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In the twelfth century Henri d’Autun asked the question: “May a minstrel expect to attain eternal life?”, and gave the reply: “Indeed not, for they are the ministers of the Devil”
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For others the Devil’s music is sweet, disturbing, mysterious, floating on the breeze to seduce the mind. For some the Devil and his accomplices know only how to produce discordant and raucous cries, while for others the Devil can be a virtuoso musician, whose art far surpasses that of any human and who on occasion takes human form in certain chosen instrumentalists. Those who have heard the Devil’s music or who have met the Devil musician, and have survived long enough to convey their impressions, are always very clear in what they say, often giving us very detailed descriptions. It is the very nature of the Devil to assume different forms, according to time and circumstance.
The oldest Devils
From the Middle Ages the Devil has left no music in written form—it would no doubt have burned the parchment! In any case, to hear that music would be far too dangerous. A thousand years ago, indeed long before the Devil of the Bible, he was nevertheless present among the Satyrs as the ancient god Pan, the inventor of the flute and the reed pipe. Or as Nimrod, the giant huntsman sounding his horn during his travels in Hell, the sound of which according to Dante is “more terrible than that of the horn of Roland”. Or as Sirens, playing or singing enchanting music to lead mariners to their watery graves.
The flute is also associated with Mercury, which gives rise to an alchemical symbolism. This instrument was described by one of the Church Fathers writing in the fourth century as the “symbol of the serpent”, the Devil’s spokesman. The movements of the instrumentalist were seen to correspond with the twisted movements of the Devil and even today one meets flautists of this kind! Staying with Greek mythology we meet another flute player, the satyr Marsyas who might be considered symbolically to be on the side of evil. Having challenged the god Apollo, performer on the lyre, and having lost the musical contest, he was flayed alive.
In depiction of the mortal sins, we may note that musical instruments are always present in representations of lust, one of the Devil’s favourite domains, from medieval manuscripts of the Pyschomachia of Prudentius to the many extraordinary paintings by Bosch [image 1].
Among the predecessors or cousins of diabolic musicians, we should also include the elves and dwarfs of the Celtic and Germanic worlds. Oberon, for instance, king of dwarfs and redoubtable wizard. When Huon de Bordeaux, in the medieval French epic poem which bears his name, meets him in the immense magic forest which is his domain, he sees at his neck a wonderful ivory horn, encircled with bands of gold, an instrument which had been made by fairies on an island in the middle of the sea. This horn is a magical object which can be used to call for help, or to force people to dance. This suggests an analogy with other legendary figures, such as the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who used his flute first to entrance the rats, then the children of his town, or with the skeleton musicians who lead the dance of death. Like devils, dwarfs live below ground, within mountains, and love music and dance. This is the world of Peer Gynt, of Ibsen and of Grieg. We might mention Alberich here, evil dwarf known to us through Wagner’s Ring, but in the original story of the Nibelungen endowed with musical powers of seduction.
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