Tonpsychologische Gestalten. Pieces of a Theory of Tonal Fusion by J.F. Herbart and C. Stumpf

Both Herbart and Stumpf conceived a psychological theory of fusion and applied it to the musical sound. Nevertheless, their conceptions are usually considered as basically opposite, contrasting an atomistic (Herbart) to a “Gestalt” view (Stumpf); this was also Stumpf’s conviction. Analysing their psychologies of sound in detail, however, the roles should be reversed, because elementalistic components are to be found in Stumpf’s chord analysis, where Herbart seems to carry out a more coherent whole survey. Moreover, Herbart’s philosophy turns out to be much more than an abstract monadology, dropping relevant hints towards a Gestalt approach both in theoretical and in aesthetic domain – and even in the overall structure of his system.