Kim Patrick Clow quoted:

>Western music since Bach puts the emphasis on the music itself,
>to the extent that words are made to fit melodies"

Oof - a bit sweeping!  Palestrina had problems with the Pope about
this very issue - ergo Missa Papae Marcelli.  Marcellus II died 1555 and
this mass was dedicated to him retrospectively in 1562.  Marcellus had
complained about over elaboration and colouration so that music overcame
the text - he wanted the text to be more evident.

Bach was only born in 1685, so we can see this conflict well before his
time!

And maybe the author of that snippet is thinking florid Italian opera
(Monteverdi?) rather than Schubert, Wolf, Mahler or Debussy let alone
Tosca ...

Further to my reply which cites Missa Papae Marcelli, can I point to a
very useful web page - the score of the Mass set in Sibelius and readable
and playable over the web using Scorch (free download):

   http://kunta.riihimaki.fi/rmo/musa/palesmpm.htm

CR