ''Phonosophia anacamptica'' offered a detailed examination of the phenomenon of the

echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

. He expounded his theory that sound moved in

sound waves In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

, bouncing off surfaces like light off a mirror; indeed the first chapter opens with the maxim “Sonus lucis simia est” (“sound is like light”). He also described the use of various designs of tube to pick up and amplify sound. As he developed his argument, Kircher described various devices of his own invention including speaking statues, musical instruments with internal mechanisms that generated unexpected harmonies, and the aeolian harp. The second book, ''Phonosophia nova'' discussed the influence of music on the human mind, and the therapeutic use of music. Among other things he looked in detail at

tarantism '' Lycosa tarantula'' carrying her offspring Tarantism ( ) is a form of hysteric behaviour originating in Southern Italy, popularly believed to result from the bite of the wolf spider '' Lycosa tarantula'' (distinct from the broad class of sp ...

Illustrations

The frontispiece of the work depicts, at the top, a choir and orchestra of angels gathered around a

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

representing the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

. Beneath them an allegorical figure of Fame flies across the heavens blowing her trumpet and carrying a banner proclaiming "Canit inclyta caeseris arma" ("She proclaims the Emperor's illustrious arms"). On the left sits

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

surrounded by the nine

Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Mount Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

and below them Pan leads a group celebrating a

bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in R ...

. On the right a group of Triton (mythology), tritons escort Poseidon across the sea, kettledrums and trumpets accompany a cavalry charge, and a huntsman blows his horn while chasing deer. In the centre the figure standing appears to be Fame once again, standing on a pedestal blowing a horn. She also holds a trumpet, into which putti are blowing from above, while beneath them a man speaks into a tube while facing the surface of the pedestal. An echo, denoted by a dotted line, carries the sound from the pedestal to the ear of a man reclining at the bottom of the illustration. The original artwork for the portrait of Emperor Leopold I was by Franz Georg Hermann and the frontispiece was by Felix Cheurier. The engravings for both were undertaken by Georg Andreas Wolfgang the Elder.

External links

digital copy of ''Phonurgia Nova''

References

{{reflist 1673 non-fiction books 1673 in science Acoustics Athanasius Kircher Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Illustrated books Apollo in art Pan (god) in art Triton (mythology) Poseidon Putti