Music & Dance
Event Title
Musical, Textual, and Historical Allusions to Freemasonry in The Magic Flute
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Music & Dance
Start Date
11-4-2014 10:45 AM
End Date
11-4-2014 12:00 PM
Sponsor
Nicholas Johnson (Butler University)
Description
Struggling to create an anonymous revolution of thought, the Freemasons were forced to endorse their ideals through indirect yet seemingly conspicuous efforts due to the controversy these principles caused among the Catholic Church and patriarchal society. Many of the beliefs of Freemasons were publicized using music as a pathway, with Wolfgang Mozart defining this form of propaganda. Current literature describes the textual, musical, and historical allusions to the founding ideologies of freemasonry in Mozart's Magic Flute. However, despite the abundance of evidence tying the musical composition or literary analysis to Freemasonry, an amalgamation of these elements in The Magic Flute has yet to be written. By uniting the musical and textual inferences and adding historical parallels of freemasonry in The Magic Flute, I contend that the purpose of this opera indisputably promotes the ideals of freemasonry: unification of mankind through the bonds of brotherhood and equality.
Throughout the history of the Freemasons, music emphasized the fraternity of mankind, acting as an equalizer between upper and lower classes. Freemasons embodied these ideals in the three "pillars" of masonry: wisdom, strength, and beauty, represented in each member and Lodge. Masonic influence in music incorporates this through the growth of two characters, Tamino and Sarastro, as both embody these three "pillars" of masonry. Both characters mature to adopt the values a Freemason would possess through the libretto and musical composition in The Magic Flute, imbedding incognito messages of the Freemasons in the foundation of this opera and confirming Freemason presence in this work.
Musical, Textual, and Historical Allusions to Freemasonry in The Magic Flute
Indianapolis, IN
Struggling to create an anonymous revolution of thought, the Freemasons were forced to endorse their ideals through indirect yet seemingly conspicuous efforts due to the controversy these principles caused among the Catholic Church and patriarchal society. Many of the beliefs of Freemasons were publicized using music as a pathway, with Wolfgang Mozart defining this form of propaganda. Current literature describes the textual, musical, and historical allusions to the founding ideologies of freemasonry in Mozart's Magic Flute. However, despite the abundance of evidence tying the musical composition or literary analysis to Freemasonry, an amalgamation of these elements in The Magic Flute has yet to be written. By uniting the musical and textual inferences and adding historical parallels of freemasonry in The Magic Flute, I contend that the purpose of this opera indisputably promotes the ideals of freemasonry: unification of mankind through the bonds of brotherhood and equality.
Throughout the history of the Freemasons, music emphasized the fraternity of mankind, acting as an equalizer between upper and lower classes. Freemasons embodied these ideals in the three "pillars" of masonry: wisdom, strength, and beauty, represented in each member and Lodge. Masonic influence in music incorporates this through the growth of two characters, Tamino and Sarastro, as both embody these three "pillars" of masonry. Both characters mature to adopt the values a Freemason would possess through the libretto and musical composition in The Magic Flute, imbedding incognito messages of the Freemasons in the foundation of this opera and confirming Freemason presence in this work.