George Bernard Shaw? Alan Lomax? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? Henry David Thoreau?
Dear Quote Investigator: I believe that the famous playwright and music critic George Bernard Shaw said something like the following:
Music may be a universal language, but it’s spoken with all sorts of peculiar accents.
I checked some quotation references and was unable to find this statement. Would you please help?
Quote Investigator: In December 1890 George Bernard Shaw wrote a music review that contrasted the divergent sounds produced by orchestras in Manchester and Lancashire. The drummer in Manchester employed “mighty drum-sticks” which could perform well on the “final crescendo roll” of the “Trold King’s dance” in the Peer Gynt suite. But the drummer in Lancashire excelled in pieces that required greater delicacy. Boldface has been added to excerpts:[1]1949 (Reprint of 1932 edition), Music in London: 1890-94 by Bernard Shaw, Volume 1 of 3, (Music review dated December 10, 1890), Start Page 90, Quote Page 91 and 92, Constable and Company Limited, … Continue reading
Thus, though music be a universal language, it is spoken with all sorts of accents; and the Lancashire accent differs sufficiently from the Cockney accent to make the Manchester band a welcome variety, without counting the change from Cowen or Cusins to Hallé.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Continue reading Though Music Be a Universal Language, It Is Spoken with All Sorts of Accents
References
| ↑1 | 1949 (Reprint of 1932 edition), Music in London: 1890-94 by Bernard Shaw, Volume 1 of 3, (Music review dated December 10, 1890), Start Page 90, Quote Page 91 and 92, Constable and Company Limited, London. (Verified on paper) |
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