The Position of the Audience in Avicenna Music Theory

The relationship between music and the audience plays a significant role in the foundations of music philosophy. In a general view, Avicenna’s musical thought is presented in a scientific, mathematical, and rational structure. But this philosopher has not neglected the importance of issues like the music’s effect on the audience’s soul, understanding of music, and musical experiences. In this research, we have tried to explain the concept of the audience and music from his point of view by analyzing major elements of Avicenna’s music theory, including imagination and mimesis, as well as considering the principles of music science in his thought. Avicenna’s words about the audience in his discussions about mimesis, imagination, music of poetry, pleasure and disgust, culture and music, are not just complementary remarks; Rather, his words in this context are in a rational agreement with his intellectual system and his special methodology in the field, which means that he did not speak about the audience implicitly or only by chance. Basically, in his music theory, the audience has a special place. The present discussion has been organized under four general sections: mimesis and music, musical imagination, music’s effect on the audience, and the audience’s effect on the musical work. In doing this, we have used Avicenna’s first-hand collection of texts, especially his works on musicology, such as ‘A Comprehensive Account of Music’, in the mathematical section of his encyclopedic work, The Book of Healing</em>.