E, 
 
y'l^-.^Z^Ci^a^ 
 
^WAGNER'S 
 
 Ring of the Nibelong, 
 
 BY 
 
 GUSTAV KOBB6. TVU^ 
 
 M 
 
 SIXTH EDITION, 
 
 New York : 
 
 G. SCHIRMER 
 
 1894. 
 

 Copyrighted, 1889, by Gustav Kobbe. 
 
CAROLYN WHEELER KOBBlfi. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Introduction, ,..••• ^ 
 
 The " Rhinegold,' ..... 7 
 
 The "Valkyr," . . . . • 29 
 
 Siegfried,' 
 
 64 
 
 The " Dusk of the Gods," . • . . 87 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 AT PAGE 
 
 The Death Prophecy, . . . (Frontispiece) 
 
 A Rhine-daughter, ..... 7 
 
 Siegfried, ....... 64 
 
 Siegfried's Death, '. . . . . 87 
 
 Bv Marie Olga Kobb£. 
 
 Brunhilde, ... . . . . ,29 
 
 By Stevens & Morris. 
 
LEADING MOTIVES. 
 
 Brflnhilde. . 
 Briinhilde's Awakening, 
 Briinhilde's Love, 
 Briinhilde's Pleading, 
 
 Compact, 
 
 Compact with the Giants. 
 
 Curse, .... 
 
 Death Song, 
 Donner, . . , 
 Dusk of the Gods, 
 
 Erda, . 
 Eternal Youth, . 
 
 Fate, 
 Flight, 
 
 Freia, 
 Fricka, 
 
 Giant. . 
 Gibicnung, 
 God's Stress, 
 Gutrune, . 
 
 Hagen, • 
 
 Hagen's Wicked Glee, 
 
 Handing, . . 
 
 Loge, . 
 Love, 
 Love's Greeting, 
 Love's Joy, . 
 Love Life, 
 Love's Passion 
 Love's Peace, 
 Love Potion, . 
 Love Song, 
 
 Magic Fire, 
 
 Mime, 
 
 Murder, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 87 
 82 
 
 . 89 
 60 
 
 57 
 
 • 27 
 
 79 
 
 • 27 
 12, 52 
 
 47 
 
 Nibelung, 20 
 
 Nibelungs' Hate, ... 25 
 Nibelungs' Power, . . .90 
 
 Nibelungs' Servitude, . . 10 
 
 Rainbow, . . . 
 Renunciation of Love, 
 Rhine, .... 
 Rhinedaughters, 
 Rhinedaughters' Shout of Tri 
 umph, .... 
 
 Rhinegold, 
 
 Ride of the Valkyrs, . 
 
 Ring, II 
 
 Rising Hoard, . . . .23 
 
 Shout of the Valkyrs, . . 47 
 
 Siegfried, 60 
 
 Siegfried, the Fearless, . . 66 
 
 Siegfried, the Hero, . . . 88 
 
 Siegfried, the Impetuous, . 66 
 
 Siegfried, the Protector, . . 85 
 
 Siegmund, 33 
 
 Slumber, 61 
 
 Storm, 31 
 
 Sympathy, . . • . , .34 
 
 Sword, 28 
 
 Tamhelmet, 21 
 
 Vengeance, 
 Vow, 
 
 Walhalla, . . . . 
 Walsung, . . , 
 Walsungs' Heroism, . 
 Walsungs' Call to Victory, 
 Wedding Summons, . 
 World's Heritage, . . 
 Wotan's Disguise, 
 Wotan's Wandering, 
 Wotan's Wrath, 
 
 Note. — The scores to which frequent references are made in this book are the 
 Piano Scores, with Words (simplified edition), by R. Kleinmichel. For instance, 
 page 25, line i, given as a reference on page 9, means that the musical passage 
 spoken of will be found in the first line on page 25 of the simplified edition of the 
 Kleinmichel piano-vocal score of " Rhinegold. 
 
PREFACE TO THE SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 'T^IS is the sixth edition of my " Wagner's Ring of 
 ■*■ the Nibelung" in separate form ; but, as these analyses 
 are also part of my two volumes entitled "Wagner's Life 
 and Works," the book may be said to have really reached 
 its seventh edition with this issue. 
 
 I attribute this popularity — which is gratifying to me 
 chiefly because it attests the popularity which Wagner's 
 works have attained — to the fact that the analyses are en- 
 tirely untechnical and to the numerous musical examples. 
 They are just so many illustrations, presenting to the eye 
 and through it to the hearing, what is described and analyzed 
 in the text. 
 
 I trust this work has aided the public in recognizing what, 
 not so very long ago, only a small band of pioneers recog- 
 nized — that Wagner is the greatest tone-master the world 
 has ever seen and perhaps ever will see. 
 
 GusTAY Kobb6. 
 
 Summit, Union Co., N. J., July, 1894. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The " Ring of the Nibelung " consists of four music-dra- 
 mas — " Rhinegold," the "Valkyr," "Siegfried" and the 
 " Dusk of the Gods." The " books " of these were written 
 in inverse order. Wagner made a dramatic sketch of 
 the Nibelung myth as early as the autumn of 1848 
 and between then and the autumn of 1850 he wrote 
 the " Death of Siegfried." This subsequently became the 
 ** Dusk of the Gods." Meanwhile Wagner's ideas as to the 
 proper treatment of the myth seem to have undergone a 
 change. " Siegfried's Death " ended simply dramatically, 
 Briinnhilde leading Siegfried to Valhall. Afterwards 
 Wagner evidently conceived the purpose of connecting the 
 final catastrophe of his Trilogy with the Dusk of the Gods, 
 or end of all things, in Northern mythology, and of embody- 
 ing' a profound truth in the action of the music-dramas. 
 This metaphysical significance of the work is believed to be 
 sufficiently explained in the brief synopsis of the plot of the 
 Trilogy and in the descriptive musical and dramatic analy- 
 sis below. 
 
 In the autumn of 1850 when Wagner was on the point of 
 sketching out the music of " Siegfried's Death," he recog- 
 nized that he must lead up to it with another drama, and 
 " Young Siegfried," afterwards " Siegfried," was the result. 
 This in turn he found incomplete, and finally decided to 
 supplement it with the " Valkyr" and " Rhinegold." This 
 backward 7nodus operandi he explained to Liszt in a char- 
 acteristic letter dated Albisbrunn, November 20, 1851. 
 
 " Rhinegold " was produced in Munich, at the Hof theater 
 
'U 
 
 ii introduction: 
 
 September 22, 1869 ; the " Valkyr," on the same stage, June 
 26, 1870. " Siegfried " and the "Dusk of the Gods " were 
 not performed until 1876, when they were produced at Bay- 
 
 . . reuth. 
 
 V Of the principal characters in the " Ring of the Nibe- 
 lung," Alberich, the Nibelung, and Wotan, the chief of the 
 gods, are symboHc of greed for wealth and power. This 
 lust leads Alberich to renounce love — the most sacred of 
 emotions— in order that he may rob the Rhine-daughters of 
 the Rhinegold and forge from it the ring which is to make 
 him all-powerful. Wolanhy strategy obtains the ring, but, 
 instead of returning it to the Rhine-daughters, he gives it 
 to the giants, Fafner and Fasolt as ransom for F?'eia, the 
 goddess of youth and beauty, whom he had promised to the 
 giants as a reward for building Walhalla. Alberich has 
 cursed the ring and all into whose possession it may come. 
 I The giants no sooner obtain it than they fall to quarreling 
 over it 2ind Fafner slays Fasolt and then retires to a cave in 
 the heart of a forest where, in the form of a dragon, he guards 
 the ring and the rest of the treasure which Wotan wrested 
 from Alberich and also gave to the giants as ransom for 
 Freia. This treasure includes the tarn-helmet, a helmet 
 made of Rhinegold, the wearer of which can assume any 
 guise. 
 
 Wotan having witnessed the slaying of Fasolt, is filled 
 with dread lest the curse of Alberich be visited upon the 
 gods. To defend Valhalla against the assaults of Al^ 
 berich and the host of Nibelungs, he begets in union with 
 Erda, the goddess of wisdom, the Valkyrs (chief among 
 them Brilnnhilde) who course through the air on superb 
 chargers and bear the bodies of departed heroes to Val- 
 halla, where they revive and aid the gods in warding off the 
 attacks of the Nibelungs. But it is also necessary that the 
 
INTRODUCTION, iii 
 
 curse-laden ring should be wrested from Fafner and re- 
 stored through purely unselfish motives to the Rhine- daugh- 
 ters, and the curse thus lifted from the race of the gods. 
 None of the gods can do this because the motives would not 
 be entirely unselfish. Hence, Wotan, for a time, casts off 
 his divinity, and in disguise as Walse, begets in union with 
 a human woman the Walsung twins, Sieginund and Sieg- 
 linde. Siegmund he hopes will be the hero who will slay 
 Fafner and restore the ring to the Rhine- daughters. To 
 nerve him for this task, Wotan surrounds the Walsungs 
 with numerous hardships. Sieglinde is forced to become 
 the wife of her robber Hunding, Sz'egmund, storm-driven, 
 seeks shelter in Hunding' s hut, where he and his sister, re- 
 cognizing one another, form an incestuous union and es- 
 cape. Hunding overtakes them and Wotan, as Siegmund 
 has been guilty of a crime against the marriage vow, is 
 obliged, at the request of his spouse Fricka, the Juno of 
 Northern mythology, to give victory to Hunding. Briinn- 
 kilde, contrary to Wotan's command, takes pity on Sieg- 
 mund and seeks to shield him against Hunding. For this 
 Wotan causes her to fall into a profound slumber. The 
 hero who will penetrate the barrier of fire with which Wo- 
 tan has surrounded the rock upon which she slumbers can 
 claim her as his bride. 
 
 After Siegmund'' s death Sieglinde gives birth to Sieg- 
 fried, a son of their incestuous union, who is reared by one 
 of the Nibelungs, Mime, in the forest where Fafner guards 
 the Nibelung treasure. Mime is seeking to weld the pieces 
 of Siegmund' s sword (Nothung or Needful) in order that 
 Siegfried may slay Fafner, Mime hoping to then possess 
 himself of the treasure. But he cannot weld the sword. At 
 last Siegfried, learning that it was his father's weapon,welds 
 the pieces and slays Fafner. His lips having come in con- 
 
iv IN TROD UC TION. 
 
 tact with his bloody fingers, he is, through the magic power 
 of the dragon's blood, enabled to understand the language 
 of the birds, and a little feathery songster warns him of 
 Mime's treachery. Siegfried sldiys the Nibelung and is then 
 guided to the fiery barrier around the Valkyr rock. Pene- 
 trating this, he comes upon Briinnhilde, and, enraptured 
 with her beauty, he awakens her and claims her as his bride, 
 and she, the virgin pride of the goddess, yielding to the love 
 of the woman, gives herself up to him. He plights his troth 
 with the curse-laden ring which he has wrested from 
 Fafner. 
 
 Siegfried goes forth in quest of adventure. On the 
 Rhine lives the Gibichung Gunther, his sister Gutrmte and 
 their half-brother Hagen, the son of the Nibelung Alberich' 
 Hagen, knowing of Siegfried's coming, plans his destruction 
 in order to regain the ring for the Nibelungs. Therefore, 
 craftily concealing Briinnhilde s and Siegfried's relations 
 from Gunther he incites a longing in the latter to possess 
 Briinnhilde 2iS his bride. Carrying out a plot evolved by Ha- 
 gen, Gutrune on Siegfried' s zxv'wsX presents to him a drink- 
 ing horn filled with a love-potion. Siegfried drinks, forgets 
 Briinnhilde, and becoming enamored of Gutrune asks her 
 in marriage of Gunther. The latter consents provided Sieg- 
 fried will disguise himself in the Tarn-helmet as Gunther 
 and lead Briinnhilde to him as bride. Siegfried readily 
 agrees, and in the guise of Gunther overcomes Briinnhilde 
 and delivers her to the Gibichung. But Briinnhilde, recog- 
 nizing on Siegfried the ring which her conqueror had 
 drawn from her finger, accuses him of treachery in deliver- 
 ing her, his own bride, to Gunther. The latter, unmasked 
 and also suspicious o{\Siegfried, conspires with Hagen and 
 Briinnhilde, who, knowing naught of the love-potion, is 
 roused to a frenzy of hate and jealousy by Siegfried's 
 
INTRODUCTION, r 
 
 treachery, to compass the young hero's death. Hagen 
 slays Siegfried AviTiVig a hunt, and then in a quarrel with 
 Gunther over the ring also kills the Gibichung. Meanwhile 
 Brunnhilde has learned through the Rhine-daughters of 
 the treachery of which she and Siegfried have been the 
 victims. All her jealous hatred of Siegfried yields to her 
 old love for him and a passionate yearning to join him in 
 death. She draws the ring from his finger, ignites the 
 pyre with a torch and then, mounting her steed, plunges 
 into the flames. One of the Rhine-daughters seizes 
 the curse-laden ring. Hagen rushes into the flooding 
 Rhine hoping to regain it, but the other Rhine-daughters 
 grasp him and draw him down into the depths. Not 
 only the flames of the pyre, but a glow which pervades 
 the whole horizon illumines the scene. It is Walhalla being 
 consumed by fire. Through love — the very emotion Alber- 
 ich renounced in order to gain wealth and power — BrUnn- 
 hilde has caused the old order of things to pass away and a 
 new and better era to dawn. 
 
 The sum of all that has been written concerning the book 
 of " The Ring of the Nibelung " is probably larger than the 
 sum of all that has been written concerning the librettos 
 used by all other composers in their aggregate. What can 
 be said of the ordinary opera libretto beyond Voltaire's 
 remark that "what is too stupid to be spoken is sung?" 
 But "The Ring of the Nibelung" produced vehement dis- 
 cussion. It was attacked and defended, praised and 
 ridiculed, extolled and condemned, And it survived all the 
 discussion it called forth. It was the grandest fact in 
 Wagner's career that he always triumphed. He threw his 
 lance into the midst of his enemies and fought his way up 
 to it. No matter how much opposition his music-dramas 
 
 // 
 
vt INTRODUCTION. 
 
 excited, they found their way into the repertoire of the 
 leading opera houses of Germany and have since their 
 production proved the most popular musico-dramatic works 
 of the time. 
 
 It was contended on many sides that a book like " The 
 Ring of the Nibelung" could not be set to music. Certainly 
 it could not be after the fashion of an ordinary opera. 
 Perhaps people were so accustomed to the books of nonsense 
 which figured as opera librettos that they thought " The 
 Ring of the Nibelung " was so great a work that its action 
 and climaxes were beyond the scope of musical expression. 
 For such, Wagner has placed music on a higher level. He 
 has shown that music makes a great drama greater. 
 
 One of the most remarkable features of Wagner's works 
 is the author's absorption of the traits of the times of which 
 he wrote. He seems to have gone back to the very time in 
 which the scene of the music-drama is laid and to have 
 himself lived through the events in his plot. Hans Sachs 
 could not have left a more faithful portrayal of life in the 
 Nuremberg of his day than Wagner has given us in " Die 
 Meistersinger." In " The Ring of the Nibelung " he has 
 done more — he has absorbed an imaginary epoch ; lived 
 over the days of gods and demigods ; infused hfe into 
 mythological figures. " The Rhinegold," which is full of 
 varied interest from its first note to its last, deals entirely 
 with beings of mythology. They are presented true to life 
 — if that expression may be used in connection with beings 
 that never lived — that is to say, they are so vividly drawn 
 that we forget such beings never lived, and take as much 
 interest in their doings and sayings as if they were lifelike 
 reproductions of historical characters. Was there ever a 
 love scene more thrilling than that between Siegmund 2SiA 
 Sieglindef It represents the gradations of the love of two 
 
INTRODUCTION, vii 
 
 souls from its first awakening to its rapturous greeting in 
 full self-consciousness. No one stops to think during that 
 impassioned scene that the close relationship between Sieg- 
 mund and Sieglinde would in these days have been a bar to 
 their legal union. For all we know, in those moments 
 when the impassioned music of that scene whirls us away 
 in its resistless current, not a drop of related blood courses 
 through their veins. This is a sufficient answer to the ser- 
 mons that have been preached against the immorality of 
 this scene. Moreover, as it is by no means dramatically 
 necessary that Siegmund and Siegliende should be 
 brother and sister, those who hold mythological beings to 
 as strict a moral accountability as they do the people of to- 
 day can imagine that the lovers were strangers or second 
 cousins or anything else — only let them stop preaching 
 sermons. It has been said that we could not be interested 
 in mythological beings — that " The Ring of the Nibelung " 
 lacked human interest. In reply, I say that wonderful as 
 is the first act of " The Valkyr," there is nothing in it to 
 compare in wild and lofty beauty with the last act of that 
 music-drama — especially the scene httvi^tn BrilnnhiidediVidi 
 Wot an. 
 
 That there are faults of dramatic construction in '* The 
 Ring of the Nibelungen " I admit. I have not hesitated to 
 point them out. But there are faults of construction in 
 Shakespeare. What would be the critical verdict if " Ham- 
 let " were now to have its first performance in the exact 
 form in which Shakespeare left it ? With all its faults of 
 dramatic construction " The Ring of the Nibelung " is a re- 
 markable drama, full of life and action and logically de- 
 veloped, the events leading up to superb climaxes. Wagner 
 was doubly inspired. He was both a great dramatist and 
 a great musician. 
 
viii INTRODUCTION, 
 
 The chief faults of dramatic construction of which Wag- 
 ner was guilty in " The Ring of the Nibelung " are certain 
 unduly prolonged scenes which are merely episodical — that 
 is unnecessary to the development of the plot so that they 
 delay the action and weary the audience to a point which 
 endangers the success of the really sublime portions of the 
 score. Such are the scenes between Wotan and Fricka 
 and Wotan and Briinnhilde in the second act of the 
 " Valkyr " ; between Wotan and Mime in the first act of 
 " Siegfried " ; between Wotan and Erda in the third act 
 of " Siegfried " ; andtheA^(?r« scene in the "Dusk of the 
 Gods." In several of these scenes there is a great amount 
 of narrative, the story of events with which we have become 
 familiar being retold in detail although some incidents 
 which connect the plot of the particular music-drama with 
 that of the preceding one are also related. But, as 
 narrative on the stage makes little impression, and, when it is 
 sung perhaps none at all, because it cannot be well under- 
 stood, it would seem as if prefaces to the libretti could 
 have taken the place of these narratives. Certain it is that 
 these long drawn-out scenes did more to retard the popular 
 recognition of Wagner's genius than the activity of hostile 
 critics and musicians. Still, it should be remembered that 
 nowhere, except at Bayreuth, are these music-dramas given 
 as they should be, and that they were composed for per- 
 formance under the ideal circumstances which prevail there. 
 At Bayreuth the performances begin in the afternoon and 
 there are long waits between the acts, during which you can 
 refresh yourself by a stroll or by the more mundane 
 pleasures of the table. Then, after an hour's relaxation of 
 the mind and of the sense of hearing, you are ready to hear 
 another act. Under these agreeable conditions the faults 
 of dramatic construction are not fatigueing because one 
 
INTRODUCTION, ix 
 
 remains sufficiently fresh to enjoy the music of the 
 dramatically faulty scenes. Even poor old Woian's fre- 
 quent outbursts of grief are not nearly so tedious as they are 
 when the " Ring " is performed elsewhere than at Bayreuth. 
 
 Wotan, except in the noble scene with Briinnhilde in 
 the finale of " The Valkyr," is a bore. He is Wagner's one 
 failure — and Wagner's failure was on as colossal a scale as 
 his successes were. Wotan is the chief of the gods, a race 
 marked out by fate for annihilation. Walking in the 
 shadow of impending destruction he would, one might sup- 
 pose, bear himself with a certain tragic dignity. Instead of 
 this, however, he is constantly bemoaning his fate and hence 
 strikes one as contemptible rather than as tragic. Moreover, 
 even if his outbursts of grief were tragic instead of ridiculous 
 and wearisome, we could hardly clothe with god-like dig- 
 nity a character who pursues the female sex — divine, semi- 
 divine and purely human — with the persistency of a mytho- 
 logical Mormon and has reared a numerous family each 
 member of which would probably find considerable diffi- 
 culty in identifying his or her mother. 
 
 But if Wotan is a failure, Briinnhilde is on the other 
 hand Wagner's noblest creation. She takes upon herself 
 the sins of the gods and the Nibelungs and by her expiation 
 frees the world from the curse of lust for wealth and power. 
 She is a perfect dramatic incarnation of the profound and 
 beautiful metaphysical argument upon which the plot of the 
 " Ring of the Nibelung " is based. 
 
"^HE Ring 
 
 *- 
 
 —OF THE- 
 
 RiBELUNG. 
 
 THE RHINEGOLD. 
 
 ^ N " The Rhinegold " we meet with supernatu- 
 ral beings of German mythology-^the Rhine- 
 daughters Woglmde, Wellgunde and Floss- 
 hzlde, whose duty it is to guard the precious 
 Rhinegold ; Wotan, the chief of the Gods ; his 
 spouse Fricka ; Loge, the God of Fire (the 
 diplomat of Walhalla) ; Frez'a, the Goddess 
 of Youth and Beauty ; her brothers Donner 
 and Froh ; Erda, the all-wise woman ; the giants Fafner 
 and Fasolt ; Alberich and Mime of the race of Nibelungs, 
 cunning, treacherous gnomes who dwell in Nibelheim in 
 the bowels of the earth. 
 
8 : ; ,; .'^r^^/t^i?'.;^ MU'S^C-DRAMAS. 
 
 ^He first scene oi' '"'kHinegbld " is laid on the Rhine, 
 where the Rhinedaughters guard the Rhinegold. 
 
 The work opens with a wonderfully descriptive pre- 
 lude, which depicts with marvelous art (marvelous be- 
 cause so simple) the transition from the quietude of 
 the water-depths to the wavy life of the Rhinedaugh- 
 ters. The double basses intone E flat. Only this note 
 is heard during four bars. Then three contra bassoons 
 add a B flat. The chord, thus formed, sounds until the 
 136th bar. With the sixteenth bar there flows over this 
 seemingly immovable triad, as the current of a river 
 flows over its immovable bed, the Motive of the 
 Rhine ': 
 
 A horn intones this Motive. Then one horn after 
 another takes it up until its wave-like tones are heard 
 on the eight horns. On the flowing accompaniment of 
 the 'cellos the Motive is carried to the woodwind. It 
 rises higher and higher, the other strings successively 
 joining in the accompaniment, which now flows on in 
 gentle undulations until the Motive is heard on the 
 high notes of the woodwind, while the violins have 
 joined in the accompaniment. When the theme thus 
 seems to have stirred the waters from their depth to 
 their surface the curtain rises. 
 
 The scene shows the bed and flowing waters of the 
 Rhine, the light of day reaching the depths only as 
 
•• THE RHINEGOLDr 9 
 
 a greenish twilight. The current flows on over rugged 
 rocks and through dark chasms. 
 
 Woglinde is circling gracefully around the central 
 ridge of rock. To an accompaniment as wavy as the 
 waters through which she swims, she sings the much- 
 discussed 
 
 Weia ! Waga ! Woge, du Welle, 
 Walle zur Wiege ! Wagala weia ! 
 Wallala, Weiala weia ! 
 
 Some of these words belong to what may be termed 
 the language of the Rhinedaughters. Looked at in print 
 they seem odd, perhaps even ridiculous. When, how- 
 ever, they are sung to the melody of the Rhinedaughters 
 they have a wavy grace which is simply entrancing. The 
 Motive to which they are sung (Kleinmichel piano score 
 with words, page 5, line 4; see also page 25, line i), 
 I call the Motive of the Rhinedaughters. 
 
 Weia Wagal Wo-ge, du Wel-le, wal - le zur Wiegel 
 
 
 Wa-ga - la - wci - a I wal - la - la, wei - a - la wei - a 1 
 
 In wavy sport the Rhinedaughters dart from cliff to cliff. 
 Meanwhile Alberich has clambered from the depths up 
 to one of the cliffs, and watches, while standing in its 
 shadow, the gambols of the Rhinedaughters. As he 
 speaks to them there is a momentary harshness in the 
 music, whose flowing rhythm is broken (page 8, line 3). 
 Characteristically descriptive of his discomfiture is the 
 music when, in futile endeavors to clamber up to them, 
 
10 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 he inveighs against the " slippery slime " which causes 
 him to lose his foothold (page 12, line 2). 
 
 When, after Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde have 
 in turn gamboled almost within his reach, only to dart 
 away again, he curses his own weakness, you hear the 
 Motive of the Nibelungs' Servitude, (page 24, line 
 I, bars 3 and 4). 
 
 3. : 
 
 \ 
 
 Swimming high above him the Rhinedaughters incite 
 him with gleeful cries to chase them. Alberich tries to 
 ascend, but always slips and falls back. Finally, beside 
 himself with rage, he threatens them with clenched fist. 
 The music accompanying this threat is in the typical 
 rhythm of the Nibelung Motive (see No. 18). 
 
 Alberich' s gaze is attracted and held by a glow which 
 suddenly pervades the waves above him and increases 
 until from the highest point of the central cliff a bright, 
 golden ray shoots through the water. Amid the shim- 
 mering accompaniment of the violins is heard on the 
 horn the Rhinegold Motive (page 31, line i). 
 
 With shouts of triumph the Rhinedaughters swim 
 around the rock. Their cry, " Rhinegold," is a charac- 
 teristic motive, heard again later in the cycle, and the 
 new accompanying figure on the violins may also be 
 noted, as later on further reference to it will be neces- 
 
THE RHINEGOLD. 
 
 It 
 
 sary. The Rhinedaughters' Shout of Triumph and 
 the accompaniment to it are as follows : 
 
 As the river glitters with golden light the Rhinegold 
 Motive rings out brilliantly on the trumpet. The Nibe- 
 lung is fascinated by the sheen. The Rhinedaughters 
 gossip with one another, and Alberich thus learns that 
 the light is that of the Rhinegold, and that whoever 
 shapeth a ring from this gold will become invested 
 with great power. Then is heard The Ring Motive 
 page 41, line 3) in the woodwind : 
 
 \^^^^^^^^M. 
 
 When Flosshilde bids her sisters cease their prattle, 
 lest some sinister foe should overhear them, the music 
 which accompanied Alberich" s\y\x^2X in the typical Nibe- 
 lung rhythm reappears for an instant (page 42, line 3). 
 
 Wellgunde and Woglinde ridicule their sister's anxiety, 
 saying that no one would care to filch the gold, because 
 it would give power only to him who abjures or re- 
 nounces love. The darkly prophetic Motive of the 
 
12 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 Renunciation of Love is heard here (page 43, line i). 
 It is sung by Woglinde : 
 
 As Alberich reflects on the words of the Rhinedaugh- 
 ters (page 47, line 3) the Ring Motive occurs both in voice 
 and orchestra in mysterious pianissimo (like an echo of 
 AlbericJis sinister thoughts), and is followed by the Mo- 
 tive of Renunciation. Then is heard the sharp, decisive 
 rhythm of the Nibelung Motive (see No. 18), and Albe- 
 rich fiercely springs over to the central rock. The 
 Rhinedaughters scream and dart away in different direc- 
 tions. The threatening measures of the Nibelung — this 
 time loud and relentless — and Alberich has reached the 
 summit of the highest cliff. 
 
 " Hark, ye floods ! Love I renounce forever ! " he 
 cries, and amid the crash of the Rhinegold Motive he 
 seizes the gold and disappears in the depths. With 
 screams of terror the Rhinedaug^hters dive after the robber 
 through the darkened water, guided by Alberich' s shrill, 
 mocking laugh. Waters and rocks sink ; as they disap- 
 pear, the billowy accompaniment sinks lower and lower 
 in the orchestra. Above it rises once more the Motive of 
 Renunciation (page 53, line 5). The Ring Motive is heard, 
 and then as the waves change into nebulous clouds the 
 billowy accompaniment rises pianissimo until, with a 
 repetition of the Ring Motive, the action passes to the 
 second scene. One crime has already been committed 
 — the theft of the Rhinegold by Alberich. How that 
 crime and the ring which he shapes from the gold in- 
 spire other crimes is told in the course of the following 
 scenes of "Rhinegold." Hence the significance of the 
 
" THE RHINEGOLDr 13 
 
 Ring Motive as a connecting link between the first and 
 second scenes. 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 The dawn illumines a castle with glittering turrets on a 
 rocky height at the back. Through a deep valley be- 
 tween this and the foreground the Rhine flows. 
 
 With the opening of the second scene the stately 
 Walhalla Motive is heard : 
 
 8. 
 
 4«. ^ . A ji. «: :ft 
 
 ^^^^^ 
 
 This is a motive of superb beauty. It greets us again 
 and again in " Rhinegold " and frequently in the later 
 music-dramas of the cycle. Yet, often as it occurs, one 
 hears it with ever-growing admiration. Walhalla is the 
 dwelling of gods and heroes and its motive is divinely 
 and heroically beautiful. Though it is essentially broad 
 and stately it often assumes a tender mood, like the 
 chivalric gentleness which every true hero feels toward 
 ^voman. Thus it is at the opening of the second scene, 
 for here this motive, which when played forte or fortis- 
 simo is one of the stateliest of musical inspirations, is 
 marked piano and moltodolce. In crescendo and decres- 
 cendo it rises and falls, as rises and falls with each 
 breath the bosom of the beautiful Fricka, who slumbers 
 at Wot an' s side. 
 
 As Fricka awakens her eyes fall on the castle. In her 
 surprise she calls to her spouse. Wotan dreams on, 
 the Ring Motive, and later the Walhalla Motive, being 
 heard in the orchestra, for with the ring Wotan is finally 
 to compensate the Giants for building Walhalla. As he 
 opens his eyes and sees the castle you hear (page 56, 
 
14 
 
 WA gner: s m usic-dra ma s. 
 
 line 4) the " Spear Motive," which is a characteristic vari- 
 ation of the " Motive of Compact " (No. 9). For Wotan 
 should enforce, if needful, the compacts of the Gods 
 with his spear. 
 
 Wotan sings of the glory of Walhalla. All through 
 his apostrophe resounds the Walhalla Motive. Fricka 
 reminds him that he has made a compact with the 
 Giants to deliver over to them for their work in build- 
 ing Walhalla, Frei'a, the Goddess of Youth and Beauty. 
 'This introduces on the 'cellos and double basses the 
 Motive of Compact. 
 
 A theme more expressive of the binding force of law 
 it is impossible to conceive. It has the inherent dignity 
 and power of the idea of justice. 
 
 Then follows a little domestic spat between Wotan 
 and Fricka, Wotan claiming that Fricka was as anxious 
 as he to have Walhalla built, and Fricka answering that 
 she desired to have it erected in order to persuade 
 Wotan to lead a more domestic life. At Fricka s words, 
 
 "Halls, bright and gleaming," 
 
 the Fricka Motive is heard for the first time (page 6*1, 
 line i). It is a caressing motive of much grace and 
 beauty : 
 
 10. 
 
 It is also prominent in Wotan' s reply immediately fol- 
 lowing. When Wotan tells Fricka that he never in- 
 
THE RHINEGOLD, 
 
 15 
 
 tended to really give up Frcia to the Giants, chromatics, 
 like little tongues of fire, appear in the accompaniment 
 (page 63,line 3). They are suggestive of the Zc_^^, Motive, 
 for with the aid of Loge, Wotan hopes to trick the Giants. 
 " Then save her at once ! " calls Fricka, as Freia enters 
 in hasty flight. At this point (page 64, line i) is heard 
 the first bar of the Freia Motive combined with the 
 Flight Motive, The Motive of Flight is as follows : 
 
 The following is the Freia Motive : 
 
 12. 
 
 I give it here already in full for convenient reference. 
 With Freta's exclamations that the Giants are pursu- 
 ing her the first suggestion of the Giant Motive appears 
 (page 64, line 3), and as these " great, hulking fellows " 
 enter the heavy, clumsy Giant Motive is heard in its 
 entirety (page 68, line i) : 
 
 FasoU and Fafner have come to demand that Wotan 
 deliver up to them Freia, according to his promise when 
 
16 
 
 IF A GNER' S M USIC-DRA MA S. 
 
 they agreed to build Walhalla for him. In the ensuing 
 scene, in which Woian parleys with the giants, the Giant 
 Motive, the Walhalla Motive, the Motive of the Com- 
 pact and the first bar of the Freia Motive figure until 
 FasoWs threatening words (page 72, line i) : 
 
 " Peace wane v/hen you break your compact," 
 
 when there is heard a version of the Motive of Compact 
 characteristic enough to be distinguished as the Motive 
 OF Compact v/ith the Giants : 
 
 -_^-^ 
 
 14. 
 
 The Walhalla, Giant and Freia motives again are heard 
 until Fafner speaks of the golden apples which grow in 
 Freia s garden (page 74, line i). These golden apples 
 are the fruit of which the gods partake in order to enjoy 
 eternal youth. The Motive of Eternal Youth, which 
 now appears, is one of the loveliest in the Cycle. It 
 seems as though age could not wither it, nor custom 
 stale its infinite variety. Its first bar is reminiscent of 
 the Ring Motive (No. 6), for there is subtle relation- 
 ship between the Golden Apples of Freia and the Rhine- 
 gold. This is the Motive of Eternal Youth : 
 
 It is finely combined with the Giant Motive at Faf- 
 ner' s words : 
 
 " Let her forthwith be torn from them all." 
 
 Froh and Donner, Freia' s brothers, enter hastily to 
 save their sister. As Fro/i clasps her in his arms, while 
 
THE RHINEGOLDr 
 
 17 
 
 Domicr confronts the Giants, the Motive of Eternal 
 Youth rings out triumphantly on the horns and wood- 
 wind (page 75, line 4). 
 
 But Freias hope is short-lived. The Motive of the 
 Compact with the Giants, with its weighty import, re- 
 sounds as Wotan stretches his spear between the hostile 
 groups. For though Wotafz desires to keep Freia in 
 Walhalla, he dare not offend the Giants. But at this 
 critical moment he sees his cunning adviser, Loge, ap- 
 proaching. These are Loges characteristic motives: 
 LoGE Motive : 
 
 16. 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 ^bi^^^^^ 
 
 ^: 
 
 4?^« 
 
 Magic Fire Motive 
 
 They are heard throughout the ensuing scene, in which 
 Wotan upbraids Loge for not having discovered some- 
 thing which the Giants would be willing to accept as a 
 
18 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 substitute for Freia. Loge says he has traveled the 
 world over without finding aught that would compen- 
 sate man for the renunciation of a lovely woman. At 
 this point is heard the Motive of Renunciation. Then 
 follows Loges narrative of his wanderings. With great 
 cunning he intends to tell Wotan of the theft of the 
 Rhinegold and of the wondrous worth of a ring shaped 
 from the gold in order to incite the listening Giants to 
 ask for it as a compensation for giving up Freia. Hence 
 Wagner, as Loge begins his narrative, has blended, with 
 a marvelous sense of musical beauty and dramatic fitness, 
 two phrases : the Freia Motive and the accompaniment to 
 the Rhine daughters' shout of triumph in the first scene. 
 Whoever will turn to page 85, line 4, last two bars of the 
 vocal-piano score, will find the Freia Motive in the treble 
 and the somewhat simplified accompaniment to the cry 
 " Rhinegold" in the bass. This music continues until Loge 
 says that he discovered but one (namely, AlbericJt) who 
 was willing to renounce love. Then the Rhinegold Mo- 
 tive is sounded tristly in a minor key and immediately 
 afterward is heard the Motive of Renunciation. 
 
 Loge next tells how Alberich stole the gold. All through 
 this portion of the narrative are heard, in the accom- 
 paniment, reminiscences of the motives of the first 
 scene. It should be noticed that when (page 89, line i) 
 Loge gives Wotan the message of the Rhinedaughters, 
 that the chief of the gods wrest the gold from Alberich 
 and restore it to them, the Rhinegold Motive rings out 
 brilliantly in a major key (C major). Loge has already 
 excited the curiosity of the Giants, and when Fafner 
 asks him what power Alberich will gain through the 
 possession of the gold, he dwells upon the magical attri- 
 butes of the ring shaped from Rhinegold. As Wotan 
 
" THE RHINEGOLDr 19 
 
 ponders over Loges words the Ring Motive is heard, 
 for Wotan is planning how he may possess himself of 
 the ring. With true knowledge of human, and espe- 
 cially of feminine nature, Wagner makes Fricka ask if 
 articles of jewelry could be made of the gold. As Loge 
 tells her that the possession of the ring will insure 
 Wotan' s fidelity to her and that Alberzck's Nibelungs are 
 at that moment forging a ring of the Rhinegold, he sings 
 the Fricka Motive {Fricka being the guardian of marriage- 
 fidelity), while, when he refers to the Nibelungs (page 
 92, line 3, last two bars) there is heard for the first time the 
 Nibelung Motive. (The Nibelung Motive will be found 
 (No, 1 8) at the point when it assumes its due promi- 
 nence in the score, viz., in the Nibelheim scene.) Wotan 
 is evidently strongly bent on wresting the gold from 
 Alberich and retaining it in his own possession instead of 
 restoring it to the Rhinedaughters, for, as he stands wrapt 
 in meditation (page 93, line i), the Rhinegold Motive is 
 heard in a minor key, and as he asks Loge how he may 
 shape the gold into a ring we have the Ring Motive. 
 Loge tells Wotan that Alberich has abjured love and 
 already forged the ring. Here the Motive of Renuncia- 
 tion is sounded with a harsh power (page 94, line 3), 
 expressive of Alberich' s tyranny, which we are soon to 
 witness. 
 
 Loge's diplomacy is beginning to bear results. Fafner 
 tells Fasolt that he deems the possession of the gold 
 more important than Freia. Notice here (page 97, line 2, 
 last bar et seq.) how the Freia motive, so prominent 
 when the Giants insisted on her as their compensation, is 
 relegated to the bass and how (line 4, last two bars) the 
 Rhinegold Motive breaks in upon the Motive of Eternal 
 Youth as Fafner and Fasolt again advance toward 
 
20 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 Wotan, for they now request Wotan to wrest the gold 
 from Alberzch and give it to them as ransom for Freia. 
 I Wotan refuses and the Giants, having proclaimed that 
 they will give Wotan until evening to determine upon 
 his course, seize Freia and drag her away. Here the 
 music is highly descriptive. Pallor settles upon the faces 
 of the gods ; they seem to have grown older. Alas, they 
 are already affected by the absence of Freia, the God- 
 dess of Youth, whose motives are but palely reflected by 
 the orchestra, as Loge, with cunning alarm, explains the 
 cause of the gods' distress ; until Wotan proclaims that 
 he will go with Loge to Nibelheim. 
 
 Loge disappears down a crevice in the side of the 
 rock. From it a sulphurous vapor at once issues. When 
 Wotan has followed Loge into the cleft the vapor fills the 
 stage and conceals the remaining characters. The va- 
 pors thicken to a black cloud, continually rising upward, 
 until rocky chasms are seen. These have an upward 
 motion, so that the stage appears to be sinking deeper 
 and deeper. During this transformation scene there is 
 an orchestral interlude. First is heard the Loge Motive, 
 four times interrupted by the Motive of Renunciation. 
 Beginning at page iii, line 5, bar 4, the Motive of Ser- 
 vitude is heard during four bars. Then, with a molto 
 vivace the orchestra dashes into the Motive of Flight. 
 Twice the Ring and Rhinegold motives are heard, the 
 latter appearing the second time with the typical 
 NiBELUNG Motive (page 112, line 5), expressive of 
 the enslaved Nibelungs constantly working at the forge. 
 
 18. Eg: 
 
 This motive accompanies for sixteen bars, during 
 
" THE jrhinegold:' 21 
 
 eight of which the rhythm is emphasized by the a^ivils 
 on the stage, a broad expansion of the Flight Motive. 
 Meanwhile from various distant quarters ruddy gleams 
 of light illumine the chasms, and when the Flight 
 Motive has died away, only the increasing clangor of 
 smithies is heard from all directions. Gradually the 
 sound of the anvils grows fainter; and, as the Ring 
 Motive resounds like a shout of malicious triumph (ex- 
 pressive of AlbericJis malignant joy at his possession of 
 power), there is seen a subterranean cavern, apparently 
 of illimitable depth, from which narrow shafts lead in all 
 directions. 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 At the beginning of the third scene we hear again the 
 measures heard when Alberich chased the Rhincdaugh- 
 ters. Alberich enters from a side cleft dragging after 
 him the shrieking Mime, The latter lets fall a helmet 
 which Alberich at once seizes. It is the tarnhelmet, 
 made of Rhinegold, the wearing of which enables the 
 wearer to become invisible or assume any shape. As 
 Alberich closely examines the Tarnhelmet its motive 
 is heard (page 117, line 2, beginning at the sixth bar). 
 This is the Motive of the Tarnhelmet : 
 
 19.^^ 
 
 ittrf: 
 
 To test its power Alberich puts it on and changes into a 
 column of vapor. He asks Mime if he is visible, and 
 when Mime answers in the negative Alberich cries out 
 shrilly, " Then feel me instead," at the same time mak- 
 
33 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 ing poor Mime writhe under the blows of a visible 
 scourge. 
 
 Alberich then departs — still in the form of a vaporous 
 column — to announce to the Nibelungs that they are 
 henceforth his slavish subjects. Mime cowers down 
 with fear and pain. Wotan and Loge enter from one of 
 the upper shafts. Mime tells them how Alberich has 
 become all-powerful through the ring and the tarnhel- 
 met made of the Rhinegold. The Motives occurring in 
 Mime's narrative are the Nibelung, Servitude and Ring 
 Motives, the latter in the terse, malignantly powerful 
 form in which it occurred just before the opening of the 
 third scene. Then Alberich, who has taken off the Tarn- 
 helmet and hung it from his girdle, is seen in the dis- 
 tance, driving a crowd of Nibelungs before him from the 
 caves below. They are laden with gold and silver, which 
 he forces them to pile up in one place and so form a 
 hoard. He suddenly perceives Wotan and Loge. After 
 abusing Miine for permitting strangers to enter Nibel- 
 heim, he commands the Nibelungs to descend again into 
 the caverns in search of new treasure for him, They 
 hesitate. You hear the Ring Motive. Alberich draws 
 the ring from his finger, stretches it threateningly to- 
 ward the Nibelungs and commands them to obey the 
 ring's master. 
 
 The Nibelungs disperse in headlong flight and with 
 Mime rush back into the cavernous recesses. Alberich 
 looks with mistrust upon Wotan and Loge, He asks 
 them what they seek in Nibelheim. Wotan tells him 
 they have heard reports of his extraordinary power and 
 have come to ascertain if they are true. After some 
 parleying the Nibelung points to the hoard, saying : " It 
 is the merest heap compared to the mountain of treasure 
 
THE rhinegold: 
 
 23 
 
 to which it shall rise." Here appears part of the Ris- 
 ing Hoard Motive (page 137, line 4), which in its com- 
 plete form is as follows : 
 
 Albertch boasts that the whole world will come under 
 his sway (you hear the Ring Motive), that the gods who 
 now laugh and love in the enjoyment of youth and 
 beauty will become subject to him (you hear the Freia 
 Motive) ; for he has abjured love (you hear the Motive of 
 Renunciation). Hence, even the gods in Walhalla shall 
 dread him (you hear a variation of the Walhalla Mo- 
 tive), and he bids them beware of the time when the 
 night-begotten host of the Nibelungs shall rise from 
 Nibelheim into the realm of daylight (you hear the 
 Rhinegold Motive followed by the Walhalla Motive, for 
 it is through the power gained by the Rhinegold that 
 Alberich hopes to possess himself of Walhalla). Loge 
 cunningly flatters Alberich, and when the latter tells him 
 of the Tarnhelmet feigns disbelief of Alberzck's state- 
 ments. Alberich, to prove their truth, puts on the hel- 
 met and transforms himself into a huge serpent. The 
 Serpent Motive expresses the windings and writhings of 
 the monster. 
 
 The serpent vanishes and Alberich reappears. When 
 Loge doubts if Alberich can transform himself into 
 something very small, the Nibelung changes into a toad. 
 Now is Loge's chance. He calls to Wotan to set his foot 
 on the toad. As Wotan does so, Loge puts his hand to its 
 head and seizes the Tarnhelm. Alberich is seen writh- 
 
24 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 ing under JVo/an's foot. Log-e binds Alberich ; both seize 
 him, drag him to the shaft from v^rhich they descended 
 and disappear ascending. The scene now changes in the 
 reverse direction to that in which it changed when Wo- 
 tan and Loge were descending to Nibelheim. The or- 
 chestra accompanies the change of scene. The Ring 
 Motive dies away from crashing fortissimo to piano, to 
 be succeeded by the dark Motive of Renunciation. 
 Then is heard the clangor of the Nibelung smithies, and 
 amid it the Motive of Flight in its broadly-expanded 
 form. The Giant, Walhalla, Loge and Servitude Mo- 
 tives follow, the last with crushing force as Wotan and 
 Loge emerge from the cleft, dragging the pinioned 
 Alberich with them. His lease of power was brief. He 
 is again in a condition of servitude. 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 A pale mist still veils the prospect as at the end of 
 the second scene. Loge and Wotan place Alberich on 
 the ground and Loge dances around the pinioned 
 Nibelung, mockingly snapping his fingers at the prisoner. 
 Wotan joins Loge in his mockery of Alberich. The 
 Nibelung asks what he must give for his freedom. 
 "Your hoard and your glittering gold," is Wotan* s 
 answer. Alberich assents to the ransom and Loge frees 
 the gnome's right hand, Alberich raises the ring to his 
 lips and murmurs a secret behest. The Nibelung 
 Motive is heard, combined at first with the Motive of 
 the Rising Hoard, then with the Motive of Servitude 
 and later with both. This combination of the three 
 Motives will be found on page 165, line 2, last bar; the 
 Motive of Servitude being played in the right hand, the 
 other two in the left. These three Motives continue prom- 
 
''THE rhinegold: 
 
 25 
 
 inent as long as the Nibelungs emerge from the cleft and 
 heap up the hoard. Then, as Alberich stretches out the 
 Ring toward them, they rush in terror toward the cleft, 
 into which they disappear. Alberich now asks for his 
 freedom, but Loge throws the Tarnhelmet on to the 
 heap. Wot an further demands that Alberich also give 
 up the ring. At these words dismay and terror are de- 
 picted on Alberich' s face. Ha had hoped to save the 
 ring, but in vain. V/otan tears it from the gnome's finger. 
 Then Alberich, impelled by hate and rage, curses the 
 ring. The Motive of the Curse is as follows : 
 
 21. 
 
 To it should be added the syncopated measures ex- 
 pressive of the threatening and ever-active Nibelungs' 
 Hate: 
 
 22. F^^^^^EI^--^- 
 
 Amid the heavy thuds of the Motive of Servi- 
 tude Alberich vanishes in the cleft. 
 
 The mist begins to rise. It grows lighter. The Giant 
 Motive and the Motive of Eternal Youth are heard, for 
 the giants are approaching with Freia. Donner, Froh 
 and Fricka hasten to greet Wotan. Fasolt and Fafner 
 enter with Freia. It has grown clear, except that the 
 mist still hides the distant castle. Freia's presence 
 seems to have restored youth to the gods. While the 
 Motive of the Giant Compact resounds, Fasolt asks for 
 the ransom for Freia. Wotan points to the hoard. 
 With staves the giants measure off a space of the 
 
26 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 height and breadth of Freia. That space must be filled 
 out with treasure. 
 
 Loge and Froh pile up the hoard, but the giants are 
 not satisfied even when the Tarnhelnriet has been added. 
 They wish also the ring to fill out a crevice. Wotan 
 turns in anger away from them. A bluish light glim- 
 mers in the rocky cleft to the right, and through it Erda 
 rises to half her height. She warns Wotan against re- 
 taining possession of the ring. The Motives prominent 
 during the action preceding the appearance of Erda will 
 be readily recognized. They are the Giant Compact 
 Motive combined with the Nibelung motive (the latter 
 combined with the Giant Motive and Motive of the 
 Hoard) and the Ring Motive, which breaks in upon the 
 action with tragic force as Wotan refuses to give up the 
 ring to the giants. The Erda Motive bears a strong 
 resemblance to the Rhine Motive : 
 
 ^3. E^^^^^^^^ 
 
 T 
 
 The syncopated notes of the Nibelungs' malevolence, 
 so threateningly indicative of the harm which Alberich 
 is plotting, are also heard in Erdas warning (page 193, 
 line 4). Wotan, heeding her words, throws the ring 
 upon the hoard. The giants release Freia, who rushes 
 joyfully toward the gods. Here the Freia Motive, com- 
 bined with the Flight Motive, now no longer agitated but 
 joyful, rings out gleefully. Soon these motives are inter- 
 rupted by the Giant and Nibelung motives, there being 
 added to these later the Motive of the Nibelungs* Hate 
 and the Ring Motive. Alberich's curse is already be- 
 ginning its dread work. The giants dispute over the 
 spoils, their dispute waxes to strife, and at last Fafner 
 
''THE RHINEGOLDr 
 
 27 
 
 slays Fasolt and snatches the ring from the dying giant. 
 As the gods gaze horror-stricken upon the scene, the 
 Curse Motive resounds with crushing force (page 200, 
 line 3). Loge congratulates Wotan that he should have 
 given up the curse-laden ring. His words are accom- 
 panied by the Motive of the Nibelungs' Hate. Yet 
 even Frickxs caresses, as she asks Wotan to lead her 
 into Walhalla, cannot divert the god's mind from 
 dark thoughts, and the Curse Motive accompanies his 
 gloomy, curse-haunted reflections. 
 
 Donner ascends to the top of a lofty rock. He gath- 
 ers the mists about him until he is enveloped by a black 
 cloud. He swings his hammer. There is a flash of 
 lightning, a crash of thunder, and lo ! the cloud vanishes. 
 A rainbow bridge spans the valley to Walhalla, which is 
 illumined by the setting sun. The Donner Motive is 
 as follows : 
 
 34. 
 
 Wotan eloquently greets Walhalla, and then, taking 
 Fricka by the hand, leads the procession of the gods 
 into the castle. 
 
 The music of this scene is of wondrous eloquence and 
 beauty. Six harps are added to the ordinary orches- 
 tral instruments, and as the variegated bridge is seen 
 their arpeggios shimmer like the colors of the rainbow 
 around the broad, majestic Rainbow Motive: 
 
 25. 
 
 Then the stately Walhalla Motive resounds as the 
 gods gaze, lost in admiration, at the Walhalla. It gives 
 
28 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 way to the Ring Motive as Wotan speaks of the day's 
 ills ; and then as he is inspired by the idea of begetting 
 a race of demi-gods to conquer the Nibelungs, there is 
 heard for the first time the Sword Motive : 
 
 :=^=p^-=l 
 
 But the cunning Z^;^^ knows that the curse must do 
 its work, even if not until the distant future; and hence 
 as he remains in the foreground looking after the gods, 
 the Loge and Ring Motives are heard. 
 
 The cries of the Rhinedaughters greet Wotan. They 
 beg him to restore the ring to them. But Wotan is 
 deaf to their entreaties. He preferred to give the ring 
 to the giants rather than forfeit Freia. 
 
 The Walhalla Motive swells to a majestic climax and 
 the gods enter the castle. Amid shimmering arpeggios 
 the Rainbow Motive resounds. The gods have attained 
 the height of their glory — but the Nibelung's curse is 
 still potent, and it will bring v/oe upon all who have 
 possessed or v/ill possess the ring until it is restored 
 to the Rhinedaughters. Fasolt was only the first victim 
 of Alberich's curse. 
 
 ^;^^«C«^* 
 
1/ 
 
 **THE VALKYR.' 
 
 Woian's enjoyment of Walhaila was destined to be 
 &hort-lived. Filled with dismay by the death of Fasolt 
 in the combat of the giants for the accursed Ring, and 
 impelled by a dread presentiment that the force of the 
 curse would be visited upon the gods, ha descended 
 from Walhaila to the abode of the all-wise woman, Erda. 
 We must assume that matrimonial obligations were not 
 strictly enforced among the gods. It may have been 
 inferred, from Frickas anxiety to have Walhaila built in 
 order to induce Wotan to lead a more domestic life, that 
 the chief god was an old offender against the marriage 
 vow, for though Fricka was the guardian goddess of 
 connubial virtue, she does not seem to have been able 
 to hold her spouse in check. To say the least, the chief 
 god was very promiscuous in his attentions to the 
 gentler sex. Thus his visit to Et'da was not entirely 
 unremunerative, for, while he could not obtain from her 
 a forecast of the future of the gods, she bore him nine 
 daughters. These v/crc the Valkyrs, headed by Brtinn- 
 hilde — the v/ild horocwonien of the air, who on winged 
 steeds bore the dead heroes to V/alhalla, the warrior's 
 heaven. V/ith the aid of the Valkyrs and the heroes 
 they gathered to Walhaila, Wotan hoped to repel any 
 assault upon his castle by the enemies of the gods. 
 
 But though the host of heroes grew to a goodly num- 
 
30 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. ^ 
 
 ber, the terror of Alberich's curse still haunted the chief 
 of the gods. He might have freed himself from it had 
 he returned the Ring and Helmet made of Rhinegold to 
 the Rhinedaughters, from whom Alberich filched it ; but 
 in his desire to persuade the giants to relinquish Freia, 
 whom he had promised to them as a reward for building 
 Walhalla, he, having wrested the Ring from Alberich, 
 gave it to the giants instead of returning it to the Rhine- 
 daughters. He saw the giants contending for the pos- 
 session of the ring and saw Fasolt slain — the first victim 
 of Alberich' s curse. He knows that the giant Fafner, 
 having assumed the shape of a huge serpent, now guards 
 the Niebelung treasure, which includes the Ring and 
 the Tarnhelmet, in a cave in the heart of a dense forest. 
 How shall the Rhinegold be restored to the Rhine- 
 daughters ? 
 
 Wotan hopes that this may be consummated by a 
 human hero who, free from the lust for power which 
 obtains among the gods shall, with a sword of Wotan' s 
 own forging, slay Fafner, gain possession of the Rhine- 
 gold and restore it to its rightful owners, thus righting 
 Wotan' s guilty act and freeing the gods from the curse. 
 To accomplish this Wotan, in human guise as Walse, 
 begets in wedlock with a woman the twins Siegmund 
 and Sieglinde. How the curse of Alberich is visited upon 
 these is related in " The Valkyr." 
 
 The dramatis personcE in " The Valkyr " are Briinnhilde 
 and her eight sister valkyrs, Fricka, Sieglinde, Siegmund ^ 
 Hunding (the husband of Sieglinde^, and Wotan. The ac- 
 tion begins after the marriage of Sieglinde to Hunding. 
 The earlier events in the lives of the two Walsings we 
 learn of in the narratives of Siegmund and Wotan re- 
 spectively in the first and second acts of " The Valkyn" 
 
THE valkyr: 
 
 31 
 
 Of course, the Walsings are in ignorance of the divinity 
 of their father. They know him only as Walse. 
 
 Act I. 
 
 The introduction to " The Valkyr " is very different in 
 character from that to " The Rhinegold." In that the 
 Rhine flowing peacefully toward the sea and the inno- 
 cent gambols of the Rhinedaughters were musically 
 depicted. But "The Valkyr" opens in storm and stress. 
 It is as though the peace and happiness of the first 
 scene of the cycle had vanished from the earth with 
 Alberich's abjuration of love, his theft of the gold and 
 Wotan's equally treacherous crime. This vorspiel is a 
 masterly representation in tone of a storm gathering for 
 its last infuriated onslaught. There is majestic force in 
 its climax. The elements are unloosed. The wind 
 sweeps through the forest. Lightning flashes in jagged 
 streaks across the black heavens. There is a crash of 
 thunder and the storm has spent its force. 
 
 Two leading motives are employed in this introduc- 
 tion. They are the Storm Motive and the Donner 
 Motive (No. 24). The Storm Motive (page i, line i) 
 is as follows : 
 
 \^ 
 
 27. 
 
 These themes are as elementary as that of the Fifth 
 Symphony. From the theme of that symphony Beet- 
 hoven developed a work which by many is considered 
 his grandest. Similarly Wagner has composed, with 
 the use of only the two motives named, the most stu- 
 pendous storm music we have — not even excepting the 
 
33 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 storm of the Pastorale. I call the attention of those 
 who still labor under the error that Wagner's methods 
 are obscure and involved to the vorspiel to "The 
 Valkyr." 
 
 In the early portion of this vorspiel only the string 
 instruments are used. Gradually the instrumentation 
 grows more powerful. With the climax we have a tre- 
 mendous// on the contra tuba and two tympani, fol- 
 lowed by the crash of the Donner Motive on the wind 
 instruments. 
 
 The storm then gradually dies away. Before it has 
 quite passed over, the curtain rises, revealing the large 
 hall of Hunding's dwelling. This hall is built around 
 a huge ash-tree, whose trunk and branches pierce the 
 roof, over which the foliage is supposed to spread. 
 There are walls of rough-hewn boards, here and there 
 hung with large plaited and woven hangings. In the 
 right foreground is a large, open hearth ; back of it 
 in a recess is the larder, separated from the hall by 
 a woven hanging, half drawn. In the background is 
 a large door. A few steps in the left foreground lead up 
 to the door of an inner room. The furniture of the hall 
 is primitive and rude. It consists chiefly of a table, 
 bench and stools in front of the ash-tree. Only the 
 light of the fire on the hearth illumines the room ; 
 though occasionally its fitful gleam is slightly inten- 
 sified by a distant flash of lightning from the departing 
 storm. 
 
 The door in the background is opened from without. 
 Siegmund, supporting himself with his hand on the bolt, 
 stands in the entrance. He seems exhausted. His ap- 
 pearance is that of a fugitive who has reached the limit 
 of his powers of endurance. Seeing no one in the hall. 
 
*• THE VALKYR." 33 
 
 he staggers toward the hearth and sinks upon a bearskin 
 rug before it, with the exclamation : 
 
 " Whose hearth this may be, 
 Here I must rest me." 
 
 In an Italian opera we would probably have had at 
 this point a very amusing illustration of the total disre- 
 gard for dramatic fitness which characterizes the old- 
 fashioned opera. Szegmund, though supposed to be 
 exhausted by his flight through the storm, would have 
 had strength enough left to stand near the foot-lights 
 and sing an aria with the regulation bravura passages, 
 and, if he got enough applause, to sing it over again. 
 Then only would he sink down upon the rug exhausted, 
 but whether from singing or from his flight through the 
 storm we would be unable to say. Wagner's treatment 
 of this scene is masterly. As Szegmund stands in the 
 entrance we hear the Siegmund Motive (page 5, line 5): 
 
 28. 
 
 feEi^^fe3^ 
 
 fS 
 
 s^— J— 3^=3?=3^ 
 
 -:iir—isr- 
 
 This is a sad, weary strain on 'cellos and basses. It seems 
 the wearier for the burden of an accompanying figure on 
 the horns, beneath which it seems to stagger as Szegmund 
 staggers toward the hearth. Thus the music not only 
 reflects Szegmund's weary mien, but accompanies most 
 graphically his weary gait. Perhaps Wagner's inten- 
 tion was more metaphysical. Maybe the burden beneath 
 which the Siegmund Motive staggers is the curse of 
 Alberich. It is certainly (as we shall see) through that 
 curse that Szegmund's life has been one of storm and 
 stress. 
 
 When the storm-beaten Walsung has sunk upon the 
 rug the Siegmund Motive is followed by the Storm Mo- 
 
34 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 tive, pp — and the storm has died away. The door of 
 the room to the left opens and Sieglinde appears. She 
 has heard some one enter, and thinking her husband has 
 returned has come into the hall to meet him. Seeing a 
 stranger stretched upon the bearskin rug she approaches 
 and bends compassionately over him. 
 
 Her compassionate action is accompanied by a new 
 motive, which by Wagner's commentators has been en- 
 titled the Motive of Compassion. But it seems to me to 
 have a further meaning as expressing the sympathy be- 
 tween two souls, a tie so subtle that it is at first invisible 
 even to those whom it unites. Siegmund and SiegUnde, 
 it will be remembered, belong to the same race ; and 
 though they are at this point of the action unknown to 
 one another, yet, as Szeglinde bends over the hunted, 
 storm-beaten Siegmund, that subtle sympathy causes her 
 to regard him with more solicitude than would be awak- 
 ened by any other unfortunate stranger. Hence I have 
 called this motive the Motive of Sympathy— taking 
 sympathy in its double meaning of compassion and 
 affinity of feeling : 
 
 The beauty of this brief phrase is enhanced by its un- 
 pretentiousness. It wells up from the orchestra as 
 spontaneously as pity mingled with sympathetic sorrow 
 wells up from the heart of a gentle woman. As it is 
 Siegmund who has awakened these feelings in Sieglinde, 
 the Motive of Sympathy is heard simultaneously with 
 the Siegmund Motive (page 7, line 4). 
 
 Siegmund, suddenly raising his head, ejaculates, 
 " Water, water ! " Sieglinde hastily snatches up a drink- 
 
" THE VALKYRr 85 
 
 ing-horn and, having quickly filled it at a spring near the 
 house, swiftly returns and hands it to Siegmund. As 
 though new hope were engendered in Siegiitund's breast 
 by Sie^lindes gentle ministration the Siegmund Motive 
 rises higher and higher, gathering passion in its upward 
 sweep and then, combined again with the Motive of 
 Sympathy, sinks to an expression of heartfelt gratitude. 
 This passage is scored entirely for strings. Yet no com- 
 poser, except Wagner, has evoked from a full orchestra 
 sounds richer or more sensuously beautiful (page 8, 
 line 3 and 4). 
 
 Siegmund drinks, and then hands the drinking-horn 
 back to Szeghnde. As his look falls upon her features 
 he regards them with growing interest. That strange 
 presentiment of affinity is awakened in his breast. But 
 in him, the storm-beaten fugitive, the emotion called 
 forth by SiegUndes gentle acts is deeper than sympathy 
 of feeling. We hear versions of the Siegmund Motive 
 and the Motive of Flight (No. 11). But the former is no 
 longer weary and despairing, nor the latter precipitate. 
 It seems as though Siegmund, having found a haven of 
 rest, were recalling his life's vicissitudes with that feeling 
 of sadness 
 
 " Which is not akin to pain, 
 And resembles sorrow only 
 As the mist resembles rain." 
 
 These reminiscences are followed by the Love Mo- 
 tive, one of the most tenderly expressive phrases ever 
 penned (page 9, line 3) : 
 
 The melody in the entire passage (that is, in the ver- 
 sion of the Siegmund and Flight Motives and in the 
 
36 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 Love Motive) is played by a single 'cello, and thus is in- 
 vested with a mournful beauty which seems the musical 
 expression of the thought in the lines from Longfellow 
 I have just quoted. 
 
 The version of the Motive of Flight preceding the 
 Love Motive is as follows : 
 
 4- 
 A. 
 
 ^^^^^^^m 
 
 The Love Motive is the mainspring of this act. For 
 this act tells the story of love from its inception to its 
 consummation. Similarly in the course of this act the 
 Love Motive rises by degrees of intensity from an ex- 
 pression of the first tender presentiment of affection to 
 the very ecstasy of love. 
 
 Siegimmd asks with whom he has found shelter. Sieg- 
 linde replies that the house is Himdmg's, and she his 
 wife, and requests Siegmund to await her husband's 
 return. 
 
 Weaponless am I : 
 The wounded guest, 
 He will surely give shelter, 
 
 is Siegmund's reply. With anxious celerity, Sieglinde 
 asks him to show her his wounds. But, refreshed by 
 the draught of cool spring water and with hope revived 
 by her sympathetic presence, he gathers force and, 
 raising himself to a sitting posture, exclaims that his 
 wounds are but slight ; his frame is still firm, and had 
 sword and shield been half so firm he would not have 
 fled from his foes. His strength was spent in flight 
 through the storm ; but the night that sank on his 
 vision has yielded again to the sunshine of Sieglinde s 
 presence. At these words the Motive of Sympathy rises 
 
THE valkyr: 
 
 31 
 
 Jike a sweet hope. Sieglinde fills the drinking-horn with 
 mead and offers it to Siegmund. He asks her to take 
 the first sip. She does so and then hands it to him. His 
 eyes rest upon her while he drinks. As he returns the 
 drinking-horn to her there are traces of deep emotion in 
 his mien. He sighs and gloomily bows his head. The 
 action at this point is most expressively accompanied by 
 the orchestra. Specially noteworthy are an impassioned 
 upward sweep of the Motive of Sympathy as Siegmund 
 regards Sieglinde with traces of deep emotion in his 
 mien ; the Motive of Flight as he sighs, thinking per- 
 haps that misfortune will soon part them ; and the sad, 
 weary Siegmund Motive as he bows his head (page 12, 
 line 4 ; page 13, lines i and 2). 
 
 In a voice trembling with emotion, Siegmund tells her 
 that she has harbored one whom misfortune follows 
 whithersoever he wends his footsteps. Lest misfortune 
 should through him enter her dwelling he will depart. 
 With firm, determined strides he has reached the door, 
 when Sieglinde, forgetting all in her growing passion, 
 calls after him : 
 
 Then tarry here ! 
 Not bringest thou woe thither 
 Where sorrow already reigns. 
 
 Upon Sieglinde, as one of the Walsung race, rests the 
 curse of Alberich. Her words are followed by a phrase 
 freighted with woe, the Motive of the Walsung Race or 
 the Walsung Motive (page 15, line i) : 
 
 31. 
 
 Like the Siegmund Motive it is intoned by the 'cellos 
 and basses. 
 Siegmund ^urns and gazes searchingly into her fea- 
 
38 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 tures. Sadly, and as though shamed by her outburst of 
 feeling, she lets her eyes sink toward the ground. Si'eg- 
 7nund returns. He leans against the hearth. His calm, 
 steady gaze rests upon her. She slowly raises her eyes 
 to his. In long silence and with deep emotion they re- 
 gard each other. In the musical accompaniment to this 
 scene several motives are very effectively combined. Its 
 basis is appropriately formed by the Walsung Motive. 
 Over this rises the Motive of Sympathy. We then hear 
 the Walsung and Flight Motives combined ; next the 
 Love Motive, and finally the Siegmund Motive. 
 
 Sieglinde is the first to start from the reverie. She 
 hears Hunding leading his horse to the stall. The 
 music suddenly changes in character. Like a premo- 
 nition of Hunding' s entrance we hear the Hunding 
 Motive, pp. Then as Hunding, armed with spear and 
 shield, stands upon the threshold, this Hunding Mo- 
 tive — as dark, forbidding and portentous of woe to the 
 two Walsungs as Hunding's sombre visage — resounds 
 with dread power on the tubas (page i6, line 3) : 
 
 -^^^^^i^li^l 
 
 Calmly and firmly Siegmund meets Hunding' s scrutiny. 
 Sieglinde tells her husband that she found Siegmund 
 exhausted near the hearth and refreshed him with mead. 
 Hunding bids her prepare the meal. He does this with 
 a semblance of graciousness, and similarly his Motive 
 assumes a semblance of graciousness (page 17, lines 4 
 (last bar) and 5, and page 18, line i). While preparing 
 the meal Sieglinde' s glance again and again wanders 
 over to Siegmund. Hunding, scanning the stranger's 
 
'• THE VALKYRr 39 
 
 features, detects in them a resemblance to those of 
 Sieglinde. " How like unto her ! " he mutters to him- 
 self, his words being followed by the Motive of Compact 
 (No. 9) — for Woman's surrender of the Rhinegold to the 
 giants in order to thus fulfil his compact with them for 
 building Walhalla necessitated the creation of the Wal- 
 sung race, through a scion of which Wotan hopes to see 
 the Rhinegold restored to the Rhinedaughters. 
 
 The table is spread. The three seat themselves. 
 Htoiding questions Siegmtmd as to his name. Siegmund 
 gazes thoughtfully before him. Sieglinde regards him 
 with noticeable interest. Himditig, who has observed 
 both, bide Siegmund gratify Sieglinde' s curiosity, and 
 she, little suspecting her husband's thoughts, urges 
 Siegmund to tell his stoiy. Siegmund in the narrative 
 which follows conceals his identity and that of his 
 father, evidently through fear that Hunding may be one 
 of the numerous enemies of the Walsungs. He calls him- 
 self Woeful and his father Wolf. He tells how one day 
 in his boyhood, after hunting with his father, they re- 
 turned to find their dwelling in ashes, his mother's corpse 
 among the ruins and no trace of his twin sister. Hunted 
 by enemies, he and his father lived a wild life in the 
 forest until in one of the combats they were separated. 
 In vain he sought for a trace of his father. He found 
 only a wild wolf's fur.* 
 
 Sieg7nund sought to mingle with men and women, but 
 wherever he went misfortune and strife followed him. 
 
 * At this point you hear the Walhalla Motive, No. 8, for the father was 
 none other than Wotan, known to his human descendants, however, only as 
 Walse. In Wotan' s narrative in the next act it will be found that Wotan 
 purposely created these misfortunes for Siegmund in order to strengthen 
 bim for bis task 
 
40 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 His last combat was in behalf of a maiden whose 
 brothers were forcing her to wed a man she loved not. 
 He defended her till shield and sword were in splinters. 
 Then he fled, reaching Hundzng's house when almost 
 dead from exhaustion. 
 
 The story of Siegmund is told in melodious recitative. 
 It is not a melody in the old-fashioned meaning of the 
 term, but it fairly teems with melodiousness. It will 
 have been observed that incidents very different in kind 
 are related by Siegmund. It would be impossible to treat 
 this narrative with sufficient variety of expression in a 
 melody. But in Wagner's melodious recitative the musi- 
 cal phrases reflect every incident narrated by Siegmund. 
 For instance, when Siegmund tells how he went hunting 
 with his father there is joyous freshness and abandon 
 in the music, which, however, suddenly sinks to sad- 
 ness as he narrates how they returned and found the 
 Walsung dv/elling devastated by enemies. We hear also 
 the Hunding Motive at this point, which thus indicates 
 that those who brought this misfortune upon the Wal- 
 sungs were none other than Hunding and his kinsmen. 
 As Siegmund teWs how, when he was separated from his 
 father, he sought to mingle with men and women you 
 hear the Love Motive, while his description of his latest 
 combat is accompanied by the rhythm of the Hunding 
 Motive. Those whom Siegmund slew were Hunding' s 
 kinsmen. Thus Sieg7nund's dark fate has driven him to 
 seek shelter in the house of the very man who is the 
 arch-enemy of his race and is bound by the laws of kin- 
 ship to avenge on Siegmund the death of kinsmen. These 
 are some of the salient points of Siegmund's narrative 
 concerning which much more might be written. To me 
 this portion of the score, whether we consider it in con- 
 
''THE VALKYR:' 41 
 
 nection with the words or as pure music, has far more 
 value than other more popular passages, for instance, 
 SiegviuncVs Love-song ; though for some years to come 
 probably the mass of the public will continue to regard 
 the latter as the " gem of the opera." 
 
 As Siegmund concludes his narative the Walsung 
 Motive is heard. Gazing with ardent longing toward 
 Sieglinde, he says : 
 
 Now know' St thou, questioning wife, 
 Why " Peaceful " is not my name. 
 
 These words are sung to a lovely phrase. Then, as 
 Siegmund rises and strides over to the hearth while 
 Sieglinde, pale and deeply affected by his tale, bows her 
 head, there is heard on the horns, bassoons, violas and 
 'cellos a motive expressive of the heroic fortitude of the 
 Walsungs in struggling against their fate. It is the 
 Motive of the Walsungs' Heroism (page 32, line 2) : 
 
 It is followed by an effective variation of the Walsung 
 Motive, the whole concluding beautifully with the 
 phrase last sung by Siegmund, 
 
 Hunding's sombre visage darkens more deeply as he 
 rises. His were the kinsmen of the woman for whom 
 Siegmund fought. The laws of hospitality make it im- 
 perative that he should give the Walsung shelter for 
 that night, but he bids Sieginundh^ ready for combat in 
 the morn. He commands Sieglinde to prepare his night- 
 draught. She is seen to throw spices into the horn. 
 As she is about to enter the inner chamber she turns 
 her eyes longingly upon the weaponless Siegmund and, 
 
42 WAGNER'S MUSJC-DRAMAS. 
 
 having attracted his attention, fixes her gaze signifi- 
 cantly upon a spot on the trunk of the ash-tree. As her 
 look falls upon the tree the Sword Motive (26) is 
 heard. 
 
 When Hunding has followed Sieglinde, Siegimind sinks 
 down upon the bearskin near the hearth and broods 
 over his fate. His gloomy thoughts are accompanied 
 by the threatening rhythm of the Hunding Motive and 
 the Sword Motive in a minor key, for Siegmimd is still 
 weaponless. When giving vent to his thoughts, he 
 exclaims : 
 
 A sword my father did promise ! 
 
 the Motive of Compact is heard. But the promise ap- 
 pears to have been delusive and so the Compact Motive 
 soon loses itself in the threatening rhythm of the 
 Hunding Motive. With the strength of desperation 
 Siegmund invokes Walse's aid. He cries : 
 
 Waise! Waise! Where is thy sword ? 
 
 The Sword Motive rings out like a shout of triumph. 
 The embers of the fire collapse. In the glare that for a 
 moment falls upon the ash-tree the hilt of a sword 
 whose blade is buried in the trunk of the tree is discern- 
 ible at the point upon which Sieglindes look last rested. 
 While the Motive of the Sword gently rises and falls, 
 like the coming and going of a lovely memory, Siegmund 
 apostrophizes the sheen as the reflection of Sieglinde's 
 glance. The embers die out. Night falls upon the 
 scene. But in Siegmund' s thoughts the memory of that 
 pitying, loving look glimmers on. 
 
 The Motive of Sympathy hastening like quick foot- 
 steps — and Sieglinde is by Siegmund's side. She has 
 given Hunding a sleeping potion. She will point out a 
 
''THE VALKYR:* 43 
 
 weapon to Siegmund — a sword. If he can wield it she 
 will call him the greatest hero, for only the mightiest 
 can wield it. The music quickens with the subdued ex- 
 citement in the breasts of the two Walsungs. You hear 
 the Sword Motive, and above it, on horns, clarinet and 
 oboe, a nev/ motive — that of the Walsungs' Call to 
 Victory (page 44, line i) : 
 
 for Sz'eghnde hopes that with the sword the stranger, 
 who has awakened so quickly love in her breast, will 
 overcome Hunding. This motive has a resistless, on- 
 ward sweep. Sieglinde, amid the strains of the stately 
 Walhalla Motive, followed by the Sword Motive, nar- 
 rates the story of the sword. While Hunding and his 
 kinsmen were feasting in honor of her forced marriage 
 with him, an aged stranger entered the hall. The men 
 knew him not and shrank from his fiery glance. But 
 upon her his look rested with tender compassion. With 
 a mighty thrust he buried a sword up to its hilt in the 
 trunk of the ash-tree. Whoever drew it from its sheath 
 to him it should belong. The stranger went his way. 
 One after another the strong men tugged at the hilt — 
 but in vain. Then she knew who the aged stranger was 
 and for whom the sword was destined. 
 
 The Sword Motive rings out like a joyous shout, and 
 Sieglindes voice mingles with the triumphant notes of 
 the Walsungs' Call to Victory as she turns to Siegmtmd: 
 
 Oh, found I in thee 
 The friend in need ! 
 
 The Motive of the Walsungs' heroism, now no longer 
 
44 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 full of tragic import, but forceful and defiant — and Sieg- 
 mund holds Szeglinde in his embrace. There is a rush 
 of wind. The woven hangings flap and fall. As the 
 lovers turn, a glorious sight greets their eyes. The 
 landscape is illumined by the moon. Its silver 
 sheen flows down the hills and quivers along the 
 meadows whose grasses tremble in the breeze. All 
 nature seems to be throbbing in unison with the hearts 
 of the lovers. The voices of spring — the season when 
 love opens like the buds — are whispered to St'eginund hy 
 the orchestra, and as he hears them he greets Szeglinde 
 with the Love Song : 
 
 35. 
 
 The Love Motive, impassioned, irresistible, sweeps 
 through the harmonies — and Love and Spring are 
 united. The Love Motive also pulsates through Sieg- 
 linde's ecstatic reply after she has given herself fully up 
 to Siegmund in the Flight Motive — for before his coming 
 her woes have fled as winter flies before the coming of 
 spring. With Siegmund' s exclamation : 
 
 Oh, wondrous vision ! 
 Rapturous woman ! 
 
 there rises from the orchestra like a vision of loveliness 
 the Motive of Freia (No. 12), the Venus of German myth- 
 ology. In its embrace it folds this pulsating theme. 
 
 which throbs on like a long love-kiss until it seem- 
 
" THE VALKYR." 45 
 
 ingly yields to the blandishments of this caressing 
 phrase : 
 
 i,^: U J. 
 
 C. : 
 
 This throbbing, pulsating, caressing music is succeeded 
 by a moment of repose. While the Walhalla Motive 
 is heard SiegUnde gazes search ingly into Siegmund's fea- 
 tures. They are strangely familiar to her. The Love 
 Motive weaves itself around Siegmund's words as he also 
 discovers familiar traces in SiegUnde s mien. SiegUnde 
 once saw her face reflected in the brook — it seems re- 
 flected in Siegmund's features. She has heard his voice 
 — it was when she heard the echo of her own voice in 
 the forest. His look has already gleamed upon her — it 
 was when the stranger gazed upon her before he thrust 
 the sword into the trunk of the ash-tree.* Was Wolf 
 really his father — is Woeful really his name ? 
 
 Siegmund proclaims that his father was a wolf to timid 
 foxes. But he whose glance gleamed as gleams Sieg- 
 linde's glance was Wdlse. Then, while the orchestra 
 fairly seethes with excitement, Sieghnde, almost beside 
 herself, calls jubilantly to him who came to her a stranger 
 out of the storm : 
 
 Was Waise thy father, 
 And art thou a Walsung ! 
 Thrust he for thee 
 His sword in the tree ! 
 Then let me name thee 
 As I love thee— 
 Siegmund, I call thee ! 
 
 * Notice here the combination of Sword and Walsungs' Heroism Mo- 
 tives, followed by a combination of Sword and Walhalla Motives. 
 
46 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 Siegrmmd leaps upon the table. The Motive of the 
 Walsungs' Heroism rings out in defiance of the enemies 
 of the race. The Sword Motive— and he has grasped 
 the hilt ; the Motive of Compact, ominous of the fatality 
 which hangs over the Walsungs ; the Motive of Renun- 
 ciation, with its threatening import ; then the Sword 
 Motive — brilliant like the glitter of refulgent steel — and 
 Sz'egmund has unsheathed the sword. The Walsungs' 
 Call to Victory, like a song of triumph ; a superb upward 
 sweep of the Sword Motive ; the Love Motive, now 
 rushing onward in the very ecstasy of passion, and 
 Siegmund holds in his embrace Szeglinde — sister and 
 bride ! 
 
 Act II. 
 
 The Vor spiel: With an upward rush of the Sword 
 Motive, resolved into 9-8 time, the orchestra dashes into 
 the Flight Motive. The Sword Motive in this 9-8 
 rhythm closely resembles the Motive of the Valkyrs' 
 Ride (No. 37) and the Flight Motive in the version in 
 which it appears is much like the Valkyrs' Shout (No. 
 36). The Ride and the Shout are heard in the course of 
 the vorspiel, the former with tremendous force on 
 trumpets and trombones as the curtain rises upon a wild, 
 rocky mountain pass, at the back of which, through a 
 natural rock-formed arch, a gorge slopes downward. In 
 the foreground stands Wotan, armed with spear, shield 
 and helmet. Before him is Briinnhilde in the superb 
 costume of the Valkyrs. The stormy spirit of the Vor- 
 spiel pervades the music of Wotan' s command to ^r«;^;^- 
 hilde that she bridle her steed for battle and spur it to 
 the fray to do combat for Siegmund against Htmding, 
 
THE VALKYR. 
 
 47 
 
 Briinnhilde greets Wotan's command with the weirdly, 
 joyous Shout of the Valkyrs : 
 
 Hojotoho ! Heiaha-ha ! 
 
 It is the cry of the wild horsewomen of the air, cours- 
 ing through storm-clouds, their shields flashing back the 
 lightning, their voices mingling with the shrieks of the 
 tempest. Weirder, wilder joy has never found expres- 
 sion in music. The tone-colors employed by Wagner 
 are so graphic that one sees the streaming manes of the 
 steeds of the air and the streaks of lightning playing 
 around their riders, and hears the whistling of the winds. 
 It is a marvelous tone-picture, equaled only by other 
 creations of its creator : 
 
 The accompanying figure is based on the Motive of 
 the Ride of the Valkyrs : 
 
 Briinnhilde having leapt from rock to rock, to the 
 highest peak of the mountain, again faces Wotan, and 
 with delightful banter calls to him that Fricka is ap- 
 proaching in her ram-drawn chariot. At the words : 
 
 Ha ! how she wields her golden scourge, 
 we hear a version of the Motive of Servitude (No. 3), 
 which occurs again when Fricka has appeared and de- 
 scended from her chariot and advances toward Wotan, 
 Briinnhilde having meanwhile disappeared behmd the 
 mountain height. Wotan, through his guilt, has become 
 
48 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 the slave of his evil conscience, and the Motive of Servi- 
 tude now stands for the remorseless energy with which 
 crime pursues its perpetrator. 
 
 The ensuing scene between Wotan and Fricka has 
 been subjected to an immense amount of criticism and 
 ridicule. Even Wagnerian commentators are somewhat 
 timid in their references to it. Von Wolzogen dismisses 
 it with a few words. It is therefore with some pride that 
 I point to an American criticism which is justly appre- 
 ciative. I refer to the letters which Mr. J. R. G. Hassard 
 contributed from Bayreuth to the Tribune in 1 876. The 
 lucidity of Mr. Hassard's treatment of the subject, the 
 felicity of his diction, his thorough comprehension of 
 Wagner's theory and his appreciation of its artistic 
 beauty, make these letters worthy to be ranked among 
 the most important contributions to the musical litera- 
 ture of the day. This scene between Wotan and Fricka 
 Mr. Hassard calls "another of those great dramatic 
 scenes, full of fine discriminations, of forcible declama- 
 tion, and of almost illimitable suggestiveness, which 
 alone would point out Wagner as the greatest of writers 
 for the musical stage." 
 
 The plain facts concerning this scene are these : It is 
 somewhat long, and hence, from a dramatic point of 
 view, perhaps too extended, as it delays the action. 
 But if it may be partially condemned dramatically, it 
 must be entirely and unreservedly praised musically. In- 
 deed it is musically so fine that to an intelligent listener all 
 sense of lengthiness disappears. Fricka is the protector of 
 the marriage vow, and as such she has come in anger to 
 demand from Wotan vengeance in behalf of Hunding. 
 As she advances hastily toward Wotan, her angry, pas- 
 sionate demeanor is reflected by the orchestra, and this 
 
" THE VALKYR:' 49 
 
 ejffective musical expression oiFrickas ire is often heard 
 in the course of the scene. When near Wotan she mod- 
 erates her pace and her angry demeanor gives way to 
 sullen dignity. This change is also graphically depicted 
 in the orchestra in a phrase based on the fourth bar of 
 the Fricka motive (page 89, lines 2 (last bar) and 3). 
 
 Wotan feigns ignorance of the cause of Fricka s agita- 
 tion and asks what it is that harasses her. Her reply is 
 preceded by the stern Hundlng motive. She tells 
 Wotan that she, as the protectress of the sanctity of the 
 marriage vow, has heard Hunding's voice calling for 
 vengeance upon the Walsung twins. Her words, " His 
 voice for vengeance is raised," are set to a phrase 
 strongly suggestive of Alberich's curse. It seems as 
 though the avenging Nibelung were pursuing Wotan's 
 children and thus striking a blow at Wotan himself 
 through Fricka, The Love motive breathes through 
 Wotan's protest that Siegmu7td and Sieglinde only yielded 
 to the magic of the spring night. There is a superbly 
 forceful strain when Wotan exclaims (page 91) : 
 
 For when strong spirits are rampant 
 I rouse them ever to strife. 
 
 The wrathful phrase expressive of Fricka s anger, 
 heard at the beginning of the scene, introduces her in- 
 vective against the nuptial union of brother and sister, 
 which reaches a stormy climax with her exclamation : 
 
 When was it heard of, 
 That brother and sister 
 Were lovers ? 
 
 With the cool impudence of a fin de siecle husband, 
 who is bandying words in a domestic spat, Wotan re- 
 plies : 
 
 Now it's been heard of ! 
 
 Wotan argues that Siegmnnd and Sieglinde are 
 
50 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 true lovers, and Fricka should smile instead of vent- 
 ing her wrath on them. The motive of the Love 
 Song, the Love Motive and the caressing phrase heard 
 in the love scene are beautifully blended with Wotans 
 words. In strong contrast to these motives is the music 
 in Fricka s outburst of wrath, introduced by the phrase 
 reflecting her ire, which is repeated several times in the 
 course of this episode. This is followed at the words. 
 
 Why mourn I thus o'er virtue and vows, 
 
 by a phrase which has a touch of pathos, for she is com- 
 plaining of Wotan's faithlessness. When she upbraids 
 him for his lapses with Erda, the results of which were 
 the Valkyrs, you hear the motive of the Ride of the Val- 
 kyrs. The passage concludes with a paroxysm of rage, 
 Frzckah\d.diing Wotan complete his work and Iqt the Wal- 
 sungs in their triumph trample her under their feet. Wo- 
 tan explains to her why he begat the Walsung race and 
 the hopes he has founded upon it. But Fricka mistrusts 
 him. What can mortals accomplish that the gods, who 
 are far mightier than mortals, cannot accomplish } Hund- 
 ing must be avenged on Siegmund and Sieglinde. Wotan 
 must withdraw his protection from Siegimmd. Now 
 appears a phrase which expresses Wotans impotent 
 wrath — impotent because Fricka brings forward the un- 
 answerable argument that if the Walsungs go unpun- 
 ished by her, as guardian of the marriage vow, she, the 
 Queen of the Gods, will be held up to the scorn of man- 
 kind. 
 
 Motive of Wotan's Wrath: 
 
 etc. 
 
 Wotan would fain save the Walsungs. But Fricka s 
 
''THE VALKYRr 51 
 
 argument is conclusive. He cannot protect Siegmund 
 and Sieglmde, because their escape from punishment 
 would bring degradation upon the queen-goddess and 
 the whole race of the gods, and result in their imme- 
 diate fall. Wotan's wrath rises at the thought of sacri- 
 ficing his beloved children to the vengeance of Hunding, 
 but he is impotent. His far-reaching plans are brought 
 to nought. He sees the hope of having the Ring re- 
 stored to the Rhinedaughters by the voluntary act of a 
 hero of the Walsung race vanish. The curse ot Alberich 
 hangs over him like a dark, threatening cloud. 
 
 Briinnhildes joyous shouts are heard from the height. 
 Wotan exclaims that he had summoned the Valkyr to 
 do battle for Siegmund. In broad, stately measures, 
 Fricka proclaims that her honor shall be guarded by 
 Briinnhildes shield and demands of Wotan an oath that 
 in the coming combat the Walsung shall fall. Wotan 
 takes the oath and throws himself dejectedly down upon 
 a rocky seat. Fricka strides toward the back. She 
 pauses a moment with a gesture of queenly com- 
 mand before Briinnhilde, who has led her horse down the 
 height and into a cave to the right. It will be remem- 
 bered that when in the beginning of this scene Fricka 
 advanced toward Wotan we heard a phrase expressive 
 of sullen dignity. The scene closes with this phrase, 
 but now no longer sullen. It rises in proud beauty 
 like a queenly woman exacting homage. This is one 
 of those finely artistic touches in which Wagner is 
 peerless. 
 
 I have purposely gone somewhat into the details of 
 this scene because it is still so much misunderstood. 
 Yet it is one of Wagner's finest conceptions, and as such 
 it will doubtless be universally ranked at some future 
 
63 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 day. Aside from the contrast which Fricka, as the 
 champion of virtue, affords to the forbidden revels of 
 the spring night — a contrast of truly dramatic value — 
 we witness the pathetic spectacle of a mighty god vainly 
 struggling to avert ruin from his race. That it is to ir- 
 resistible fate and not merely to Fricka that Wotqn 
 succumbs is made clear by the darkly ominous notes of 
 Alberich's curse, which resound as Wotan, wrapt in 
 gloomy brooding, leans back against the rocky seat, and 
 also when, in a parox5^sm of despair, he gives vent to his 
 feelings, a passage which for overpowering intensity of 
 expression stands out even from among Wagner's writ- 
 ings. The final words of this outburst of grief, 
 
 ' ■ The saddest I among all men, 
 
 are set to this variant of the Motive of Renunciation ; 
 the meaning of this phrase having been expanded from 
 the renunciation of love by Alberich to cover the re- 
 nunciation of happiness which is forced upon Wotan 
 by avenging fate : 
 
 Briinnhilde casts away shield, spear and helmet, and 
 sinking down at Wotan's feet looks up to him with af- 
 fectionate anxiety. Here we see in the Valkyr the touch 
 of tenderness, without which a truly heroic character is 
 never cortiplete. 
 
 Musically it is beautifully expressed by the Love Mo- 
 tive, which, when Wotan, as if awakening from a rev- 
 erie, fondly strokes her hair, goes over into the Siegmund 
 Motive. It is over the fate of his beloved Walsungs 
 
" THE VALKYRr 53 
 
 Wotan has been brooding. Immediately following 
 Bru7inhildes words, 
 
 What am I were I not thy will, 
 
 is a wonderfully soft yet rich melody on four horns. It 
 is one of those beautiful details in which Wagner's works 
 abound, yet, although these details are as numerous as 
 they are beautiful, they seem to have escaped the atten- 
 tion of a good many critics. Or have these critics made 
 an effort not to perceive them ? 
 
 In Wotan s narrative, which now follows, the chief of 
 the gods tells Briinnhilde of the events which have 
 brought this sorrow upon him, of his failure to restore 
 the stolen gold to the Rhinedaughters ; of his dread of 
 A/bertch's curse ; how she and her sister Valkyrs were 
 born to him by Erda ; of the necessity that a hero should 
 without aid of the gods gain the Ring and Tarnhelmet 
 from Fafner and restore the Rhinegold to the Rhine- 
 daughters ; how he begot the Walsungs and inured them 
 to hardships in the hope that one of the race would free 
 the gods from Alberich's curse ; of a prophecy uttered 
 by Erda, that the end of the gods would be wrought 
 if Alberich could win a woman as wife and beget a son ; 
 that Alberich had won a wife and an heir was about 
 to be born to him. 
 
 It will have been observed that a considerable portion 
 of Wotan s narrative covers some of the events which 
 were enacted in Rhinegold. Hence a portion of the 
 narrative is unnecessary and therefore undoubtedly faulty 
 from a purely dramatic standpoint. It may also be not 
 unjustly questioned if in other portions the narrative 
 does not go into details beyond the dramatic require- 
 ments. Both the scene betw^een Wotan and Fricka and 
 
54 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 the narrative are too long to be given in their entirety in 
 a performance which begins as late as eight P. M. When, 
 however, Wagner's works are performed as they are at 
 Bayreuth, where the performances begin at four in the 
 afternoon and there are long intermissions during which 
 the listeners can saunter about the grounds surrounding 
 the theatre, not a note should be omitted. There cannot 
 be under such conditions the faintest suggestion of fa- 
 tigue from an undue mental strain, even on the part of 
 those who have become so accustomed to the insipidness 
 of the old-fashioned opera that they are appalled at the 
 mere thought — provided they retain the power of think- 
 ing — of mental effort in connection with a musico-dra- 
 matic work. 
 
 Whatever fault may be found with Wotan's narrative — 
 or rather portions ot it — from a purely dramatic point of 
 view, it is musically most expressive from its first accents, 
 uttered in a choked, suppressed voice, to its eloquent 
 climax. The motives heard will be recognized, except 
 one, which is new. This is expressive of the stress to 
 which the gods are subjected through WotatCs crime. 
 It is first heard when Wotan tells of the hero who alone 
 can regain the ring. It is the Motive of the Gods' 
 Stress : 
 
 ....... ^33 
 
 Excited by remorse and despair JVo^an bids farewell 
 to the glory of the gods. Then he in terrible mockery 
 blesses the Nibelung's heir. Terrified by this outburst 
 of wrath Briinnhilde asks what her duty shall be in the 
 approaching combat. Wotan commands her to do 
 Frzcka's bidding and withdraw protection from Steg- 
 
" THE VALKYRr 55 
 
 mund. In vain Brunnhilde pleads for the Walsungwhom 
 she knows Wotan loves, and wished a victor until Fricka 
 exacted a promise from him to avenge Hunding. But 
 her pleading is in vain, Wotan is no longer the all-pow- 
 erful chief of the gods — through his breach of faith he 
 has become the slave of fate. Hence we hear, as 
 Wotan rushes away, driven by chagrin, rage and despair, 
 chords heavy with the crushing force of fate. 
 
 Slowly and sadly Brunnhilde bends down for her 
 weapons, her actions being accompanied by the Valkyr 
 Motive. Bereft of its stormy impetuosity it is as trist as 
 her thoughts. Lost in sad reflections, which find beauti- 
 ful expression in the orchestra, she turns toward the 
 background. Suddenly the sadly expressive phrases are 
 interrupted by the Motive of Flight. Looking down 
 into the valley the Valkyr perceives Szeg7nund 2in6. Sieg- 
 linde approaching in hasty flight. She then disappears 
 in the cave. With magnificent crescendo the Motive of 
 Flight reaches its climax and the two Walsungs are seen 
 through the natural arch. Sieglinde is hastening in ad- 
 vance of Szegmund. Seeking to restrain her flight, he 
 clasps her tenderly. She stares wildly before her. Her 
 terror of Hundmg's pursuit has unsettled her reason. 
 Sieg7nund speaks to her in gentle tones. Like a remi- 
 niscence of happier moments there is heard the wooing, 
 caressing phrase of the love scene in the first act. 
 Szegh'nde gazes with growing rapture into Siegtmmd's 
 eyes and throws her arms around his neck. A fiercely 
 impassioned phrase accompanies her impetuous action. 
 Then as her mien grows mournful v/e hear the sadly re- 
 flective version of the Motive of Flight which preceded 
 the Love Motive in the first act. " Away ! Away ! " 
 she shrieks, suddenly starting up from her reverie. 
 
56 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 There is a dramatic change in the music which wildly 
 follows her terrified ejaculations. There is noble calm- 
 ness and determination in Siegjnund's assuring words to 
 her. They are introduced by the Motive of the Wal- 
 sung's Fortitude — that eloquent phrase, expressive of 
 the fortitude with which the race has borne the struggle 
 with adverse fate. Here Siegmund proposes to try the 
 steel of his sword with Hunding. Then are heard in the 
 distance the ominous notes of Hundmg's horn, summon- 
 ing his kinsmen to the pursuit of his wife and her lover. 
 Sieglinde starts up in despair. Does not Siegmund hear 
 the avenger's call, bidding the sleuth-hounds join him in 
 the hunt for human prey ,'' An agonizing shriek and 
 Sieglinde grows suddenly rigid and stares vacantly be- 
 fore her, as if demented. 
 
 Eight chords of terrific force mark the climax of this 
 scene. 
 
 In the insanity of her terror she believes that Siegmund 
 is about to desert her, and with a wild cry of despair she 
 throws herself upon his breast. A moment later she 
 hears the distant notes of Htmding's horns, and starts 
 up again in terror. She now believes that Siegmund h2L.s 
 deserted her. Her agonized ejaculations, her heart- 
 rending grief — these find wonderfully vivid expression. 
 With a furious crescendo the climax of the scene is 
 reached, and Sieglinde sinks fainting into Sieg7nund's 
 arms. 
 
 Without releasing his hold upon her, Siegmund lets 
 himself down upon a rocky seat, so that when he 
 assumes a sitting posture her head rests on his lap. 
 Silently he gazes upon her, and then, while the Love 
 Motive whispers of memories of bliss, he presses a kigs 
 upon her brow. 
 
THE valkyr: 
 
 57 
 
 The Motive of Fate — so full of solemn import— is 
 now heard : 
 
 40.^ 
 
 :«=: 
 
 Briinnhilde, leading her horse by the bridle, appears 
 in the entrance of the cave, and advances slowly and 
 solemnly to the front ; then pauses and gazes upon 
 Siegjnund. While her earnest look rests upon him, 
 there is heard the Motive of the Death-Song, a tristly 
 prophetic strain : 
 
 Briinnhilde advances and then, pausing again, leans 
 with one hand upon her charger's neck, and grasping 
 shield and spear with the other, gazes upon Siegmund. 
 Then there rises from the orchestra, in strains of rich, 
 soft, alluring beauty, the Walhalla Motive. The Fate, 
 Death-Song and Walhalla Motives recur, and Siegmund, 
 raising his eyes and meeting ^rw^Wi^//*^?;?'^ look, questions 
 her and receives her answers. The episode is so fraught 
 with solemnity that the shadow of death seems to have 
 fallen upon the scene. The solemn beauty of the music 
 impresses itself the more upon the listener because of the 
 agitated, agonized scene which preceded it. The allur- 
 ing pleasures of Walhalla are depicted by the Walhalla 
 Motive, beautifully blended with the Motive of the 
 Valkyrs' Ride, as Briinnhilde announces that many 
 warriors will greet Siegmund' s coming; by the Walhalla 
 Motive alone when she tells him that he will meet his 
 
58 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 father in Walhalla ; by the Freia Motive, borne airily upon 
 the buoyant Motive of the Valkyrs' Ride, as she promises 
 him that beauteous wish-maidens will wait upon him in 
 the warriors' heaven. But these allurements are nought 
 to him. " Shall Szegmund thtre. embrace Szeglinde}" he 
 asks; and when Briinnhilde answers in the negative he 
 spurns the delights she has held out to him. Here he 
 will stand and meet Hundzng. Brunnhzlde toWs him that 
 the sword upon which he relies will be shivered. He 
 draws it to take Szeglinde s life and so pierce the fruit 
 of their love. Moved to admiration by his heroic love, 
 Briinnhilde, in a jubilant outburst, as though a sorrow 
 had been lifted from her heart, proclaims that she will 
 give victory to Siegmund. 
 
 When she has disappeared the scene gradually dark- 
 ens. Heavy storm-clouds veil the crags and hide the 
 peak from view. Siegmund tenderly soliloquizes over 
 Sieglinde, and then kissing her gently upon the fore- 
 head, disappears among the cloads to meet Hunding. 
 Sieglinde gradually regains her senses. The mountain is 
 now veiled in black thunder-clouds. Hunding s voice is 
 heard summoning Siegmujtd to combat. She staggers 
 toward the peak. It is suddenly illumined by lightning. 
 In the lurid light the combatants and Brihtnhilde hov- 
 ering above Siegmund are seen. As Siegmimd aims a 
 deadly stroke at Hundzng a reddish glow diffuses itself 
 through the clouds. In it Wotan appears. He inter- 
 poses his spear. As the sword strikes ft, Siegmund' s 
 weapon is shattered and Hunding thrusts his spear into 
 the Walsung's breast. Sieglinde, with a wild shriek, 
 falls to the ground. Briimihilde rushes down to her, lifts 
 her upon her steed and urges the charger down the de- 
 file. With a gesture of angry contempt Wota7i fells 
 
" THE VALKYRr 69 
 
 Hunding, and then, with a threat to visit upon Briinn- 
 hilde dire punishment for her revolt against his will, he 
 disappears amid lightning and thunder. It is impossible 
 in words to do justice to the savage beauty of this clos- 
 ing scene. The music is of the most dramatic charac- 
 ter. The warring elements seem to add to the terror of 
 this battle among the clouds. Amid these dark scenes 
 Alderich's second victim finds his death. 
 
 Act III. 
 
 The third act opens with the famous ride of the 
 Valkyrs, a number so familiar that detailed reference to 
 it is scarcely necessary. The wild maidens of Walhalla 
 coursing upon winged steeds through storm-clouds, 
 their weapons flashing in the gleam of lightning, their 
 weird laughter mingling with^the crash of thunder as 
 they bear slain warriors to the hero's heaven — such is 
 the episode Wagner has depicted with marvelous art. 
 The climax of barbaric joy is reached when the voices of 
 six of the sisters unite in the shout, Hojotoho ! Heiha ! 
 When eight of the Valkyrs have gathered upon the rocky 
 summit of the mountain, which is their trysting- 
 place, they see Briinnhilde approaching. 
 
 The Motive of the Gods' Stress is the chief theme 
 heard in the ensuing scene when Briinnhilde tells of her 
 disobedience to Wotan and begs the Valkyrs aid her to 
 shield Sieglinde. 
 
 The latter, who has been lost in gloomy brooding, 
 starts at her rescuer's supplication and in strains replete 
 with mournful beauty begs that she may be left to her 
 fate and follow Siegviund in death. The glorious 
 prophecy of Briinnhilde, in which she now foretells the 
 
60 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC DRAMAS. 
 
 birth of Siegfried to Sieglinde, is based upon the Sieg- 
 fried Motive. 
 
 42. 
 
 _-^:i>_.f:_^^^£^ 
 
 h^- 
 
 : I itiz 
 
 zz^zz 
 
 ■:i?:li2^-k 
 
 ^g 
 
 
 Sieglinde in joyous frenzy blesses Briinnhilde and 
 hastens to find safety in a dense forest to the eastward, 
 the same forest in which Fafner, in the form of a ser- 
 pent, guards the Rhinegoid treasures. 
 
 Wotan, in hot pursuit of Briinnhilde, reaches the 
 mountain summit. In vain her sisters entreat him to 
 spare her. He harshly threatens them unless they cease 
 their entreaties, and with wild cries of fear they hastily 
 depart. In the ensuing scene between Wotan and 
 Briinnhilde, in which the latter seeks to justify her 
 action, is heard one of the most beautiful themes of the 
 cycle. 
 
 It is the Motive of Brunnhilde's Pleading, which 
 finds its loveliest expression when she addresses Wotan 
 in the passage beginning : 
 
 Thou, who this love within my breast inspired. 
 
 In the scene there are many passages of rare beauty 
 and many climaxes of great dramatic power. The prin- 
 cipal motives employed therein the listener will readily 
 
" THE VALKYRr 61 
 
 recognize, so that it is only necessary to give in notation 
 the Slumber Motive: 
 
 44. 
 
 :^ fe =g==ig^ 
 
 etc. 
 
 This great scene between Wotan and Briinnhilde 
 is introduced by an orchestral passa^T^e. The Valkyr lies 
 in penitence at her father's feet. In the expressive or- 
 chestral measures the Motive of Wotan's Wrath mingles 
 with that of Briinnhilde's Pleading. The motives thus 
 form a prelude to the scene in which the Valkyr seeks 
 to appease her father's anger, not through a specious 
 plea, but by laying bare the promptings of a noble 
 heart, which forced her, against the chief god's com- 
 mand, to intervene for Siegmund. The Motive of Briinn- 
 hilde's Pleading is heard in its simplest form at Briinn- 
 hilde* s words : 
 
 Was it so shameful what I have done, 
 
 and it may be noticed that as she proceeds the Motive 
 of Wotan's Wrath, heard in the accompaniment, grows 
 less stern until with her plea, 
 
 Soften thy wrath, 
 
 it assumes a tone of regretful sorrow. 
 
 Wotan s feelings toward Briinnhilde have softened for 
 the time from anger to grief that he must mete out pun- 
 ishment for her disobedience. In his reply excitement 
 subsides to gloom. It would be difficult to pomt to 
 other music more touchingly expressive of deep con- 
 trition than the phrase in which Briinnhilde pleads that 
 Wotan himself taught her to love Siegmtmd. It is here 
 
63 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 that the Motive of Briinnhilde's Pleading assumes the 
 form in the notation given above. Then we hear from 
 Wotan that he had abandoned Siegmund to his fate, be- 
 cause he had lost hope in the cause of the gods and 
 wished to end his woe in the wreck of the world. The 
 weird terror of the Curse Motive hangs over this out- 
 burst of despair. In broad and beautiful strains Wotan 
 then depicts Briinnhilde blissfully yielding to her emo- 
 tions when she intervened for Siegmund. 
 
 At last Briinnhilde seeks, with the prophecy of Sieg- 
 fried, to move Wotan from his purpose, which is to 
 punish her by causing her to fall into a deep sleep and 
 thus become the prey of man. The motive of her plead- 
 ing, reaching a magnificent climax, passes over to the 
 stately Siegfried Motive as she prays Wotan to surround 
 her sleeping form with horrors which only a true hero 
 will dare strive to overcome. Let him conjure up fire 
 'round about her ! Wotan raises her to her feet and 
 gazes, overcome with deep emotion, into her eyes. After 
 a majestic orchestral passage there begins Wotatts fare- 
 well to Briinnhilde, which in all musico-dramatic num- 
 bers for bass voice has no peer. Such tender, mourn- 
 ful beauty has never found expression in music — and 
 this, whether we regard the vocal part or the orchestral 
 accompaniment in which the Slumber Motive quoted 
 above is prominent. Wotan gently leads Briinnhilde to 
 a table rock, upon which she sinks. He closes her hel- 
 met and covers her with her shield. Then, pointing his 
 spear toward a huge rock, he invokes Loge. Tongues of 
 fire leap up from crevices in the rocks. Flickering 
 flames break out on all sides. The forest glows with 
 fire. The magic conflagration — wildly fluttering flames 
 — surrounds Wotan and Briinnhilde, He gazes fondly 
 
''THE VALKYR." 63 
 
 upon her form and then vanishes among the flames. 
 The Slumber Motive, the Magic Fire Motive and the 
 Siegfried Motive combine to place the music of this 
 scene with the most brilliant and beautiful portion of 
 our heritage from the master-musician. Toward the close 
 of this glorious finale we hear again the ominous mut- 
 tering of the Motive of Fate. Briinnhilde may be saved 
 from ignominy, Siegfried may be born to Sieglinde — but 
 the crushing weight of the hand of fate rests upon 
 the race of the gods. 
 
 — '"5'»*^^^^^^^3<-r- 
 
-SIEGFRIED.' 
 
 The Nibelungs were not present in the dramatic ac- 
 tion of " The Valkyr," though the sinister influence of 
 Alberich shaped the tragedy of Siegmund^s death. In 
 " Siegfried " several characters of " The Rhinegold," 
 who do not take part in " The Valkyr," reappear. These 
 are the Nibelungs Alberich and Mime ; the giant Fafner, 
 who in the guise of a serpent guards the ring, the tarn- 
 helmet and the Nibelung hoard in a cavern, and Erda. 
 Siegfried has been born of Steglinde, who died in giving 
 birth to him. This scion of the Walsung race has been 
 reared by Mime, who is plotting to obtain possession of 
 Fafners treasures, and hopes to be aided in his designs 
 by the lusty youth. Wotan, disguised as a wanderer, is 
 watching the course of events, again hopeful that a hero 
 of the Walsung race will free the gods from Alberich' s 
 curse. Surrounded by magic fire, Brilnnhilde still lies 
 in deep slumber on the rock of the Valkyrs. 
 
 The vorspiel of " Siegfried " is expressive of Mime's 
 planning and plotting. It begins with music of a mys- 
 terious, brooding character. Mingling with this is the 
 Motive of the Hoard (No. 20), familiar from "The 
 Rhinegold." Then is heard the Nibelung Motive 
 (No. 18), and later, joined with it, the Motive of the 
 Nibelung's Servitude (No. 3). After reaching a forceful 
 climax the Motive of the Nibelung passes over to 
 the Motive of the Ring (No. 6), which rises from pianis- 
 simo to a crash of tremendous power. The ring is to 
 
'' SIEGFRIEDr 65 
 
 be the prize of all Mimes plotting, when Siegfried, with 
 a sword of Mimes forging, shall have slain Fafner, 
 The felicitous use of the Sword Motive toward the close 
 of the vorspiel will be readily recognized, as well as the 
 aptness of the Nibelung and Servitude Motives as ex- 
 pressive of Mime's slavish labors, and gaining further 
 point when joined by the Dragon or Serpent Motive. 
 
 The three motives last named are prominent in the 
 opening scene, which shows Mime forging a sword at a 
 natural forge formed in a rocky cave. In a soliloquy he 
 discloses the purpose of his labors and laments that 
 Siegfried s\)\m^v^ every sword which has been forged for 
 him. Could he {Mime) but unite the pieces of Sieg- 
 mmtd's sword ! At this thought the Sword Motive rings 
 out brilliantly, and is jubilantly repeated, accompanied 
 by a variant of the Walhalla Motive. For if the pieces 
 of the sword were welded together, and Siegfried 
 were with it to slay Fafner, Mime could surrepti- 
 tiously obtain possession of the ring, slay Siegfried, 
 rule over the gods in Walhalla and circumvent Al- 
 bericJis plans for regaining the hoard. This last aspect 
 of Mimes plan is musically expressed by the mocking 
 phrase heard when in " The Rhinegold " Wotan and 
 Loge made sport over the pinioned Alberich. This 
 passage will be found on pages 8 and 9 of the Klein- 
 michel piano-score with words, beginning at bar 16 of the 
 former and ending at 3 of the latter. The nine bars are 
 an admirable example of the wealth of meaning in Wag- 
 ner's music-drama scores, a meaning perfectly intel- 
 ligible to anyone who approaches the subject in a se- 
 rious, studious mood. 
 
 Mime is still at work when Siegfried enters, clad 
 in a wild forest garb. Over it a silver horn is slung 
 
66 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 by a chain. The sturdy youth has captured a bear. He 
 leads it by a bast rope, with which he gives it full play, 
 so that it can make a dash at Mime. As the latter flees 
 terrified behind the forge, Siegfried gives vent to his 
 high spirits in shouts of laughter. Musically his buoyant 
 nature is expressed by a theme inspired by the fresh, 
 joyful spirit of a wild, woodland life. It may be called, 
 to distinguish it from the Siegfried Motive, the MOTIVE 
 OF Siegfried the Fearless. 
 
 «.^^fe^ 
 
 l!^3rr->^; 
 
 
 It pervades with its joyous impetuosity the ensuing 
 scene, in which Siegfried has his sport with Mime, until 
 tiring of it, he loosens the rope from the bear's neck 
 and drives the animal back into the forest. In a pretty, 
 graceful phrase Siegfried tells how he blew his horn, 
 hoping it would be answered by a pleasanter companion 
 than Mime. Then he examines the sword which Mime 
 has been forging. The Siegfried Motive resounds as he 
 inveighs against the weapon's weakness, until, as he 
 shivers the sword on the anvil, the orchestra with a 
 rush takes up the Motive of Siegfried the Impetu- 
 ous. 
 
 This is a theme full of youthful snap and dash. It 
 alternates effectively with a contraction of the Nibelung 
 
SIEGFRIED. 
 
 67 
 
 Smithy Motive, while Siegfried ^LngrWy scolds Mime and 
 the latter protests. Finally Mi?ne tells Siegfried how he 
 tenderly reared him from infancy. The music here is 
 as simple and pretty as a folk-song, for Mime's reminis- 
 cences of Siegfried's infancy are set to a charming 
 melody, as though Mime were recalling to Siegfried's 
 memory a cradle song of those days. But Siegfried 
 grows impatient. If Mime tended him so kindly, why 
 should Mime be so repulsive to him ; and yet why 
 should he, in spite of x'T/^V;//^ repulsive ness, always return 
 to the cave } The dwarf explains that he is to Siegfried 
 what the father is to the fledgling. This leads to a beauti- 
 ful lyric episode. Siegfried says that he saw the birds 
 mating, the deer pairing, the she-wolf nursing her cubs. 
 Whom shall he call Mother? Who is Mime'swiie ? This 
 episode is pervaded by a lovely, tender motive— the Mo- 
 tive OF Love-Life: 
 
 47 
 
 Mime endeavors to persuade Siegfried that he is his 
 father and mother in one. But Siegfried has noticed 
 
68 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 that the young of birds and deer and wolves look like 
 the parents. He has seen his features reflected in the 
 brook and knows he does not resemble the hideous 
 Mime. The notes of the Love-Life Motive pervade like 
 woodland strains the musical accompaniment of this 
 episode, in which, when Siegfried speaks of seeing his 
 own likeness, we also hear the Siegfried Motive. The 
 scene which follows is full of mournful beauty. Mime, 
 forced by Siegfried to speak the truth, tells of Sieglinde's 
 death while giving birth to Siegfried. Throughout this 
 scene we find reminiscences of the first act of " The 
 Valkyr," the Walsung Motive, Motive of Sympathy and 
 Love Motive. Finally, when Mime produces as evidence 
 of the truth of his words the two pieces of Siegmund's 
 sword, the Sword Motive rings out brilliantly. Siegfried 
 exclaims that Miine must weld the pieces into a trusty 
 weapon. Here (page 44, line i) the Motive of Siegfried 
 the Fearless assumes the form in which it is quoted 
 on page dd. The Motive of Siegfried the Impetuous 
 breaks in upon it and the Sword Motive throws its lustre 
 over the music. Then follows Siegfried's Wander Song, so 
 full of joyous abandon. Once the sword welded, he will 
 leave the hated Mime forever. As the fish darts through 
 the water, as the bird flies so free, he will flee from the 
 repulsive dwarf. With joyous exclamations he runs from 
 the cave into the forest. 
 
 In the scenes of which I have just spoken, the frank, 
 boisterous nature of Siegfried is charmingly portrayed. 
 His buoyant vivacity finds capital expression in the 
 Motives of Siegfried the Fearless, Siegfried the Impetu- 
 ous and his Wander Song, while the vein of tender- 
 ness in his character seems to run through the Love-Life 
 Motive. His harsh treatment of Mime is not brutal ; for 
 
''SIEGFRIEDS 69 
 
 Siegfried frankly avows his loathing of the dwarf, and 
 we feel, knowing Mimes plotting against] the young 
 Walsung, that Siegfried's hatred is the spontaneous 
 aversion of a frank nature for an insidious one. 
 
 After Siegfried has disappeared in the forest, there is 
 a gloomy soliloquy for Mime, interrupted by the en- 
 trance of Wot an, disguised as a wanderer. The ensuing 
 scene is one of those lapses from dramatic effectiveness 
 which we find in Wagner, and which surprise us so much, 
 because Wagner was really an inspired dramatist, his 
 works being constructed on fine dramatic lines, the action 
 worked up to fine climaxes and the characters drawn in 
 bold, broad strokes. But occasionally he has committed 
 the error against the laws of dramatic construction of 
 unduly prolonging a scene and thus retarding the dra- 
 matic action. 
 
 The scene between the Wanderer and Mime covers 
 twenty-seven pages in the Kleinmichel piano-score with 
 words, yet it advances us only one step in the dramatic 
 action. As the Wanderer enters. Mime is in despair be- 
 cause he cannot weld the pieces of Siegmund's sword. 
 When the Wanderer departs, he has prophesied that only 
 he who does not know what fear is can weld the frag- 
 ments, and that through this fearless hero Mime shall 
 lose his life. This prophecy is reached through a some- 
 what curious process, which must be unintelligible to 
 anyone who has not made a study of the libretto. The 
 Wanderer, seating himself, wagers his head that he can 
 correctly answer any three questions which Mime may 
 put to him. Mime then asks : What is the race born 
 in the earth's deep bowels } The Wanderer answers : 
 The Nibelungs. Mime's second question is : What race 
 dwells on tbe earth's back? The Wanderer replies; 
 
70 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 The race of the giants. Mime finally asks : What race 
 dwells on cloudy heights? The Wanderer answers: 
 The race of the gods. The Wanderer, having thus 
 answered correctly Mime's three questions, now puts 
 three questions to Mime: "What is that noble race 
 which Wot an ruthlessly dealt with, and yet which he 
 deemeth most dear ? " Mime answers correctly : " The 
 Walsungs." Then the Wanderer asks : " What sword must 
 Siegfried Xhtn strike with, dealing to Fafner death?" 
 Mime answers correctly: "With Siegjnunas sword." 
 " Who," asks the Wanderer, " can weld its fragments ? " 
 Mime is terrified, for he cannot answer. Then Wotan 
 utters the prophecy of the fearless hero. Whoever will 
 read over this scene will observe that in Wotan's an- 
 swers the story of " The Rhinegold " is partially re- 
 told, and that in Mime's answers we have a rehear- 
 sal of "The Valkyr." Of course the narrative rep- 
 etitions of the plots of preceding music - dramas 
 are undramatic. But I have an idea that Wagner, 
 conjecturing that in many opera - houses his te- 
 tralogy would not be given as a whole, and that in some 
 only one or two of the four music-dramas constituting it 
 would be played, purposely introduced these narrative 
 repetitions in order to familiarize the audience with what 
 preceded the particular music-drama. 
 
 But if the scene is dramatically defective, it is musi- 
 cally most eloquent. It is introduced by two motives, 
 representing Wotan as the Wanderer, The mysterious 
 chords of the former seem characteristic of Wotan's 
 Disguise. 
 
" Siegfried:' 71 
 
 The latter, with its plodding, heavily-tramping move- 
 ment, is the Motive of Wotan's Wandering. 
 
 49. 
 
 The third new motive found in this scene is charac- 
 teristically expressive of the Cringing Mime. 
 
 50. ^ _ _ _ ^ 
 
 Several familiar motives from " The Rhinegold " and 
 "The Valkyr" are heard here. The Motive of Com- 
 pact (No. 9), so powerfully expressive of the binding 
 force of law, the Nibelung (No. i8). Giants' (No. 13) 
 and Walhalla (No. 8) motives from " The Rhinegold," 
 and the Walsungs' Heroism motives from the first act 
 of " The Valkyr," are among these. 
 
 When the Wanderer has vanished in the forest Mime 
 sinks back on his stool in despair. Staring after Wotan 
 into the sunlit forest, the shimmering rays flitting over 
 the soft green mosses with every movement of the branch- 
 es and each tremor of the leaves seem to him like flickering 
 flames and treacherous will-o'-the-wisps. We hear the 
 Loge Motive {Loge being the god of fire) familiar from 
 "The Rhinegold " and the finale of "The Valkyr." At 
 last Mime rises to his feet in terror. He seems to see 
 Fafner in his serpent's guise appoaching to devour him, 
 and in a paroxysm of fear he falls with a shriek behind 
 the anvil. Just then Siegfried bursts out of the thicket, 
 and with the fresh, buoyant Wander-song and the Mo- 
 tive of S;*»^fried the Fearless, the weird mystery 
 
72 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 which hung over the former scene is dispelled. Sz'eg-- 
 fried looks about him for Mime until he sees the dwarf 
 lying behind the anvil. 
 
 Laughingly the young Walsung asks the dwarf if he 
 has thus been welding the sword. " The sword } The 
 sword } " repeats Mime, confusedly, as he advances, and 
 his mind wanders back to Wotans prophecy of the fear- 
 less hero. Regaining his senses, he tells Siegfried there 
 is one thing he has yet to learn, namely, to be afraid ; 
 that his mother charged him {Mime) to teach fear to him 
 {Siegfried). At this point there is heard a combination of 
 the Walsung Motive and the Nibelung Motive in its con- 
 tracted form as it previously occurs in this act. Mifne 
 asks Siegfried if he has never felt his heart beating when 
 in the gloaming he heard strange sounds and saw weirdly 
 glimmering lights in the forest. Siegfried replies that 
 he never has. He knows not what fear is. If it is neces- 
 sary before he goes forth in quest of adventure to learn 
 what fear is he would like to be taught. But how can 
 Mime teach him ? 
 
 The Magic Fire Motive and Briinnhilde's Slumber 
 Motive, familiar from Wotan's Farewell, and the Magic 
 Fire scene in the third act of " The Valkyr " are heard 
 here, the former depicting the weirdly glimmering lights 
 with which Mime has sought to infuse dread into Sieg- 
 fried's breast, the latter prophesying that, penetrating 
 fearlessly the fiery circle, Siegfried will reach Briinn- 
 hilde. Then Mime tells Siegfried of Fafner, thinking 
 thus to strike terror into the young Walsung's breast. 
 But far from it ! Siegfried is incited by Mime's words 
 to meet Fafner in combat. Has Mime welded the frag- 
 ments of Siegmund's sword, asks Siegfried. The dwarf 
 confesses his impotency. Siegfried sqizqs the fragments. 
 
" SIEGFRIED." 73 
 
 He will forge his own sword. Here begins the great 
 scene of the forging of the sword. Like a shout of 
 victory the Motive of Siegfried the Fearless rings out 
 and the orchestra fairly glows as Siegfried heaps a great 
 mass of coal on the forge-hearth, and, fanning the heat, 
 begins to file away at the fragments of the sword. 
 
 .The roar of the fire, the sudden intensity of the 
 fierce white heat to which the young Walsung fans 
 the glow — these we would respectively hear and see 
 were the music given without scenery or action, so 
 graphic is Wagner's score. The Sword Motive leaps 
 like a brilliant tongue of fire over the heavy thuds of a 
 forceful variant of the Motive of Compact, till brightly 
 gleaming runs add to the brilliancy of the score, which 
 reflects all the quickening, quivering effulgence of the 
 scene. How the music flows like a fiery flood and how 
 it hisses as Siegfried pours the molten contents of the 
 crucible into a mold and then plunges the latter into 
 water ! The glowing steel lies on the anvil and Sieg- 
 fried swings the hammer. With every stroke his joyous 
 excitement is intensified. At last the work is done. He 
 brandishes the sword and with one stroke cleaves the anvil 
 from top to bottom. With the crash of the Sword Mo- 
 tive, united with the Motive of Siegfried the Fearless, 
 the orchestra dashes into a furious prestissimo, and 
 Siegfried, shouting with glee, holds his sword aloft. 
 
 Act H. 
 The second act opens with a darkly portentous vor- 
 spiel. On the very threshold of it we meet Fafner in his 
 motive, which is so clearly based on the Giant 
 Motive that there is no necessity for quoting it. 
 Through themes which are familiar from earlier por- 
 
74 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 tions of the work, the vorspiel rises to a crashing fortis- 
 simo. The curtain lifts on a thick forest. At the back 
 is the entrance to Fafners cave, the lower part of which 
 is hidden by rising ground in the middle of the stage, 
 which slopes down toward the back. In the darkness 
 the outlines of a figure are dimly discerned. It is the 
 Nibelung Alberich, haunting the domain which hides 
 the treasures of which he was despoiled. The Motive of 
 the Nibelung's Malevolence accompanies his malicious 
 utterances. From the forest comes a gust of wind. A 
 bluish light gleams from the same direction. Wotatt, 
 still in the guise of a wanderer, enters. 
 
 The ensuing scene between Alberich and the Wanderer 
 is, from a dramatic point of view, episodical. For this 
 and the further reason that the reader will readily 
 recognize the motives occurring in it, detailed con- 
 sideration of it is unnecessary. Suffice it to say that 
 the fine self-poise of Wotan and the maliciously restless 
 character of Alberich are superbly contrasted. When 
 Wotan has departed the Nibelung slips into a rocky 
 crevice, where he remained hidden when Siegfried and 
 Mime enter. Mime endeavors to awaken dread in 
 Siegfried's heart by describing Fafner's terrible form 
 and powers. But Siegfried's courage is not weakened. 
 On the contrary, with heroic impetuosity, he asks to be 
 at once confronted with Fafner, Mime, well knowing 
 that Fafner will soon awaken and issue from his cave 
 to meet Siegfried in mortal combat, lingers on in the 
 hope that both may fall, until the young Walsung drives 
 him away. 
 
 Now begms the most beautiful lyric episode ever 
 conceived. Siegfried reclines under a linden tree, and 
 looks up through the branchf»s. The rustling of the 
 
" SIEGFRIED r 75 
 
 trees is heard. Over the tremulous whispers of 
 the orchestra — known from concert programs as the 
 Waldweben (forest-weaving) — rises a lovely variant 
 of the Walsung Motive. Siegfried is asking himself how 
 his mother may have looked, and this variant of the 
 theme which was first heard in " The Valkyr," when Sieg- 
 littde told Siegmund that her home was the home of 
 woe, rises like a memory of her image. Serenely the 
 sweet strains of the Love-Life Motive soothe his sad 
 thoughts. The graceful outlines of the Freia Motive 
 rise for a moment, and then Siegfried, once more en- 
 tranced by forest sounds, listens intently. Birds' voices 
 greet him. A little feathery songster, whose notes 
 mingle with the rustling leaves of the linden tree, es- 
 pecially charms him. 
 
 The forest voices — the humming of insects, the piping 
 of the birds, the amorous quiver of the branches — 
 quicken his half-defined aspirations. Can the little 
 singer explain his longing? He listens, but cannot 
 catch the meaning of the song. Perhaps, if he can imi- 
 tate it, he may understand it. Springing to a stream 
 hard by, he cuts a reed with his sword, and quickly 
 fashions a pipe from it. He blows on it, but it sounds 
 shrill. He listens again to the bird. He may not be able 
 to imitate its song on the reed, but on his silver horn he 
 can wind a woodland tune. Putting the horn to his 
 lips he makes the forest ring with its notes.* 
 
 The notes of the horn have awakened Fafner, who 
 now crawls toward Siegfried. Perhaps the less said 
 about the combat between Siegfried and Fafner the bet- 
 ter. This scene, which seems very spirited in the libretto, 
 
 * The Motives are the Motive of Siegfried the Fearless and the Sieg- 
 fried Motive. 
 
76 WA GNER'S MUSIC-DRAMA S. 
 
 is ridiculous on the stage. To make it effective it should 
 be carried out very far back— best of all out of sight— so 
 that the magnificent music will not be marred by the 
 sight of an impossible monstrum. The music is highly 
 dramatic. The exultant force of the Motive of Sieg- 
 mund the Fearless, which rings out like a shout of bar- 
 baric joy as Siegfried rushes upon Fafner, the crashing 
 chord as the serpent roars when Siegfried buries the 
 sword in its heart, the rearing, plunging music as the 
 monster rears and plunges with agony — these are some of 
 the most graphic features of the score.* 
 
 Siegfried raises his fingers to his lips and licks the 
 blood from them. Immediately after the blood has touched 
 his lips he seems to understand the bird, which has again 
 begun its song, while the forest voices once more weave 
 their tremulous melody. The bird tells Siegfried oi the 
 ring and helmet and of the other treasures in Fafner s 
 cave, and Siegfried enters it in quest of them. With his 
 disappearance the forest-weaving suddenly changes to the 
 harsh, scolding notes heard in the beginning of the Nibel- 
 heim scene in the " The Rhinegold." Mime slinks in and 
 timidly looks about him to make sure of Fafner' s death. 
 At the same time Alberich issues forth from the crevice in 
 which he was concealed. This scene, in which the two 
 Nibelungs berate each other after the liveliest fashion, is 
 episodical, being hardly necessary to the development of the 
 plot. It is, however, capitally treated, and its humor affords 
 a striking contrast to the preceding scenes.** 
 
 As Siegfried comes out of the cave and brings the ring 
 
 ♦ Observe the significant occurrence of the Motives of the Curse, Siegfried 
 and the Nibelungs' Malevolence in the accompaniment to Fa/ner's dying 
 words. 
 
 ** The Nibelung and Tarnhelraet Motives are prominent. 
 
''Siegfried:- rt 
 
 and helmet from darkness to the light of day there are 
 heard the Ring Motive, the Motive of the Rhinedaughters* 
 Shout of Triumph and the Rhinegold Motive. 
 
 These, familiar from " Rhinegold," will be found quoted in 
 the analysis of it. The forest-weaving again begins, and the 
 bird bids the young Walsung beware of Mime. The dwarf 
 now approaches Siegfried with repulsive sycophancy. But 
 under a smiling face lurks a plotting heart. Siegfried is 
 enabled through the supernatural gifts with which he has 
 become endowed to fathom the purpose of the dwarf, who, 
 unconsciously discloses his scheme to poison Siegfried. 
 The young Walsung slays Mime, who, as he dies, hears 
 Alberich's mocking laugh. Alberich has felled another 
 victim. Though the Motive of Siegfried the Fearless pre- 
 dominates at this point, we also hear the Nibelung Motive 
 and the Motive of the Curse — indicating the Nibelung's 
 evil intent toward Siegfried, 
 
 Siegfried again reclines under the linden. His soul is 
 tremulous with an undefined longing. As he gazes in 
 almost painful emotion up to the branches and asks if the 
 bird can tell him where he can find a friend, his being 
 seems stirred by awakening passion. 
 
 The music quickens with an impetuous phrase (p. 228, 1. 
 3), which seems to define the first joyous thrill of passion 
 in the youthful hero. It is the Motive of Love's Joy (51). 
 
 It is interrupted (p. 229, 1. 2,) by a beautiful variant of the 
 Motive of Love-life (No. 47), w^hich continues until above 
 the Forest-weaving the bird again thrills him with its tale 
 of the glorious maid who has so long slumbered upon the 
 fire-guarded rock. With the Motive of Love's Joy cours- 
 ing through the orchestra, Siegfried, bids the feathery 
 songster continue, and, finally, to guide him to Briinnhilde. 
 In answer, the bird flutters from the linden branch, hovers 
 
78 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 over Siegfried, and hesitatingly flies before him until it 
 takes a definite course toward the background. Siegfried 
 
 follows the little singer, the Motive of Love's Joy, suc- 
 ceeded by that of Siegfried the Fearless, bringing the act 
 to a close. 
 
 Act III. 
 
 The third act opens with a stormy introduction, in which 
 the Motive of the Ride of t^he Valkyrs'" Accompanies the \ 
 Motive of the Gods' Stress^ (p. 239, 1. 4, bar 3), the Com-M 
 pact and the Erda Motives--'<p. 239, 1. 6, bar 3). The intro- 
 duction reaches its climax with the Motive of the Dusk 
 OF THE Gods (No. 52 infra). ^ 
 
 Then to the sombre, questioning phrase of the Motive of ^ 
 Fate, the action begins to disclose the significance of this 
 vorspiel. A wild region at the foot of a rocky mountain is 
 seen. It is night. A fierce storm rages. In dire stress 
 and fearful that through Siegfried and BrUnnhilde the 
 
 ^ 
 
''SIEGFRIED. 
 
 79 
 
 rulership of the world may pass from the gods to the human 
 race, Wotan summons Erda from her subterranean dwel- 
 ling. But Erda has no counsel for the storm-driven, con- 
 science-stricken god. The chief motives which accompany 
 the scene up to this point are familiar from earlier portions 
 of the Cycle. They are, besides the Erda and Compact 
 Motives, the Motive of the Dusk of the Gods (p. 244, 1. 3, 
 
 cm Fedale. 
 
 -id M- <- 
 
 :^- 
 
 f^^^^^^^m 
 
 Jfca. 
 
 J-^ 
 
 S^^: 
 
 a^ 
 
 it^ 
 
 pp 
 
 -^z. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 bar 7), the Walhalla and Fate Motives, and those of the 
 Renunciation, and Briinnhilde's Pleading. 
 
 The scene reaches its climax in Woiatt's noble renuncia- 
 tion of the empire of the world. Weary of strife, weary 
 of struggling against the decree of fate he renounces his 
 sway. Let the era of human love supplan this dynasty, sweep- 
 ing away the gods and the Nibelungs in its mighty current. 
 For mournful dignity this episode is unrivalled. It is the 
 last defiance of all-conquering fate by the ruler of a mighty 
 
80 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 race. After a powerful struggle against irresistible forces, 
 Wotan comprehends that the twilight of the gods will be 
 the dawn of a more glorious epoch. A phrase of great 
 dignity gives force to Wotan's utterances. It is the 
 Motive of the World's Heritage: 
 
 Siegfried enters, guided to the spot by the bird ; Wotan 
 checks his progress with the same spear which shivered 
 Siegfnund's sword. Siegfried must fight his way to 
 Briinnhilde. With a mighty blow the young Walsung 
 shatters the spear and Wotan disappears 'mid the crash 
 of the Motive of Compact — for the spear with which it was 
 the chief god's duty to enforce compacts is shattered. 
 Meanwhile the gleam of fire has become noticeable. Fiery 
 clouds float down from the mountain. Siegfried s\.ziid,s at 
 the rim of the magic circle. Winding his horn he plunges 
 into the seething flames. Around the Motive of Siegfried 
 the Fearless and the Siegfried Motive flash the Magic 
 
''SIEGFRIED:' 81 
 
 Fire and Loge Motives. On p. 282, 1. 3, bar i the Rhine- 
 daughters' Shout of Triumph (No. 5) will be found com- 
 bined with the Motive of Siegfried the Fearless and — be- 
 ginning p. 284, 1. 5, bar 3 — there is an interesting sequence 
 of the Siegfried Motive and the Rhine-daughters' Shout of 
 Triumph combined with the Slumber Motive. Siegfried is 
 seen ascending the heights. 
 
 The flames having flashed forth with dazzling brilliancy 
 gradually pale before the red glow of dawn till a rosy mist 
 envelopes the scene. When it rises, the Valkyr's Rock and 
 Brunnhilde in deep slumber under the fir tree, as in the 
 finale of " The Valkyr," are seen. Siegfried appears on 
 the height in the background. As he gazes upon the 
 scene there are heard the Fate and Slumber Motives and 
 then the orchestra weaves a lovely variant of the Freia 
 Motive (No. 12). ; This is followed by the softly caressing 
 strains of the Fricka Motive (No. 10). Fricka sought to 
 make Wotan faithful to her by bonds of love, and hence 
 the Fricka Motive in this scene does not reflect her person- 
 ality but rather the awakening of the love which is to thrill 
 Siegfried v^htTvht has beheld Brunnhilde' s itdlnrts. As 
 he sees Brunnhilde s charger slumbering in the grove we 
 hear the Motive of the Valkyrs' Ride and, when his gaze 
 is attracted by the sheen of Brunnhilde s armor, the theme 
 of Wotan's Farev/ell (p. 62, sup.). Approaching the armed 
 slumberer under the fir tree Siegfrie d rsists the shield and 
 discloses the figure of the sleeper, the face being almost 
 hidden by the helmet. 
 
 He carefully loosens the helmet. As he takes it off 
 Brfinnhilde's face is disclosed and her long curls flow down 
 over her bosom. Siegfried gazes upon her enraptured. 
 Drawing his sword he cuts through the rings of mail on 
 both sides, gently lifts off the corselet and greaves, and 
 
WA GNEK S MUSIC-DRAMA S. 
 
 Briinnhilde, in soft female drapery, lies before him. He 
 starts back, in wonder. Notes of impassioned import — the 
 Motive of Love's Xoy — express the feehngs [ that well up 
 from his heart as for the first time he beholds a woman. 
 The fearless hero is infused with fear by a slumbering 
 woman. The Walsung Motive, aftervv^ards beautifully 
 varied with the Motive of Love's Joy, accompanies his 
 
 54 
 
 ^ 1 i * 
 
 tr 
 
 ^1 ^.-^^ 
 
 Utterances, the climax of his emotional excitement being 
 expressed in a majestic crescendo of the Freia Motive (p. 
 294, 1. 4, bar 4, et seq^. A sudden feeling of awe gives him 
 at least the outward appearance of calmness. With the 
 Motive of Fate he faces his destiny ; and then, while the 
 Freia Motive rises like a vision of loveliness, he sinks over 
 Briinnhilde, and with closed eyes presses his lips to hers. 
 Briinnhilde awakens. Siegfried starts up. She rises ^ 
 
''SIEGFRIEDr 83 
 
 and with noble gesture greets in majestic accents her 
 return to the sight of earth. Strains of loftier eloquence 
 than those of her greeting have never been composed. 
 Brmtnhilde rises from her magic slumbers in the majesty 
 of womanhood (No. 54 supra). 
 
 With the Motive of Fate she asks who is the hero who 
 has awakened her. The superb Siegfried Motive gives 
 back the proud answer. In rapturous phrases they greet 
 one another. It is the Motive of Love's Greeting 
 (No. 55 infra^ which unites their voices in impassioned 
 accents until, as if this motive no longer sufficed to express 
 their ecstacy, it is followed by the Motive of Love's 
 Passion (No. 56 infra,) which, with the Siegfried Motive, 
 rises and falls with the heaving of Briinnhildes bosom. 
 
 These motives course impetuously through this scene. 
 Here and there we have others recalling former portions of 
 the cycle — the Walsung motive (p. 303, 1. 2, bar 7), when 
 Briinnhilde refers to Siegfried's mother, Sieglinde ; the 
 Motive of Briinnhilde's Pleading when she tells him of her 
 defiance of Woian's behest (p. 305, 1. 2, bar 3) ; a 
 variant of the Walhalla Motive when she speaks of herself in 
 Valhall (p. 313, 1. 3, bar 7) ; and the Motive of the World's 
 Heritage with which Siegfried claims her, this last lead- 
 ing over to a forceful climax of the Motive of Briinn- 
 hilde's Pleading, which is followed by a lovely, tranquil 
 episode introduced by the Motive of Love's Peace, 
 which is succeeded (p. 319, 1. 3, bars 1-5) by a motive, 
 ardent yet tender— the Motive of Siegfried the Pro- 
 tector (Nos. 57 and 58 infra). 
 
 These motives accompany the action most expressively. 
 Briinnhilde still hesitates to cast off forever the super- 
 natural characteristics of the Valkyr and give herself up en- 
 tirely to Siegfried. The young hero's growing ecstacy 
 
84 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 55 
 
 (SIEOFBIED in an outburst of the utmost rapture.) 
 {SIEGFBIED in erhabenste Enzuckung aud/rechend.) 
 
 mcMo tenuto. 
 
 :|^^S- 
 
*' SIEGFRIEDS 85 
 
 finds expression in the Motive of Love's Joy. At last it 
 awakens a responsive note of purely human passion in 
 Brunnhilde and, answering the proud Siegfried Motive with 
 
 . ?:lll 
 
 56 
 
 mgi^ 
 
 T^^ 
 
 @— s^ 
 
 ■-^■r 
 
 -f— N- 
 
 w — p 
 
 \ ^ -. . , 
 
 — ^ 
 
 ^. 
 
 67 
 
 Molto tranquiUo e moderato. 
 
 m. 
 
 poco. f =-p U- 
 
 :{={: 
 
 -^-r^- 
 ^fe 
 
 e^ 
 
 the jubilant Shout of the Valkyrs and the ecstatic measures 
 of Love's Passion, she proclaims herself his. Then, as 
 river and sea meet in turbulent billows, so meet the emo- 
 
86 WA GNER'S MUSIC-DRAMA S. 
 
 tions of Briinnhilde and Siegfried in a surging flood of 
 music. As she clasps him to her bosom his frame quivers 
 with a joyous thrill and in a glorious burst of impassioned 
 melody love rises to its rapturous climax, Siegfried and 
 Briinnhilde are united ! From the Valkyr, fearful of sur- 
 rendering her virgin purity lest with it she should loose her 
 goddess-like power, Briinnhilde has changed to a woman, 
 swayed by woman's emotions and passions and with that 
 complete faith in her lover which is perhaps the most 
 sublime attribute of woman's love. 
 
"THE DUSK OF THE GODS."» 
 
 The " Dusk of the Gods " is in a prologue and three acts. 
 The Prologue. 
 
 The first scene of the prologue is a weirdly effective con- 
 ference of the three gray sisters of fate — the Norns who 
 wind the skein of life. They have met on the Valkyrs' 
 rock and their words forebode the end of the Gods. At 
 last the skein they have been win,ding breaks — the final 
 catastrophe is impending. The chief Motives heard in this 
 scene are the Erda and Fate Motives, with which latter it 
 passes over to the second scene — Siegfried's farewell to 
 Briinnhilde. 
 
 An orchestral interlude depicts the transition from the 
 unearthly gloom of the Norn scene to break of day, the 
 climax being reached in a majestic burst of music as Sieg- 
 fried and Briinnhilde, he in full armor, she leading her 
 steed by the bridle, issue forth from the rocky cavern in 
 the background. This climax owes its sublime eloquence 
 to three motives — that of the Ride of the Valkyrs and two 
 new motives, the one as lovely as the other is heroic, the 
 former being the Brunnhilde Motive (59), the latter 
 the Motive of Siegfried the Hero (60): 
 
 69 
 
WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 60 
 
 The Briinnhilde Motive seems to express the strain of 
 pure, tender womanhood in the nature of the former 
 Valkyr. This motive proclaims womanly ecstacy over 
 wholly requited love, as distinguished from the barbaric 
 frenzy of the wild horse-woman of the air, as Briinnhilde 
 appeared to us in the first scene of the second act of " The 
 Valkyr." The motive of Siegfried the Hero is clearly de- 
 veloped from the motive of Siegfried the Fearless. The 
 fearless youth has developed into the heroic man. Its out- 
 burst from the orchestra in the dawn scene almost simul- 
 taneously with the first full effulgence of the day and the 
 forthcoming of Siegfried and Briinnhilde from the cavern 
 recall the psalmist's apostrophe of the sun : 
 
 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. 
 
 It represents the highest development of manhood. It 
 is the most exaltedly heroic and at the same time, if the ex- 
 pression be allowable, the most muscular motive of the 
 Cycle. 
 
 In this scene Briinnhilde and Siegfried plight their 
 troth, and Siegfried having given to Briinnhilde the 
 fatal ring and having received from her the steed 
 Grane, which once bore her in her wild course through the 
 storm clouds, bids her farewell and sets forth in quest of 
 further adventure. This scene is one of Wagner's most 
 beautiful creations. In addition to the two new mo- 
 tives already quoted there occurs a third — the Motive of 
 Brunnhilde's Love. 
 
 When a woman of a strong, deep nature once gives her- 
 
''THE DUSK OF THE GODS,'* 89 
 
 self up to love her passion is as strong and deep as her 
 nature. It is not the surface-heat passion that finds ex- 
 pression in the French drama and the Italian opera to which 
 Wagner has given vent in the music of this scene. It is love 
 rising from the depths of an heroic woman's soul. The 
 grandeur of her ideal of Siegfried, her thoughts of him as a 
 hero winning fame, her pride in his prowess, her love for 
 one whom she deems the bravest among men, find mag- 
 nificent expression in the MOTIVE OF BRUNNHILDE'S 
 LOVE: 
 
 On p. 25, 1. 2, bar. 2, occurs a contracted form of the 
 Motive of Siegfried the Hero which is effectively used 
 throughout the scene, especially in those portions where, 
 after Briinnhilde has given Grane into his charge, it is 
 heard in combination with the Motive of the Ride (p. 31, 
 1. 4, bar 3, and p. 33, 1. 3, bar 2). On the page last quoted 
 this combination of motives is succeeded by a sturdy theme 
 — a bar from Siegfried's wander-song in the first act of 
 "Siegfried," which forms the basis of the impassioned 
 phrases with which Siegfried ^Xi^ Briinnhilde bid one an- 
 other farewell (p. 36, 1. i, beginning at bar 2). Siegfried 
 disappears with the steed behind the rocks and Briinnhilde 
 stands upon the cliff looking down the valley after him ; 
 his horn is heard from below and Briinnhilde with raptur- 
 ous gesture waves him her farewell. The orchestra accom- 
 panies the action with the Briinnhilde Motive, the Motive 
 of Siegfried the Fearless, and finally with the theme of the 
 love-duet with which " Siegfried " closed. 
 
90 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 The curtain then falls and between the prologue and the 
 first act we have an orchestral interlude descriptive of Szeg- 
 fried's voyage down the Rhine to the castle of the Gibich- 
 ungs where dwell Gunther, his sister Gutrune, and their 
 half-brother Hagen, the son of Alberich. Through Hagen 
 the curse hurled by Alberich in the " Rhinegold " at all into 
 whose possession the ring shall come, is worked out to the 
 end of its fell purpose — Siegfried is betrayed and destroyed 
 and the rule of the gods brought to an end by Briinnhildes 
 expiation. 
 
 In the interlude between the prologue and the first act we 
 first hear the brilliant Motive of Siegfried the Fearless and 
 then the gracefully flowing Motives of the Rhine, and of the 
 Rhinedaughters' Shout of Triumph with the Motives of the 
 Rhinegold and Ring. Hagan's malevolent plotting, of which 
 we are so soon to learn in the firstact, is foreshadowed by the 
 sombre harmonies which suddenly perv^ade the music — the 
 Motive of Renunciation (p. 44, 1. 4) and a motive based on 
 that of the Tamhelmet and expressive of the Nibelungs' 
 Power for evil : 
 
 62 
 
 I 
 
 
 Act I. 
 
 This act opens in the hall of the Gibichungs, on the'Rhine. 
 Gunther, Hagen {Alberich' s son) and Gutrune, the sister 
 
''THE DUSK OF THE GODSr 91 
 
 of Gunther, are plotting against Siegfried, of whose exploit 
 in capturing the ring from Fafner and irttmg Briinnhzldey 
 Hagen knows. Gunther is disposed to be contented with 
 what he has, but Hagen urges him to take a wife and pro- 
 cure a husband for Gutrune, suggesting that she give Sieg- 
 fried a love-potion, which will excite him to love her and 
 give up Briinnhilde to Gunther. 
 
 At the very beginning of this act the Hagen Motive is 
 heard. Particularly noticeable in it are the first two sharp, 
 decisive chords. They recur with frightful force in the 
 third act when Hagen slays Siegfried. The Hagen Mo- 
 tive is as follows: 
 
 63 
 
 This is followed by the GiBiCHUNG Motive, the two 
 motives being frequently heard in the opening scene : 
 
 Motives prominent in earlier scenes and easily to be 
 recognized occur when Hagen describes the beauty of 
 Briinnhilde, and the powers of Siegfried 2iX\6. suggests the 
 infamous trick by which Siegfried \s to be induced to win her 
 for Gunther— iht Motives of the Ride of the Valkyrs, of the 
 Walsungs' Heroism (p. 49, 1. 1, bar 4), of Siegfried the Fear- — - 
 
93 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 less (p. 49, 1. 3, bar i) and of the Ring, Renunciation and 
 Gold, followed appropriately by the motive of the Nibelungs' 
 Power through which Siegfried's destruction is to be com- 
 passed (p. 51, 1., I, bar 2 — 1.4, bar i). Added to these is the 
 Motive of the Love Potion which is to cause Sieg- 
 fried to forget BrUnnhilde, and conceive a violent passion 
 for Gutrune : 
 
 espressivo. 
 
 65 
 
 The notes of Siegfried's horn are heard in the distance. 
 As Hagen looks down the river and describes to Gun- 
 iher how, with an easy stroke, the hero forces the boat 
 against the swift current, we hear an effective combination 
 of the Motives of Siegfried the Fearless and of the Rhine- 
 daughters' Shout of Triumph (p. 59, 1. i, bar i); the Nibe- 
 lung-son's boisterous greeting in answer to which Siegfried 
 lays to with his boat is appropriately followed with tragic 
 force by the Motive of the Curse. The Siegfried Motive im- 
 parts dignity to the meeting between the young hero and 
 Gunther. When Siegfried asks Hagen how he recognized 
 him although they had never met, the Motive of the Curse, 
 prophetically significant, accompanies the query. At the 
 hero's command to Hagen that he heedfully tend Grane the 
 Briinnhilde Motive and the Motives of Briinnhilde's Love, 
 and of the Ride of the Valkyrs are heard. After some 
 parley between the men, Gutrune, who, at a gesture from 
 
''THE DUSK OF THE GODS" 93 
 
 Hagen, had retired, re-enters bearing a drin-king horn and 
 approaching Siegfried bids him welcome in the Gutrune 
 Motive : 
 
 66 
 
 U(Mo moderato. 
 
 P 
 
 i 
 
 :^fe?: 
 
 p dctce. 
 
 tit 
 
 f< -r r- — r 
 
 This is followed by the Motive of the Love Potion and 
 then, after the orchestra has murmured memories of the 
 love-scene in " Siegfried," the young hero drains the drink- 
 ing horn to Briinnhildes happiness. His manner sudden- 
 ly changes. The Motive of the Love Potion becomes more 
 animated. Siegfried regards Gutrune with growing admi- 
 ration. He asks her of Gunther in marriage. The Love 
 Potion, which he quaffed to Brilnnhilde, has effaced all 
 memory of her. This is made doubly apparent when Gun- 
 ther asks in return for Gutrune s hand that Siegfried, dis- 
 guised in the Tarnhelmet as Gunther^ penetrate the fiery 
 barrier and lead Briinnhilde as bride to him. Siegfried 
 repeats mechanically, as if endeavoring to collect his 
 thoughts, Gunther s references to the rock and fire, and 
 even the mention of Briinnhilde' s name awakens no respon- 
 sive thrill in him. He offers to bring Briinnhilde to Gun- 
 ther as bride and to unite himself with the Gibichung by 
 the sacred compact of blood-brotherhood. Each with his 
 sword draws blood from his arm which he allows to mingle 
 with wine in a drinking-horn held by Hagen; each lays two 
 
94 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS, 
 
 fingers upon the horn, and then, having pledged blood- 
 brotherhood, drinks of the blood and wine. This ceremony 
 is significantly introduced by the Motive of the Curse fol- 
 lowed by the Motive of Compact (p. 75, 1. 3, bar 5). 
 Phrases of Siegfried's and Gunthers pledge are set to a 
 new motive whose forceful simplicity effectively expresses 
 the idea of troth. It is the Motive of the Vow : 
 
 67 
 
 P 
 
 \r-^=f- 
 
 i^^^ 
 
 -I 1 I 
 
 Blii - - hen - den Le - bens la 
 Bios - - 8om - ing life - stream^ lib 
 
 ben - des 
 er • al 
 
 --A J 
 
 w 
 
 -fe: 
 
 mf motto sostenuto. 
 
 dim. 
 
 Wi 
 
 ^ 
 
 =@^ 
 
 Abruptly following Siegfried's pledge : 
 
 Thus drmk I thee troth, 
 
 are those two chords of the Hagen Motive which are heard 
 
''THE DUSK OF THE GODS." 95 
 
 again in the third act when the Nibelung has slain Sieg- 
 fried. 
 
 Guniher and Siegfried tn\.^x\}ci^ latter's boat, cast off and 
 begin their journey to the Valkyr Rock where Siegfried 
 under the influence of the magic Love Potion is to forcibly 
 seize his own bride and deliver her to Gunther. The latter 
 it should perhaps be stated here, is not aware of the union 
 which existed between Briinnhilde and Siegfried, Hagett 
 having carefully concealed this from his half-brother who 
 hence believes that he will receive the Valkyr in all her god- 
 dess-like virginity. 
 
 When Siegfried 2in<\ Gunther have departed and Gutrune, 
 having sighed her farewell after her lover, has retired, 
 Hagen broods with wicked glee over the successful inaugu- 
 ration of his plot. During a brief orchestral interlude a 
 drop curtain conceals the scene which, when the curtain 
 again rises, has changed to the Valkyrs' Rock where sits 
 Briinnhilde, lost in contemplation of the Ring, while the 
 Motive of Siegfried the Protector (No. 58) is heard on 
 the orchestra like a blissful memory of the love-scene in 
 ** Siegfried." 
 
 Her rapturous reminiscences are interrupted by the 
 sounds of an approaching storm and from the dark cloud 
 there issues one of the Valkyrs, Waltraute who comes to 
 ask of Briinnhilde that she cast back the ring into the 
 Rhine and thus Hft the curse from the race of gods. But 
 Briinnhilde refuses : 
 
 More than Walhalla's welfare 
 More than the good of the gods, 
 
 The ring I guard. 
 From love I part not in life, 
 No gods can tear us asunder, 
 Soon shall Walhalla's walls 
 
 Be dust for the winds ! 
 
96 WA GNER'S MUSIC-DRAMA S. 
 
 It is dusk. The magic fire rising from the valley throws 
 a glow over the landscape. The notes of Siegfried's 
 horn are heard. Briinnhilde Joyously prepares to meet him. 
 Suddenly she sees a stranger leap through the flames. It 
 is Siegfried, who through the Tarn-helmet (the motive of 
 which, followed by the Gunther Motive dominates the first 
 part of the scene) has assumed the guise of the Gibichung. 
 In vain Briinnhilde seeks to defend herself with the might 
 which the ring imparts. She [is powerless against the in- 
 truder. As he tears the ring from her finger, the Motive of 
 the Curse resounds with tragic import followed by trist 
 echoes of the Motive of Siegfried the Protector and of the 
 Briinnhilde Motive, the last being succeeded by the Tarnhel- 
 met Motive expressive of the evil magic which has wrought 
 this change in Siegfried, Briinnhilde* S2ih]ect recognition of 
 her impotence is accompanied by the restless, syncopated 
 rhythm of the Nibelungs' Malevolence (No. 22), as she en- 
 ters the cavern. Before Siegfried follows her he draws 
 his sword Nothung (Needful) and exclaims : 
 
 Now Nothung, witness thou, that chaste my wooing is ; 
 
 To keep my faith with my brother, separate me from his bride. 
 
 The music of this closing episode is forcefully graphic. 
 It opens {Piu animato, p. 127) with the abrupt chords of 
 the Hagen Motive. These and the Motive of Compact ac- 
 company the Sword Motive when Siegfried draws Nothung 
 (p. 127, 1. 2, bars 2 and 3). Phrases of the Pledge of Blood- 
 brotherhood followed by the Briinnhilde, Gutrune and 
 Sword Motives accompany his words. The abrupt Hagen 
 chords lead to the Motives of the Nibelungs* Power and 
 Tarnhelmet which pass into the Briinnhilde Motive. This 
 rises for a moment triumphantly over the sombre, threaten- 
 ing harmonies of malevolence and sorcery. But it ends 
 abruptly; and the chords so forcefully expressive of Hagen's 
 
THE DUSK OF THE GODSr 
 
 97 
 
 vindictive power, with the Tarnhelmet Motive through 
 which the thuds of the typical Nibelung rhythm resound, 
 lead to the last crashing chord of this eventful act. 
 
 Act II. 
 
 The ominous Motive of the Nibelungs* Malevolence 
 introduces the second act. The curtain rises upon the ex- 
 terior of the hall of the Gibichungs. To the right is the 
 open entrance to the hall ; to the left the bank of the Rhine, 
 from which rises a rocky ascent toward the background. 
 It is night. Hagetiy spear in hand and shield at side, leans 
 in sleep against a pillar of the hall. Through the weird 
 moonlight Alberich appears. He urges Hagen to murder 
 Siegfried and to seize the ring from his finger. After hear- 
 ing Hagen' s oath that he will be faithful to the hate he has 
 inherited, Alberich disappears. The weirdness of the sur- 
 roundings, the monotony of Hagen' s answers^ uttered seem- 
 ingly in sleep, as if, even when the Nibelung slumbers, his 
 mind remained active, imbue this scene with awful mystery. 
 New in this scene is the Murder Motive : 
 
 A charming orchestral interlude depicts the break of day. 
 Its serene beauty is, however, broken in upon by the Mo- 
 tive OF Hagen's Wicked Glee, which I quote, as it fre- 
 quently occurs in the course of the succeeding events : 
 
 69 
 
9a 
 
 WAGNER'S MUSIC-DRAMAS. 
 
 The Motive of Siegfried the Fearless accompanies 
 Siegfried's appearance. When Gutrune joins him and 
 HageUy and Siegfried relates how he won BrUnnhilde for 
 Gunther the Motive of the Tarnhelmet is frequently heard 
 usually combined with some other Motive, f . i., with the 
 Motive of Love's Joy at p. 144, 1. 4, bar i; with the Loge 
 Motive (p. 145, 1. 3, bar 2) and with the Motive . of the 
 Ride of the Valkyrs (p. 146, 1. i, bar 5). The appropriate 
 use of these will readily be recognized from the context. 
 Siegfried having led Gutrune into the hall, Hagen ascends 
 a rocky height and loudly summons the vassals of Gibich- 
 ung. During the ensuing bustling, noisy scene a variant of 
 the Gutrune Motive (p. 151, 1. 3, bar 2) is employed as a 
 Wedding Summons : 
 
 sempre. f 
 
 m 
 
 fe 
 
 i^^^ 
 
 
 A boisterous chorus of rejoicing, barbaric in its sturdy 
 force, greets Gunther as he leads Brtlnnhilde from the boat, 
 to the open space before the hall from which latter Sieg- 
 fried, Gutrune and her train of women have issued. Soon, 
 however, the shadow of impending tragedy darkens the 
 scene. 
 
 When Gunther greets Gutrune and Siegfried ^^'lih. the Mo- 
 tive of the Wedding Summons, BrUnnhilde raising her eyes 
 perceives Siegfried on whom her astonished gaze remains 
 riveted. The Motive of Siegfried the Hero, the Sword 
 
THE DUSK OF THE GODS: 
 
 99 
 
 Motive and tlie Chords of the Hagen Motive emphasize with 
 a tumultuous crash the dramatic significance of the situa- 
 tion. There is a sudden hush — Brilnnhilde astounded and 
 dumb, Siegfried unconscious of guilt quietly self-possessed, 
 Gimther, Gutrune and the vassals silent with amazement — it 
 is during this moment of tension that we hear the motive 
 which expresses the thought uppermost in Brilnnhilde, the 
 thought which would find expression in a burst of frenzy 
 were not her wrath held in check by her inability to quite 
 grasp the meaning of the situation or to quite fathom the 
 depth of the treachery of which she has been the victim. 
 This is the Motive of Vengeance : 
 
 Tenderly the Gutrune Motive, or rather the version of it 
 which formed the Wedding Summons, accompanies Briinn- 
 hilde's 
 
 Siegfried here? Gutrune? 
 
 and Siegfried's calm response: 
 
 Gunther's mild-eyed sister 
 Mate to me as thou to him. 
 
 But it is broken in upon by the now unbridled fury of the 
 Motive of Vengeance (p. i8i, 1. 3, bar i). Then, again 
 dazed and still incredulous, Brilnnhilde totters and is saved 
 from falling only by Siegfried who supports her. Looking 
 up to him as she did when his being thrilled with love of 
 
100 WA GNER' S MUSIC-DRAMA S. 
 
 her, she tenderly asks him, while the Briinnhilde Moti^^e 
 adds to the pathos of the scene, if he does not recognize her. 
 Suddenly she sees the ring upon his finger. The crashing 
 chords of the Ring Motive are followed by the Motive of 
 the Curse. Briinnhilde now realizes the enormity of Sieg^ 
 fried's treachery — it must have been he, not Gunther, who 
 overcame her. She hurls her accusation at Siegfried with 
 versions of the Motive of Vengeance in which the wrath of 
 injured womanhood seems to attain its most frenzied ex- 
 pression (p. 185, 1. 3, bars I and 2 ; and p. 186, 1. i, bar 3 
 and 1. 2, bar i). When she invokes the gods to witness 
 her humiliation the Walhalla Motive is heard. This is fol- 
 lowed (p. 190, 1. 2, bar 6) by the touchingly pathetic Motive 
 of Briinnhilde's Pleading, which, however, soon gives way 
 to the Motive of Vengeance when she calls upon the gods 
 to give her vengeance commensurate with her wrong. 
 
 Briinnhilde accuses Siegfried of a threefold crime — of 
 deserting her, of treachery toward Gunther in concealing 
 from him that she had been his {Siegfried's) mate and of 
 wronging Gutrune in wedding her when he had been already 
 mated. Briinnhilde, knowing naught of the love-potion 
 which has caused Siegfried to forget his night of love with 
 her and to conceive a violent passion for Gutrune, thirsts 
 for revenge upon him for his treachery. Her righteous 
 wrath is intensified by jealousy of Gunther' s sister for whom 
 she believes herself to have been deserted. Gunther and 
 Gutrune are also aroused, for Hage7i carefully concealed 
 from them all knowledge of the relations between Siegfried 
 and Briinnhilde, and they believe that Siegfried exercised 
 the nuptial privilege the night, when disguised as Gunther, 
 he overcame Briinnhilde — that he has been unfaithful to 
 Gutrune and has broken his vow of Blood-brotherhood 
 with Gunther, 
 
''THE DUSK OF i^h-E'dOD^.^ yOl 
 
 Siegfried takes oath that Briinnhilde's accusation is 
 false ; Briimtkilde swears that it is true. The taking of 
 the oath is introduced by the Motive of Vengeance. 
 
 Siegfried sv^tdiTs upon HagetCs spear. Hence the fitness 
 of the Murder Motive and of the sharp, decisive chords o^ 
 the Hagen Motive. As Brilnnhilde takes the oath the 
 Valkyr music courses through the orchestra. All her wild 
 Valkyr nature seems unloosed. Siegfried's oath allays 
 Gutrunes suspicions. The tension of the scene is relaxed 
 by the glad measures of the Wedding Summons. Siegfried, 
 throwing his arm around Gttirune, draws her joyously with 
 him into the hall whither they are followed by the vassals 
 and women. 
 
 Briinnhilde, Hagen and Gwtther remain behind. The 
 Vengeance and Murder Motives and the Motive of the Vow 
 dominate the ensuing scene. Hagen offers to be the execu- 
 tioner of Briinnhilde's and Guniher's wengesmce. Music 
 and action fairly seethe with excitement. In a trio through 
 which fierce, revengeful passions surge, Briinnhilde, Hagen 
 and Gu7ither swear vengeance upon Siegfried. From this 
 outburst of wrath they turn to behold Gutrunes bridal pro- 
 cession issuing from the hall. The valley of the Rhine re- 
 echoes with glad sounds — but it is the Murder Motive which 
 brings the act to a close. 
 
 Act III. 
 
 This act plays on the banks of the Rhine, where stands 
 Siegfried, baffled in his pursuit of the game. Hagen has 
 arranged that Siegfried shall be slain at a hunt and brought 
 home as if wounded by a boar. While Siegfried stands on 
 the bank of the Rhine, the Rhine-daughters appear to him 
 and promise to bring game in his way if he will give them 
 the ring. Hf refuses and they disappear, leaving him to 
 
102: lA^AGNER'^Mtr^IC-DRAMAS, 
 
 his fate. For charming badinage this scene can be com- 
 pared only with the opening scene in " The Rhinegold. " The 
 ripples of a lovely river do not exceed in grace the music 
 with which Wagner has adorned this episode. 
 
 Distant hunting horns are heard. Gunther, Hagen and 
 their attendants gradually assemble and encamp themselves. 
 Hagen fills a drinking horn and hands it to Siegfried ^hom 
 he persuades to relate the story of his life. This Siegfried 
 does in a wonderfully picturesque, musical and dramatic 
 story in which motives, often heard before, charm us anew.* 
 
 In the course of the narrative he refreshes himself by a 
 draught from the drinking horn into which meanwhile 
 Hagen has pressed the juice of an herb. Through this the 
 effect of the Love Potion is so far counteracted that tender 
 memories of Briinnhilde well up within him and he tells 
 with artless enthusiasm how he won her. Gunther springs 
 up aghast at this revelation. Now he knows that Briinn- 
 hilde' s accusation was true. 
 
 Two ravens fly overhead. As Siegfried turns to look 
 after them the Motive of the Curse resounds and Hagen 
 plunges his spear into the young hero's back. Gunther and 
 the vassals throw themselves upon Hagen. The Siegfried 
 Motive, cut short with a crashing chord, the two murderous 
 chords of the Hagen Motive forming the bass— and Sieg- 
 fried, who with a last effort has heaved his shield aloft to 
 hurl it at Hagen, lets it fall and, collapsing, drops upon it. 
 So overpowered are the witnesses by the suddenness and 
 enormity of the crime that after a few disjointed exclama- 
 tions, they gather, bowed with grief, around Siegfried. 
 Hagen with stony indifference turns away and disappears 
 over the height. 
 
 * Nibelung, Sword, Dragon, Forest-Weaving, Tarnhelmet, Briinnhilde's 
 Love, Briinnhilde, Magic Fire and Briinnhilde's Greeting. 
 
''THE DUSK OF THE GODSr 103 
 
 With the fall of the last scion of the Walsung race we 
 hear a new motive, simple yet indescribably fraught with 
 woe — the Death Motive (p. 296, 1. 4, bars i and 2). 
 
 5/^cr/>';V^ supported by two men rises to a sitting posture 
 and with a strange rapture gleaming in his glance intones 
 his death-song. It is an ecstatic greeting to Brunnhilde. 
 " Briinnhilde ! " he exclaims, " thy wakener comes to wake 
 thee with his kiss." The ethereal hannonies of the Motive 
 of Briinnhilde's Awakening, the Motive of Fate, the Sieg- 
 fried Motive swelling into the Motive of Love's Greeting 
 and dying away through the Motive of Love's Passion to 
 Siegfried's last whispered accents — " Brunnhilde beckons to 
 me " — in the Motive of Fate — and Siegfried sinks back in 
 death. 
 
 Full of pathos though this episode be it but brings us to 
 the threshold of a scene of such overwhelming power that 
 it may without exaggeration be singled out as the supreme 
 musical-dramatic effect in all that Wagner wrought and 
 hence the supreme effect in all music. Siegfried's last 
 ecstatic greeting to his Valkyr bride has made us realize the 
 blackness of the treachery which tore the young hero and 
 Brunnhilde asunder and led to his death ; and now as we 
 are bowed down with a grief too deep for utterance — like 
 the grief with which a nation gathers at the grave of its 
 noblest hero — Wagner voices for us in music of overwhelm- 
 ingly tragic power feelings which are beyond expression in 
 human speech. This is not a funeral march, as it is often 
 absurdly called — it is the awful myster>' of death itself ex- 
 pressed in music. 
 
 Motionless with grief the men gather around Siegfried's 
 corpse. Night falls. The moon casts a pale, sad light over 
 the scene. At the silent bidding of Gunther the vassals 
 raise the body and bear it in solemn procession over the 
 
104 WAGNER'S MUSiaDRAMAS. 
 
 rocky height. Meanwhile with majestic solemnity the 
 orchestra voices the funeral oration of the " world's greatest 
 hero." One by one, but tragically interrupted by the Mo- 
 tive of Death, we hear the motives which tell the story of 
 the Walsungs' futile struggle with destiny — the Walsung 
 Motive, the Motive of the Walsung's Heroism, the Motive of 
 Sympathy and the Love Motive, the Sword Motive, the 
 Siegfried Motive and the Motive of Siegfried the Hero, 
 around which the Death Motive swirls and crashes like a 
 black, death-dealing, all-wrecking flood, forming an over- 
 whelmingly powerful climax that dies away into the Briinn- 
 hilde Motive with which, as with a heart-broken sigh, the 
 heroic dirge is brought to a close. 
 
 Meanwhile the scene has changed to the Hall of the 
 Gibichungs as in the first act. Gutrune is listening through 
 the night for some sound which may announce the return of 
 the hunt. 
 
 Men and women bearing torches precede in great agita- 
 tion the funeral train. Hagen grimly announces to Gu- 
 trune that Siegfried is dead. Wild with grief she over- 
 whelms Gunther with violent accusations. He points to 
 Hagen whose sole reply is to demand the ring as spoil. 
 Gunther refuses. Hagen draws his sword and after a brief 
 combat slays Gunther, The victorious Nibelung is about 
 to snatch the ring from Siegfried's finger,when the corpse's 
 hand suddenly raises itself threateningly, and all — even Ha- 
 gen — fall back in consternation. 
 
 Briinnhilde advances solemnly from the back. While 
 watching on the bank of the Rhine she has learned from the 
 Rhine-daughters the treachery of which she and Sieg- 
 fried have been the victims. Her mien is ennobled by a 
 look of tragic exaltation. To her the grief of Gutrune is but 
 the whining of a child. When the latter realizes that it was 
 
"THE DUSK OF THE GODSr 105 
 
 Briinnhilde whom she caused Siegfried to forget through 
 the love-potion, she falls fainting over Gunthers body. Ha- 
 gen leaning on his spear is lost in gloomy brooding. 
 
 Briinnhilde turns solemnly to the men and women and 
 bids them erect a funeral pyre. The orchestral harmonies 
 shimmer with the Magic Fire Motive through which courses 
 the Motive of the Ride of the Valkyrs. Then, her counte- 
 nance transfigured by love, she gazes upon her dead hero 
 and apostrophizes his memory in the Motive of Love's Greet- 
 ing. From him she looks upward and in the Walhall a Mo- 
 tive and the Motive of Briinnhilde's Pleading passionately 
 inveighs against the injustice of the gods. The Curse Mo- 
 tive is followed (p. 326, 1. 2, bar 4) by a wonderfully beauti- 
 ful combination of the Walhalla Motive and the Motive of 
 the Gods' Stress at Briinnhilde s words : 
 
 Rest thee ! Rest thee ! O, God I 
 
 For, with the fading away of Walhalla, and the inaugura- 
 tion of the reign of human love in place of that of lust and 
 greed — a change to be wrought by the approaching expia- 
 tion of Briinnhilde for the crimes which began with the 
 wresting of the Rhinegold from the Rhine-daughters — Wo- 
 tan's stress will be at an end. Briinnhilde having told in 
 the graceful, rippling Rhine music how she learned of Ha- 
 gen's treachery through the Rhine-daughters, places upon 
 her finger the ring. Then turning toward the pyre upon 
 which Siegfried's body rests, she snatches a huge firebrand 
 from one of the men. Flinging it upon the pyre, which kin- 
 dles brightly, she hurries toward Grane. As the moment of 
 her immolation approaches the Motive of Expiation begins 
 to dominate the scene (p. 333, 1. i, bar 2). 
 
 It wings its flight higher and higher until it seems to have 
 soared to the height of emotional exaltation. Briinnhilde 
 
106 WA ONER'S M USIC-DRAMA S. 
 
 swings herself upon Crane's back, and with a mighty bound 
 the steed bears his noble rider into the blazing pyre. Men 
 and women in extreme terror crowd into the foreground. 
 Suddenly the Rhine is seen to overflow, and borne on the 
 flood the Rhine-daughters swim to the pyre and reclaim the 
 ring. Hagen plunges madly after them into the flood and 
 they draw him down with them. A deep glow illumines the 
 heavens. It is the dusk of the gods. Walhalla is seen en- 
 veloped in flames. Once more the Walhalla Motive re- 
 sounds majestically. But the Motive of Expiation breaks in 
 upon it with overwhelming power. For the last time we 
 hear the Siegfried Motive and then with the Motive of Ex- 
 piation a new era — that of human love — rises in all its glory 
 from the ruins of the empire of the gods. 
 
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