the ocular harpsichord of louis-bertrand castel - Gewina
the ocular harpsichord of louis-bertrand castel - Gewina
the ocular harpsichord of louis-bertrand castel - Gewina
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
72 Maarten Franssen<br />
Summary<br />
In <strong>the</strong> first part <strong>of</strong> this essay an overview is presented <strong>of</strong> Castel's <strong>the</strong>ory <strong>of</strong> colour music and <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>ocular</strong> <strong>harpsichord</strong>. It is investigated to what extent he succeeded in building his <strong>harpsichord</strong>,<br />
concluding that various models have existed, none <strong>of</strong> which could perform up to Castel's expectations.<br />
Nor did anyone else succeed in this. In <strong>the</strong> second part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> essay contemporary<br />
comments (up till 1819) on <strong>the</strong> <strong>ocular</strong> <strong>harpsichord</strong> and on <strong>the</strong> idea <strong>of</strong> colour music are analysed. It<br />
is shown that <strong>the</strong>se comments fit in with <strong>the</strong> search for a more empiricist aes<strong>the</strong>tics in <strong>the</strong> second<br />
half <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> eighteenth century, and with an increasing emphasis on <strong>the</strong> special status <strong>of</strong> music that<br />
was a part <strong>of</strong> this development.<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> Philosophy<br />
University <strong>of</strong> Amsterdam<br />
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 15<br />
1012 CP Amsterdam<br />
The Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands
Change language