Music

December 7music,angel,

I am thankful for music. Music is one of the most inspirational, relaxing, and joyous things there is in this world. I love music. It can move a person; it can go directly to the soul; it can speak in ways that only words cannot. It can be beautiful and melodic. It can be tense. It can be confrontational. But effective music is one of the most powerful influences there is.

Today's photo is of a sculpture I saw at a store amont their Christmas items. It is an angel playing a stringed instrument sinilar to a mandolin but appearing to have only four tuners/strings. My guess is that it is still a mandolin-like instrument.

The connection between angels and music is interesting. Several references are made linking angels to music in the Bible. Many artforms such as paintings and sculptures include angels playing trumpets, harps, or other instruments. Popular culture includes untold references to angels playing music or singing. For example, the famous Christmas carol "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" talks about angels singing to announce the birth of the King. The lyrics were written in 1739 by Charles Wesley, brother to John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church.

without music

without music

there would be no more delight

if the world suddenly grew silent

with absence of day and night

no more chords

or glorious melody

we would soon feel

the effects of entropy

and the world

would cease to exist

if not in physicality but anything

worthwhile to persist.

© rt tulley