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Richard Wagner's Tristan Und Isolde Submitted in Parti Music Theatre and Opera MUSI502 – 10Y (HAM) “A Musical Landmark” Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Music (Honours) BY Nicholas Braae The University of Waikato 2010 Student ID: 1138629 A perusal of the literature on Richard Wagner and his music drama Tristan und Isolde leaves the reader in little doubt that both occupy a special place in the pantheon of Western art music. Millington argues that Wagner’s contribution to the development of music was “so far reaching as to be almost incalculable”1; John Rose describes Tristan as a “landmark in musical history”2; Charles Osborne simply states that Tristan is “one of the most remarkable operas ever written.”3 Even Wagner, in a letter to Franz Liszt, wrote that the work is a “monument to the most beautiful of all dreams…the true happiness of love.”4 Perhaps the most resounding proof of Tristan’s status is its continued prominence in the academic world, in which the work’s Prelude has become the most studied piece of Western art music.5 Millington warns that the popular and perceived image of Wagner is the product of exaggeration and imagination; but, he does acknowledge that the idea of an “arrogant, self-centred, manipulative opportunist and sybarite, who relieved other men of their wives as readily as he relieved the wealthy of their cash” contains some truth.6 In short, Wagner is remembered as a highly polarizing figure — in part, revered for his musical innovations; in part, criticized for composing decadent and “vulgar musical bombast”7; and in part, despised for his seemingly (but probably misunderstood) loathsome nature. Enrico Fubini stresses that Wagner was a poet, a composer, a philosopher and a critic8 and it would thus appear that much of the academic appeal lies in his multi- faceted nature. The purpose here is to study Tristan und Isolde as a musical work of art; however, to do so in isolation would be foolish and ultimately insufficient given the integral role and influence of Wagner’s philosophical views on his compositional style. Indeed, one faces quite a task of comprehending Tristan if unaware of the 1 Barry Millington, The New Grove: Wagner (London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2002), 1. 2 John Luke Rose, “A Landmark in Musical History,” in The English National Opera Guide: Tristan and Isolde, ed. Nicholas John (London: John Calder Publishers Ltd., 1983), 9. 3 Charles Osborne, The Complete Operas of Richard Wagner (London: Michael O’Mara Books Ltd., 1990), 152. 4 Michael Tanner, “The Total Work of Art,” in The Wagner Companion, eds. Peter Burbidge and Richard Sutton (London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1979), 178. 5 Robert Bailey, preface to Richard Wagner, Prelude and Transfiguration from Tristan and Isolde, ed. Robert Bailey, A Norton Critical Score (Ontario: W.W. Norton & Co., 1985), viii. 6 Barry Millington, “Wagner As An Individual: Appearance and Character,” in The Wagner Compendium: A Guide to Wagner’s Life and Music, ed. Barry Millington (New York: Schirmer Books, 1992), 98. 7 Enrico Fubini, The History of Music Aesthetics, trans. Michael Hatwell (London: Macmillan Press Ltd., 1990), 332. 8 Ibid., 320. 1 aesthetic principles that underpin it. With this in mind, I propose a two-part approach to my discussion. The first section will look at Wagner’s ideas, primarily as set forth in his Zurich essays, written in the late 1840s and early 1850s. Wagner’s main contribution to Western classical music has been his innovative approach to opera. These seminal publications outline Wagner’s visions for the genre and significantly influenced his compositions in the years that followed. Having established a framework, I will progress to Tristan und Isolde as a musical text and examine it in relation to Wagner’s ideas. This is done in general terms, as well as through detailed examination of two scenes from the work (an extract from the love-duet of Act II and Isolde’s Liebestod at the end of Act III) so it is possible to see how Wagner’s theories play out in a specific context. The close examination of particular scenes also allows for consideration of some of Wagner’s compositional methods — in particular, his advanced harmonic language. Finally, an overview of Tristan would not be complete without discussion of the Prelude, in particular the opening passage containing the famous ‘Tristan’ chord. It is quite remarkable that a single musical moment — only four bars in length — could have caused so much consternation amongst scholars regarding its function and how it should be viewed. I doubt I can add a new opinion to the debate given the multiple existing ones already; however, it is possible to reflect on, and assess some interpretations of the phrase. The aim is not to examine every aspect of Tristan but rather to consider the points that seem most pertinent and set it apart from other works in Western music history. Jürgen Kühnel argues that Wagner’s Zurich essays constitute “an important and thoroughly original contribution to discussions of the philosophy of art…in the nineteenth century.”9 One should be careful of overstating the originality of Wagner’s ideas; Fubini contends that, as a whole, his aesthetic contribution was a significant achievement. That said, he should be viewed as the figure who summed up the various strands of Romanticism that had preceded him into a comprehensive and cohesive set of ideas, as opposed to one who provided a fundamentally new direction 9 Jürgen Kühnel, “The Prose Writings,” trans. Simon Nye, in The Wagner Handbook, eds. Ulrich Müller and Peter Wapnewski (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992), 565. 2 for his successors.10 Indeed, one could contend that the idea of a “total work of art” — the Gesamtkunstwerk — had been foreshadowed in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, insofar as Wagner argued that the “absolute” nature of the music had reached “a point of such intensity” that the only possibility for Beethoven was the incorporation of vocal text.11 However, when combined with a revolutionary fervour, Wagner’s ideas take on a new meaning in his writings.12 There are three principal essays that deserve consideration from this period: Die Kunst und die Revolution (1849), Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft (1849), and Oper und Drama (1850-51). Although separate treatises, there is a connection and evolution of ideas throughout the works. His theories were influenced by his prior exposure to ancient Greek literature. During his formative years in the 1820s, he studied Greek but was gradually forced to commit more time to music at the expense of the language. In the early 1840s, this interest was revived through contact in Paris with Samuel Lehrs, a philologist with a particular knowledge of classic literature.13 In the summer of 1847, Wagner further immersed himself in the works of Aristophanes, Plato, Homer and Aeschylus, to the extent that he felt unable to reconcile himself with contemporary literature.14 There are few links between the ancient works themselves and his compositions; rather, the significance of this experience lies in the insights Wagner gained into the nature and role of art within ancient Athenian society. In Die Kunst und die Revolution, Wagner outlined his admiration of the Athenian polis because of the perceived harmony between the individual and society, between one’s private and one’s public interests. The art of Athens was regarded as the supreme manifestation of this harmony and was “public” in the sense it that was “present in the public consciousness, whereas today it is present only in the consciousness of individuals, meaning nothing to the unconscious public.”15 In the mid-1800s, one’s public and private interests were in conflict with one another, due 10 Fubini, The History of Music Aesthetics, 320. 11 Tanner, “The Total Work of Art,” 152. 12 Fubini, The History of Music Aesthetics, 321. 13 Hugh Lloyd-Jones, “Wagner and the Greeks,” in The Wagner Compendium: A Guide to Wagner’s Life and Music, ed. Barry Millington (New York: Schirmer Books, 1992), 158. 14 Ibid., 158. 15 Mark Berry, “Richard Wagner and the Politics of Music-Drama,” The Historical Journal 47, no. 3 (2004), 667. 3 to the advent of the bourgeois system.16 Although Wagner acknowledged the undesirability of a society founded on slavery (as ancient Greece was), he argued that modern society was not far removed from this system. The development of capitalism resulted in everyone becoming a “slave to capital.”17 This idea applies equally to all of society, not in the least to the artist who creates a product for the ‘market’ and is paid for it. Consequently, the ‘artist’ is no longer an artist, in the true sense of the word, but a craftsman (with connotations of an industrial labourer18) whose final product and its subsequent profit are of greatest importance. This is the primary distinction between the artist of ancient Greece and that of Wagner’s era— the Greek artist was rewarded through his own pleasure and public approval19 whereas the contemporary artist [to Wagner] was bound by the profit- making restraints of society. It is interesting to note, with the benefit of hindsight, that much of the same argument is invoked nowadays as a critique of popular music in relation to the ‘classical’ music of centuries past.20 The “revolution of mankind,” envisaged by Wagner as occurring in 1848-49, would overcome the bourgeois social order and consequently return art to its status as a public entity rather than a commodity. The Gesamtkunstwerk would be the artistic manifestation of the new collective unity of society.21 Wagner elaborated his aesthetic ideas in Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft, published a few months after Die Kunst und die Revolution.
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