Goethe hated people setting his poetry to music, but endorsed the settings made by an obscure composer named Zelter. Musically, these settings aren't considered

Goethe hated people setting his poetry to music, but endorsed the settings made by an obscure composer named Zelter. Musically, these settings aren't considered very interesting, but that's what Goethe preferred: the music shouldn't distract from the poetry. On the other hand, consider the famous Lieder (or most librettos) -- the music is interesting and the text, less so (on its own). Exceptions abound, of course, but I've come to expect an inverse relationship between music and text in this way.