In 1991, Alfred Tomatis wrote a book that answered the question “Why Mozart?.” The good doctor explained (and extolled) in his treatise the reasons why Mozart’s music is superior in its healing effects and why it is used for the Tomatis Method. (I don’t expect you to read the book, unless you are very fluent in archaic French.) Through the help of Pierre Sollier–Tomatis devotee and author–and other Tomatis books, we get to learn the rationale for using Mozart’s music.
It should be noted, however, that the content of Pourquoi Mozart? (1991) is not to be confused with the more popular The Mozart Effect (1997), written by author and music researcher Don Campbell. Campbell espoused the idea that by listening to Mozart, one can become smarter. For Alfred Tomatis, Mozart’s music was more than a palliative influence on the brain. Rather, it encompassed the entire person, body and soul.
In my humble capacity as a Tomatis practitioner, I have listed down the reasons why Alfred Tomatis used Mozart’s music:
1. Mozart began composing as a child, therefore, his music is very reminiscent of an innocent and happy childhood. It is vibrant, clear and transparent, and deftly expresses joy and sadness in a very heartfelt style.
“Perhaps it is Wolfgang Amadeus’ precocity that provides the answer. He began to compose excellent works at the age of four and a half. He was born into an extremely favourable environment, where music reigned as absolute monarch. Even before his birth, Mozart was saturated with music. I have no doubt that such a situation prepared his nervous system to listen and to live only in music….It is not inappropriate to say that musical expression was the true mother tongue which enabled Mozart to communicate with the entire universe.” (The Conscious Ear, Tomatis, 1991)
2. Mozart’s music is pure, balanced and was inspired by the Divine; therefore it is perfect in all its musical elements. Compared to other composers, music was “imbedded” in Mozart’s soul.
“Why Mozart (and why not Beethoven, Ravel, Bartok, or Louis Armstrong)?
He is for Tomatis an initiate (from the Latin initium=beginning), someone who has access to a level not commonly reached by others, as a result of a revelation….Mozart was an Initiate because of his capacity to live at that level, especially when he was composing. In fact, he was known to write entire pieces of music as if they were dictated to him by some divine inspiration.” (Listening for Wellness, Sollier, 2005)
3. Mozart’s music has the ideal characteristics of rhythm and high frequencies that are most effective in the Tomatis Method. These aspects of his music are crucial in the execution of the listening therapy.
“The diffusion of Mozart’s work through the Electronic Ear provides a desirable architecture for the neural foundations of listening (and more generally of perception), and so of the individual’s relationship with the surrounding world.” (The Conscious Ear, Tomatis, 1991)
“The music of Mozart, which is rich in higher harmonics and has little low frequency content, needs minimum energy to be clearly audible.” (When Listening Comes Alive, Madaule, 1994)
4. It is only the music of Mozart that comes up with the best results in the therapy. It is a most effective tool in the administration of the program.
“Among the hundreds of pieces of music tested over 25 years, we selected and retained works by Mozart…owing to the good results they have enabled us to obtain.” (The Conscious Ear, Tomatis, 1991)
“I also believe that Mozart himself was the first to benefit from the healing effects of his music. ‘Mozart composed music of radiant vivacity, sparkle, and wit at times when he was crushed by neglect, debt, and the awful discouragement of living his whole life insufficiently compensated and recognised’….” (When Listening Comes Alive, Madaule, 1994)
“When I write my books, when I fling my theories onto paper, or meditate pen in hand, I always fill my study with Mozart….I need this acoustic recharge….To some, it may seem to be a whim, but I recommend surrounding oneself with music. It energises you