Meanings
music of the spheres1
alternative Music of the Spheres
- uncountableA continuous, glorious, harmonious set of sounds that are not audible to ordinary human beings, said in ancient and medieval Western cosmology to be produced by the movement of the celestial bodies.
Like that same mystic music of the spheres, Which no one hears, so loudly though it rings
1824 March 26, [Lord Byron], Don Juan. Cantos XV. and XVI., London: […] [C. H. Reynell] for John and H[enry] L[eigh] Hunt, […], →OCLC, canto XV, stanza LXXVII4 more examples
For sure the milder planets did combine On thy auspicious horoscope to shine . . . And then, if ever, mortal ears Had heard the music of the spheres
1685, John Dryden, "To Mrs Anne Killigrew"He said that, the people of their island had their ears adapted to hear "the music of the spheres . . .".
1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, (please specify |part=I to IV)Like most dreamers, to whom it is given sometimes to hear the music of the spheres, Heyst, the wanderer of the Archipelago, had a taste for silence.
1915, Joseph Conrad, chapter 1, in Victory: An Island TaleWe once believed in the music of the spheres but now we hear silence—static and silence.
2006 March 12, Harvey Shapiro, "God Poem" in The Sights Along the Harbor (excerpt), New York Times (retrieved 17 Jan 2016) - figurativelyuncountableSublime, mysterious music.
A further wave of fluorescent balloons gently deflated, exhaling into miniature harmonicas to breathe an eerie music of the spheres.
1996 October 17, Judith Palmer, “Culture: EVENT The Incident ICA, London”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 17 Jan 20162 more examples
As its imagery becomes more surreal and mystically abstract, Mr. Glass's ethereal electronic score, which suggests a Himalyan music of the spheres, gathers force and energy.
1997 December 24, Stephen Holden, “Movie Review: Kundun”, in New York Times, retrieved 17 Jan 2016The last works of Beethoven—the Symphony No. 9, the "Missa Solemnis," the late string quartets, the final piano pieces and the variations—are music of the spheres, mercurial, mysterious and never to be entirely understood.
2002 Sept. 19, Tim Page, "'Diabelli' Variations: Beethoven Heard the Cosmic in the Trivial," Washington Post (retrieved 17 Jan 2016)Synonyms: harmony of the spheres, musica universalis
Music of the Spheres2
- alternativeuncountableAlternative form of music of the spheres.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSublime, mysterious music.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 音樂宇宙 /音乐宇宙
- 音樂宇宙 /音乐宇宙 (yīnyuè yǔzhòu)music produced by celestial bodies
Dutch harmonie der sferen, muziek der sferen
- harmonie der sferenmusic produced by celestial bodies
- muziek der sferenmusic produced by celestial bodies
- wereldmuziekmusic produced by celestial bodies
Estonian sfääride muusika
- sfääride muusikamusic produced by celestial bodies
Finnish sfäärien musiikki
- sfäärien musiikkimusic produced by celestial bodies
French musique des sphères, harmonie des sphères
- musique des sphèresmusic produced by celestial bodies
- harmonie des sphèresmusic produced by celestial bodies
German Sphärenharmonie, Sphärenmusik
- Sphärenharmoniemusic produced by celestial bodies
- Sphärenmusikmusic produced by celestial bodies
Greek μουσική των σφαιρών
- μουσική των σφαιρών (mousikí ton sfairón)music produced by celestial bodies
Italian musica delle sfere, armonia delle sfere
- musica delle sferemusic produced by celestial bodies
- armonia delle sferemusic produced by celestial bodies
- armonia universalemusic produced by celestial bodies
- musica universalemusic produced by celestial bodies
Latin mūsica ūniversālis, mūsica mundāna
- mūsica ūniversālismusic produced by celestial bodies
- mūsica mundānamusic produced by celestial bodies
Polish muzyka sfer niebieskich
- muzyka sfer niebieskichmusic produced by celestial bodies
Romanian muzica sferelor
- muzica sferelormusic produced by celestial bodies
Spanish armonía de las esferas
- armonía de las esferasmusic produced by celestial bodies
Swedish sfärernas harmoni
- sfärernas harmonimusic produced by celestial bodies
Welsh cynghanedd y bydoedd fry, cytgord y bydoedd uwchben
- cynghanedd y bydoedd frymusic produced by celestial bodies
- cytgord y bydoedd uwchbenmusic produced by celestial bodies
- y gynghanedd nefolmusic produced by celestial bodies
Cite this entry
music of the spheres. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/music%20of%20the%20spheres
“music of the spheres.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/music%20of%20the%20spheres. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “music of the spheres,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/music%20of%20the%20spheres.
Source: music of the spheres on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.