Approved For ReleA_q QMINMM A IA-RDP9"0787ROO0400070016-6
 140
 oRD-1384-73
 13 march 1973
 ME40RANDUM FOR: c/IP&A/ORD
 SUBJECT : Rosemary Brown's Conversations with the Dead
 1. This memorandum is a summary of significant SOCtiOns
 of Rosemary Brown's book Unfinished S phonies: Voices from
                                     Z~_
 the Beyond (NeW York, William Morrow and A though
 it have red the Philips recording of some of her performances
 this has to be imported from Europe and has not yet arrived.
 2. Rosemary brown has the undoubted ability to compose
 music in the styles of classical composers and to perform the
 music she has composed. This ability is not unique to Rosemary
 Brown. While in these days of extensive formal education t
 I-s(:Tu-stomary that persons able to compose music in a variety
 of styles will have had some specific training in the subject,
 the absence of such formal training does not seem remarkable
 in the light of numerous historic instances of self-taught
 musicians. What is remarkable about Rosemary Brown is her
 claim that these compositions are not her own but have been
 dictated to her 'from the beyond' by the living spirits of
 deceased famous composers.
 3. Mrs. Brown's claim should be understood in the light
 of her own family background in spiritualism; at the age of
 seven Rosemary was 'already accustomed to seeing the spirits
 of the so-called dead' (p. 13) and many of the assertions she
 makes of the beyond (e.g., the healing power of spirits) are
 consistent with what she would have learned at the spiritua-
 listic meetings she attended. Mrs. Brown's most frequent
 communicator is (the spirit of) Franz Liszt w1ho not only dic-
 tates music to her but advises her on the prices of bunches
 of bananas (pp. 100-101) when the price tag is hidden from view.
 Although spirits have little linguistic difficulty (Bach has
 learned English), they cannot readily pick up television programs.
 CL BY 482859
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           SUBJECT: Rosemary Brown's Conversations with the Dead
                4. Clearly it does not follow from the presumptive fact
           that Mrs. Brown hears voices and sees other manifestations of
           spirits that there are (in an objective sense) such spirits.
           Schizophrenics and others (e.g.,.Joan of Arc) have had similar
           perceptions that have not been amenable to intersubjective
           verification. Nothing revealed by the spirits to Mrs. Brown
           and reported in her book appears to be sufficiently remarkable
           in depth of detail to require me to accept Mrs. Brown's expla-
           nation of spiritual origin of these messages as the only plausible
           explanation.
                5. At the present state of science there is no algorithm
           to determine whether or not a particular musical composition is
           in the style of Bach (for example). 13but even if there were
           such an algorithm it would not be decisive in the present in-
           stance because if Bach is adventuresome enough to have learned
           English, I see no reason why he might not today be composing
           music in almost any style.
                6. Mrs. Brown on occasion communicates with non-musicians.
           Einstein, in particular, has revealed to her his new equation:
           IIS(Q)R - Infinity". I append a xerox copy of Einstein's reported
           message. if you think the message really originates from Binstein,
           you are likely to be impressed with Mrs. Brown's abilities. If
           you think Einstein never would have come up with the quoted
           discourse, you are likely to dismiss Mrs. Brown, notwithstanding-
           the favorable introduction to her book by the Bishop of Southwark
           who has his own reasons for believing in life after death.
                                                t;[GNED
                                          IP&A/ORD
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