The Comparative Methodology of the Orientalist Henry George Farmer in Writing the History of Islamic and Western Music

Abstract

Henry George Farmer, after )60( years of research and collecting manuscripts and books from European and Eastern libraries, gathered more than 1,600 books on music. He identified the contributions of Muslim scholars and Western scholars in the field of music.

Through the method he employed in writing the history of music, he compared the texts and musical instruments of Muslim scholars with those of famous musicians of the Middle Ages. He demonstrated the influence of that knowledge on the theoretical foundations of European music. He also refuted the claims of most earlier Orientalists and, with verified scientific evidence, established the position of Muslim scholars in the science of music. Furthermore, he discovered two theories of Islamic music within the history of sciences.

Thanks to his comparative methodology, Farmer traced the origins of music theory back to Islamic civilization, a theory not found in earlier civilizations. He considered Ishaq al-Mawsili the originator of this theory, which persisted until the 13th century CE. The most prominent example was Safi al-Din's theory of "Nuzum" (arrangement), which influenced Western music. Despite numerous criticisms, this theory remains valid. Spanish music theory, a source for Western music, arose under the influence of Islamic music theory. Muslim scholars in Spain played a crucial role in transmitting this theory to Spain. As a result of his comparative methodology, Farmer corrected many historical inaccuracies regarding the invention of musical instruments. He traced the origins of over 90 musical instruments to Eastern peoples, documenting the history of each instrument and identifying their influence on European musicology.