Music and Art
In 1873, artist Viktor Hartmann died suddenly. His good friend Modest Mussorgsky along with others brought together over 400 of Hartmann’s pieces for a memorial exhibition. While strolling through the exhibit, Mussorgsky, a composer, found the inspiration for the memorial composition he desired to write for his friend. “Pictures from an Exhibition” walks the listener thought 10 of Hartmann’s pieces. Each movement carries with it a theme from the previous movement, just as the memory of one picture goes with you when you see the next picture.
I enjoy listening to beautiful music and walking through art galleries. There is something about the products of such creativity that moves me in my in most being. One of my favorite pieces of music is “Pictures from an Exhibition”, but I did not understand what I was listening to until I heard a music program that provided a commentary about the pieces that were played. The commentator would play a section from one movement and call our attention to the theme. Then we listened to the next movement — the theme was there, but it had changed a bit. That is how life is. Each experience colors the next.
I had a similar experience to Mussorgsky when I “strolled” though the book of Micah some time ago. Mid-book, I was caught by the beauty of the message and how the passages just seamlessly connect with each other and build on one another. It took me nearly three weeks to “stroll” through Micah 4 to Micah 7 because I was so enthralled.
This is what Bible study means to me. It is a deep, moving experience. I am changed and enlarged. So, I would like to take you on a “stroll” through the second half of the book of Micah. I will point out to the the “pictures” that took my breath away and provide a little commentary.