Art Friday: Music



Art Friday: Music

Across every culture and every century, music has been integral in the lives of its people. When music is forbidden it is a very tragic moment in time, just look at Afghanistan when the Taliban executed anyone for playing music, singing or dancing. 

I love listening to music. I am no expert on music and I cannot play music (even though my parents spent quite a bit of money sending me to classes), but I still love it. Music moves me - it can makes me feel sad, it brings joy and happiness, it creates pleasure and it wraps it's self around me like an old friend. As Leo Tolstoy once said "music is the shorthand of emotion". I could not imagine living a life without music. 
Roman woman playing the flute by Vjekoslav Karas (1845-47)
I listen to music when I am driving in the car, when I am at work, when I am at home sewing or napping. There aren't many times during the day when music isn't playing in the background (as it is right now).  I grew up with music, my parents loved classical music and it played often in our home.  As a result I see a home without music (or books) as missing something fundamental or as Jane Austen puts it so well in "Emma"; "Without music, life would be a blank to me". My children listened to music whilst in the womb and from the day they came home from hospital. They went to sleep to the sweet melodies of Mozart or Debussy and the many other amazing composers. 
Helene Knoop
When we think of the brief lives of these composers and the amount of work they left behind, it is rather sobering, isn't it, to think what is possible in forty-six years, in Schumann's case. Or thirty-five in Mozart's, or thirty-one for Schubert. And to think of all the things they had to contend with, health and money and love wise. It makes me realise how much time I must waste.  (from page 195, "Cadence" by Emma Ayres)
William Rotherstein
Today's art friday is all about music and the importances of music in our lives. 

Enjoy and perhaps play your favourite piece of music as you look at these paintings. I am currently listening to a piece by Mozart. 

Painting above and below by An He
Many young ladies learnt to play the piano as it was considered a feminine activity. Jane Eyre remarked she could "play a little".
Painting by Vladimir Volegov
by Francois-Emile Barraud (1899-1934)
painting by Steven Hanks
Whilst the world has seen some amazing composers and musicians, we must not forget the craftsman that make the instrument that allows the music to be played. Some are so valuable they fetch millions of dollars and for those that play these instruments, they say the sound is breathtaking. 
Painting by Keith Mallet
Of course music isn't just about a guy playing an instrument - it is also about singing and dancing. How many times have you stood around a piano singing hymns on a Sunday evening or dancing to a great tune in the privacy of your own home. Music brings people together and has brought so much joy across the centuries. 


In the Bible we are instructed to sing to the Lord with a joyful voice (it doesn't matter if you are out of tune) "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!" (Psalm 95:1). 
Painting by Jack Vettriano.
And when you can't have your own private orchestra, portable devices have allowed us to take music where-ever we go. We can dance on a pier with the worlds most romantic music playing and it creates magic. 

They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute
.

Job 21:12


Of course not all music brings joy, some can be quite painful to the ear!  Painting by Danish artist Knud Erik Edsberg (1911-2003)
*****

Comments

  1. Wonderful pictures, cheers Marie

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  2. Of course my favourite is the little girl playing piano with her cat next to her! Somewhat reminds me of my childhood! :-)

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  3. My favs were the first one by An He and the one by Vladimir Volegov. Splendid!
    love,
    Bets

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    1. Glad you liked them:)) - you have also selected the ones I really liked.

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  4. These are nice, Jo! And yes, I do have music playing in the background as I read this - Beethoven! :)
    I can't imagine having music forbidden! How horrible! I love the fact that there is a LOT about music, instruments, singing, and dancing in the Scriptures - music is truly a joyful thing! :)

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    1. I couldn't either - music is not only joyful it has the wonderful ability to bring relief from stress and anxiety and can do wonders for some disabled children and those wound up. It really is wonderful - however not so sure about modern music though!!

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