Music of Heaven: Hearing and Judging Liturgical Music in the Spanish Golden Age

Abstract

This article examines the metaphor of música del cielo (music of heaven) as a lens for understanding how early modern Spanish audiences heard and evaluated liturgical music. It reframes this ubiquitous motif not as mere ornament, but as a shared narrative that shaped perception, judgment, and devotional experience. Drawing on close readings of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century printed sources—spanning theological, ascetical, devotional, and historiographical writings—and informed by auditory history and cognitive linguistics, this study situates the notion of “music of heaven” within the broader cultural and theological landscape of early modern Spain. A systematic analysis of these sources shows that the concept circulated widely across genres and religious orders, linking heavenly perfection to earthly sound and offering implicit criteria of value. It mediated questions of identity and authority, and functioned as an interpretative framework that could shape expectations, affective responses, and modes of listening in worship. By demonstrating how a culturally powerful metaphor organized both listening practices and the evaluation of liturgical music, this article contributes to ongoing work in auditory history.