QuoteProject
The oldest, truest, most beautiful organ of music, the origin to which alone our music owes its being, is the human voice.
Richard Wagner
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The human voice is the fundamental source of music, connecting us deeply to the essence of musical expression.

Richard Wagner emphasizes the profound importance of the human voice in the realm of music, suggesting that it is not only the oldest instrument but also the most authentic and beautiful. He implies that all forms of music stem from the voice, highlighting its unique role in art and expression, and suggesting that the emotional and spiritual qualities of music are inherently tied to our ability to vocalize and communicate.

Themes

MusicHuman VoiceExpressionArtCreativity

In practice

Example use cases

In a presentation about the importance of art, this quote can highlight the uniqueness of human expression.

More from Richard Wagner

We must learn to die, and to die in the fullest sense of the word. The fear of the end is the source of all lovelessness
Richard WagnerRead
Here, everything is tragic through and through, and the will, that fain would shape a world according to its wish, at last can reach no greater satisfaction than the breaking of itself in dignified annulment.
Richard WagnerRead
I can't distract myself enough here, for sketches to a new opera are constantly buzzing around in my head, to the extent that I need all my strength to wrest myself from them.
Richard WagnerRead
Everything lives and lasts by the inner necessity of its being, by its own nature's need.
Richard WagnerRead
One might say that where Religion becomes artificial, it is reserved for Art to save the spirit of religion.
Richard WagnerRead
I believe in God, Mozart and Beethoven, and likewise their disciples and apostles; - I believe in the Holy Spirit and the truth of the one, indivisible Art; - I believe that this Art proceeds from God, and lives within the hearts of all illumined men.
Richard WagnerRead

Similar quotes

There’s no “correct path” to becoming a real artist. You might think you’ll gain legitimacy by going to university, getting published, getting signed to a record label. But it’s all bullshit, and it’s all in your head. You’re an artist when you say you are. And you’re a good artist when you make somebody else experience or feel something deep or unexpected.
Amanda PalmerRead
Complacencies of the peignoir, and late Coffee and oranges in a sunny chair. And the green freedom of a cockatoo Upon a rug mingle to dissipate The holy hush of ancient sacrifice
Wallace StevensRead
Chess is something more than a game. It is an intellectual diversion which has certain artistic qualities and many scientific elements.
Jose Raul CapablancaRead
The role of the musician is to go from concept to full execution. Put another way, it's to go from understanding the content of something to really learning how to communicate it and make sure it's well-received and lives in somebody else.
Yo-Yo MaRead
Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit, and the only means of making concrete the purpose of its varied quickness and stillness.
Mark RothkoRead
Of course the illusion of art is to make one believe that great literature is very close to life, but exactly the opposite is true. Life is amorphous, literature is formal.
Francoise SaganRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.