Wagner's Ring Cycle and the Greeks

Wagner's Ring Cycle and the Greeks PDF Author: Daniel H. Foster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139486314
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
Through his reading of primary and secondary classical sources, as well as his theoretical writings, Richard Wagner developed a Hegelian-inspired theory linking the evolution of classical Greek politics and poetry. This book demonstrates how, by turning theory into practice, Wagner used this evolutionary paradigm to shape the music and the libretto of the Ring cycle. Foster describes how each of the Ring's operas represents a particular phase of Greek poetic and political development: Das Rheingold and Die Walküre create epic national identity in its earlier and later stages respectively; Siegfried expresses lyric personal identity; and Götterdämmerung destructively culminates with a tragi-comedy about civic identity. This study sees the Greeks through the lens of those scholars whose work influenced Wagner most, focusing on epic, lyric, and comedy, as well as Greek tragedy. Most significantly, the book interrogates the ways in which Wagner uses Greek aesthetics to further his own ideological goals.

Wagner's Ring Cycle and the Greeks

Wagner's Ring Cycle and the Greeks PDF Author: Daniel H. Foster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139486314
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 399

Get Book Here

Book Description
Through his reading of primary and secondary classical sources, as well as his theoretical writings, Richard Wagner developed a Hegelian-inspired theory linking the evolution of classical Greek politics and poetry. This book demonstrates how, by turning theory into practice, Wagner used this evolutionary paradigm to shape the music and the libretto of the Ring cycle. Foster describes how each of the Ring's operas represents a particular phase of Greek poetic and political development: Das Rheingold and Die Walküre create epic national identity in its earlier and later stages respectively; Siegfried expresses lyric personal identity; and Götterdämmerung destructively culminates with a tragi-comedy about civic identity. This study sees the Greeks through the lens of those scholars whose work influenced Wagner most, focusing on epic, lyric, and comedy, as well as Greek tragedy. Most significantly, the book interrogates the ways in which Wagner uses Greek aesthetics to further his own ideological goals.

Ring of Power

Ring of Power PDF Author: Jean Shinoda Bolen
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780062502100
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Acclaimed author and Jungian analyst Bolen reveals the archetypal truths and liberating insights in Wagner's ever-popular Ring Cycle operas. Bolen's interpretations evoke the reader's associations, memories, and emotions to prompt insight and healing for both the psyche and society caught in the "Ring Cycle" of destruction and dysfunction.

The Ring of the Nibelung

The Ring of the Nibelung PDF Author: Richard Wagner
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241305861
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 708

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Book Description
A superb new translation of one of the greatest nineteenth century poems: the libretto to Wagner's Ring cycle The scale and grandeur of Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung has no precedent and no successor. It preoccupied Wagner for much of his adult life and revolutionized the nature of opera, the orchestra, the demands on singers and on the audience itself. The four operas-The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods - are complete worlds, conjuring up extraordinary mythological landscapes through sound as much as staging. Wagner wrote the entire libretto before embarking on the music. Discarding the grand choruses and bravura duets central to most operas, he used the largest musical forces in the context often of only a handful of singers on stage. The words were essential: he was telling a story and making an argument in a way that required absolute attention to what was said. The libretto for The Ring lies at the heart of nineteenth century culture. It is in itself a work of power and grandeur and it had an incalculable effect on European and specifically German culture. John Deathridge's superb new translation, with notes and a fascinating introduction, is essential for anyone who wishes to get to grips with one of the great musical experiences.

Athena Sings

Athena Sings PDF Author: M. Owen Lee
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 9780802085801
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Richard Wagner's knowledge of and passion for Greek drama was so profound that for Friedrich Nietzsche, Wagner was Aeschylus come alive again. Surprisingly little has been written about the pervasive influence of classical Greece on the quintessentially German master. In this elegant and masterfully argued book, renowned opera critic Father Owen Lee describes for the contemporary reader what it might have been like to witness a dramatic performance of Aeschylus in the theatre of Dionysus in Athens in the fifth century B.C. – something that Wagner himself undertook to do on several occasions, imagining a performance of The Oresteia in his mind, reading it aloud to his friends, providing his own commentary, and relating the Greek classic drama to his own romantic view. Father Lee also uses Wagner's writings on Greece and entries from his wife's diaries to cast new light on Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger, Parsifal, and especially the mighty Ring cycle, where Wagner made extensive use of Greek elements to give structural unity and dramatic credibility to his Nordic and Germanic myths. No opera fan, argues Father Lee, can really understand Wagner saving Brünhilde without knowing the Athena who, in Greek drama, first brought justice to Athens. Written with a clarity and depth of knowledge that have characterized all Father Lee's books on the classics of Greece and Rome and made his six other volumes of opera bestsellers, Athena Sings traces the profound influence – an influence few music lovers are aware of – that Greek theatre and culture had on the most German of composers and his revolutionary musical dramas.

Song of the Nibelungs

Song of the Nibelungs PDF Author:
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125986
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
It portrays the existential struggles and downfall of an entire people, the Burgundians, in a military conflict with the Huns and their king."--Jacket.

The Odyssey of Homer

The Odyssey of Homer PDF Author: Andrew Lang
Publisher: Biblo & Tannen Publishers
ISBN: 9780819628817
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description


Understanding the Leitmotif

Understanding the Leitmotif PDF Author: Matthew Bribitzer-Stull
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107098394
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
Through analysis, Matthew Bribitzer-Stull explores the legacy of the leitmotif, from Wagner's Ring cycle to present-day Hollywood film music.

The Fiery Brook

The Fiery Brook PDF Author: Ludwig Feuerbach
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1781680337
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Feuerbach’s departure from the traditional philosophy of Hegel opened the door for generations of radical philosophical thought. His philosophy has long been acknowledged as the influence for much of Marx’s early writings. Indeed, a great amount of the young Marx must remain unintelligible without reference to certain basic Feuerbachian texts. These selections, most of them previously untranslated, establish the thought of Feuerbach in an independent role. They explain his fundamental criticisms of the ‘old philosophy’ of Hegel, and advance his own humanistic thought, which finds its bases in life and sensuality. Feuerbach’s contemporaneity as an existentialist, humanist, and atheist is clearly presented, and the reader can readily grasp the liberating influence of this too-long neglected philosopher. Professor Zawar Hanfi has written an excellent introduction establishing Feuerbach’s environment, importance, and relevance and his translations surpass most previous Feuerbach translators.

The Ring of Truth

The Ring of Truth PDF Author: Roger Scruton
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241188563
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
'The ideal interpreter of the Ring ... a fascinating and valuable study ... absorbing and convincing' Sunday Times The Ring of the Nibelung is one of the greatest works of art created in modern times. Roger Scruton's brilliant and passionate exploration of the drama, music, symbolism and philosophy of Wagner's masterpiece - with its themes of love, death, sacrifice and freedom - shows how, ultimately, it expresses the truth about the human condition. 'Highly original and penetrating ... tremendous' Tim Blanning, Literary Review 'A rich, historical account ... After reading this book, only the most unadventurous reader would turn down the chance to see Wagner's masterpiece' Economist 'A brilliant gallop through the master's religious, musical and philosophical contexts' Sue Prideaux, Spectator 'Scruton is one of the finest philosopher-musicians since Schopenhauer' Jonathan Gaisman, Standpoint

Beyond Reason

Beyond Reason PDF Author: Karol Berger
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520409256
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 548

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Book Description
Beyond Reason relates Wagner's works to the philosophical and cultural ideas of his time, centering on the four music dramas he created in the second half of his career: Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal. Karol Berger seeks to penetrate the "secret" of large-scale form in Wagner's music dramas and to answer those critics, most prominently Nietzsche, who condemned Wagner for his putative inability to weld small expressive gestures into larger wholes. Organized by individual opera, this is essential reading for both musicologists and Wagner experts.