When the words come, they are merely empty shells without the music. They live as they are sung, for the words are the body and the music the spirit.
Interpretation
Words and music are intertwined; words alone cannot convey true emotion without music.
This quote by Hildegard of Bingen emphasizes the profound connection between words and music, suggesting that while words provide structure, it is the music that imbues them with life and emotion. Words are compared to a physical body, while music is likened to the spirit, indicating that without the emotive power of music, words lack their true essence and vibrancy.
In practice
During a presentation on the importance of music in communication.
O, You who are ever giving life to all life, moving all creatures, root of all things, washing them clean, wiping out their mistakes, healing their wounds, You are our true life, luminous, wonderful, awakening the heart from its ancient sleep.
Every creature is a glittering, glistening mirror of Divinity.
The fire has its flame and praises God._x000D_ _x000D_ The wind blows the flame and praises God._x000D_ _x000D_ In the voice we hear the word which praises God._x000D_ _x000D_ And the word, when heard, praises God._x000D_ _x000D_ So all of creation is a song of praise to God.
There is the music of Heaven in all things.
I welcome all creatures of the world with grace.
Don't let yourself forget that God's grace rewards not only those who never slip, but also those who bend and fall. So sing! The song of rejoicing softens hard hearts. It makes tears of godly sorrow flow from them. Singing summons the Holy Spirit. Happy praises offered in simplicity and love lead the faithful to complete harmony, without discord. Don't stop singing.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a house where we listened to all kinds of music. We listened to Haitian, hip hop, soul, classical jazz, gospel and Cuban music, to name a few. When you have access to that as a child, it just opens up your world.
The body cannot lie. You cannot be somebody else onstage, no matter how good of an actor or dancer or singer you are. When you open your arms, move your finger, the audience knows who you are, you know.
The great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable.
So many old and lovely things are stored in the world's attic because we don't want them around us and we don't dare throw them out.
Each color lives by its mysterious life.
[The artist] is like a pump; he has inside him a great pipe that reaches down into the entrails of things, the deepest layers. He sucks up what was lying there below, dim and unnoticed, and brings it in great jets to the sunlight.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.