--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How strange and god-like was a composer's…" description: "\"“How strange and god-like was a composer's power, who from the grave could lead through sequences of emotion, which he alone had felt at first, a girl ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/thomas-hardy-410_composer_how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer_2317308.jpg" --- # How strange and god-like was a composer's power, who from… ![“How strange and god-like was a composer's power, who from the grave could lead through sequences of emotion, which he alone had felt at first, a girl like her who had never heard of his name, and never would have a clue to his personality.” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/thomas-hardy-410_composer_how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer_2317308.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/thomas-hardy-410_composer_how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer_2317308.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/thomas-hardy-410_composer_how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer_2317308.jpg) > ““How strange and god-like was a composer's power, who from the grave could lead through sequences of emotion, which he alone had felt at first, a girl like her who had never heard of his name, and never would have a clue to his personality.”” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote marvels at a composer's god-like ability to evoke deep emotions in listeners who have never encountered the composer, highlighting music's transcendent power. **In simple terms:** Music can move strangers profoundly. Key Takeaway Recognize music’s universal emotional reach. Themes art emotion creativity communication transcendence Mood reflective admiring Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - concerts - film scores - personal listening - educational settings Key Concepts aesthetic experience empathy subjective perception Questions to Reflect On - How does personal experience shape musical perception? - Can music truly be universal? A Different Perspective The impact may vary with cultural background and personal taste, limiting universal reach. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Emotion Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-felt-394410/) [Like Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-composer-335542/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-god-1975760/) ## Related quotes > [It's so strange that God has had his way of looking after me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neena-gupta/it-s-so-strange-that-god-has-had-his-way-of-looking-after-me/) [Neena Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neena-gupta/) > [I just have to take my chances like any other composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-getty/i-just-have-to-take-my-chances-like-any-other-composer/) [Gordon Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-getty/) > [Writing is a little athletic for me. I get worked up a little bit when I do it. So I guess I'm a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/writing-is-a-little-athletic-for-me-i-get-worked-up-a-little-bit-when/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [I'm like any other composer. If you give me five years to write a symphony, I'm still going to be asking for more time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-criss/i-m-like-any-other-composer-if-you-give-me-five-years-to-write-a/) [Darren Criss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-criss/) > [Im like any other composer. If you give me five years to write a symphony, Im still going to be asking for more time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-criss/im-like-any-other-composer-if-you-give-me-five-years-to-write-a/) [Darren Criss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-criss/) > [I don't work with an outline, except a vague one in my head, a general idea of character, place, arc... I'm like a composer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-sayrafiezadeh/i-don-t-work-with-an-outline-except-a-vague-one-in-my-head-a-general/) [Said Sayrafiezadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-sayrafiezadeh/) > [“Even now, you have packs of men following you, willing to make you their strange god.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/even-now-you-have-packs-of-men-following-you-willing-to-make-you/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Strange a God who mouths Golden Rules and forgiveness, then invented hell; who mouths morals to other people and has none Himself; who frowns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/strange-a-god-who-mouths-golden-rules-and-forgiveness-then-invented/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“What a strange god to worship. I’m sure he’s great at answering your prayers, as long as you want a stick fetching or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-collins/what-a-strange-god-to-worship-i-m-sure-he-s-great-at-answering-your/) [Tim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-collins/) > [When my opera Plump Jack was performed in 1989, my first piano teacher sent me something that I'd composed when I was four. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-getty/when-my-opera-plump-jack-was-performed-in-1989-my-first-piano-teacher/) [Gordon Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-getty/) > [I'm not interested in having an orchestra sound like itself. I want it to sound like the composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bernstein/i-m-not-interested-in-having-an-orchestra-sound-like-itself-i-want-it/) [Leonard Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bernstein/) > [In my years of working in theatre and TV I've learnt that my main skill is not the instrumental playing but the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregor-schwellenbach/in-my-years-of-working-in-theatre-and-tv-i-ve-learnt-that-my-main/) [Gregor Schwellenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregor-schwellenbach/) > [I like a composer called Henry Purcell, and I love to listen to Neil Young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-like-a-composer-called-henry-purcell-and-i-love-to-listen-to-neil/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Other, far fewer, directors are more like the composer - conceptualizing the piece, scoring it, distributing its musical lines among a range of registers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harrison/other-far-fewer-directors-are-more-like-the-composer-conceptualizing/) [Thomas Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harrison/) > [I really want to become, like, a composer for my people, my country that will photograph the things that are happening now in story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-lafourcade/i-really-want-to-become-like-a-composer-for-my-people-my-country-that/) [Natalia Lafourcade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-lafourcade/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You ride well, but you don't kiss nicely at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-ride-well-but-you-don-t-kiss-nicely-at-all/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It was mid-May time, bringing with it weather not, perhaps, quite so blooming as that assumed to be natural to the month by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-mid-may-time-bringing-with-it-weather-not-perhaps-quite-so/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-galileo-had-said-in-verse-that-the-world-moved-the-inquisition/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Some folk want their luck buttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/some-folk-want-their-luck-buttered/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/measurement-of-life-should-be-proportioned-rather-to-the-intensity-of/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-was-court-martialed-in-my-absence-and-sentenced-to-death-in-my/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It being the first time in his life that he had touched female fingers under water, Dick duly registered the sensation as rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-being-the-first-time-in-his-life-that-he-had-touched-female/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“As soon as she could discern the outline of the house, it had all its old effect upon Tess's imagination. Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, 'Why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-sinister-spirit-sneered-it-had-to-be-and-again-the-spirit-of-pity/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/justice-was-done-and-the-president-of-the-immortals-in-aeschylean/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Explore all 561 Thomas Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More Composer quotes > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) [Hanns Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanns-eisler/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) [Michael Brecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brecker/) > [“- Mom, can I tell them there that I'm Romanian? - Sure, why not tell them? - I was thinking that they wouldn't think...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-enescu/mom-can-i-tell-them-there-that-i-m-romanian-sure-why-not-tell-them-i/) [George Enescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-enescu/) > [The number of e-mails and letters that I get from choreographers, from sculptors, from composers who are being inspired by science is huge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-number-of-e-mails-and-letters-that-i-get-from-choreographers-from/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [If a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-a-composer-could-state-in-words-what-being-a-composer-means-he/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Seen from the point of view of the composer, the most nonsensical practice is that of casting people in musicals who are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gold/seen-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-composer-the-most-nonsensical/) [Ernest Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gold/) > [I think there's just been this "thing" that's developed, this way that we have of talking about our music that alienates people. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/i-think-there-s-just-been-this-thing-that-s-developed-this-way-that/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) > [The ability to understand and deliver comedy and tragedy is extremely rare in one composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/signe-baumane/the-ability-to-understand-and-deliver-comedy-and-tragedy-is-extremely/) [Signe Baumane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/signe-baumane/) > [When synthesizers appeared everyone was a composer suddenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/when-synthesizers-appeared-everyone-was-a-composer-suddenly/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [A mission that comes from the heart to promote these things and to encourage composers to write, then of course they should do it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andre-hamelin/a-mission-that-comes-from-the-heart-to-promote-these-things-and-to/) [Marc-Andre Hamelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andre-hamelin/) > [The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beebe/the-beauty-and-genius-of-a-work-of-art-may-be-reconceived-though-its/) [William Beebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beebe/) > [Every time I see a film or TV show, I think about how that composer made those choices and how that director envisioned music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lopez/every-time-i-see-a-film-or-tv-show-i-think-about-how-that-composer/) [Robert Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lopez/) > [Like any other composer of opera, I choose a subject not for polemical reasons, but because it contains vivid characters in highly charged dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/like-any-other-composer-of-opera-i-choose-a-subject-not-for-polemical/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) [Browse all 885 Composer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How strange and god-like was a composer's power, who from the grave could lead through sequences of emotion, which he alone had felt at first, a girl like her who had never heard of his name, and never would have a clue to his personality.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hardy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer-s-power-who-from-the-grave/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Composer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer-s-power-who-from-the-grave/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/thomas-hardy-410_composer_how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer_2317308.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/thomas-hardy-410_composer_how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer_2317308.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/thomas-hardy-410_composer_how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer_2317308.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How strange and god-like was a composer's power, who from the grave could lead through sequences of emotion…” — Thomas Hardy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Hardy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How strange and god-like was a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer-s-power-who-from-the-grave/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/how-strange-and-god-like-was-a-composer-s-power-who-from-the-grave/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```