Claudio Monteverdi

The end of all good music is to affect the soul.

The text must be the master of the harmony, not the servant.

I have always sought to make the word the mistress of the harmony and not the servant.

Music is nothing else but a speech, and the harmony is nothing else but a means to make the speech more perfect.

I dedicate myself to the service of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, and to the glory of God.

The new music, which I call 'second practice,' is based on the perfection of the word, and not on the perfection of the harmony.

My aim has been to make the words as intelligible as possible, and to express the passions of the soul.

I have always striven to make my music serve the text, and not the text serve my music.

The composer who does not know how to make the words speak, does not know how to compose.

I have always believed that music should move the affections of the soul.

The true composer is he who knows how to make the words sing.

My music is born of the words, and not the words of my music.

I have always sought to express the passions of the soul through music.

The composer must be a servant of the poet.

Music should be a mirror of the soul.

I have always tried to make my music speak to the heart.

The composer's task is to give voice to the words.

Music is the language of the emotions.

I have always aimed to make my music expressive and moving.

The words are the soul of the music.