Episode 219 – Composing the Cosmos, with Meredith Rigby
Summary
Meredith discusses her doctoral dissertation on how 20th-century musical tropes function as myths that orient humans toward the cosmos. She analyzes four key figures: the space fanfare, the music of the spheres, the drone, and the wordless female chorus. The episode explores whether these recurring patterns stem from cultural diffusion or spontaneous resonance with cosmic archetypes. It concludes with a deep dive into the siren trope, examining how off-stage vocals in works like Holst’s The Planets create an uncanny, immersive experience of ultimate mystery.
Topics discussed
Promo: Eric Davis on Philip K. Dick and Blade Runner
Intro: Bernstein's 'The Unanswered Question'
Structure and meaning of Ives' composition
Meredith's dissertation on musical myths
Events: Dream Mapping Symposium and HitchCon
Banter: Hands, Labyrinth, and Halloween anecdotes
The 'Space Fanfare' trope in film music
Other tropes: Signal-response and Leggett's chorus
Diffusion vs. cosmic patterns in music
Drones, Om, and the fundamental tone
Transmission of knowledge vs. spontaneous wonder
Mythic structures: In-universe vs. out-of-universe
The Sirens trope: History and gender
Dreams, surrender, and the wordless chorus
Mysterium tremendum: Human vs. non-human voices
Holst's 'The Planets' and the fade-out effect
Off-stage choirs and imaginal separation
Neo-speculative music: Mythifying science
Messiaen, synesthesia, and cosmological vision
Disenchantment, Bergson, and the mysticism of science
Coexisting with mystery: Art, science, and truth
Musicology, video games, and the singing universe
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