The Music of the Spheres

“This is my Father’s World, and to my listening ears, all natures sings and around me rings the music of the spheres.” -- Reverend Maltbie Davenport Babcock.

Recently I witnessed the Aurora Borealis. I am not often outside during the times it is generally seen. But early one morning, I happened to look out the north-facing window of my house and there it was: undulating sheets of bluish-green plasma on top of a background of brilliant stars shining in a black sky.

I watched an airplane fly through from the northeast towards the southwest and considered what the pilot’s perspective would be of such a view from his altitude. I stood there long enough to see a satellite sail pass. I began to wonder if the geomagnetic frequencies could be heard by human ears.

After a quick Google search, it turns out there are rare sounds which can be heard by human ears, verified by Finnish researchers and recorded in 2016, though most sounds occur at altitudes too high for hearing on the ground. However, for centuries sounds like “rustling silk or two boards clapping together” have been reported by various peoples living in the far northern hemisphere.

At this point I began to hear a song from my childhood, This is My Father’s World, playing in my head. It was originally a 16-stanza poem penned by the Reverend Maltbie Davenport Babcock, published in 1901, which was later set to music by composer Franklin L. Shepherd. I loved singing it as a child and I still do.

One stanza in particular caught my attention, “This is my Father's world, And to my listening ears, All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres. This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; His hand the wonders wrought.” It led me on a life’s journey to find out about the music of the spheres.

I discovered Johannes Kepler, a German philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer who lived from 1530 – 1630. He developed a theory of harmonics between the planets of the solar system, which became known as “tThe Music of the Spheres”. He gave us three basic laws of planetary motion that remain valid today.

Gustav Holst tried to capture the music of the spheres in his composition called The Planets, first performed in 1918. It consists of seven movements: Mars, the Bringer of War; Venus the Bringer of Peace; Mercury, the Winged Messenger; Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity; Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age, Uranus, the Magician; and Neptune, the Magician.

Modern science has also shown that there are frequencies associated with nature, the earth itself has a specific frequency called the Schumann resonance. Our bodies produce an electromagnetic field, as does everything in the world around us. Nature produces frequencies with both a positive and a negative effect on us. Walking in the forest or along a beach can be calming, while experiencing the effects of a geomagnetic storm has been proved to negatively affect our health.

Music itself is an organized expression of harmonic frequencies which interact with our soul in various ways. It can inspire us to act according to our highest humanity or it can drag us down into the depths of despair. It can make us behave in ways that are surprising, like the riot that erupted in 1913 at the first performance of Igor Stravinski’s The Rite of Spring.

Pythagoras, an ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher said, “The highest goal of music is to connect one’s soul to their Divine Nature, not entertainment.”

A whole book in the Old Testament, the Psalms, is dedicated to worshiping God through poetry and music.

The Apostle Paul and Timothy wrote to the Christians living in Colossae, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (KJV Colossians 3:16)

Several years ago, I learned a song in the Cherokee language called The Morning Song. The lyrics remind the singer that they are of the Great Spirit. I often sing it to my grandchildren as a lullaby. Later I learned that the Navajo people also have a tradition of singing at the rising of the sun. I decided to honor my Native American ancestors by creating that tradition in my own life.

When the weather is good and not too cold, I go out on my deck and sing a song in the early morning hours. I have three that I favor: For the Beauty of the Earth, All Creatures of Our God and King, and This is My Father’s World. They remind me that I have a legitimate place in the universe, that I am a child of God, and that I am connected with both the natural world and the spiritual world.

This is the sound of my Faith and I’m sticking with it.

Karen Murray is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, experiencing life as a wife, mother, grandmother, author/writer, family historian, and political activist.