Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
For this interview I have a great discussion with organist, pianist, conductor, arranger, and recording artist Matthew Wilkinson, who also happened to put together the Symbolic World intro music. We delve into the symbolism of music, particularly focusing on Bach's organ works. The discussion also touches on the evolution of musical styles from the Baroque period to the Classical, modern and postmodern eras, the historical context of music, from the music of the spheres to modern dissonance, and how these concepts reflect broader ideas about hierarchy and opposites.
Support Matthew Wilkinson's wonderful work:
Check out his website and buy his CD: matthewwilkinson.net
Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/24DSGAdbVt7by0JHEqTwMh?si=ZJlpdMkcSg6SfMvz7YbkFg
YouTube: youtube.com/@matthewwilkinsonmusic?si=m1gbZgTSpOALVdq5
Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Learn more here: thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford
Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:56 - Intro music
01:21 - Introduction
02:18 - The album on Bach
05:38 - Trinitarian symbolism
14:49 - Meaning in structure vs outside it
20:15 - The hero's journey
22:05 - Signatures
25:06 - Subject and countersubject
26:19 - The organ
29:25 - Going through the entrances
32:39 - Various subjects
35:03 - Baroque
36:37 - Counterpoint
37:21 - Duality in music
40:14 - Music of the spheres
43:54 - Hierarchy in beats
47:15 - Glenn Gould
49:19 - The dialectic
51:04 - Hierarchy in music
55:16 - Music in the modern era
01:07:45 - Postmodernism
💻 Website and blog: thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
📱 SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld
Twitter: twitter.com/pageaujonathan
Instagram: instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: resonancehq.io
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.
For this interview I have a great discussion with organist, pianist, conductor, arranger, and recording artist Matthew Wilkinson, who also happened to put together the Symbolic World intro music. We delve into the symbolism of music, particularly focusing on Bach's organ works. The discussion also touches on the evolution of musical styles from the Baroque period to the Classical, modern and postmodern eras, the historical context of music, from the music of the spheres to modern dissonance, and how these concepts reflect broader ideas about hierarchy and opposites.
Support Matthew Wilkinson's wonderful work:
Check out his website and buy his CD: matthewwilkinson.net
Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/24DSGAdbVt7by0JHEqTwMh?si=ZJlpdMkcSg6SfMvz7YbkFg
YouTube: youtube.com/@matthewwilkinsonmusic?si=m1gbZgTSpOALVdq5
Join us for Annie Crawford's course on C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, starting live on January 17th, 2025. Learn more here: thesymbolicworld.com/courses/till-we-have-faces-with-annie-crawford
Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:56 - Intro music
01:21 - Introduction
02:18 - The album on Bach
05:38 - Trinitarian symbolism
14:49 - Meaning in structure vs outside it
20:15 - The hero's journey
22:05 - Signatures
25:06 - Subject and countersubject
26:19 - The organ
29:25 - Going through the entrances
32:39 - Various subjects
35:03 - Baroque
36:37 - Counterpoint
37:21 - Duality in music
40:14 - Music of the spheres
43:54 - Hierarchy in beats
47:15 - Glenn Gould
49:19 - The dialectic
51:04 - Hierarchy in music
55:16 - Music in the modern era
01:07:45 - Postmodernism
💻 Website and blog: thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🗣 Join The Symbolic World Community for discussions about symbolism: thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
📱 SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: facebook.com/TheSymbolicWorld
Twitter: twitter.com/pageaujonathan
Instagram: instagram.com/jonathan.pageau
Our website designers: resonancehq.io
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.










