When I was a child sitting in church, bored often enough with a sermon except for when the preacher was telling a story, I sometimes opened my mother’s Bible. Inside the front cover, taped to the right side at the top of the endpaper, was a saying, the gist of which is all I can remember. It went something like this: God gave us words and then he gave us music to expand the words.
What produces art? We are made in the image of God. God creates, ex nihilo (as the church came to believe). We create, expand, on God’s creation by grace. Some of it is creative, artistic (I dare not define it). Not only artists have an innate need to create, to expand words, canvas, wood, body movements, stories. But all icons (broken as we are) have the innate impetus to do art, speak art or sing, or write. In education, some say creativity is squelched, because that box is little expandable. I get that. I remember at age 13 when my schooling was done (poverty does that), I awakened to musical talents. First, my friend introduced me to the harmonica, literally speaking words that vibrate into jointed melodies. Then, at 14, working to earn my keep I managed to purchase a brand new accordion (at 73 I still have it), then the piano, then lessons, then joy for over 50 years. It takes others to see in us sometime what we don’t ourselves see. And off to the races… Recently a few of my friends started gathering on zoom every two weeks on Saturday nights. We do an art project together based on a theme in art and talk about our experience and the theme. The participants are 20 somethings except me. Artists have perspectives much wiser than their age because suffering, contemplation, deep friendships, longings, spill out into varying art forms and expand the universe of God.
It must have been you, Scot, who brought this book to my attention (you've had a significant impact on my book budget for some time now) and I am grateful. It is filled with gems, some from Burger, others Burger's quote of Wiesel. Example: "You must tell your story. This is because, if even one person learns from it how to be more human, you will have made your memories into a blessing. We must turn our suffering into a bridge so that others might suffer less." (p. 20). Thanks again.
I love your line, "God gave us words and then he gave us music to expand the words." For me the right combination of words and music causes my soul to soar. Whether it is the power of some of our hymns and gospel songs or the force of opera, the words often lie dull until set to music. My first thought on reading your challenge was Wotan's abschied to Brunhilde at the end of Die Valkurie. Even thinking of that music moves me to tears as the composer (Wagner) uses key changes ever few measures to evoke the force of a father's grief. Many of our hymns also come alive and bathe our souls when set to the right kind of music. Or we experience the words when set to the right music to create an emotional response. For example, the force of the music in the "national anthem" of Black Americans never fails to bring the powerful lyrics home to me. Words come alive when set to the right music. Music is God's powerful gift to get truth moving deep within our souls.
What produces art? We are made in the image of God. God creates, ex nihilo (as the church came to believe). We create, expand, on God’s creation by grace. Some of it is creative, artistic (I dare not define it). Not only artists have an innate need to create, to expand words, canvas, wood, body movements, stories. But all icons (broken as we are) have the innate impetus to do art, speak art or sing, or write. In education, some say creativity is squelched, because that box is little expandable. I get that. I remember at age 13 when my schooling was done (poverty does that), I awakened to musical talents. First, my friend introduced me to the harmonica, literally speaking words that vibrate into jointed melodies. Then, at 14, working to earn my keep I managed to purchase a brand new accordion (at 73 I still have it), then the piano, then lessons, then joy for over 50 years. It takes others to see in us sometime what we don’t ourselves see. And off to the races… Recently a few of my friends started gathering on zoom every two weeks on Saturday nights. We do an art project together based on a theme in art and talk about our experience and the theme. The participants are 20 somethings except me. Artists have perspectives much wiser than their age because suffering, contemplation, deep friendships, longings, spill out into varying art forms and expand the universe of God.
It must have been you, Scot, who brought this book to my attention (you've had a significant impact on my book budget for some time now) and I am grateful. It is filled with gems, some from Burger, others Burger's quote of Wiesel. Example: "You must tell your story. This is because, if even one person learns from it how to be more human, you will have made your memories into a blessing. We must turn our suffering into a bridge so that others might suffer less." (p. 20). Thanks again.
I love your line, "God gave us words and then he gave us music to expand the words." For me the right combination of words and music causes my soul to soar. Whether it is the power of some of our hymns and gospel songs or the force of opera, the words often lie dull until set to music. My first thought on reading your challenge was Wotan's abschied to Brunhilde at the end of Die Valkurie. Even thinking of that music moves me to tears as the composer (Wagner) uses key changes ever few measures to evoke the force of a father's grief. Many of our hymns also come alive and bathe our souls when set to the right kind of music. Or we experience the words when set to the right music to create an emotional response. For example, the force of the music in the "national anthem" of Black Americans never fails to bring the powerful lyrics home to me. Words come alive when set to the right music. Music is God's powerful gift to get truth moving deep within our souls.