The Lost Stradivarius Lecture: Evil Spirits, Possession & the Power of Music (Patreon)

"Alas! alas! for some the light is darkness.”

Tonight we’re talking about evil spirits, possession, flow states, and the divine (or demonic) power of music.

We’ll be leveraging J. Meade Falkner’s ghostly tale: ‘The Lost Stradivarius’ (1895).

Video Timestamps:

• 0:00 introduction to our talk
• 1:30 my discovery of the tale
• 3:20 the nightmare begins
• 5:00 tradition of fictional music
• 10:00 the Dionysian condition of music
• 13:00 painting, music, body & soul
• 15:00 music, nature & consciousness
• 17:30 can art be morally good or bad?
• 19:00 art as self-expression
• 22:00 the fear of evil music
• 23:00 music & ephemerality
• 24:00 repression & fear of death
• 26:00 existential dread & anxiety
• 31:00 evil in the name of good
• 35:00 life vs death
• 37:30 demonic passion/rage
• 40:00 the fear of the uncanny
• 42:00 states of flow
• 46:30 what does evil mean?
• 51:00 evil as external force
• 53:00 Aristotle’s ethics
• 55:00 the anxiety of neo-platonism
• 56:40 on peak experiences
• 58:20 the idea that all is one
• 1:00:00 God is the universe
• 1:05:00 the circle of the nous
• 1:11:00 ladder of consciousness
• 1:15:00 music & unconsciousness
• 1:16:45 the devil & the violin
• 1:19:00 the Stradivarius violin
• 1:21:20 types of possession
• 1:25:00 we are possessed instruments
• 1:26:00 the sins of the past
• 1:29:00 for some the light is darkness

Music Appreciation

Here are some works that have a reputation for bringing the listener to a state of ecstasy:

• The Beautiful Blue Danube (Strauss) 
• Ode to Joy, 9th Symphony (Beethoven) 
• The Planets: Neptune, The Mystic (Holst) 
• Ride of The Valkyries (Wagner) 

And here are some ‘Stradivarius’ videos for you to enjoy:

• Playing Vivaldi on the Stradivarius 
• Stradivarius Violin Talks To You 
• Bach Concert with Stradivarius 

Questions to ponder:

1) Have you ever been in a state of flow? If so, are you sure it wasn’t actually a state of possession?

2) Has a piece of music given you a peak experience?

3) Can art be morally good or evil?

4) What did you make of ‘The Lost Stradivarius?’

Happy reading, everybody!