quick Wagner chord function question

[tedfud 38]

Hiya peeps

quick question :

in bar 4 the second beat plays a D and F# dyad in both hands . Before resolving back to the Cm ( tonic ). Is this heard as a D maj chord ? What would it's function ( roman numeral ) be ? . To my ears ,it doesn't sound like we have left the key until the C7 in bar 4 moves to the F. Or is this just a non functioning appoggiatura chord . (i'm still trying to get my ears around those).

many thanks

T

[Score 771]

Hiya peeps

quick question :

in bar 4 the second beat plays a D and F# dyad in both hands . Before resolving back to the Cm ( tonic ). Is this heard as a D maj chord ? What would it's function ( roman numeral ) be ? . To my ears ,it doesn't sound like we have left the key until the C7 in bar 4 moves to the F. Or is this just a non functioning appoggiatura chord . (i'm still trying to get my ears around those).

many thanks

T

trauermusik.png

D-F# is definitely an appoggiatura chord with a melodic role. There is no modulation.

Note, by the way, that this piano reduction of the passage is not completely correct. The last two notes in the 4th bar have a different rhythm (in the RH you would have a dotted quaver followed by an eighth). In bar 5 the basses would have a low F from the beginning of the bar (namely: contrabass tuba and trombone 4, plus a tremolo in Celli and Violas which is around the F), which gives a very expressive force to the long appoggiatura (from C7 to Fm in the higher voices), also thanks to the sharp "voice" of the brass (in a fabolous orchestration, of course). Then, in bar 8 the second chord is wrong, it should be a "normal" C7 with G in the bass (i.e., the Fb and Ab in the RH would actually be E natural and Bb). In bar 10 the first chord should be a complete C minor, and the resolution in bar 11 (although probably not relevant for what you are studying here) is not to C minor, but to bare C's in octaves, then the English Horn takes the melody to the region of Bb dim. etcetera.

[tedfud 38]

ah...many thanks . Yes this is a bit of a mess. I could only find one piano score of this by Busoni and it wasn't much help. I have tried to get the basics down but now you have pointed that out i'll go back and check. I just thought it would be a great thing to learn how to play on the piano.

This is bar 4....I don't really understand ( unless the tie from the previous bar is a quaver ) how this all fits in

t

[Score 771]

wag2.png

ah...many thanks . Yes this is a bit of a mess. I could only find one piano score of this by Busoni and it wasn't much help. I have tried to get the basics down but now you have pointed that out i'll go back and check. I just thought it would be a great thing to learn how to play on the piano.

This is bar 4....I don't really understand ( unless the tie from the previous bar is a quaver ) how this all fits in

t

The notes on the right hand with the stems up are the main melodic line, and as you can see the last two notes are a dotted quaver and an eighth. The chord with stems down in the right hand belongs, to say so, to the harmonic accompainment. Starting from the third quaver, the pianist plays with the right hand first the Bb-G-Bb chord of the melody, then leaves those keys to play the chord that falls on the fourth quaver (E-C-E), than goes to play the final chord (C-E-C) that falls on the last eighth. The sound of the chord Bb-G-Bb is prolonged by the use of the pedal.

[tedfud 38]

hopefully this is better

many thanks for all your help

t

[Ludwig 1,120]

Whenever studying Wagner's Ring leitmotifs, we always have to consider their relation to one another, which usually gives insight into an interpretation of their meaning.

This one is the "Volsung" motif, the race of which Siegmund, Sieglinde, and their son, the hero Siegfried, are a part. So one can find connections with motifs linked to these characters and their actions. The motif for Siegmund, for example is this:

Notice the same lower neighbour motion by a semitone in the same rhythm. This helps explain why the F# in the Volsung motif is there in the first place. It helps serve as a distinctive marker to form associations between motifs and aid our interpretation.

You'll also notice that the Volsung motif bears significant similarities to the motif for "Valhalla" (since Wotan, god of gods and ruler of Valhalla, is the one who sired the Volsung race) and for "The Sword's Chosen" (not the Sword motif, but related to it) since Siegmund is the one who draws the sword from the tree.

[tedfud 38]

ah . I managed to find a copy of "Wagner Nights" by ernest newman . On page 580 it sights "the Volsung Woe" ( no. 54 ) . Is that an index of all the leitmotifs ? So this movement on to the F# is based on specific story telling.....Marvellous . I must study the leitmotifs in more detail. What book would you recommend ?

It's strange to think the basis of all this music comes from just melodies . And that their re-use as harmony is so common.

T

[Ludwig 1,120]

I must study the leitmotifs in more detail. What book would you recommend ?

For years, it was Donington's Wagner's 'Ring' and Its Symbols that was the go-to source on the leitmotifs, but it's now rather old and as Donington himself admits, he probably missed several leitmotifs (he did).

I recommend Wagner's Ring: A Listener's Companion and Concordance by J.K. Holman because it is more comprehensive (145 leitmotifs in the four operas compared to Donington's 90-odd total, IIRC), and because of the "concordance", meaning it gives the exact act, scene, page, and staff number where the motifs occur in the authoritative Schirmer vocal score, and gives all the appearances of and motifs associated with each character.

A real tour de force.

[tedfud 38]

perfect....just ordered....thank you very much

t