Godwin, Joscelyn

Godwin, Joscelyn, English-born American musicologist, composer, and harpsichordist; b. Kelmscott, Jan. 16, 1945. He was educated at Christ Church Cathedral Choir School, Oxford (1952-58), Radley Coll. (1958-62), and Magdalene Coll., Cambridge (B.A., 1965; M.A., 1968). He became a Fellow of the Royal Coll. of Organists in 1965, and also studied at Cornell Univ. (Ph.D., 1969, with the diss. The Music of Henry Cowell). He was an instructor in music at Cleveland State Univ. (1969-71), and then joined the faculty of Colgate Univ. (1982). He has lectured widely in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. In 1980 he became a naturalized American citizen. While his compositions are occasion-ally performed, and he himself performs frequently as a conductor and an instrumentalist (most recently the harpsichord), he is best known as the author, editor, and translator of numerous books and articles dealing with mysticism and ancient philosophies in relation to music.

Writings

Music, Mysticism and Magic: A Sourcebook (London, 1986); Harmonies of Heaven and Earth: The Spiritual Dimension of Music from Antiquity to the Avant-Garde (London, 1987); The Mystery of the Seven Vowels in Theory and Practice (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1991); Music and the Occult: Trench Musical Philosophies 1750-1950 (Rochester, N.Y., 1995); with M. Embach, Johann Friedrich Von Dalberg (1760-1812): Schriftseller, Musiker, Domherr (Mainz, 1998).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire