R.D. Laing:"The major scale for instance, we talked before about this, the major scale, I don't believe in this absolute consistency of definite sort of intervals. The major scale was banned in churches until the late Middle Ages. It was called the modus lacivicus, it was supposed to be inciting to lasciviousness. We don't really think of that now, I mean "I'm Dreaming of White Christmas" doesn't really incite people to have orgies under the Xmas tree at all.

Van Morrison: When did they think that, the Middle Ages?

RDL: I'd have to check it ... twelfth or thirteenth century.

VM: What I find very interesting when exploring the Renaissance period, Dowland wrote primarily about grief, that was the main thing he wrote about. You know this 'down in the dumps', you know where that expression comes from? Well they actually called music pieces a dompe, they called something like, Lady Fanshawe's dompe [My Ladye Careys Dompe] there was a piece of music called that. That's where the expression 'down in the dumps' comes from. They were into moods of despair and all sorts of things. You don't find that in songs hardly at all now. You find the sentimental folk thing, but you never actually find songs about despair or death. Dowland wrote some stuff about death as well. There must have been a completely different society at that stage, if that was the popular music at that time. "

Van Morrison In Conversation With R. D. Laing