Notes from the Creation

A mere innocent in musical technique, I am never closer to a state of abject surrender than when confronted by the sounds of Richard Wagner’s musicdramas. They are among the stupendous artifacts of creation—especially the later works, and, above all, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Wagner’s early acolytes, at the insistence of the master himself, made too much metaphysics of the merging of musical and dramatic elements in these works. It is the stream of sound itself which overwhelms you. An outline of the plots and characters is helpful, and the German language makes a tangy contribution. But I do not believe my love for these musicdramas would be seriously diminished if Siegmund, instead of piercing the air with his cry of “Nothung!” in the first act of Die Walküre, were instead to shout the name of some Franconian blood sausage. The music, with its noble melodies, intriguing harmonies, and engaging Leitmotifs, carries itself with supreme integrity.

So the reading of Cosima Wagner’s diaries of life with Richard is by no means essential for anyone who desires simply to deepen his love of the musicdramas themselves; listening alone can accomplish that. But it is a fascinating exercise all the same. This first volume (a second, covering Wagner’s last six years, is forthcoming) chronicles the period in which Götterdämmerung was composed and the Festspielhaus was built at Bayreuth. These were efforts on a truly heroic scale. An intimate account of them exceeds in intrinsic interest anyCourt or Cabinet diary conceivable. It is hard to imagine anything comparable, unless a dutiful archangel took some notes during the time period covered by Genesis which have yet to be discovered.

MR

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Mitchell S. Ross

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A mere innocent in musical technique, I am never closer to a state of abject surrender than when confronted by the sounds of Richard Wagner’s musicdramas. They are among the stupendous artifacts of creation—especially the later works, and, above all, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Wagner’s early acolytes, at the insistence of the master himself, made too much metaphysics of the merging of musical and dramatic elements in these works. It is the stream of sound itself which overwhelms you. An outline of the plots and characters is helpful, and the German language makes a tangy contribution. But I do not believe my love for these musicdramas would be seriously diminished if Siegmund, instead of piercing the air with his cry of “Nothung!” in the first act of Die Walküre, were instead to shout the name of some Franconian blood sausage. The music, with its noble melodies, intriguing harmonies, and engaging Leitmotifs, carries itself with supreme integrity.

So the reading of Cosima Wagner’s diaries of life with Richard is by no means essential for anyone who desires simply to deepen his love of the musicdramas themselves; listening alone can accomplish that. But it is a fascinating exercise all the same. This first volume (a second, covering Wagner’s last six years, is forthcoming) chronicles the period in which Götterdämmerung was composed and the Festspielhaus was built at Bayreuth. These were efforts on a truly heroic scale. An intimate account of them exceeds in intrinsic interest anyCourt or Cabinet diary conceivable. It is hard to imagine anything comparable, unless a dutiful archangel took some notes during the time period covered by Genesis which have yet to be discovered.