The ear disapproves but tolerates certain musical pieces; transfer them into the domain of our nose, and we will be forced to flee.
Jean CocteauRead
All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it.
Interpretation
Good music reflects and evokes the emotions and objects that inspired it.
In this quote, Jean Cocteau suggests that good music is not just a collection of sounds but an evocative representation of the emotions, experiences, and objects that inspired its creation. The essence of music lies in its ability to resonate with listeners on a deeper level, allowing them to connect with the feelings and imagery that the composer intended to express.
In practice
This quote could be used in a music class to illustrate the emotional power of music.
The ear disapproves but tolerates certain musical pieces; transfer them into the domain of our nose, and we will be forced to flee.
One must be a living man and a posthumous artist.
Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts.
Listen carefully to first criticisms made of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like - then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping.
Watch yourself all your life in a mirror and you'll see Death at work like bees in a glass hive.
You've never seen death? Look in the mirror every day and you will see it like bees working in a glass hive.
Miraculously, smoke curled out of his own mouth, his nose, his ears, his eyes, as if his soul had been extinguished within his lungs at the very moment the sweet pumpkin gave up its incensed ghost.
One thing is certain: the arts keep you alive. They stimulate, encourage, challenge, and, most of all, guarantee a future free from boredom. They allow growth and even demand it in that time of life we call maturity but too often enter it with a childish faith that what we learned in youth is sustenance enough for the years when most men are mentally famished but won't admit itβor when they are apt to curb their hunger with the sops of complacency, security, and the assurance of death.
When I was very, very young, I decided that I was gonna catalogue my times because that's what other people who I admired did. That's what Bob Dylan did, that's what Frank Sinatra did, Hank Williams did, in very different ways.
The experience of writing 'The Kite Runner' is one I will always think back on with fondness. There is an energy, a romance in writing the first novel that can never be duplicated again.
The fault of bad taste is usually in over-dressing. Quality not effect, is the standard to seek for.
That's the most important thing to me - that if I'm gonna spend however long it takes to make a movie, give up 14 hours a day for however many weeks or months, then it's very important for me to know that I'm working with people who I respect and enjoy and that we're going for something together.
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