Let there be leitmotifs!

[DESchneyer89]

"Not like the theme from Jaws." Actually, it's exactly like the theme from Jaws. John Williams was very much influenced by Wagner's use of leitmotifs!

[MaistreDe]

"The hero is killed. The hero dies"

Errr........

[monkeybizwak]

does saying Wagner was a nazi make me an ignorant prick?

[violinthief]

@monkeybizwak Wagner died in 1883 and the Nazi party was started in the 1920s. Yes, you are.

[monkeybizwak]

@violinthief Thanks for that, Hitler loved using his music to boost nationalism. sympathize with this misconception us ignorant fools tend to believe

[violinthief]

@monkeybizwak If it makes you feel any better - Richard Strauss really was a nazi. So was Herbert Von Karajan. Wagner probably would have been, but he was long dead. Here's a stupid joke for you - what is Wagner doing today? Decomposing.

[hendrixexp12]

@violinthief "I consider the Streicher-Goebbels Jew-baiting as a disgrace to German honour, as evidence of incompetence – the basest weapon of untalented, lazy mediocrity against a higher intelligence and greater talent." - Richard Strauss

[MaistreDe]

Spot the mistake at 5:42 :P

[weedsmokindrummer]

@operamystery80 your last comment took the words out of my mouth except i was born a year later. so much for the 90's

[OperaMystery80]

I saw this on PBS KCET in LA in 1995. I was 15; I found it interesting how they compared Wagner's Ring to the music themes used in John William's score to the Star Wars Trilogy; I was not a classical music and opera lover at the time; merely a 90's teen who didn't "understand" classical or opera; now I am 31 and I understand the magic and grandness of it all.

[weedsmokindrummer]

wow You guys are deep into this. i've heard and played motif's but never knew the history or terminology! i love stuff like this!

[historygenius]

What an amazing program!

[magiorey]

I believe Gluck is cerdited with writing the first leitmotifs for Opera, at least deliberately, maybe others (like Monteverdi) used them in a less systematic manner

[NeverAloneForever]

@magiorey Indeed, he also made the precursors to what Wagnr called his musical dramas.

[bogorzelak]

Very good video. Thank you for uploading this.

[cyborgtroy]

"using leitmotifs, which don't weigh as much as heavymotifs"

[EdwardWhelanPiano]

Why is that guy shaking like crazy when he is playing the leitmotifs?

[Bluehawk2008]

I like how his whole body quakes with the notes he plays lol

[AmericanEvita]

Before Wagner, no opera used leitmotifs. Bel canto often repeated melodies and overture-into-an-aria but that was not the elaborate and more plot-centered music that Wagner used..but the bel canto operas did influence Wagner too

[flautist]

Not exactly true. Mozart used Leitmotifs in his operas especially in Flute (and some Figaro and more), but yes Wagner was the one who gave it a consistent structure. So he as good as re-invented the Leitmotifs in operas.

[jlee800]

Nice post. The leitmotifs is something one can subconsciously relate to. But it's nice hearing it explained. It gives more appreciation for the music.

[RustyBanks]

Actually, Hugh, it is EXACTLY like the theme to jaws. The duuuuuh-DUNT thing from Jaws stands for the presence of the danger and of a character (the shark). After all, the "theme" from Jaws is more like a motif than a theme. John Williams use of Leitmotif may be a bit ham-fisted, but it works the same as in Wagner...

[dogisgreat1]

@RustyBanks

Exactly. I was just going to write the same comment. Movie soundtracks are generally loaded with leitmotifs, and the Jaws theme is one of the best examples out there. The use of music to heighten the drama of a film is very much in keeping with Wagner's conception of theatrical art. Wagner's methods are alive and well in movie scores.

[OperaMystery80]

@dogisgreat1 The best example is John Williams' Star Wars Trilogy music score! He clearly borrowed from Wagner's leitmotifs in the Ring. I.E. "Force theme"/Rhine Theme, Valhalla theme/Imperial March, Siegfried or Brunnhilde/ Luke, Han or Leia, etc. Williams had to go to the Ring to inspire him since Star Wars, like the Ring, is a heroic saga with multiple characters and ideals that have their own music themes.

[charlotteBraillie]

@RustyBanks

And where did John Williams get the theme to jaws? Listen to Dvorak's 9th symphony, beginning of the 4th movement. Recognize anything?

[lovelymess]

Great post Violinthief.

Wagner himself did not use the term leitmotiv

often, but called the various motives "melodies". The method was inherited from others and can be traced as far back as Monteverdi, who gave "Music" here own motive.

Wagner's originality is in the contrapuntal web of motives used structurally over the course of an opera. He started to develop it with Dutchmann, but it matured in the Ring,

Tristan Meistersinger and Parsifal.