Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Barbara Harbach

Quote by Barbara Harbach

“I played for my first church service when I was nine years old. I was sufficiently tall to be able to reach the pedals. The first hymn I played was Bringing in the Sheaves, and to this day I can play it in any key. I graduated to a Hammond organ a few years later when we went to another church, and then in high school came one of the loves of my life, the pipe organ. The sound of the pipe organ still gives me a thrill, whether soft strings or drowning out the orchestra as in Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra.”

Quote by Barbara Harbach

Create image

Author

Barbara Harbach
Barbara Harbach

Barbara Harbach, born in 1946, is an influential scholar and composer in the field of music. Her works span a variety of musical styles, including classical, jazz, and popular music. Harbach has extensive experience in music education and composition, and her teaching and research have had a profound impact on her students. more

You May Also Like

“I think I was drawn to the harpsichord because of the similarity of touch between the harpsichord and the tracker organ. When you press a key on the harpsichord, the pluck of the string gives a slight resistance similar to the feel of depressing a key on a tracker organ. Also, harpsichordists and organists use much less wrist and body motion than pianists, and we do not need the upper body muscles required by pianists.”

ThinkingGivingDepressingSimilarityPianist
Author:Barbara Harbach
Create image

“The culture of suppressing women composers and performers goes centuries back in Germany and other countries. Just think of Fanny Mendelssohn and the struggles she and many other women had to endure to get their music recognized. How many women's compositions were left to languish in attics, only to be thrown out by future generations! So much has been lost over the centuries.”

ThinkingCountryCultureStruggleEndureComposerCompositionFuture Generation
Author:Barbara Harbach
Create image

“I am a morning person and start work, whether composing, rehearsing, preparing syllabi/tests, or proofing an article or manuscript, early in the morning before the flood of e-mails, phone calls and disturbances, usually by my four cats! I like to do projects that I can become passionate about - women in the arts and mentoring students. Like all of us, if we enjoy what we are doing, it's not work, and we might even get paid for it!”

ArtEnjoyMorningStudentsCatPassionateFloodMentoring
Author:Barbara Harbach
Create image

“As all nocturnal creatures, I have a tendency to wander about during the night, embracing and relishing in its mysteriousness, unexplained sounds, and thick aura of darkness. As a pianist I was drawn to compositions with the titles of Nocturne and Notturno - from Maria Szymanowska's Nocturne in B-flat to John Field and Frederic Chopin's Nocturnes. The night offers a myriad array of emotions from solace to absolute horror. I tried to infuse some of these terrifying thoughts, as well as solace that only night can bring into Night Soundings.”

NightEmotionDarknessHorrorWanderCompositionSolacePianist
Author:Barbara Harbach
Create image