Which term refers to the concept of movement of spirits within humans in early music theory?

• A. Musica Mandana
• B. Musica Instrumentalis
• C. Musica Mundana
• D. Musica Humana

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is how music was imagined as existing on three levels, with one level focusing on the inner life of the person. Musica Humana refers to the movement of the spirits within humans—the way music is believed to resonate inside the person, influencing the soul and bodily harmony. This internal, psychosomatic sense of music is distinct from what is heard externally or from the order of the cosmos.

Musica Mundana, in contrast, speaks to the cosmic or universal harmony—the music of the heavens and the order of the world. Musica Instrumentalis is the actual audible music produced by instruments. The term describing the inner movement of spirits within the person is Musica Humana.