Before closing this little treatise it will perhaps be of interest to
our readers to give a few examples of another type of forms unknown to
those who are confined to the physical senses as their means of
obtaining information. Many people are aware that sound is always
associated with colour--that when, for example, a musical note is
sounded, a flash of colour corresponding to it may be seen by those
whose finer senses are already to some extent developed. It seems not to
be so generally known that sound produces form as well as colour, and
that every piece of music leaves behind it an impression of this nature,
which persists for some considerable time, and is clearly visible and
intelligible to those who have eyes to see. Such a shape is perhaps not
technically a thought-form--unless indeed we take it, as we well may,
as the result of the thought of the composer expressed by means of the
skill of the musician through his instrument.
Some such forms are very striking and impressive, and naturally their
variety is infinite. Each class of music has its own type of form, and
the style of the composer shows as clearly in the form which his music
builds as a man's character shows in his handwriting. Other
possibilities of variation are introduced by the kind of instrument upon
which the music is performed, and also by the merits of the player. The
same piece of music if accurately played will always build the same
form, but that form will be enormously larger when it is played upon a
church organ or by a military band than when it is performed upon a
piano, and not only the size but also the texture of the resultant form
will be very different. There will also be a similar difference in
texture between the result of a piece of music played upon a violin and
the same piece executed upon the flute. Again, the excellence of the
performance has its effect, and there is a wonderful difference between
the radiant beauty of the form produced by the work of a true artist,
perfect alike in expression and execution, and the comparatively dull
and undistinguished-looking one which represents the effort of the
wooden and mechanical player. Anything like inaccuracy in rendering
naturally leaves a corresponding defect in the form, so that the exact
character of the performance shows itself just as clearly to the
clairvoyant spectator as it does to the auditor.
It is obvious that, if time and capacity permitted, hundreds of volumes
might be filled with drawings of the forms built by different pieces of
music under different conditions, so that the most that can be done
within any reasonable compass is to give a few examples of the leading
types. It has been decided for the purposes of this book to limit these
to three, to take types of music presenting readily recognisable
contrasts, and for the sake of simplicity in comparison to present them
all as they appeared when played upon the same instrument--a very fine
church organ. In each of our Plates the church shows as well as the
thought-form which towers far into the air above it; and it should be
remembered that though the drawings are on very different scales the
church is the same in all three cases, and consequently the relative
size of the sound-form can easily be calculated. The actual height of
the tower of the church is just under a hundred feet, so it will be seen
that the sound-form produced by a powerful organ is enormous in size.
Such forms remain as coherent erections for some considerable time--an
hour or two at least; and during all that time they are radiating forth
their characteristic vibrations in every direction, just as our
thought-forms do; and if the music be good, the effect of those
vibrations cannot but be uplifting to every man upon whose vehicles they
play. Thus the community owes a very real debt of gratitude to the
musician who pours forth such helpful influences, for he may affect for
good hundreds whom he never saw and will never know upon the physical
plane.
_Mendelssohn._--The first of such forms, a comparatively small and
simple one, is drawn for us in Plate M. It will be seen that we have
here a shape roughly representing that of a balloon, having a scalloped
outline consisting of a double violet line. Within that there is an
arrangement of variously-coloured lines moving almost parallel with this
outline; and then another somewhat similar arrangement which seems to
cross and interpenetrate the first. Both of these sets of lines
evidently start from the organ within the church, and consequently pass
upward through its roof in their course, physical matter being clearly
no obstacle to their formation. In the hollow centre of the form float a
number of small crescents arranged apparently in four vertical lines.
[Illustration: PLATE M. MUSIC OF MENDELSSOHN]
Let us endeavour now to give some clue to the meaning of all this, which
may well seem so bewildering to the novice, and to explain in some
measure how it comes into existence. It must be recollected that this is
a melody of simple character played once through, and that consequently
we can analyse the form in a way that would be quite impossible with a
larger and more complicated specimen. Yet even in this case we cannot
give all the details, as will presently be seen. Disregarding for the
moment the scalloped border, we have next within it an arrangement of
four lines of different colours running in the same direction, the
outermost being blue and the others crimson, yellow, and green
respectively. These lines are exceedingly irregular and crooked; in
fact, they each consist of a number of short lines at various levels
joined together perpendicularly. It seems that each of these short lines
represents a note of music, and that the irregularity of their
arrangement indicates the succession of these notes; so that each of
these crooked lines signifies the movement of one of the parts of the
melody, the four moving approximately together denoting the treble,
alto, tenor and bass respectively, though they do not necessarily appear
in that order in this astral form. Here it is necessary to interpolate a
still further explanation. Even with a melody so comparatively simple as
this there are tints and shades far too finely modulated to be
reproduced on any scale at all within our reach; therefore it must be
said that each of the short lines expressing a note has a colour of its
own, so that although as a whole that outer line gives an impression of
blueness, and the one next within it of carmine, each yet varies in
every inch of its length; so that what is shown is not a correct
reproduction of every tint, but only the general impression.
The two sets of four lines which seem to cross one another are caused by
two sections of the melody; the scalloped edging surrounding the whole
is the result of various flourishes and arpeggios, and the floating
crescents in the centre represent isolated or staccato chords. Naturally
the arpeggios are not wholly violet, for each loop has a different hue,
but on the whole they approach more nearly to that colour than to any
other. The height of this form above the tower of the church is probably
a little over a hundred feet; but since it also extends downwards
through the roof of the church its total perpendicular diameter may well
be about a hundred and fifty feet. It is produced by one of
Mendelssohn's "Lieder ohne Wörte," and is characteristic of the delicate
filigree-work which so often appears as the result of his compositions.
The whole form is seen projected against a coruscating background of
many colours, which is in reality a cloud surrounding it upon every
side, caused by the vibrations which are pouring out from it in all
directions.
_Gounod._--In Plate G we have an entirely different piece--a ringing
chorus by Gounod. Since the church in the illustration is the same, it
is easy to calculate that in this case the highest point of the form
must rise fully six hundred feet above the tower, though the
perpendicular diameter of the form is somewhat less than that, for the
organist has evidently finished some minutes ago, and the perfected
shape floats high in the air, clearly defined and roughly spherical,
though rather an oblate spheroid. This spheroid is hollow, as are all
such forms, for it is slowly increasing in size--gradually radiating
outward from its centre, but growing proportionately less vivid and more
ethereal in appearance as it does so, until at last it loses coherence
and fades away much as a wreath of smoke might do. The golden glory
surrounding and interpenetrating it indicates as before the radiation of
its vibrations, which in this case show the dominant yellow in much
greater proportion than did Mendelssohn's gentler music.
[Illustration: PLATE G. MUSIC OF GOUNOD]
The colouring here is far more brilliant and massive than in Plate M,
for this music is not so much a thread of murmurous melody as a splendid
succession of crashing chords. The artist has sought to give the effect
of the chords rather than that of the separate notes, the latter being
scarcely possible on a scale so small as this. It is therefore more
difficult here to follow the development of the form, for in this much
longer piece the lines have crossed and intermingled, until we have
little but the gorgeous general effect which the composer must have
intended us to feel--and to see, if we were able to see. Nevertheless
it is possible to discern something of the process which builds the
form, and the easiest point at which to commence is the lowest on the
left hand as one examines the Plate. The large violet protrusion there
is evidently the opening chord of a phrase, and if we follow the outer
line of the form upward and round the circumference we may obtain some
idea of the character of that phrase. A close inspection will reveal two
other lines further in which run roughly parallel to this outer one, and
show similar successions of colour on a smaller scale, and these may
well indicate a softer repetition of the same phrase.
Careful analysis of this nature will soon convince us that there is a
very real order in this seeming chaos, and we shall come to see that if
it were possible to make a reproduction of this glowing glory that
should be accurate down to the smallest detail, it would also be
possible patiently to disentangle it to the uttermost, and to assign
every lovely touch of coruscating colour to the very note that called it
into existence. It must not be forgotten that very far less detail is
given in this illustration than in Plate M; for example, each of these
points or projections has within it as integral parts, at least the four
lines or bands of varying colour which were shown as separate in Plate
M, but here they are blended into one shade, and only the general effect
of the chord is given. In M we combined horizontally, and tried to show,
the characteristics of a number of successive notes blended into one,
but to keep distinct the effect of the four simultaneous parts by using
a differently-coloured line for each. In G we attempt exactly the
reverse, for we combine vertically, and blend, not the successive notes
of one part, but the chords, each probably containing six or eight
notes. The true appearance combines these two effects with an
inexpressible wealth of detail.
_Wagner._--No one who has devoted any study to these musical forms would
hesitate in ascribing the marvellous mountain-range depicted in Plate W
to the genius of Richard Wagner, for no other composer has yet built
sound edifices with such power and decision. In this case we have a vast
bell-shaped erection, fully nine hundred feet in height, and but little
less in diameter at the bottom, floating in the air above the church out
of which it has arisen. It is hollow, like Gounod's form, but, unlike
that, it is open at the bottom. The resemblance to the successively
retreating ramparts of a mountain is almost perfect, and it is
heightened by the billowy masses of cloud which roll between the crags
and give the effect of perspective. No attempt has been made in this
drawing to show the effect of single notes or single chords; each range
of mimic rocks represents in size, shape, and colour only the general
effect of one of the sections of the piece of music as seen from a
distance. But it must be understood that in reality both this and the
form given in Plate G are as full of minute details as that depicted in
Plate M, and that all these magnificent masses of colour are built up of
many comparatively small bands which would not be separately visible
upon the scale on which this is drawn. The broad result is that each
mountain-peak has its own brilliant hue, just as it is seen in the
illustration--a splendid splash of vivid colour, glowing with the glory
of its own living light, spreading its resplendent radiance over all
the country round. Yet in each of these masses of colour other colours
are constantly flickering, as they do over the surface of molten metal,
so that the coruscations and scintillations of these wondrous astral
edifices are far beyond the power of any physical words to describe.
[Illustration: PLATE W. MUSIC OF WAGNER]
A striking feature in this form is the radical difference between the
two types of music which occur in it, one producing the angular rocky
masses, and the other the rounded billowy clouds which lie between them.
Other _motifs_ are shown by the broad bands of blue and rose and green
which appear at the base of the bell, and the meandering lines of white
and yellow which quiver across them are probably produced by a rippling
arpeggio accompaniment.
In these three Plates only the form created directly by the
sound-vibrations has been drawn, though as seen by the clairvoyant it is
usually surrounded by many other minor forms, the result of the personal
feelings of the performer or of the emotions aroused among the audience
by the music. To recapitulate briefly: in Plate M we have a small and
comparatively simple form pourtrayed in considerable detail, something
of the effect of each note being given; in Plate G we have a more
elaborate form of very different character delineated with less detail,
since no attempt is made to render the separate notes, but only to show
how each chord expresses itself in form and colour; in Plate W we have a
still greater and richer form, in the depiction of which all detail is
avoided, in order that the full effect of the piece as a whole may be
approximately given.
Naturally every sound makes its impression upon astral and mental
matter--not only those ordered successions of sounds which we call
music. Some day, perhaps, the forms built by those other less euphonious
sounds may be pictured for us, though they are beyond the scope of this
treatise; meantime, those who feel an interest in them may read an
account of them in the little book on _The Hidden Side of Things_.[1]
It is well for us ever to bear in mind that there is a hidden side to
life--that each act and word and thought has its consequence in the
unseen world which is always so near to us, and that usually these
unseen results are of infinitely greater importance than those which are
visible to all upon the physical plane. The wise man, knowing this,
orders his life accordingly, and takes account of the whole of the world
in which he lives, and not of the outer husk of it only. Thus he saves
himself an infinity of trouble, and makes his life not only happier but
far more useful to his fellow-men. But to do this implies
knowledge--that knowledge which is power; and in our Western world such
knowledge is practically obtainable only through the literature of
Theosophy.
To exist is not enough; we desire to live intelligently. But to live we
must know, and to know we must study; and here is a vast field open
before us, if we will only enter upon it and gather thence the fruits of
enlightenment. Let us, then, waste no more time in the dark dungeons of
ignorance, but come forth boldly into the glorious sunshine of that
divine wisdom which in these modern days men call Theosophy.
[Footnote 1: By C.W. Leadbeater.]