Masonic music

Because the number 3 and the letter 'B' are of particular significance to freemasonry, music written in the keys of C minor or E flat major, which both involve 3 flats, (whose symbol '♭' resembles the lowercase letter 'b'), in their key signatures has been considered especially appropriate for masonic ceremonial music.

[2] Although there had been earlier examples, like Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera Zoroastre (1749), whose librettist Louis de Cahusac was a Freemason, the masonic music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is among the best-known of its kind.

Mozart's opera The Magic Flute and his incidental music to Thamos, King of Egypt have masonic connections.

[5] Music especially composed for masonic rituals began to be published in the 18th century, including music written by Georg Benda, Ignaz Pleyel, François-André Danican Philidor, Johann Gottlieb Naumann, Johann Christian Friedrich Hæffner and Christian Gottlob Neefe.

[6] French composer André Gedalge wrote the anthem for the International Order of Freemasonry Le Droit Humain, with lyrics by his wife Amélie André-Gedalge, who was initiated at Lodge No.