Music and the Theosophical Movement

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Musicians influenced by Theosophy

• Alexander Scriabin was a Russian pianist and composer who was much influenced by Theosophy and by the Symbolist movement in the visual arts.

• Cyril Scott was an English composer and Theosophist.

• John Foulds was an English composer and Theosophist.

• Maud MacCarthy was an English composer and Theosophist.

• Dane Rudhyar was a French-American composer, writer, artist, and astrologer.

• Charles Wakefield Cadman was an American composer who was a member of the American Theosophical Society. Many of his compositions were in classical formats, but he was especially known for his adaptations of Native American themes and instruments.

• Agustín Pío Barrios was a Paraguayan composer and virtuoso performer of classical guitar music who was influenced by Theosophy. He sometimes used the names Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga Mangoré in homage to Paraguay's native Guarani culture.

• Vahdah Olcott-Bickford was an American guitarist, teacher, composer, arranger, and writer. Her Guitar Method, Op. 25, and the Advanced Course, Op. 116, continue to be highly influential. She and her husband Zarh Bickford were avid astrologers and had many connections to the Theosophical Movement.

Additional resources

Articles

• Theosophy and Music at Theosopedia.

Books and pamphlets

• Arundale, Rukmini Devi. Dance and Music. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1952. 16 pages.
• Sturzaker, James. Sound and Color. Theosophical Order of Service, 197x. 16 pages.