Was it ever real? Well in one sense yes and in another sense no. It was a blank canvas. There to be projected upon.
Even if it wasn't fully understood, that initial first contact had such power to it that it left an indelible mark upon those who heard it.
Even now, after all this time they still try to capture those feelings experienced in that first encounter. To chase that ideal. To strive to bring back into reality something that perhaps, never really existed in the first place.