SOUND AND COLOUR

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 142, 20 June 1927, Page 12

SOUND AND COLOUR

AN ORDERED FORM

LECTURE TO MUSICIANS

"Sound, Colour, and Form" was Hid title of an eloquent nmt interesting lecture delivered. Nt tho monthly social meeting of tho Society of Professional Musicians by the president (Mr X Douglas Tayler, F.K.C.0., A.8.C.M.), at tho Pioneer Club on Saturday evening. . •

What, ho was going to suy, remarked Mr. Tayler, wns not necessarily to be taken as authoritative but na speculative,, at lenst bo far as ho was concerned, though Bomo might regard it as authoritative. The enjoyment of lifo— in fact, the very existence of life—depended, to a very largo extent upon putting things in order. The way in which tho Creator performed His creative work was by solocting-His materials and putting them in order in uccordanco with His plan. In tho beginning tho world was without form and void. In tho creative plan light eamo first, and light was the sourco of all colours, for light vibrations arranged in different ordor gavo us all the boauty of hue and tono of tho sunset, of the blue sky, and so on. Aftor light came air, and tho wonderfullyarranged vigrations of tho air, gave us the sound of the breeze, of tho wave breaking on the Bhoro, and all the beauties and harmonies—sometimes, alas, the discords—of music, both vocal and instrumental. Then came form; and what delight we got from tho ordered shapes of all tho beautiful things that make up our world! Sound, colour, and form all depended, in tho last analysis, upon vibrations; and recent scientific investigations had shown that sounds could be changed into patterns or forms, and the forms back again into sounds; also that each sound had its corresponding colour. It was possible by means of fine sound scattered over the eidophone, 'or musical plate, to find, for instance, the sound that produced the form of the daisy. Ho had indeed, a theory that the whole universe was held in shape by a great symphony of sound which was inaudible to our ears, but might be audible to ears of a more sensitive nature. He'believed that tho fundamental, the basic sound of the universe was C major, or "middle C»" as it was called; and that was doubtless the reason why Western musicians had, though unconsciously, chosen it as the basis of their system. Sounds could be changed into colours and colours into sounds. Everything, in fact, that was known to us by our five senses was known to us by reason of its vibrations. Some vibrations, like those of sound, were conveyed to us by air, while those of light and colour were conveyed to us by ether. All our five senses, in short, were differentiated forms of touch. Some people when they heard a sound saw at the same time . the corresponding colour. Sound colour and form made up our physical world almost entirely, and from the ordered arrangement of the vibration producing these came all forms of beauty. The ordered arrangement of sound, colour, and form constituted what we called art. There could be formed 24 scales of colour (twelve major and twelve minor) 'lorresponding to the twenty-four musial scales. This Mr. Tayler illustrated >y a number of coloured pictures in >astel corresponding to the twelve najor scales in music. Other illustraions showed that discord in sound and ack of harmony in colour also correspond. In similar fashion he showed the correspondences between sound and form .

All art was one, he said in conclusion, because it all sprang from the one source, the one God; and all science was one, the study of the laws of Nature, the laws of 7 God;? Man was the epitome of sound, light, and form;, and man was the son of God.

A number of vocal sblos, contributed by Miss Mary Shaw and Mr. Ivan Wilson, were greatly enjoyed by all present, and during an interval light refreshments were served.

Hearty votes of thanks were accorded the lecturer, the vocalists, and the accompaf^t.