Semiotic Perspectives on the Notion of the Sacred in the Music of Different Cultures

Abstract

One of the essential dimensions of human spirituality is the relationship with the sacred sphere and it has always been expressed in music. The sound organization of music composed and performed under the sign of sacredness is as diverse as the multitude of conceptions related to divinity. This study analyses the relationship between the different syntactic patterns of sacred music materials that serve as a sign (representamen) and spiritual realities for which they stand for (object) with reference to practical implications and conceptual space in which they are described (interpretant). The analysis of Islamic, African, and European cultures will reveal the association and interdependence between different worldviews and specific syntactic patterns.