The Harmony of World: An Interview with Willie Ruff on his Kepler Project

INDEX
Origins of the Kepler Project (Charlie Parker, Paul Hindemith) 0:48
Music's Place in the Ancient Model of the 7 Liberal Arts 3:42
Willie Ruff's Colloquium on Rhythm (Warren McCulloch) 4:44
The Harmony of the World - A Realization by Ruff & Rodgers (animation by Tierney) 13:10
Kepler's Point of Maximum Planetary Consonance 16:03
Kepler's Interpretation of Earth's Axis 17:43
Ruff's Interdisciplinary Seminar on Rhythm 20:19
Approaching the Kepler Project Anew 23:31
Scott Petersen on Revisiting the Kepler Project with Ruff 26:22
The Kepler Project as a Teaching Tool 27:32
Scott Petersen - Aural Picture of the Solar System 29:32
Ruff's Upcoming Projects (Recorded Jazz - Edison's Talking Machine) 29:56
Credits 33:12
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In 1977 Willie Ruff and John Rodgers created a sonic realization of Johannnes Kepler's planetary data laid out in his 1619 treatise, "Harmonices Mundi" (Harmony of the World).

Kepler proved that the planets orbits were not perfect circles but ellipses. Differing from, but building upon ancient theories of "The Music of the Spheres" -- the idea that the planets, in both their proportions and circular orbits create cosmic music -- Kepler notated the elliptical periods of each planet on a musical staff.

For example, Mercury, the highest pitched (the shortest orbital period) spans a minor 10th. Earth's orbit, on the other hand, is nearly circular, spanning only a minor second (G-Ab). Kepler poetically postulated in the margins of his treatise that "The Earth sings MI FA MI, so that even from these syllables you may guess that in this home of ours MIsery and FAmine prevail"

In the Ruff and Rodgers realization, the slower frequencies of the outer (post-Keplerian) planets, Uranus, Neptune and (at the time) Pluto, are perceived, not as tones but as rhythmic beats.

I met with Willie at the Yale School of Music in the spring of 2013 to talk about the original Kepler project and his plans for revisiting it with Scott Petersen in the near future.

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~CREDITS~

CAMERA
Austin Case
Justin Tierney

AUDIO
Austin Case
Justin Tierney
Paolo Bortolameolli

EDITING
Justin Tierney

MUSIC
Intro and outro:
"Gypsy in My Soul" (Recorded Live)
Moe Jaffe & Clay Boland
A Mitchell-Ruff Interpretation
Willie Ruff, Bass
Dwike Mitchell, Piano
The Kepler Label

The Harmony of the World
Realized by Willie Ruff and John Rodgers
"The Planets From Mercury Outward"
The Kepler Label

SPECIAL THANKS
Willie Ruff
Scott Petersen
Austin Case
Libby Van Cleve
Paolo Bortolameolli
Oral History of American Music (OHAM)
Yale Department of Music (YalMusT)
Yale School of Music

http://www.willieruff.com/