“Too much counterpoint; what is worse, Protestant counterpoint.”

—  Thomas Beecham

Of J. S. Bach; quoted by Neville Cardus, Guardian, 8 March 1971

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Too much counterpoint; what is worse, Protestant counterpoint." by Thomas Beecham?
Thomas Beecham photo
Thomas Beecham12
British conductor and impresario 1879–1961

Related quotes

William Shakespeare photo

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

William Shakespeare Hamlet

Source: Hamlet

Thich Nhat Hanh photo

“Preventing war is much better than protesting against the war. Protesting the war is too late.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Source: Being Peace

Marina Warner photo

“The sombre-suited masculine world of the Protestant religion is altogether too much like a gentlemen's club to which the ladies are only admitted on special days.”

Marina Warner (1946) writer and mythographer

Alone of All Her Sex (London: Picador, [1976] 1985) p. 338.

Ben Jonson photo

“The dignity of truth is lost
With much protesting.”

Ben Jonson Catiline His Conspiracy

Catiline His Conspiracy (1611), Act III, scene ii

Ram Dass photo

“You may protest if you can love the person you are protesting against as much as you love yourself.”

Ram Dass book Be Here Now

Source: Be Here Now

Wendell Berry photo

“Much protest is naive; it expects quick, visible improvement and despairs and gives up when such improvement does not come. Protesters who hold out for longer have perhaps understood that success is not the proper goal. If protest depended on success, there would be little protest of any durability or significance. History simply affords too little evidence that anyone's individual protest is of any use. Protest that endures, I think, is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence.”

Wendell Berry (1934) author

"A Poem of Difficult Hope"
What Are People For? (1990)

Dorothy Day photo

“I too complain ceaselessly in my heart and in my words too. My very life is a protest. Against government, for instance.”

Dorothy Day (1897–1980) Social activist

8 August 1974
The Duty of Delight (2011)

William Shakespeare photo

“I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.”

William Shakespeare book Much Ado About Nothing

Source: Much Ado About Nothing

Bono photo

“Who in Ireland could have too much respect for organized religion? We've seen it tear our country in two. My mother was a Protestant. My father was a Catholic. And I learned that religion is often the enemy of God, actually.”

Bono (1960) Irish rock musician, singer of U2

CNN Larry King Weekend (2002)

Wendell Berry photo

“Much protest is naive; it expects quick, visible improvement and despairs and gives up when such improvement does not come.”

Wendell Berry (1934) author

"A Poem of Difficult Hope".
What Are People For? (1990)
Context: Much protest is naive; it expects quick, visible improvement and despairs and gives up when such improvement does not come. Protesters who hold out for longer have perhaps understood that success is not the proper goal. If protest depended on success, there would be little protest of any durability or significance. History simply affords too little evidence that anyone's individual protest is of any use. Protest that endures, I think, is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence.

Related topics