Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the Infinite: we look for moments, across the cloudy elements, into the eternal Sea of Light, when song leads and inspires us.

-- Thomas Carlyle

(from "The Opera," in

The Music Lover's Literary Companion,

edited by Joan and Dannie Abse)