Musical Scores and the Eternal Present: Theology, Time, and Tolkien - Paperback

by Chiara Bertoglio (Author)

Music is played and heard in time, yet it is also embodied in space by musical scores. The observation of a musical score turns time into space and allows musicians to embrace the flow of time in a single glance. This experience constitutes a symbol for the Eternal Present, the simultaneous knowledge of all time outside time. This book analyzes the implications of this view through a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, linking theology, philosophy, literature, and music. It also studies how this theme has been foreshadowed in the writings of Dante and J. R. R. Tolkien, demonstrating the connections between their masterpieces and the aesthetics of their times. The result is a fascinating itinerary through the history of culture, thought, and music, but also a deeply theological and spiritual experience.

Author Biography

Chiara Bertoglio is a professional concert pianist with a PhD in Musicology, a MA in History of Theological Thought and another in Systematic Theology, and a "Licenza in teologia" at the Pontifical University S. Anselmo (Rome). She is the author of several books, including Reforming Music (2017). She is winner of the RefoRC Award and finalist at the Alberigo Prize. She teaches at several institutions, including theological universities. Visit her website at www.chiarabertoglio.com.