Image
The image of the blind musician is an important touchstone in many cultures, even where the influence of the blind on music has been limited. The idea of Homer, the blind poet, for example, has had a long existence in Western tradition, even though its basis in truth is uncertain. The legendary 6th century Breton druid and bard Kian/Gwenc'hlan is depicted as being imprisoned after having his eyes gouged out for refusing to convert to Christianity and singing out that he isn't afraid to die.
In his book Singer of Tales, Albert Lord explains that in Yugoslavia he found many stories of blind musicians, but few current musicians who were actually blind. Natalie Kononenko had a similar experience in Turkey, though one Turkish musician of great talent, Ashik Veysel was in fact blind. The popularity of the idea of the blind musician has inspired several artists. John Singer Sargent painted a 1912 canvas based on this theme, and Georges de la Tour has a whole series of paintings devoted to blind musicians.
Though the idea of blind musicians may be even more prevalent than their actuality, it remains true that at many points in history and in many different cultures, blind musicians, individually or as a group, have made important contributions to the development of music. Some of these contributions are discussed below.
Blind musicians have also appeared in Muslim harems to entertain the patron and his wives.
Robert Heinlein made a science fiction use of the "blind bard" theme in "The Green Hills of Earth".
Read more about this topic: Blind Musicians
Famous quotes containing the word image:
“The paranoiac is the exact image of the ruler. The only difference is their position in the world.... One might even think the paranoiac the more impressive of the two because he is sufficient unto himself and cannot be shaken by failure.”
—Elias Canetti (b. 1905)
“O delicate walker, babbler, dialectician Fire,
O enemy and image of ourselves,”
—Louis MacNeice (1907–1963)
“The colicky baby who becomes calm, the quiet infant who throws temper tantrums at two, the wild child at four who becomes serious and studious at six all seem to surprise their parents. It is difficult to let go of one’s image of a child, say goodbye to the child a parent knows, and get accustomed to this slightly new child inhabiting the known child’s body.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)