373 - Matthew Wilkinson - Mystical Bach and the Breakdown of Music
The Symbolic World
For this interview I have a great discussion with organist, pianist, conductor, arranger, and recording artist Matthew Wilkinson, who also happened to put together the Symbolic World intro music. We delve into the symbolism of music, particularly focusing on Bach's organ works. The discussion also touches on the evolution of musical styles from the Baroque period to the Classical, modern and postmodern eras, the historical context of music, from the music of the spheres to modern dissonance, and how these concepts reflect broader ideas about hierarchy and opposites. Support Matthew Wilkinson's wonderful work: Check out his website and buy his CD: https://matthewwilkinson.net/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/24DSGAdbVt7by0JHEqTwMh?si=ZJlpdMkcSg6SfMvz7YbkFg YouTube: https://youtube.com/@matthewwilkinson2276?si=m1gbZgTSpOALVdq5 Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Learn more here: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/d-9FRODiDKM Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming up 00:56 - Intro music 01:21 - Introduction 02:18 - The album on Bach 05:38 - Trinitarian symbolism 14:49 - Meaning in structure vs outside it 20:15 - The hero's journey 22:05 - Signatures 25:06 - Subject and countersubject 26:19 - The organ 29:25 - Going through the entrances 32:39 - Various subjects 35:03 - Baroque 36:37 - Counterpoint 37:21 - Duality in music 40:14 - Music of the spheres 43:54 - Hierarchy in beats 47:15 - Glenn Gould 49:19 - The dialectic 51:04 - Hierarchy in music 55:16 - Music in the modern era 01:07:45 - Postmodernism 💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe 📱 SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pageaujonathan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan.pageau Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/ My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.