Panama: Music paintings

The central American nation of Panama issued a set of 6 stamps in 1968 depicting paintings of musicians and musical instruments. They were issued as a sheet of 6 (Scott 488, a, b, c, d, e, f). There was also issued a souvenir sheet (Scott 488A) of a single stamp ("Harp" by Memling). I have the set of 6 stamps, unattached. This painting, "Allegory of Music," was painted by Laurent de la Hyre in 1649 for a home in Paris. It now is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, USA. The central portion of the painting (oil on canvas) is the allegorical figure of Music tuning a theorbo. Various other instruments are included, and musical scores. In the background is a portion of an organ facade. This was one of a set of seven paintings of the Liberal Arts executed by de la Hyre.

Burundi: Bach, 2013

The African nation of Burundi issued this pair of items in 2013. They are part of a larger set that included Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Wagner, Schubert, and Verdi. For each composer there is a mini-sheet of a set of 4 stamps, plus a souvenir sheet that includes a single additional stamp. These composers had no direct relationship with the issuing nation. As such their relevance to Burundi is non-existent. Therefore, they fall into the category of "wallpaper," postal items issued simply to make money for the postal administration from collectors who feel compelled to gather items according to their philatelic interests. In my case it's the organ on the stamp from the mini-sheet of 4. The stamp is denominated 1190 francs. It shows Bach at the console of an un-named instrument, a reference to the common image found purportedly at the British Museum.  The other stamps show the composer at various stages of life, in one case playing a stringed instrument. These are so new that my Scott catalog doesn't include them yet.

DDR: Schweitzer

The German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik, DDR) issued a set of three stamps honoring Albert Schweitzer on 14 January 1965. It was the honoree's 90th birthday. The stamps are denominated 10pf, 20pf and 25pf and are distinctly green, red, and blue. The third stamp shows the doctor seated at a console, presumably that of an organ. The background shows the score for the B-minor prelude (and fugue) for organ. The stamp is not directly organ-depicting, but has enough organ-related interest to warrant inclusion here. The stamps are SCN 748-750.

Rwanda: Schweitzer

Like several other African nations, Rwanda holds a special affinity for the medical doctor and musician, Albert Schweitzer. In the year that would have marked his 101st birthday, 1976, Rwanda issued set of stamps to mark World Leprosy Day. A year later the exact same set of stamps was re-issued with an additional text overprint for the same commemoration. The four stamps shown were part of the set of 8 stamps issued in 1977. Two show Lambarene Hospital and two show Schweitzer's residence. Two pictured below show a piano keyboard and a musical score (Bach's famous D Minor Toccata), and the last two in the set are above. The image includes random organ pipes and the first few notes from Bach's Fantasy in G Minor, not as famous or as well-known to as many people as the Toccata, but quite well-known to organists.

Grenada: JS Bach omnibus

Grenada issued this stamp (Scott 2954) in 2000 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the death of JS Bach. The stamp is essentially a mini-sheet of one stamp with a large selvage. The stamp features an image of Bach from a painting. The selvage is the score to a "Prelude and Fugue in E Minor" seemingly for piano/harpsichord. Several small postal entities issued similar stamps for the anniversary year hence the collective term "omnibus."