Angel playing cymbals statue

Cymbal-playing angels carry the imagery of the great Psalm 150 directly into sculpture: "Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals." Among musical angels in Christian art the cymbalist is the most exuberant — the player of the loudest instrument in the heavenly choir, the bringer of climax to the great hymn. Their role was understood in medieval theology as the highest pitch of praise, where words and even melody give way to sheer joyful noise.