Theological Aspects of Music from the Point of View of Flavius Aurelius Cassiodorus

Abstract

This article is an attempt to present the main themes of the theology of music from the point of view of Cassiodorus (c. 485-580). He spent his life trying to preserve Greco-Roman cultural traditions, and worked to harmonise the culture of the ancient with that of the Christian world. He helped to save ancient culture at a time of impending barbarism, and was a model of cultural encounter, dialogue and reconciliation. Cassiodorus founded Vivarium, a coenobitic community in which everything was organised in such a way that an individual monk’s intellectual work was highly esteemed. For church men like Cassiodorus, the great value of the liberal arts, including music, inspired the intelligence needed by Christians to understand Scripture. His works on music are particularly valuable for the study of the early beginnings of church music. Cassiodorus’s rich scientific achievements in this field make him a forerunner of theological reflection on music.