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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2f16a01 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63163 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63163) diff --git a/old/63163-0.txt b/old/63163-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 23090f6..0000000 --- a/old/63163-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5295 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Studies in the Wagnerian Drama, by Henry Krehbiel - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Studies in the Wagnerian Drama - -Author: Henry Krehbiel - -Release Date: September 9, 2020 [EBook #63163] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES IN THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA *** - - - - -Produced by Andrés V. Galia, Jude Eylander, for the music -files, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: - -Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. The book cover has been -modified and was put on the public domain. - -A number of words in this book have both hyphenated and -non-hyphenated variants. For the words with both variants present the -one used more times has been kept. It was also detected that some names -have two different spellings. That was respected as both are correct. - -The musical examples that are discussed in the book can be heard by -clicking on the [Listen] tab. This is only possible in the HTML version -of the book. The scores that appear in the original book have been -included as images. - -In some cases the scores that were used by the music transcriber -to generate the music files differ from the original scores. Those -differences are in part due to modifications that were made during the -process of creating the musical archives as the music transcriber added -instruments that were not indicated in the original scores. Other -modifications were made to correct obvious mistakes in the original -scores. These scores are included as png images, -and can be seen by clicking on the [PNG] tag in the HTML version of the -book. - -Obvious punctuation and other printing errors have been corrected. - - - * * * * * - - - - - STUDIES - IN THE - WAGNERIAN DRAMA - - BY - HENRY EDWARD KREHBIEL - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK AND LONDON - HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS - 1904 - - - Copyright, 1891, by HARPER & BROTHERS. - - _All rights reserved._ - - - TO - JOSEPH S. TUNISON - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA: ITS PROTOTYPES AND ELEMENTS. - - - Wagner a Regenerator of the Lyric Drama.--Greek Tragedy.--Solemn - Speech and Music.--The Poet-composers - of Hellas.--The Florentine Reformers and their Invention - of the Lyric Drama.--Peri and Caccini.--Their - Declamation.--Monteverde's Orchestra.--How Wagner - Touches Hands with his Predecessors.--Poet and - Composer.--Music a Means, not an Aim in the Drama.--A - Typical Teuton, but also a Cosmopolite.--Teutonic - and Roman Ideals.--Absolute Beauty and Characteristic - Beauty.--The Ethical Idea in Wagner's Dramas.--Fundamental - Principle of his Constructive Scheme. - The Typical Phrases.--Symbols, not Labels.--Music as - a Language.--Characteristics of Some Typical Phrases.--Wotan - in Two Aspects.--Form the First Manifestation - of Law in Music and Essential to Repose.--Tonality - and the Effect of its Loss.--Phrases Delineative - and Imitative of External Characteristics.--The - Giants, the Dwarfs, the Rhine; Loge, the God of - Fire.--Prophetic Use of the Phrases.--Their Dramatic - Development.--Wagner's Orchestra and the Greek - Chorus.--Alliteration and Rhyme.--The Ethical Idea - Again. Pages 1-36 - - - CHAPTER II. - "TRISTAN UND ISOLDE." - - The Legend in Outline.--A Subject that has Fascinated - Poets for over Six Centuries in Spite of Changes in - Moral Feeling.--Wagner's Variations from the Versions - of Gottfried von Strassburg, Matthew Arnold, Tennyson, - and Swinburne.--The Prelude.--Absence of Scenic - Music.--Fundamental Musical Thought of the Drama.--Its - Duality in Unity.--Longing and Suffering.--Wagner's - Exposition.--Use of the Sailor's Song and the - Sea Music.--Suffering and Chromatic Descent.--The - Love Glance and its Symbol.--Fatality and the Interval - of the Seventh.--The Heroic Phrase of Tristan.--The - Death Phrase.--Music as an Expounder of Hidden - Meanings.--The Horn Music.--The Signal.--The Love - Duet.--Dramatic Feeling Supplied by Music.--King - Marke.--Philosophy of the Drama.--Musical Mood - Pictures.--A Dying Man: an Empty Sea.--Tristan's - Longing and Death.--Swan Song of Isolde.--Passions - Purified by Music.--Mediæval Love.--Effect of Wagner's - Variations on the Morals of the Poem.--Excision - of the Second Iseult.--The Philter not a Love-potion.--Wagner's - Pure Humanity Freed from the Bonds of - Conventionality Pages 37-71 - - - CHAPTER III. - "DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÃœRNBERG." - - Story of the Drama.--A Comedy Faithful to Classical - Conceptions.--_Ridendo Castigat Mores._--Its Specific Purpose - is to Celebrate the Triumph of Natural Poetic - Impulse, Stimulated by Communion with Nature, over - Pedantic Formalism.--Romanticism _versus_ Classicism.--A - Contest which Stimulates Growth.--Walther as - the Representative of Romantic Utterance.--Pedantry - Pictured in the Master-singers and Caricatured in - Beckmesser.--Sachs, the Real Hero of the Play.--An Intermediary - and Champion of Both Parties.--Form must - Adapt Itself to Spirit.--The Proposition Proved by the - Music of Sachs' First Monologue.--The Symbolism of - a Phrase Investigated.--Corrective Purpose of the Play - as it is Disclosed by the Prelude.--Sachs as a Philosopher.--The - Introduction to Act III. Expounded.--Photographic - Pictures of Nuremberg Life.--Relics of - the Master-singers.--A Master-song by the Veritable - Sachs Pages 72-111 - - - CHAPTER IV. - "DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN." - - Beautiful and Enduring Legends are Universal Property.--Parallels - Between the Elements and Apparatus of - Mythological Tales.--The Grotto of Venus, the Garden - of Delight, Avalon, Ogygia, the Delightful Island.--Pope - Urban's Staff, the Lances of Charlemagne, Joseph's - Staff, and Aaron's Rod.--The _Tarnhelm_, the - Mask of Arthur, Helmet of Pluto.--The Holy Grail, the - Horn of Bran; Huon's Goblet, the Horn of Amalthea.--Invulnerability - of Achilles, Jason, and Siegfried.--The - Sword of Wotan, Arthur's Sword, Ulysses's Bow.--Siegfried's - Prototypes in Egypt, Greece, and Scandinavia.--Von - Hahn's _Arische Aussetzung und Rückkehr Formel_.--The - Celestial Plot in the Tragedy.--Wotan its Hero.--A - Contest Between Greed of Gain and Temporal - Power and Love.--Effect of the Curse.--Wotan's Vain - Plot.--The Force of Law.--Brünnhilde becomes the - Agent of Redemption by Becoming Simple, Loving - Woman.--The Progress of the Plot is from a State of - Sinlessness through Sin and its Awful Consequences to - Expiation.--Symbols for These Steps in "Das Rheingold."--The - Golden Age and the Instrumental Introduction.--Elemental - Music.--Erda and the Götterdämmerung.--Greek - and Teuton.--The Tragic Nature of the - Northern Mythological System.--Wotan's Effort to - Escape the Penalty of Violated Law.--A Plan Doomed - to Failure from the Start.--Wagner's Mood Pictures.--How - Nature Reflects the Discord Created by the God's - Wrong Doing.--Contrasted Pictures in Two Preludes - and First Scenes: the Peacefulness of the Golden Age, - the Storm which Buffets Siegmund.--Entrance of the - Sinister Element with Alberich and Hunding.--Agents - Created to Carry on the Contest: the Beloved Progeny - of the God, the Loveless Offspring of the Niblung.--Wotan's - Tragic Grandeur in the Moment of Despair.--Brünnhilde - the Embodiment of Wotan's Will.--The - God Destroys his Agents, but Unconscious Love Carries - on the Plot.--Siegfried.--The Forest Lad Achieves - Heroic Stature.--He Discloses that he is a Free Agent - by Shattering the Visible Symbol of the God's Power.--Wotan - Disappears for the Action and Awaits the End of - his Race.--The Miraculous in Wagner's Musical System.--The - Drink of Forgetfulness.--Brünnhilde Prizes Love - More than the Welfare of the Gods.--Outraged Love - Avenged.--The Catastrophe.--The Death March a - Hymn of Praise.--The Musical Symbol of the Ethical - Principle of the Tragedy Pages 112-161 - - - CHAPTER V. - "PARSIFAL." - - Wagner's Last Drama.--Paradoxical in its Appeals to the - Spectator and Student.--A Religious Play.--Blending - of Buddhistic and Christian Plots.--Socialistic Philosophy - and Asceticism.--Identification of Parsifal and - Christ.--Monkish Relic Worship.--Ethical Idea of the - Drama.--The Apparatus, the Hero, the Trial.--Mission - of the Music.--It must Reconcile Modern Thought and - Feeling and Mediæval Religion.--Imagination and - Fancy.--Suffering and Aspiration.--Original Elements - of the Grail Story.--Parsifal an Aryan Hero.--His Name - as an Index of Moral Character.--"The Great Fool - Tales."--The Holy Grail not Originally a Christian - Symbol.--Percival and Peredur.--Parsifal in Wagner's - Drama.--His Musical Symbols.--Properties of the Talisman: - Physical, it Provides Sustenance; Spiritual, it - is a Touchstone and Oracle.--Its Prototypes in Many - Lands.--The Golden Cup of Jamshid and the Joseph - of Arimathea Legend.--The Grail and Coral.--Dr. Oppert's - Theory.--Blood the Essential Element.--The - Prelude.--Amfortas.--Question and Lance.--Herzeleide.--Musical - Symbols of Suffering and Aspiration.--Wagner's - Interpretation.--Tried by Temptation.--Klingsor.--Kundry.--The - Loathly Damsel and Herodias.--Wolfram's - Married Parzival Pages 162-198 - - - - - THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA: ITS PROTOTYPES AND ELEMENTS. - - -To understand the real position which Richard Wagner occupies in the -world of art, and to appreciate the significance of the achievements -which have kept that world in a turmoil for two generations, it is -necessary to guard against a very prevalent misconception touching him -and his activities. The world knows him as an agitator and reformer, -but it does not know as clearly as it ought that the object for which -he labored as controversialist and composer was a reform of the opera, -not a reform of music in general. Outside the theatre, it is true, -he exerted a tremendous influence on the development of the musical -art, but that influence he exerted only because he was a gifted -musician who stood in the line of succession with the great ones who -had widened the boundaries of music and struck out new paths for -it--let me say Bach, Haydn, Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann. -As a legitimate successor of these Kings by the grace of Genius, he -advanced the musical art indeed, but as a reformer his activities went, -not to music in its absolute forms, but to an entirely distinct and -complex art-form: the modern opera. The term which Wagner invented to -describe what he wished to see as the outcome of his strivings--the -term which his enemies parodied so successfully that the parody has -clung to the popular tongue and lingered in the popular ear, in spite -of all explanation--is "The Art-work of the Future." By this "Art-work" -he meant a form of theatrical entertainment in which poetry, music, -pantomime, painting, and the plastic arts were to co-operate on a -basis of mutual dependence--or better, perhaps, interdependence--and -common aim, the inspiring purpose of all being dramatic expression. -In the history of music and the drama certain strongly-marked phases -are found, in which the interdependence of the elements which Wagner -consorts in his Art-work can be traced; and if we look at these phases -a little thoughtfully, they may help us to understand the present -phase, and we may learn not only how to appreciate what Wagner has -done, but also how to avoid the misconceptions which so frequently -stand in the way of appreciation. - - - I. - -Wagner, then, was a Reformer of the Opera; or, as I think it would -better be put, a Regenerator of the Lyric Drama. The latter definition -is to be preferred, because it presupposes the earlier existence of -an art-form similar in purpose and elements (however dissimilar in -scope and effectiveness it may have been) to that with which Wagner's -name is identified in music's history. The spirit which created that -art-form is as old as humanity; but the record of civilization shows -two manifestations of it so striking that even the most cursory study -ought to disclose Wagner's relationship to them. The Greek stage-plays -were much more closely allied to the modern opera than to the modern -drama. Music was an integral and essential element of them. So says -Aristotle, adding, "and their greatest embellishment." The dramatic -and lyrical elements were inseparable in Greek tragedy, which had its -origin in the Dithyramb, a dance-song. The one modified the other. The -cheer, the gravity, or the horror of the action were reflected at the -same time in the music. While there was music also in comedy, yet, as -Aristotle indicates, it was there of less importance, probably because -comedy--which was really broad enough to meet the modern notions of -farce--was beneath the true level of music as apprehended by the -Greeks. As between the lyre and flute, the Greeks gave a vastly greater -admiration to the former, as is indicated by a proverb quoted by -Cicero: "As they say among the Greeks, they are flautists who cannot -be citharists;" and it is significant that stringed accompaniments -were given to the dithyrambic chorus when its purposes were serious, -and accompaniments on the _aulos_ when those purposes were of lighter -character. Obviously the writers of Greek tragedy were of necessity -versed in the musical art of their time. Æschylus was not merely a -poet; he was also a musical composer. A fragment of a theoretical book -on rhythm by Aristoxenus, a fellow-pupil with Alexander the Great of -Aristotle, has been preserved to us. It is filled with lamentations -over the decadence of dramatic music since the good old days of -Æschylus, and accuses contemporary composers of pandering to the -depraved tastes of the public, and disregarding the noble art of the -Æschylean period. We know that Sophocles was a practical musician. -He was taught both music and dancing by Lampros (or Lamprocles) the -dithyrambist, in his time the foremost professor of these arts in -Athens. It is on record that he played in two of his own dramas, taking -the character of Nausikaa in the "Pluntriæ," and, in "Thamyris," that -of a singer stricken blind by the Muses. In this latter role he so -pleased the popular fancy that, by public vote, a portrait of him, -with a cithara in his hands, was placed in the Painted Porch--a fact -which finds mention in Athenæus. Another indication of his proficiency -as a musician is that he wrote pæans and elegies, and a work in prose -for the instruction of choral artists. It is written that Euripides, -obviously less musician than poet, had to call in the aid of a composer -to supply the essential music for one of his plays. Possibly this -explains the fact that in his tragedies the odes are less intimately -connected with the play than they are in the tragedies of Æschylus. -They no longer form part of the action, and their beauty consists in -their skilfulness of form rather than in the natural union of rhythm -and music. - -In the Greek tragedies the actors did not declaim their lines as ours -do; they chanted them. The word which they used to describe what we -call dramatic declamation was _emmeleia_, from _en_ and _melos_, whence -we get our word melody; so that they literally spoke of their plays -as being spoken "in tune." Even the Attic orators, as well as the -later Roman, delivered their orations musically, and, like the actors, -sometimes had the help of an accompaniment on the lyre or flute to -keep them in pitch. Cicero and Plutarch both relate an anecdote to -the effect that Caius Gracchus once lost his pitch in the heat of an -oration, and was brought back to it by a slave with an instrument, who -was concealed behind him for that very purpose. In the plays the chorus -sang the odes which filled the pauses between the various stages of -the action; and as they sang they kept time with solemn dance-steps, -moving from side to side and around an altar which stood in the centre -of the space between the audience and the stage, called then, as now, -the orchestra.[A] The choric odes were sung in unison, but, more -richly than the declamation of the actors, they were accompanied by -instruments which I believe we are justified in assuming (though it is -a debated point) supplied a foundation of harmony for the vocal melody. -Unfortunately, none of the music composed for these tragedies has been -preserved; but we are surely justified in believing that, in spite of -its simplicity (for simple it had to be to meet the demands of Greek -philosophy), it was beautiful, impressive, and, in the highest degree, -expressive music. No people have ever come nearer than those old Greeks -to a correct estimate of the real nature of music and the role that it -can and ought to be made to play in the economy of civilized life. So -convinced were they of the directness and forcefulness of its appeal to -the emotional part of man that they refused to divorce it from poetry, -and hedged its practice about with legal restrictions, fearful that a -too one-sided cultivation of it in its absolute state would tend to -the development of the emotions at a cost of the rational and sterner -elements on which the welfare of the individual and the community -depended. Theirs was surely a lofty ideal: an art which charmed the -senses while it persuaded the reason was a noble art. But it died with -much else that was noble and lovely when the Romans succeeded the -Greeks as arbiters of the civilized world. Under the Romans the lyric -drama degenerated into mere spectacular mummery. - - - II. - -Thus much for the first manifestation of the spirit which is -exemplified in the Art-work of Richard Wagner. I have laid stress upon -the Greek tragedy simply because it was the direct inspiration of the -second manifestation, out of which the Art-work which Wagner reformed -was evolved, through steps that are easily followed by students of -modern musical history. Wherever we turn we find the genesis of -the drama to be the same. I might have chosen the Hindu drama as a -starting-point, and found in it the same intimate association of -poetry, music, and action that characterized Greek tragedy. Or I might -have pointed to the Chinese drama, and invited you to a study of that -association as it has existed for thousands of years, and still exists -in the theatres of the Great Pure Kingdom. - -Now for the second manifestation. Towards the close of the sixteenth -century dissatisfaction with the inelastic artificiality of polite -music took possession of a body of scholars and musical amateurs who -were in the habit of meeting for learned discussion in the house of -Giovanni Bardi, Count Vernio, in Florence. Their discussions led them -to formulate two aims: _First_, To give emotional expressiveness -to music by putting aside polyphony, and inventing what is called -the monodic style. They wrote solos for the voice with harmonic -support for the instruments in the shape of chords. _Second_, They -tried to revive the Greek tragedies, or, rather, to imitate them in -new compositions, to which they applied their monodic music. They -conceived the purpose of music to be to heighten the expressiveness -of poetry, and held the play to be "the thing." To "Euridice," the -first drama of the new style which was published, the composer of the -music, Jacopo Peri, wrote a preface, in which he said that he had -been convinced by a study of the ancients that though their dramatic -declamation may not have risen to song, it was yet musically colored. -This exaltation of speech he evidently thought had its basis in those -variations of pitch, dynamic intensity, and vocal quality which -Herbert Spencer, in his essay on the "Origin and Function of Music," -shows to be the physiological results of variations of feeling, all -feelings being muscular stimuli. Peri made careful observations of the -inflections which mark ordinary speech, and attempted to reproduce his -discoveries as faithfully as possible in the musical investiture which -he gave to the poet's lines. "Soft and gentle speech he interpreted -by half-spoken, half-sung tones, on a sustained instrumental bass; -feelings of a deeper, emotional kind by a melody with greater intervals -and a lively _tempo_, the accompanying instrumental harmonies changing -more frequently."[B] He bestowed the greatest care on the rhythm of -the music, making it flow along with the rhythm of the words. - -These men were as revolutionary in their day as Wagner in ours, many -times as intolerant, and, some will say, perhaps equally visionary. -They revamped the Hellenic myths concerning the power of music, not -as containing a germ of verity wrapped in an ample cloak of poetical -symbolism, but as very truth. What the ancient art had been they did -not know, but they did not hesitate to say that compared with it the -music of their own time (the time of Palestrina and the Netherland -School) was a barbarism, the creation of a people whose natural -rudeness was evidenced even in their uncouth names--Okeghem, Hobrecht, -etc. They could not reconcile counterpoint with the theories touching -the province of music laid down by Plato; and that fact sufficed to -condemn it. Count Vernio himself published a tract stating the purposes -of the reformers. The first step in the process of curing the evil -which had come over music, he said, should be to protect the poetical -text from the musicians who, to exploit their inventions, tore the -poetry to tatters, giving different voices different words to sing -simultaneously. The philosophers of old--Plato in particular--had said -that the melody should follow the verses of the poet and sweeten them. -"When you compose, therefore," said the noble amateur, "have a care -that the text remain uninjured, the words be kept intelligible, and do -not permit yourselves to be carried off your feet by counterpoint, -that wicked swimmer, who is swept along unresistingly by the stream, -and arrives at an entirely different landing-place than he intended -to make. For, as much as the soul is nobler than the body, so much -nobler are words than counterpoint; and as the soul must govern the -body, so counterpoint must take its laws from poetry." Caccini, who -was a famous singing-master, and the first professional musician to -join the Florentine coterie, made many statements in the preface to -his _Nuove Musiche_ which Gluck and Wagner only echoed when they -came to urge their reforms. Thus he recommends the choice of a pitch -which will enable the singer always to use his natural voice, so that -expression may be unconstrained. He advises that the singer emancipate -himself from a too strict adherence to measure, fixing, instead, the -relative value of notes by consideration for the words to which they -are set. More striking than either of these utterances, however, is his -condemnation of the _roulades_ which had come into use even before the -solo style had been invented. He calls these _roulades_ "Long flights" -(flourishes or whirlings) of the voice (_lunghi giri di voce_); and -says of them, literally: "They were not invented as being necessary -to good singing, but, as I believe, to provide a certain titillation -of the ears for the benefit of such as have little knowledge of what -expressive singing means; for if they understood this, they would -unquestionably detest these passages, since nothing is so offensive -as they to expressive singing. And it is for this reason that I have -said the _lunghi giri di voce_ are so ill applied. I introduce them in -songs which are less passionate, and, indeed, on long, not on short -syllables, and in closing cadences." Caccini further advises the -avoidance of artificial tones, and the use of the natural voice in -order that the feelings may have expression. Wagner urges his singers -to leave off the affected pathos which they are so prone to assume with -the song-voice, and to enunciate, breathe, and phrase as naturally -and unconstrainedly as they would if they were speaking the dialogue -instead of singing it. Caccini wished the singer to emancipate himself -from the fetters of musical metre, and to consult the rhythm of the -words. In Wagner's vocal parts the aim is to achieve through music an -increased expressiveness for the poetry, and to this end he raises it -to a kind of intensified speech, which retains as much as possible -of the distinctness of ordinary dialogue with its emotional capacity -raised to a higher power. He desires that the melody shall spring -naturally from the poetry, but also that the poetry shall "yearn" for -musical expression. Caccini recognized the beauty of embellished song, -but restricted the introduction of vocal flourishes to songs which were -wanting in expressiveness--in other words, to songs intended merely -to charm the ear. Wagner (and here I should like to correct an almost -universal misconception)--Wagner never condemned beautiful singing, -even in the Italian sense, except where it stands in the way of -truthful, dramatic utterance. But he raises the question of nationality -and tongue as one which must first of all be considered in determining -how poetry is to be set to music. Deference must be paid to the -genius of the language employed, and also to the vocal peculiarities -of the people who are to perform and enjoy the drama. This is really -Wagner's starting-point. He aims to be a national dramatist. In the -Italian opera the vocal adornments, favored by the inherent softness -and beauty of the Italian language, gradually usurped the first place, -while dramatic motive, which had inspired the invention of the opera, -dropped out of sight. For such an art there is little natural aptitude -in the German, and consequently only a modicum of sympathy. Sung to -florid tunes, German words become worse than unintelligible; the poetry -loses its merit as speech, and the music is robbed of all its purpose -and most of its charm. Believing this, and having already striven to -restore naturalness of expression in the spoken drama, Wagner wrote the -vocal parts of his lyric dramas so as to bring out first the force of -the poetry as such. - -There is one more point of resemblance between Wagner and the creators -of the Italian lyric drama which I must refer to briefly. It may help -us out from the sway of that prejudice which we are so prone to feel -towards an innovator, to learn that in so many essentials Wagner has -simply given new expression to old ideas. Already, in his "Euridice," -Peri concealed his orchestra behind the scenes; but as this device -was borrowed from the old Roman pantomimes, and was a general custom, -I lay no stress upon it. Monteverde, who did not belong to the band -of Florentine reformers, but adopted their theories and put them -into practice with far greater skill than any of the originators -of the new style, added to the instrumental apparatus until he had -a reputation for noise with which that of Wagner, in this respect, -is no circumstance. In his "Orfeo" he employed thirty-six different -instruments, and it has even been suspected that he was the precursor -of Wagner in the device of characterizing his personages by relegating -to each a certain instrument or set of instruments. But this, I am -convinced, is based on a misunderstanding. It is certain, however, that -he used his instruments in such a way as to emphasize climaxes, holding -some of them back until the arrival of moments in the action when their -sudden entrance would have a particularly telling effect. - - - III. - -Where does Wagner touch hands with the first creators of the art-form -of which I have called him the regenerator? What are the fundamental -features of his system? What were the impulses which led him out of the -beaten path of opera composers? I will try to answer these questions -on broad lines, keeping essential principles in view rather than -trifling details. - -Wagner must be associated with the Greek tragedy-writers: _First_ (and -foremost), because he is poet as well as musical composer. He unites in -himself the same qualifications (but with the tremendous difference in -degree brought about by the changed conditions) as did Æschylus. - -_Second._ Wagner sees in the drama the highest form of art--one that -unites in itself the expressive potentiality of each of the elements -employed in it, raised to a still higher potency through the merit of -their co-operation. - -_Third._ Wagner believes, like the Greek tragedians, that the fittest -subjects for dramatic treatment are to be found in legends and -mythologies. - -_Fourth._ Wagner believes that the elements of the lyric drama ought to -be adapted to the peculiarities, and to encourage the national feeling -of the people for whom it is created. - -This last point is of such vast significance to the question of the -degree of appreciation which Wagner's art ought to receive, and also -to an understanding of his attitude towards Italian music, that I wish -to emphasize it before proceeding further. Wagner is as distinctively -a German dramatist as Æschylus was a Greek or Shakespeare an English. -In his poetry, in his music, in the moral and physical character of his -dramatic personages--in brief, in the matter and the essence of his -dramas--the world must recognize the Teuton. As their spirit roots in -the German heart, so their form roots in the German language. One of -Wagner's most persistent aims was to reanimate a national art-spirit in -Germany. The rest of the world he omitted from his consideration. Those -of his dramas in which he carried out his principles in their fulness -are scarcely conceivable in any other language than the German, and -complete or ideal appreciation of them is possible only to persons who -sympathize deeply with German feelings. His whole system, of dramatic -declamation rests on the genius of the German tongue. He protests -against the attempt to use the _bel canto_ of the Italians in German -opera, because the German language is too harsh for florid music, and -German throats are not flexible enough to execute agile and mellifluous -melodies. In the structure of his system there is everywhere -discernible a recognition of the characteristics, physiological as -well as psychological, which have always marked Teutonic races. Look -at Wagner in the conduct of his polemical battle; in the vehemence -of his sincerity, and the rude, sledge-hammer vigor of his manner, -he is as distinctively a national type as Luther. Aside from all -other considerations, such a man cannot conceive music to be mere -"lascivious pleasings." To the Northern mind there has always seemed to -be something vicious in the influence of Southern art and manners. It -seems to feel instinctively that its vigor is preserved by periodical -rebellion against Roman things, and it points as a reason and a warning -example to the physical and moral degeneracy of those Goths and Franks -who lost their rugged virtues by too long dalliance with the Roman -colonists. "Strength before Beauty," "Truth before Convention"--these -are German ideals in art as well as in morals.[C] - -It is only to recognize a truth, which Wagner himself freely confessed, -to say that arts and manners based on such ideals do not always appear -pleasing--that, in fact, they sometimes, at first blush, at least, -appear uncouth and unamiable. But that fact need not long give us -pause. We have simply to recognize that beauty, like everything else -so far as we are concerned, is subject to change, and that a new order -of beauty, which may be called characteristic beauty, has come to -the fore with a claim for recognition as a fit element in dramatic -representation. Are we bound to accept as infallible the popular maxim -that no matter what the state of affairs on the stage, the accompanying -music must delight the ear? Suppose that a composer, utilizing the ear -simply as one of the gate-ways to the higher faculties, and aiming to -quicken the imagination and stir the emotions, should find a means -for doing this without pleasing the ear--would his art be bad for -that reason? Was the agony on the faces of the Laocoön put there by -the sculptor for the purpose of pleasing the eye? Does it please the -eye, or does it fascinate with a horrible fascination, and achieve the -artist's real purpose by appealing through the eye to the imagination -and emotions? - -These questions are in the nature of argument and foreign to my -immediate purpose; in the way of contrast, however, the thoughts -to which they give rise will help us to appreciate one phase of -the Teutonism which Wagner has impressed upon his dramas which is -altogether lovely. We will look at it in both of its expositions, -musical and literary, for thus we shall learn something of his -constructive methods as well as his poetical impulses. I refer to -the ethical idea pervading those of his dramas which, like the Greek -tragedies, are based on legendary or mythical tales. The idea is that -_salvation comes to humanity through the self-sacrificing love of -woman_. This idea is at the bottom of the great poems and dramas of -Germany; it is the main-spring of "The Flying Dutchman," "Tannhäuser," -and "The Niblung's Ring;" the _chorus mysticus_ which ends Goethe's -"Faust" proclaims it oracularly: - - "All things transitory - But as symbols are sent. - Earth's insufficiency - Here grows to event. - The Indescribable, - Here it is done. - The Woman-Soul leadeth us - Upward and on!" - -In the creations of Wagner, by a singular coincidence, this beautiful -idea is born simultaneously with the fundamental principle of his -constructive scheme--the use of melodic phrases as symbols of the -persons, passions, and principles concerned in the play. His first -drama based on a legendary story is "The Flying Dutchman." The infinite -longing for rest of the Wandering Jew of the sea, and the infinite pity -and wondrous love of the woman who, through sacrifice of her own life, -achieved for the wanderer surcease of suffering--these are the two -fundamental passions of the play. The legend of the Dutchman and his -doom is told in a ballad which the heroine sings in the second act of -the opera; and this ballad, Wagner tells us himself, he set to music -first, even before he had completed the book. It is an epitome of the -drama, ethically and musically, having two significant musical themes -corresponding to the longing of the Dutchman and the redeeming love of -Senta. The first of these musical themes is this: - - [Illustration: score] - -The second is this: - - [Illustration: score] - -Having invented these two phrases for use simply in the ballad, Wagner -tells us how he proceeded with his work: - -"I had merely to develop according to their respective tendencies the -various thematic germs comprised in the ballad to have, as a matter -of course, the principal mental moods in definite thematic shapes -before me. When a mental mood returned, its thematic expression -also, as a matter of course, was repeated, since it would have been -arbitrary and capricious to have sought another _motivo_ so long as -the object was an intelligible representation of the subject, and not -a conglomeration of operatic pieces." This is Wagner's account of the -genesis of the "leading motives," or, as I think they would better be -called, "typical phrases," and it directs attention to a misconception -of their nature and purpose which is pretty general even among the -admirers of his works. They were not invented to announce the entrance -of persons of the play on their stage; their duties are not those of -footmen or ushers. Nor are they labels. Neither can they rightly be -likened, as a German critic has declared, to the lettered ribbons -issuing from the mouths of figures in mediæval pictures. They stand -for deeper things--for the attributes of the play's personages; for -the instruments, spiritual as well as material, used in developing the -plot; for the fundamental passions of the story. If they were labels, -they could only accompany the characters with which they had been -associated at the outset, and this we know is not the case; in fact, in -some very significant instances, they enter the score long before the -characters with whom they are associated have been heard of or their -existence is surmised. They are symbols, and hence arbitrary signs, but -not more arbitrary than words. All language is arbitrary convention. -Only the emotional elements at the bottom of it are real, absolute, -universal. It would be just as easy to build up a language of musical -tones capable of expressing ideas as it was to build up a language of -words. In fact, though we seldom think of it, the rudiments of such a -language exist. We are all familiar with some of them, or we should -not involuntarily associate certain rhythms with the dance, and others -with the march. A drone-bass under an oboe melody in 6-8 time would not -suggest a pastoral; trumpets and drums, war; French-horn harmonies, a -hunting scene; and so on. More than this, the Chinese have retained in -their language a relic of the time when music was an integral element -of all speech, not only of solemn and artistic speech, as we see it in -the beginnings of the drama in India, Greece, and China. The meaning -of many words in the monosyllabic Chinese language depends upon the -musical inflection given to them in utterance. In a sense, a phrase -of melody, or a chord, or a succession of chords, of harmony, is a -"bow-wow word," the only kind of word universally intelligible. A great -deal of music is direct in its influence upon the emotions, but it is -chiefly by association of ideas that we recognize its expressiveness -or significance. Sometimes hearing a melody or harmony arouses an -emotion like that aroused by the contemplation of a thing. Minor -harmonies, slow movements, dark tonal colorings, combine directly to -put a musically susceptible person in a mood congenial to thoughts -of sorrow and death; and, inversely, the experience of sorrow, or -the contemplation of death, creates affinity for minor harmonies, -slow movements, and dark tonal colorings. Or we recognize attributes -in music possessed also by things, and we consort the music and the -things, external attributes bringing descriptive music into play which -excites the fancy, internal attributes calling for an exercise of the -loftier faculty, imagination, to discern their meaning. A few examples -in both classes will help to make my meaning plain, and I begin with -the second class as the nobler of the two. - -In Wagner's Niblung tragedy two of the musical phrases associated -with Wotan may be taken as symbols of contrasted attributes of the -god. Throughout the tragedy of which he is the hero, Wotan figures, -by virtue of his supremacy among the gods, as Lord of Valhalla, and -consequently as the manifest embodiment of law. - -In music the first manifestation of law is in form. - -It is impossible to conceive of a combination of the integral -elements of music--rhythm, melody, and harmony--in a beautiful manner -without some kind of form. Form means measure, order, symmetry. In -music more than in any art it is essential to the existence of the -loftiest attribute of beauty, which is repose--an attribute whose -divine character Ruskin proclaimed when he defined it as "the 'I am' -contradistinguished from the 'I become;' the sign alike of the supreme -knowledge which is incapable of surprise, the supreme power which is -incapable of labor, the supreme volition which is incapable of change." -Now what are the musical qualities of which Wagner makes use in order -to symbolize the wielder of supreme power? Here is the phrase whose -innate nobility and beauty appear to best advantage at the opening of -the second scene in "Das Rheingold:" - - [Illustration: score] - -The melody is built out of the intervals of the common chord--the -triad--the starting-point of harmony, its first and most pervasive law. -This chord, too, supplies the harmonic structure. Its instrumentation -(for four tubas with peculiarly orotund voices, specially constructed -for Wagner) is unvarying, calm, stately, majestic, dignified, -reposeful. Thus does Wagner symbolize musically the chief deity and -chief personage of his tragedy in his character as Lord of Valhalla. -But through the operation of the curse to which he became subject when -he took the baneful ring, another character than that of a supreme god -is forced upon Wotan. He has plotted to regain the ring, and restore it -to the original owners of the magic gold. He has begotten a new race, -the Volsungs, to execute a purpose which, as the representative of law, -he is restrained himself from executing. He becomes a wanderer over the -face of the earth, a mere spectator of the development of his foolish -plot. How is this new character symbolized? Note the music which -accompanies Wotan when, disguised as the Wanderer, he enters Mime's -cavern smithy in the second scene of "Siegfried:" - - [Illustration: score] - -The fundamental harmonies are retained. The solemn instrumental color -is held fast. The dignity of the chord progressions is still there. -What, then, is gone? _The element of repose._ The harmonies are still -triads, but tonality, with its benison of restfulness, has been -sacrificed. The phrase is in no key, or rather it is in as many keys -as there are chords. There is another beautiful instance in which, by -the same means, a deprivation which one of the personages of the play -undergoes is made plain to the listener. Note the descending series of -chords which follows Wotan's kiss depriving Brünnhilde of her divinity, -just after he has spoken his pathetic farewell, and just before the -orchestra begins its lullaby, in the final scene of "Die Walküre." Here -the loss of divine attributes in the disobedient goddess is published -by absence of fixed tonality in the chords which accompany the visible -signs of her punishment. - -In the last two examples we have been called on to observe how changes -in character and loss of attributes are delineated by departure of -tonality. I will now cite a case in which not the attributes of a -personage, but the property of a thing, is the composer's objective -point. The case is a striking one, for it is a supernatural property -which is to be brought to the notice of the listener, the power of the -_Tarnhelm_ (the familiar cap of darkness of folk-lore) to render its -wearer invisible. The musical symbol of this magical apparatus in the -Niblung tragedy is this: - - [Illustration: score] - -This phrase is not often used, but whenever it occurs in the music -its mysteriousness arrests attention. What is the source of that -mysteriousness? Nothing else than indefiniteness, vagueness of mode. -The closing harmony is an empty fifth; we do not know whether it is -major or minor, because the determining interval is lacking. Supply a -major third and it is major, a minor third and it is minor; in either -case, however, the mystical property of the phrase, the element which -establishes its propriety, vanishes. - -There are many of these typical phrases primarily associated with -personages, whose delineation goes to moods and moral traits. There -are others that are frankly delineative of externals. The giants -in "Das Rheingold" are the representatives of brute force. They -are heavy-witted as well as heavy-footed, and their stupidity and -clumsiness are aptly characterized in their melody: - -[Illustration: score (_Fasolt and Fafner, of gigantic stature, armed -with strong staves, enter._)] - -The Niblungs are the antipodes in character of the giants--cunning, -resourceful, industrious. Intellectually they are schemers and -tricksters; by occupation they are smiths. Wagner delineates these -activities, the mental as well as the manual, in the orchestral -introduction to "Siegfried." A descending figure (_a_), (two thirds at -the interval of a seventh) characterizes the brooding thoughtfulness, -the cogitation of Mime; the fact that the dwarf is a Niblung Wagner -publishes by means of a rhythmical phrase like the pounding of hammers -(_b_): - - [Illustration: score (_a_)] - [Illustration: score (_b_)] - -Sometimes Wagner becomes frankly delineative or descriptive, utilizing -imitation of nature where it will be effective, as in the phrases -associated with the Rhine and its denizens--the nixies whom he calls -Daughters of the Rhine. The slow undulation of water in its depths, the -flux and reflux of the element, the ripples on its surface, the motions -of the swimmers, are all pictured to the ear (if I may be permitted -to say so) in the melodies of the Rhine and the nixies whose home the -river is, and the changes of time and treatment to which those melodies -are subjected. The fitful, flickering, crackling crepitation of fire -furnishes a suggestion for the phrase which is typical of Loge, the -fire-god, whether he appears in his elemental form, as in the finale of -"Die Walküre," or bodily as the incarnation of the spirit of mischief -in "Das Rheingold:" - - [Illustration: score] - -In describing how he proceeded in the composition of "The Flying -Dutchman," Wagner says that when a mental mood recurred for which he -had once found thematic expression, that expression was repeated. He -speaks here only of moods, but he extended the principle involved to -the whole apparatus of the drama--its secret impulses as well as its -external agencies. These agencies, in their physical manifestation, -moreover, are sometimes anticipated by the appearance in the music -of the melodic phrases which typify them; but this never happens -unless they are spiritually present in the drama. This is what I have -called the use of the themes for prophecy, and to me it seems one of -the most beautiful features of Wagner's constructive scheme. Let me -illustrate: the sword, which is the instrument designed by Wotan for -the working-out of his plot for the return of the baneful ring to its -original owners, for itself and as a symbol of the race of demi-gods -who were to be endowed with it; Siegfried, the hero who is to be the -vessel chosen, not by Wotan but by fate in the prevision of Brünnhilde, -to execute the purposes of the god; Brünnhilde herself, not as a -goddess but in the character of loving woman willing and able to make -the redeeming sacrifice; all these are prefigured in the drama by the -entrance of their typical phrases long before the action permits their -physical appearance. They are seen by the prophetic vision of certain -personages of the play and manifested to us through the music. Thus: -the sword phrase appears in the orchestral postlude of "Das Rheingold" -at the moment when Wotan, crossing the Rainbow-bridge with the members -of his divine household, stops in thought and conceives the plot which -is worked out in the tragedy proper; the phrase typical of the heroic -character of Siegfried accompanies Brünnhilde's prediction to Sieglinde -that she shall give birth to "the loftiest hero in the world," in the -drama "Die Walküre;" in giving voice to her gratitude, Sieglinde, in -turn, hails Brünnhilde as the representative of the redeeming principle -of the tragedy, Goethe's "Ewig-Weibliche," by using a melody which -examination shows to be an augmentation of the melodic symbol of -Brünnhilde when she appears as mere woman in the last drama of the -trilogy. - -Let this suffice as an exhibition of Wagner's method of inventing and -introducing the melodic material out of which he weaves his fabric, -while we look at some of the principles applied in its use. His system -rests upon the development of these themes, not according to the laws -of the symphony, but in harmony with the dramatic spirit of the text. -The orchestra is the vehicle of this development. It is pre-eminently -the expositor of the drama. It has acquired some of the functions of -the Greek chorus, in that it takes part in the action to publish that -which is beyond the capacity of the personages alone to utter. The -music of the instruments is the voice of the fate, the conscience, -and the will concerned in the drama. To those who wish to listen, -it unfolds, unerringly, the thoughts, motives, and purpose of the -personages, and lays bare the mysteries of the plot and counter-plot. -As the passions and purposes of the drama grow complex, the musical -texture, into which the themes which typify those passions and purposes -enter, grows complex and heterogeneous. The most obvious factors in -this development are changes of mode, harmony, rhythm, time, and -orchestration. A single illustration must here suffice. By applying the -principle of augmentation to a phrase, in the three phases of melodic, -harmonic, and instrumental structure, Wagner illustrates the tragic -growth of Siegfried in the Niblung tragedy. When the hero is merely -a high-spirited lad, roaming through the forest and associating with -its denizens, the phrase appears as the call which he blows upon his -hunting-horn: - - [Illustration: score] - -When he has entered upon man's estate, has awakened Brünnhilde from her -long sleep, learned wisdom from her teaching, donned her armor, and is -about to set out in quest of adventure, the typical phrase which greets -him has taken on this form: - - [Illustration: score] - -Finally, the phrase is metamorphosed into that thrilling pæan at the -climax of the Death March, to indicate which is impossible by means of -pianoforte transcription: - - [Illustration: score] - - - IV. - -From the beginning of his career Wagner wrote his own librettos; but -it is only in "Tristan und Isolde," "Die Meistersinger," "Der Ring des -Nibelungen," and "Parsifal" that he realized his conception of what -the poet-composer should be. The starting-point of his reformatory -ideas was that music had usurped a place which does not belong to it -in the lyric drama. It should be a means, and had become the aim. As -an æsthetic principle, he contended that it lies in the nature of -music to be not the end, but a medium, of dramatic expression. He -therefore reversed the old relations of librettist and composer, -and made music, which can only address itself to the emotions and -imagination, dependent for form, spirit, and character on the poetry, -which appeals to reason. Each art when isolated has a restricted range -of expression; but in the Wagnerian drama each contributes a complement -and helps it to convey all its meanings and intentions without the help -of a frequently untrustworthy imagination. In elaborating his theory, -Wagner held that as a poetical form of expression rhyme is useless in -music, because it not only implies identity of vowel-sounds, but also -of the succeeding consonants, which are lost by the singer's need of -dwelling on the vowels. The initial consonant, however, cannot be lost -in song, because it is that which stamps its physiognomy on the word, -and repetition creating a sort of musical cadence which is agreeable to -the ear, Wagner desired alliteration to be substituted for rhyme in the -chief parts of his verse. From the verse-melody thus obtained he wished -the musical melody to spring, words and music becoming lovingly merged -in each other, each sacrificing enough of selfishness to make the union -possible. To what I have already said about the nature of the typical -phrases I wish to add this as a résumé of their purpose: In every drama -there are employed certain dramatic and ethical principles as well as -agencies. The development of these principles in the conduct and words -of the personages, the employment of the agencies, give us the action -and significance of the play. For these principles and agents Wagner -provides musical symbols. The nature of the principles, the character -of the agents, explain the form and spirit of the symbols; the symbols, -in turn, sometimes help us to understand the real nature of the things -symbolized. If we have grasped the fundamental ideas of a drama, -therefore, and appreciated the fitness of their symbols, we shall have -penetrated near to the heart of the Art-work. But it cannot be too -forcibly urged that if we confine our study of Wagner to the forms and -names of the phrases out of which he constructs his musical fabric, we -shall at the last have enriched our minds with a thematic catalogue -and--nothing else. We shall remain guiltless of knowledge unless we -learn something of the nature of those phrases by noting the attributes -which lend them propriety and fitness, and can recognize, measurably -at least, the reasons for their introduction and development. Those -attributes give character and mood to the music constructed out of -the phrases. If we are able to feel the mood we need not care how the -phrases which produce it have been labelled. If we do not feel the -mood we may memorize the whole thematic catalogue of Wolzogen and have -our labor for our pains. It would be better to know nothing about the -phrases and content one's self with simple sensuous enjoyment than to -spend one's time answering the baldest of all the riddles of Wagner's -orchestra: "What am I playing now?" - -The ultimate question concerning the correctness or effectiveness of -Wagner's system of composition must, of course, be answered along with -the question, "Does the composition, as a whole, touch the emotions, -quicken the fancy, fire the imagination?" If it does these things, we -may, to a great extent, if we wish, get along without the intellectual -processes of reflection and comparison, which are conditioned upon a -recognition of the themes and their uses. But if we put aside this -intellectual activity, we shall deprive ourselves, among other things, -of the pleasure which it is the province of memory to give; and the -exercise of memory is called for by music much more urgently than -by any other art, because of its volatile nature and the role which -repetition plays in it. - -Nothing could have demonstrated more perfectly the righteousness -of Wagner's claim to the title of poet than his acceptance of the -Greek theory that the legends and myths of a people are the fittest -subjects for dramatic treatment, unless it be the manner in which he -has reshaped his material in order to infuse it with that deep ethical -principle to which reference has several times been made. In "The -Flying Dutchman," "The Niblung's Ring," and "Tannhäuser," the idea -is practically his creation. In the last of these three dramas it is -evolved out of the simple episode in the parent-legend of the death -of Lisaura, whose heart broke when her knight went to kiss the Queen -of Love and Beauty. The dissolute knight of the old story Wagner in -turn metamorphoses into a type of manhood "in its passionate desires -and ideal aspirations"--like the Faust of Goethe. All the magnificent -energy of an ideal man is brought forward in the poet's conception, but -it is an energy which is shattered in its fluctuation between sensual -delights and ideal aspirations, respectively typified in the Venus and -the Elizabeth of the play. Here is the contradiction against which he -was shattered as the heroes of Greek tragedy were shattered on the rock -of implacable Fate. But the transcendent beauty of the modern drama is -lent by the ethical idea of salvation through the love of pure woman--a -salvation touching which no one can be in doubt when Tannhäuser sinks -lifeless beside the bier of the atoning saint, and Venus's cries of woe -are swallowed up by the pious canticle of the returning pilgrims. - - - FOOTNOTES: - -[A] For popular purposes there is no harm in letting this statement -stand as made. Of course the reference goes only to the Greek theatre -in its latest form, the evolution of which is indicated, perhaps, in -the comparative weakness of the bond which unites the chorus to the -action in Euripides. The orchestra was, in fact, the centre around -which all the rest, the _theatron_ and the _skÄ“nÄ“_, were gradually -grouped. In the antique festal plays the principal feature was the -dance in a circle around the _thymele_, or altar of Dionysus. It -was only by a slow process that the actor came to be thought of as -anywise distinguished from his companions. As generally in ancient art -priority was indicated by height, there is here a reason for the tragic -_cothurnus_, which might be said to be an inexplicable deformity on any -other theory; for it was only by putting them on stilts, so to speak, -that it was possible to indicate the participants in the dialogue as -apart from the general rout of dancing worshippers. Even in the time -of the three great dramatic writers, it seems probable, disturbing as -such an idea may be to popular impressions, that some, if not all, -plays were performed without any stage. The word _skÄ“nÄ“_ (tent) points -to a temporary structure, used in the first place, perhaps, as a shrine -for the symbols and properties of the god (like the Tabernacle of the -Israelites), then as the dressing-room of the actors; it was succeeded -by the temple when the place had become consecrated to the worship of -Dionysus, then by the structures suited to a given play, and finally -by a permanent stage, which gradually encroached on the space that had -once belonged to the orchestra. These conclusions, at least, seem to be -borne out by the discoveries and arguments of Dörpfeld. - -[B] Naumann's _History of Music_, vol. i., p. 524. - -[C] _Mephist._ Du weisst wohl nicht, mein Freund, wie grob du bist? - _Bac._ Im Deutschen lügt man wenn man höflich ist. - - GOETHE. "Faust," Part II., Act 2, Sc. 1. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - "TRISTAN UND ISOLDE." - - -A vassal is sent to woo a beauteous princess for his lord. While he -is bringing her home the two, by accident, drink a love-potion, and -ever thereafter their hearts are fettered together. In the mid-day of -delirious joy, in the midnight of deepest woe, and through all the -emotional hours between, their thoughts are only of each other, for -each other. Meanwhile the princess has become the vassal's queen. Then -the wicked love of the pair is discovered, and the knight is obliged to -seek safety in a foreign land. There (strange note this to our ears) -he marries another princess whose name is like that of his love, save -for the addition "With the White Hand;" but when wounded unto death -he sends across the water for her who is still his true love, that -she come and be his healer. The ship which is sent to bring her is to -bear white sails on its return if successful in the mission; black, if -not. Day after day the knight waits for the coming of his love--while -the lamp of his life burns lower and lower. At length the sails of the -ship appear on the distant horizon. The knight is now too weak himself -to look. "White or black?" he asks of his wife. "Black," replies she, -jealousy prompting the falsehood; and the knight's heart-strings snap -in twain just as his love steps over the threshold of his chamber. Oh, -the pity of it! for with the lady is her lord, who, having learned the -story of the fateful potion, has come to unite the lovers. Then the -queen, too, dies, and the remorseful king buries the lovers in a common -grave, from whose caressing sod spring a rose-bush and a vine, and -intertwine so curiously that none may separate them. - -Here, in its simple forms, is the tale which half a millennium of -poets have celebrated as the High Song of Love, the canticle of all -canticles which hymn the universal passion. British bards, French -_trouvères_, and German _Minnesinger_, while they sang of the joys -and sorrows of humanity, united in holding up Sir Tristram and La -beale Isoud as the supreme type of lovers. To-day our poets, writing -under the influence of social and moral systems, radically different -from those which surrounded the original singers, send back the -perennial note with fervor. But the moralist shakes his head, sinks -into perplexed brooding, or launches the thunders of his righteous -wrath against the storied lovers and their sin. We wish to study the -manner in which a great dramatic poet of our day has presented this -profoundly tragical yet universally fascinating tale. Must we confront -the problem and seek to reconcile the paradox created by the attitudes -of poet and moralist? Or may we put aside the phenomenon as one whose -interpretation is to be left to each individual's notions of the True, -the Beautiful, and the Good, and address ourselves directly to a -study of the drama as a work of art regardless of its ethical phases? -Eventually, I am inclined to believe, we shall be obliged to do the -latter; but as appreciation of what the poet-composer has done depends -upon an understanding of his purposes, and this again upon a discovery -of the elements of the legend which seemed to him potential, we are -compelled to make at least a cursory survey of some of the phases -through which the story has gone in the progress of time; for each -poet, passing the original metal through the fires of his imagination, -brought it forth changed in color and enriched with new designs. In the -new color and adornments we study something of the social institutions -and moral and intellectual habits of the poet's time, these being -superimposed on the original idea embodied in the fundamental story. -In one of the beautiful tales of Northern mythology (a tale in which -I am tempted to think a relic of the primitive Tristram myth may one -day be found) we are told how Skirnir cunningly stole the reflection -of Frey's sunny face from the surface of a brook, and imprisoned it -in his drinking-horn that he might pour it out into Gerd's cup, and -by its beauty win the heart of the giantess for the lord for whom, -like Tristan, he had gone a-wooing. A legend which lives to be -retold often, is like the reflection of Frey's face in this beautiful -allegory; each poet who uses it spreads it upon a mirror which not only -reflects the original picture, but also the environment of the relator. -It will be necessary to remember this when we attempt an inquiry into -the morals of Wagner's drama. - - - I. - -To readers of English literature opportunities to acquaint themselves -with the legend which is the basis of Wagner's drama have been given -by Sir Thomas Malory, Matthew Arnold, Tennyson, and Swinburne, to say -nothing of critics and commentators. The story is of Keltic origin, and -is supposed to have got into the mouths of the German _Minnesinger_ by -way of France. The most admirable as well as complete version extant is -the epic poem of Gottfried von Strassburg, written in the thirteenth -century. Sir Walter Scott, who was deeply interested in the literary -history of the tale, in 1804 edited a metrical version of it from a -manuscript said to be the production of Thomas the Rhymer, who lived -about a century after Gottfried, if, indeed, he lived at all. From this -manuscript Scott argued in favor of a Welsh source for the romance -instead of a Norman, as was then generally accepted. The author of -the German epic followed a French version, as was customary with the -_Minnesinger_ of his period. Tennyson's share in the exposition is -exceedingly scant and wholly valueless. It is found in the poem, "The -Last Tournament," one of the "Idyls of the King." Arnold's is much more -interesting. He treats directly of the outcome of the tragedy in his -poem "Tristram and Iseult," and indirectly relates nearly all that is -essential to an understanding of the story. His poem presents the death -scene of Tristram in Brittany, with the fanciful imaginings of the -dying man while waiting for the coming of Iseult, who has been summoned -from Tintagel. The whole tale is related by Swinburne in his "Tristram -of Lyonesse." - -The names of the chief personages in the romance vary slightly in the -different German and English versions, but the variations need lead no -one astray. Wagner's Tristan is otherwise known as Sir Tristrem and -Tristram. All derive the name from the French word _triste_, and find -in it a premonition of his fate. Thus Arnold: - - "Son," she said, "thy name shall be of sorrow; - Tristram art thou called for my death's sake." - -The poet speaks of the hero's dying mother. So also Swinburne: - - "The name his mother, dying as he was born, - Made out of sorrow in very sorrow's scorn, - And set it on him smiling in her sight, - Tristram." - -Isolde is variously Iseult, Ysolt, Isoud, and Ysonde; Brangäne is -Brangwain and Brenqwain; Kurwenal, Gouvernayle. The changes in -orthographical physiognomy are trifling and easily recognized. - -It cannot be amiss to call attention to several deviations in Wagner's -drama from the legend as it has been handed down by the poets. The -majority of these deviations will be found to be full of significance. -At the outset we are confronted with the chief of these. In all the -other versions the love-potion is drunk by Tristan and Isolde by -mistake. In Mr. Swinburne's poem Tristram toils at the oars, - - "More mightily than any wearier three," - -and when he rests, calls for a drink, - - "Saying: 'Iseult, for all dear love's labor's sake, - Give me to drink, and give me for a pledge - The touch of four lips on the beaker's edge'." - -Iseult's maid, Brangwain, is asleep, and the Princess, not wishing to -awake her, herself looks for wine and finds a curious cup hid in the -maid's bosom. She thinks its contents wine and drinks, and hands it to -Tristram to drink. It is the love-draught prepared by Queen Iseult and -intrusted to Brangwain, to be by her sacredly guarded and given to Mark -and Iseult on their wedding night. Mr. Arnold also has these lovers -drink unwittingly - - "----that spiced magic draught - Which since then forever rolls - Through their blood and binds their souls, - Working love, but working teen." - -In this respect both English poets follow the German epic of Gottfried -von Strassburg. The dramatic significance of Wagner's variation can -be reserved for discussion hereafter. Its value as intensifying the -character of Isolde is obvious at a glance. - -Tennyson omits all mention of the love-potion, and permits us to -imagine Tristram and Iseult as a couple of ordinary sinners, the -former's doctrines on the subject being published in lines like these: - - "Free love--free field--we love but while we may; - The woods are hush'd, their music is no more: - The leaf is dead, the yearning passed away: - New leaf, new life--the days of frost are o'er: - New life, new love to suit the newer day: - New loves are sweet as those that went before; - Free love--free field--we love but while we may." - -The next important variation (I do not speak of omissions which are -inevitable in throwing an epic into dramatic form) is in the scene -which follows the discovery of the lovers by King Marke. To discuss -this in all its bearings would require more space than I shall care -to employ for the purpose, but it is well to know it. The wronged -Marke of Wagner, some will say as many have said, is not wronged at -all since he chooses to remain inactive, whereas the popular impulse -is illustrated in Tennyson's version, where Mark cleaves Tristram to -the brain on discovering his treachery. But the Marke of Gottfried and -the Mark of Swinburne are scarcely more comprehensible in their conduct -than Wagner's Marke. In Gottfried's epic, after the king has repeatedly -sent the lovers away and taken them back again, he is finally convinced -of their guilt. But before he takes action against Tristan, the latter -escapes. In Swinburne, Tristram is taken and led towards the chapel for -trial. On the road he wrenches a sword from Moraunt's hands, kills him -and ten knights more, leaps into the sea from a cliff, and escapes, -aided by Gouvernayle. - -In his last act, Wagner has proceeded with the utmost freedom, as in -all respects he had a right to do, since no authentic version of the -close of the legend has been preserved. Karl Simrock, following the old -English "Sir Tristrem," appended to his translation into modern German -of Gottfried's epic the episode of Tristan's life in Brittany with a -second Isolt, called Isolt of the White Hand. Being low with a wound -received in combat, Tristan sends for the first Isolt, cautioning his -brother-in-law (as Ægeus cautioned Theseus in Greek story), who goes -on the mission, to hoist white sails on returning if successful, black -if not. Isolt of the White Hand, who is watching for the return of -the ship, moved by jealousy, announces that the sails are black, and -Tristan dies just as Isolt enters the chamber. This version Swinburne -follows, but Arnold adds a beautiful touch to the old legend by making -the second Iseult tend her husband with unflinching love and unfailing -fidelity, even while she awaits the coming of her rival. Arnold gives -Tristram and the second Iseult a family of children; Swinburne keeps -the latter a "maiden wife." Bayard Taylor, in writing about Gottfried's -epic, almost angrily refuses to believe that Iseult of the White Hand -killed her knight by the falsehood about the sails. Wagner saves -himself this embarrassment, and ennobles his hero by omitting the -second Isolde from the play altogether, a proceeding which not only -brings the tale into greater sympathy with modern ideas of love, but -also serves marvellously to exalt the passion of the lovers. - - - II. - -Wagner tells the story of the tragedy in three acts. Few dramas have -so little to offer in the way of action, if by action we are to -understand incident and diversity of situation. At Bayreuth, in the -summer of 1886, Mr. Seidl characterized it very aptly as consisting in -each of its three acts as merely preparation, expectation and meeting -of the ill-starred lovers. Yet I doubt not that many will agree with -me, that the effect of the tragedy upon a listener is that of a play -surcharged with significant occurrence. The explanation of this is to -be found in the fact that music which has a high degree of emotional -expressiveness makes us forget the paucity of external incident, by -diverting interest from externals to the play of passion going on in -the hearts of the personages. This play is presented to us freed from -every vestige of spectacular integument in the instrumental prelude to -the drama. I want to lay stress on this statement. It is the passion -of the lovers to which the composer wishes to direct our attention at -the outset, and to do this most effectively he constructs his musical -"argument of the play" out of melodic phrases which have purely a -psychological significance. There is considerable music of the kind -that I will call scenic in the score of "Tristan und Isolde," but none -of it is introduced in the prelude, which for that reason appeals much -more directly to the emotions and the lofty faculty of imagination than -it does to the fancy. It is true that this makes the task of analytical -study more difficult, but for this there is compensation in the fact -that enjoyment of its beauties and apprehension of its purposes do -not require the intellectual activity conditioned by a following of -its typical phrases through the web and woof of the composition. This -is characteristic of the entire score of the drama. More than any -other of the dramas of Wagner, with the possible exception of "Die -Meistersinger," it shows the spontaneity in artistic creation, without -which a real art-work cannot come into existence. Wagner himself -expressed a preference for "Tristan" over others of his works, and -based it on the solid ground that in the composition of its score he -had proceeded without thought of his own theories; in other words, he -worked spontaneously and not reflectively. The result is strikingly -noticeable in the fact that, though there are comparatively few typical -melodies in the score, one is much less inclined to dissect it for the -pleasure which such a process brings than any other of his scores. The -direct, sensuous, and emotional appeal is sufficient. Yet we know that -it is a perfect and complete exemplification of his theories. - -To come back to the prelude: - -An ardent longing for the unattainable; a consuming hunger - - "----which doth make - The meat it feeds on;" - -a desire that cannot be quenched, yet will not despair; finally, at the -lowest ebb of the sweet agony, the promise of an end of suffering, in -self-forgetfulness, oblivion, annihilation of individual identity, and -hence in a blending or union of identity--these, according to Wagner's -exposition and the play itself, are the elements which are prefigured -in the instrumental introduction. What are their musical symbols? - -The fundamental theme of the drama, the kernel of its musical -development, is the phrase which we hear at the beginning of the -prelude: - - [Illustration: score] - -Brief as this is, it illustrates one step in the melodic development, -in respect of which "Tristan und Isolde" is Wagner's most marvellous -achievement. It is a unit, in so far as it stands for the passion -of the pair, in both its aspects of blissful longing and infinite -suffering, but it is nevertheless already complex. It is two-voiced. -One voice descends chromatically, the other (beginning with the third -measure) ascends by similar degrees. A figure like that used in music -to indicate a _crescendo_, - - [Illustration] - -presents a symbol of duality in unity for the eye like that of this -phrase for the ear. How simple yet profound is the idea that all the -conflicting passions of the drama are one in origin and in nature. -Am I becoming fantastical in thinking that Wagner purposed that this -philosophical concept should be stated in the basic material of his -music? I think not; but if there is a haunting fear that way it may be -dissipated by looking a little further into the prelude. After a brief -development of this first musical thought by means of repetition on -various degrees of the scale and changes of instrumental color, two new -phrases are reached. The first: - - [Illustration: score] - -followed immediately by: - - [Illustration: score] - -Now, let us stop to note some resemblances, and from significant -portions of the play derive a meaning for our symbols. In this we -cannot be helped, as we sometimes are, by natural likenesses. These -melodies are not imitative or delineative of external things; they -are the result of efforts to give expression to soul-states. At the -beginning of Scene 5, Act I., the entrance of Tristan is proclaimed in -a manner that leaves no doubt as to the meaning of the first of the two -phrases now under investigation. The melody there appears extended, -in augmentation, as the musicians say. It stands for the hero of the -tragedy. The genesis of the love of Tristan and Isolde must next be -studied. That love antedated the beginning of our tragedy. Isolde -relates the story of its beginning to her maid. Disguised as a harper, -Tristan had come to Ireland to be healed of a wound received in battle -with Isolde's betrothed, whom he had killed. Isolde nursed him, but -before he was completely restored to health she discovered that the -edge of his sword was broken, and that a splinter of steel taken from -the head of her dead lover fitted into the nick. The slayer of her -betrothed lay before her. She raised the sword to avenge his death, -but as she was about to strike, Tristan turned his glance upon her. He -looked not at the threatening sword, but into her eyes, and in a moment -her heart was empty of anger. Hatred had given place to love. Note here -that while Wagner uses that silly apparatus of mediæval romance, the -philter, it is not as the creator or provoker of love; that is born -without the aid of magic other than Nature's. "He looked into my eyes," -says Isolde, and immediately the tender second phrase is uttered by the -orchestra. It is thus that this phrase is identified with the glance -which aroused Isolde's love. - -The material which has now been marshalled is practically all that -is contained in the prelude; but there are two modifications of the -fundamental phrase which ought to be noticed. One of these, frequently -treated responsively by the instruments to build up a climax, - - [Illustration: score] - -seems to depict the gradual recognition by the lovers of the state into -which the potion has plunged them. The other is a harmonized inversion -of the same figure, - - [Illustration: score] - -to which an added character is given by the jubilant ascent of -thirty-second notes, and which, from several climactic portions of the -drama, we discover to be significant of the lovers' joyful defiance of -death--a sentiment which will be better understood after the philosophy -of the tragedy has been studied. - -Wagner has himself given us an exposition of this prelude. In one of -his writings, after rehearsing the legend down to the drinking of the -fateful potion, he says: - -"Now there is no end to the yearning, the longing, the delight, and -the misery of love. World, might, fame, splendor, honor, knighthood, -truth, and friendship all vanish like a baseless dream. Only one thing -survives: desire, desire unquenchable, and ever freshly manifested -longing--thirst and yearning. One only redemption: death, the sinking -into oblivion, the sleep from which there is no awaking! - -"The musician who chose this theme for the prelude to his love-drama, -as he felt that he was here in the boundless realm of the very element -of music, could only have one care: how he should set bounds to his -fancy; for the exhaustion of the theme was impossible. Thus he took -once for all this insatiable desire; in long-drawn accents it surges -up, from its first timid confession, its softest attraction, through -throbbing sighs, hope and pain, laments and wishes, delight and -torment, up to the mightiest onslaught, the most powerful endeavor to -find the breach which shall open to the heart the path to the ocean of -the endless joy of love. In vain! Its power spent, the heart sinks back -to thirst with desire, with desire unfulfilled, as each fruition only -brings forth seeds of fresh desire, till, at last, in the depth of its -exhaustion, the starting eye sees the glimmering of the highest bliss -of attainment. It is the ecstasy of dying, of the surrender of being, -of the final redemption into that wondrous realm from which we wander -farthest when we strive to take it by force. Shall we call this Death? -Is it not rather the wonder-world of Night, out of which, so says the -story, the ivy and the vine sprang forth in tight embrace o'er the tomb -of Tristan and Isolde?" - - - III. - -We are on board a mediæval ship within a few hours' voyage of Cornwall, -whither Tristan, knight and vassal, is bearing Isolde as bride of King -Marke. Isolde is an Irish princess, daughter of a queen of like name -with herself. The first scene discloses her to be a woman of most -tumultuous passion. Hearing the cheery song of a sailor, she bursts -forth like a tempest and declares to her maid, Brangäne, that she will -never set foot on Cornwall's shore. She deplores the degeneracy of -her mother's sorcery, which can only brew balsamic potions instead of -commanding the elements; and she wildly invokes wind and waves to dash -the ship to pieces. Brangäne pleads to know the cause of her mistress's -disquiet--what I have already related of the previous meeting between -the princess and King Marke's ambassador. - -After telling this tale to Brangäne, Isolde sends the maid to summon -Tristan to her presence, but the knight refuses to leave the helm -until he has brought the ship into harbor, and his squire, Kurwenal, -incensed at the tone addressed by the princess to one who in his eyes -is the greatest of heroes, as answer to the summons sings a stave of a -popular ballad which recounts the killing of Morold and the liberation -of Cornwall by his master. The refusal completes the desperation of -Isolde. Outraged love, injured personal and national pride (for she -imagines that he who had relieved Cornwall from tribute to Ireland -was now gratifying his ambition by bringing her as Ireland's tribute -to Cornwall), detestation of a loveless marriage to "Cornwall's weary -king," a thousand fierce but indefinable emotions are seething in her -heart. She resolves to die, and to drag Tristan down to death with her. -Brangäne unwittingly shows the way. She tries to quiet her mistress's -fears of the dangers of a loveless marriage by telling her of a magic -potion brewed by the queen-mother with which she will firmly attach -Marke to his bride. Thus innocently she takes the first step towards -precipitating the catastrophe. Isolde demands to see the casket of -magical philters, and finds that it also contains a deadly poison. -Kurwenal enters to announce that the ship is in harbor, and Tristan -desires her to prepare for the landing. Isolde sends back greetings -and a message that before she will permit the knight to escort her -before the king he must obtain from her forgiveness for unforgiven -guilt. Tristan obeys this second summons, and in justification of his -conduct in keeping himself aloof during the voyage he, with great -dignity, pleads his duty towards good morals, custom, and his king. -Isolde reminds him of the wrong done her in the slaying of her lover -and her right to the vengeance which once she had renounced. Tristan -yields the right, and offers her his sword and breast, but Isolde -replies that she cannot appear before King Marke as the slayer of his -foremost knight, and proposes that he drink a cup of reconciliation. -Tristan sees one-half her purpose, and chivalrously consents to pledge -her in what he knows to be poison. Isolde calls for the cup which she -had commanded Brangäne to prepare, and when Tristan has drunk part of -its contents she wrenches it from his hand and drains it to the bottom. -Thus they meet their doom, which is not death and surcease of sorrow, -but life and misery, for Brangäne had disobeyed her mistress out of her -love and mixed a love-potion instead of a death draught. A moment of -bewilderment, and the two fated ones are in each other's arms, pouring -out an ecstasy of passion; then the maids of honor robe Isolde to -receive King Marke, who is coming on board to greet his bride. - -These are the dramatic contents of the first act, whose musical -investiture is now to be looked at a little analytically. At the outset -there is an example of the skill with which Wagner employs the charm of -contrast. I have said that the music of the prelude is not scenic--it -aims at moods and passions, not at pictures. The drama opens with music -of the other kind. As the curtain is withdrawn we see within the tent -erected for Isolde on the deck of the ship. Hangings conceal all else -from view; but the first music which we hear is the voice of an unseen -sailor at the mast-head, who sings to the winds that are blowing him -away from his wild Irish sweetheart. The melody has a most insinuating -charm, especially its principal phrase: - - [Illustration: score] - -There is something of the buoyant roll of the ship and the freshness of -sea-breezes about it. It plunges us at once into the scenic situation, -puts us on shipboard, and helps us to share in the pleasurable -sensations of the voyage to Cornwall, especially when, a moment later, -it accompanies and amplifies Brangäne's account of the happy progress -of the voyage. Scarcely have we surrendered ourselves to this pleasure, -however, before Isolde's outburst of rage turns our attention from -the scenes to the personages of the play. What was innocent delight -to the singer and to us (who are now playing sympathetically along in -the drama) has somehow loosened an emotional tempest in the heart of -the passenger most concerned in that voyage. Suddenly, as we listen -to her imprecations, the whole past of the heroine is revealed--she -stands before us, not the inexperienced, unconcerned princess of the -other poems, but a fully developed woman, a furious woman, a tragic -heroine ripe for destruction. It is a favorite device of poets and -musicians--of all creative artists, indeed--to invite Nature to take -part in the play of their creations. We think a thunder-storm the -proper accompaniment of a murder, and balmy sunshine of a wedding. Here -the breezy sea-music has provoked a storm of passion, and the composer -permits the enraged princess to lash it into a fury. To suit her mood -he invokes dark clouds to obscure the sunshine of its tonality, sends -harsh harmonies hurtling among the simple chords that sounded its -original innocency, and stirs up a whirlwind out of its first quiet -movement. But when, a few moments later, Isolde has checked her wild -passion, the music settles back into its original quietude, and in -time with its measured pulsations we see the sailors pulling upon the -ship's tackle. Now it sings its "Yo-heave-ho!" as decorously as any -shanty-song. - -I have referred to the duality in unity of the fundamental idea in -the music of the drama. A study of the scene in which Isolde resolves -upon the double crime of murder and suicide will disclose how relation -in thought, emotion, and dramatic motive is expressed by relation in -musical symbol. The symbol of longing contained in the fundamental -phrase shows ascent in chromatic degrees. Observe, now, that in Act I., -Scene 3, the sufferings of the wounded Tristan are depicted in a theme -composed wholly of descending half-steps, - - [Illustration: score] - -and note, too, that the closing cadence of the short phrase which -stands for the love-glance is a downward leap of seven degrees. -In this phrase, as we first hear it, there is much tenderness and -gentle happiness; but in the glance there was the phantom of that -Life-in-Death who won Coleridge's Ancient Mariner from the grisly -skeleton in their awful game of dice. Though we do not suspect it, at -first, that downward leap of a seventh is an ominous symbol--the symbol -of Fate, which might have been heard under the yearning voices of the -prelude, and is now proclaimed by the gloomy basses in the scene -wherein Isolde selects the poison from the casket of philters which her -mother had given in charge of Brangäne: - - [Illustration: score] - -There is another phrase of tragic puissance with which we must now -get acquainted. At the first glance which Isolde throws upon Tristan, -motionless at the helm of the ship, when the curtains are parted to -permit the maid to summon the knight into the presence of the princess, -this phrase publishes her dreadful determination to seek revenge for -outraged love in murder and suicide. It is the symbol of death, whose -relationship to the symbol of fate will easily be recognized: - - [Illustration: score] - Death... de - vot - ed head! - -Its ominous expressiveness, apart from instrumental color, which cannot -be reproduced on the pianoforte, comes from the sudden and unprepared -change of key from A-flat to A. - -The culminating scene in the drama is that which brings the first act -to a close--the meeting of Tristan and Isolde, and the drinking of the -potion. In this scene the device of introducing cheerful and exciting -sailors' music to heighten the intensity of a dramatic climax is used -with peculiarly startling effect. It produces a marvellous illusion by -the suddenness of its entrance, its sharp interruption of the tragic -music expressive of the soul-torments of the principal personages, -and the unprepared transition from the spectacle of doomed humanity -to the joy-inspiring aspect of nature. An almost equally noteworthy -effect is the orchestral proclamation of Tristan in his character as -a fully-developed tragic hero. Observe how, by augmenting the simple -phrase, the orchestra increases the stature of the knight; but note -also how, though he looms up in Isolde's door-way like a demi-god clad -in steel and brass, a knight capable of overthrowing the choicest -spirits of Arthur's Round Table, and scattering thirty of King Marke's -knights, the fateful harmonies in their chromatic descent (which have -their model in the melody of the wounded Tristan) publish his doom with -a prophetic forcefulness that cannot be misunderstood. - -There is in this scene, also, a peculiarly eloquent example of the -manner in which Wagner permits the music to publish hidden meanings in -the text. While Brangäne, obeying her mistress's behest, is preparing -the fatal draught, the gladsome noise of the sailors is heard from -without. The ship is entering the harbor. Tristan, who is brooding over -Isolde's demand that he drink a drink of expiation for the slaying of -Morold, suddenly arouses himself. "Where are we?" he asks. "Near the -goal," answers Isolde. What goal does she mean? Cornwall, the goal -of the voyage? Ah, no! The music tells us; the words are sung to the -death-phrase. - - - IV. - -Wagner's skill in plunging his listeners into the mood essential to -the proper reception of his drama has no brighter illustration than -"Tristan und Isolde." The passionate stress and profound melancholy -which mark all that really belongs to the story are prefigured for -us in the prelude. That story is more than nine-tenths told in the -first act. The music that is introduced to give relief to the mind, -and also to heighten the tragic effect by means of contrast, is the -music that is related to the scene which is the theatre of the outward -action, or to the personages of the play who bear no part in the real -tragedy which, as I have already intimated, plays on the stage of the -lovers' hearts. These comparatively inactive persons who serve as -foils are the young seaman who sings at the mast-head, the sailors, -the shepherd who enters in the last act, and Kurwenal, the squire. -Kurwenal, rugged yet tender, amiable and picturesque, gentle as a -woman at core, shares in the bright, flowing, rhythmically vigorous -music which tells of unfettered breezes, heaving billows, and popular -pride; while to Tristan and Isolde is given the music made out of -the few phrases which, as they unfold themselves over and over again -in an infinite variety of combinations and with continually changing -instrumental color, bring to our consciousness in a wonderfully vivid -manner the torments which are consuming them. In the introduction to -the second act we have another mood picture--a picture of the longing -and impatience of the lovers; but this idea is presented with such -peculiar eloquence and beauty in the first scene that I prefer to pass -over the instrumental introduction with this bare reference. I am not -attempting a dissection of every scene; my purpose will be attained -if I can suggest the things which best indicate the mood in which it -is well to listen, and give starting-points to the imagination. The -second act differs from the first in that it is all but actionless. -In it, however, is presented the catastrophe of the tragedy--the -discovery of the guilt of the ill-starred lovers by King Marke. The -scene is a garden before Queen Isolde's chamber; the time, a lovely -night in summer. A torch burns in a ring beside the door leading from -the chamber into the garden. The King has gone a-hunting, and as the -curtain rises the tones of the hunting horns dying away in the distance -blend entrancingly with an instrumental song from the orchestra, which -seems a musical sublimation of night and nature in their tenderest -moods. Isolde appears with Brangäne, and pleads with her to extinguish -the torch and thus give a signal to Tristan, who is waiting in -concealment. But Brangäne suspects treachery on the part of Melot, a -knight who is jealous of Tristan and himself enamoured of Isolde, and -who had planned the nocturnal hunt. She warns her mistress and begs her -to wait. In their dialogue there is lovely fencing with the incident -of the vanishing sounds of the hunt like Shakespeare's dalliance with -nightingale and lark, in "Romeo and Juliet." Beauty rests upon this -scene like a benediction. To Isolde the horns are but the rustling of -the forest leaves as they are caressed by the wind, or the purling -and laughing of the brook. Longing has eaten up all patience, all -discretion, all fear. She extinguishes the torch in spite of Brangäne's -pleadings, and with wildly waving scarf beckons on her hurrying lover. -Beneath the foliage they sing their love through all the gamut of -hope and despair. The text of their duet consists largely of detached -ejaculations and verbal plays, each paraphrasing and varying or giving -a new turn to the outpouring of the other, the whole permeated with -the symbolism of pessimistic philosophy, in which night and death and -oblivion (which have their symbols in the music) are glorified, and -day and life (which also have their symbols) and memory are contemned. -There is transporting music in the duet, and many evidences that in -it Wagner wrote and composed with tremendous enthusiasm, veritably -with a pen of fire. In the dialogue of this scene lies the key of the -entire philosophy of the tragedy. We ought to know this, but we do -not need to justify it. If I were to indulge in the unnecessary luxury -of criticism, I should suggest that pessimistic philosophy transmitted -through verbal plays which are carried far beyond the limits of reason, -if not to the verge of childishness, is not good dramatic matter, and -half an hour of it is too much. Swinburne, who repeatedly makes use of -metaphors and thoughts which tempt one to believe that he made a study -of Wagner's drama, also attempts a dalliance with the images of night -and day which fill so many of Wagner's pages, but with a difference, -and his Iseult, unlike the German Isolde, checks Tristram's song -wherein he asks: - - "Love, is it day that makes thee thy delight, - Or thou that seest day made out of thy light?" - -by calmly observing, - - "I have heard men sing of love a simpler way - Than these wrought riddles made of night and day." - -I have said that we ought to know something of the philosophy of -the tragedy. In Wagner's exposition of the prelude he wishes us to -observe the "one glimmering of the highest bliss of attainment" in the -surrender of being, the "final redemption into that wondrous realm -from which we wander farthest when we try to take it by force." For -this wondrous realm he chooses death and night as symbols, but what he -means to imply is the Nirvana of Buddhistic philosophy, the "final -deliverance of the soul from transmigration." Nirvana is the antithesis -of Sansâra. Sansâra, the world, means turmoil and variety, and each new -transmigration means another relapse into the miseries of existence. -The love of Tristan and Isolde presents itself to Wagner as ceaseless -struggle and endless contradiction, and for such a problem there is -but one solution--total oblivion. Nirvana is the only conception which -offers a happy outcome to such love; it means quietude and identity. - -The duet is rudely interrupted in its moment of supremest ecstasy by -a warning cry from Brangäne. Kurwenal dashes in with a sword and a -shout: "Save thyself, Tristan!" King Marke, Melot, and courtiers at -his heels. Day, the symbol of all that is fatal to their love, has -dawned. Tristan is silent, though King Marke, in a long speech, bewails -the treachery of his nephew and friend. Much ridicule has been poured -out on this scene, which the ordinary theatre-goer finds dramatically -disappointing. There can be no question that the popular sentiment is -better expressed by Tennyson, in the corresponding scene in his poem, -"The Last Tournament:" - - "But while he bow'd to kiss the jewell'd throat, - Out of the dark, just as the lips had touch'd, - Behind him rose a shadow and a shriek-- - 'Mark's way,' said Mark, and clove him thro' the brain." - -One need not be an advocate to say that though Marke's sermonizing may -be theatrically disappointing, it offers in itself a complete defence -of its propriety. From the words of the heart-torn king we learn that -he had been forced into the marriage by the disturbed state of his -kingdom, and that he had not consented to it until Tristan (whose -purpose it was to quiet the jealous anger of the barons) had threatened -to depart from Cornwall unless the King revoked his decision to make -him his successor. Tristan's answer to the sorrowful upbraidings -of Marke is to obtain a promise from Isolde to follow him into the -"wondrous realm of Night;" then (note this as bearing on the ethics of -the drama), seeing that Marke did not wield the sword of retribution, -he makes a feint of attacking Melot, but permits the treacherous friend -to reach him with his sword. He falls wounded unto death. - - - V. - -The dignified, reserved knight of the first act, the impassioned lover -of the second, is now a dream-haunted, longing, despairing, dying -man, lying under a lime-tree in the yard of his ancestral castle in -Brittany, wasting his last bit of strength in feverish fancies and -ardent longings touching Isolde. Kurwenal has sent for her. Will she -come? A shepherd tells of vain watches for the sight of a sail by -playing a mournful melody on his pipe. What a vast expanse of empty sea -is opened to our view by the ascending passages in long-drawn thirds! -How vividly we are made to realize the ebbing away of Tristan's vital -powers! - -In the music of this act, if anywhere in the creations of Wagner, we -are lifted above the necessity of seeking significances. Even the -pianoforte can speak the language of this act. There is not one measure -in it which does not tell its story in a manner which puts mere words -to shame. Oh, the heart-hunger of the hero! The longing! Will she -never come? The fever is consuming him, and his heated brain breeds -fancies which one moment lift him above all memories of pain, and the -next bring him to the verge of madness. Cooling breezes waft him again -towards Ireland, whose princess healed the wound struck by Morold, then -ripped it up again with the avenging sword with its telltale nick. From -her hands he took the drink whose poison sears his heart. Accursed -the cup and accursed the hand that brewed it! Will the shepherd never -change his doleful strain? Ah, Isolde, how beautiful you are! The ship, -the ship! It must be in sight! Kurwenal, have you no eyes? Isolde's -ship! A merry tune bursts from the shepherd's pipe. It is caught up by -the orchestra and whirled away on an ocean of excited sound. It is the -ship! What flag flies at the peak? The flag of "All's well!" Now the -ship disappears behind a cliff. There the breakers are treacherous. -Who is at the helm? Friend or foe? Melot's accomplice? Are you, too, a -traitor, Kurwenal? - -Tristan's strength is unequal to the excitement of the moment. His -mind becomes dazed. He hears Isolde's voice, and his wandering fancy -transforms it into the torch whose extinction once summoned him to -her side: "Do I hear the light?" He staggers to his feet and tears -the bandages from his wound. "Ha, my blood, flow merrily now! She who -opened the wound is here to heal it!" Life endures but for one embrace, -one glance, one word--"Isolde!"--which is borne to her ears by the -sadly sweet phrase, typical of the first glance of love--the word and -tones which first he had uttered after the potion had made him forget -all but his love. - -While Isolde lies mortally stricken upon Tristan's corpse, Marke and -his train arrive upon a second ship. Brangäne has told the secret of -the love-draught, and the king has come to unite the lovers. But his -purpose is not known, and faithful Kurwenal receives his death-blow -while trying to hold the castle against Marke's men. He dies at -Tristan's side. Isolde, unconscious of all these happenings, sings out -her broken heart and expires. - - "And ere her ear might hear, her heart had heard, - Nor sought she sign for witness of the word; - But came and stood above him, newly dead, - And felt his death upon her: and her head, - Bowed, as to reach the spring that slakes all drouth; - And their four lips became one silent mouth." - - - VI. - -The story of Tristan and Isolde, as it was sung by the minstrel knights -of the Middle Ages, is a picture of chivalry in its palmy days. We need -to bear this in mind when we approach the ethical side of Wagner's -version. In the music of the love duet and Isolde's death lies, -perhaps, the most powerful plea ever made for the guilty lovers. No -one will stray far from the judgment which the future will pronounce -on Wagner's creations, I imagine, who sets down Isolde's swan's song -as the choicest flower of Wagner's creative faculty, the culmination -of his powers as a composer. I do not believe that the purifying and -ennobling capacity of music was ever before or since demonstrated as it -is here. While listening to this tonal beatification, it is difficult -to hear the voice of reason pronouncing the judgment of outraged law. -Yet it is right that that voice should be heard. It is due to the -poet-composer that it should be heard. Wagner's attitude towards the -old legend differs vastly from that of the poets who preceded him in -treating it. - -In the days of chivalry depicted by Gottfried von Strassburg and the -other mediæval poets who have sung the passion of these lovers, the -odor which assails our moral sense as the odor of death and decay was -esteemed the sweetest incense that arose from a poet's censer. Read -the _Wachtlieder_ of the German _Minnesinger_. The German _Wachtlied_, -the Provençal _alba_, is the song sung by the squire or friend watching -without, warning the lovers to separate. Brangäne's song in the second -act is such a _Wachtlied_. Read the decisions of the Courts of Love, -which governed the actions of chivalrous knighthood when chivalry was -at its zenith. Again and again was it proclaimed by these tribunals -that conjugal duty shut out the possibility of love between husband -and wife. In the economy of feudal castle life there was no provision -for women. The place was the domicile of warriors. Daughters of the -lord of the castle were married off in childhood. Who, then, could -be the object of knightly love? The answer is not far to seek. The -service of woman to which mediæval knighthood was devoted, the service -which is celebrated in words which we can scarcely accept, except as -wildest hyperbole, was the service paid to another man's wife. And -the fact that the knight himself had a wife was not a hinderance but -an incentive to the service which was the occupation of his life. Now -think for a moment on Wagner's modification of the Tristram legend. -From it he eliminates the second Iseult. His hero cannot contract a -loveless marriage, and at one stroke one element in the attitude of the -sexes which appears strange, unnatural, and shocking to us, is wiped -from the story. - -The versions of Gottfried von Strassburg, Matthew Arnold, Swinburne, -Tennyson, and Wagner present three points of view from which the love -of the tragic pair must be studied. With the first three the drinking -is purely accidental, and the passion which leads to the destruction -of the lovers is something for which they are in no wise responsible. -With Tennyson there is no philter, and the passion is all guilty. -With Wagner the love exists before the dreadful drinking, and the -potion is less a maker of uncontrollable passion than a drink which -causes the lovers to forget duty, honor, and the respect due to the -laws of society. It is a favorite idea of Wagner's that the hero of -tragedy should be a type of humanity freed from all the bonds of -conventionality. It is unquestionable in my mind that in his scheme we -are to accept the love-potion as merely the agency with which Wagner -struck from his hero the shackles of convention. - -Unquestionably, as Bayard Taylor argued, the love-draught is the Fate -of the Tristan drama, and this brings into notice the significance of -Wagner's chief variation. It is an old theory, too often overlooked -now, that there must be at least a taint of guilt in the conduct of a -tragic hero in order that the feeling of pity excited by his sufferings -may not overcome the idea of justice in the catastrophe. This theory -was plainly an outgrowth of the deep religious purpose of the Greek -tragedy. Wagner puts antecedent and conscious guilt at the door of -both his heroic characters. They love before the philter, and do not -pay the reverence to the passion which, in the highest conception, it -commands. Tristan is carried away by love of power and glory before -men, and himself suggests and compels by his threats Marke's marriage, -which is a crime against the love which he bears Isolde and she bears -him. There is guilt enough in Isolde's determination and effort to -commit murder and suicide. Thus Wagner presents us the idea of Fate -in the latest and highest aspect that it assumed in the minds of -the Greek poets, and he arouses our pity and our horror, not only -by the sufferings of the principals, but also by making an innocent -and amiable prompting to underlie the action which brings down the -catastrophe. It is Brangäne's love for her mistress that persuades -her to shield her from the crime of murder and protect her life. From -whatever point of view the question is treated, it seems to me that -Wagner's variation is an improvement on the old legend, and that the -objection, which German critics have urged, that the love of the pair -is merely a chemical product, and so, outside of human sympathy, falls -to the ground. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - "DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÃœRNBERG." - - -Once upon a time--if I were disposed to be circumstantial I would -say in the early summer of the year of our Lord 1560, for it was the -year of Hans Sachs' widowerhood--Veit Pogner, desiring to honor the -craft of the master-singers in Nuremberg, to whose guild he belonged, -offered a rare prize as the reward of the victor in a singing contest -to be held on St. John's Day. Pogner was a rich silversmith who had -travelled much, who had loved the arts of song and song-making, and -whose pride had been hurt by the discovery that the gentry and nobility -of the German nation affected to despise the humble burgher for his -too great devotion to money-getting, unmindful of the fact, which -Pogner knew full well, that what there was of art-love and devotion and -talent was possessed and encouraged by the common people. It was for -this reason that he resolved to stimulate a supreme effort in the form -of art which most interested him, and the prize which he offered was -nothing less than his only child Eva in marriage, with all his great -wealth as a dowry. But Eva, dutiful in the main if rather forward and -self-willed, was little inclined to be bestowed as a prize unless she -had the picking of the winner. The fact is, she had lost her heart to -a handsome young knight from Franconia--in the course of a flirtation -carried on during divine service, I regret to say--and had told him -so in a somewhat impetuous manner, scarcely consistent with modern -notions on the subject of young women's behavior. She had not thought -it necessary to take her father into her confidence, and so the young -Franconian knight, who had come to Nuremberg to repair his fortunes, -was reduced to the extremity of entering the Guild of master-singers, -so that he might be qualified to go into the competition on the morrow. -A trial of candidates for admission to the guild had been announced for -that very day after divine service, and Walther von Stolzing (that was -the young knight's name) entered the lists. But, alas! he knew nothing -of the code of laws which governed the structure of master-songs and -prescribed the thirty-two offences which must not be committed. Nor did -he count on the fact that the adjudicator who would keep tally of his -violations of those laws would be Sixtus Beckmesser, the town-clerk, -whose longing glances were also turned in Eva's direction--or, at -least, towards her father's gold. He went into the contest trusting -to the inspiration of his love and his memory of the spirit which -breathes through the songs of that ardent old nature-lover, Walther von -der Vogelweide, whom the master-singers counted among the founders -of their guild, to carry him through. When the time came for him to -improvise a song which was to determine whether or not he was fit to -be a master-singer, he sang: now pouring out an ecstasy of feeling, -and anon scorching with scornful allusions the jealous pedant behind -the judge's curtain. In a burst of enthusiasm he rose from the chair -in which the code required the singer to sit, and this completed his -discomfiture. Hans Sachs, who, as he used to say, was "shoemaker and -poet, too," indeed had recognized evidences of genius in the song, and -its newness of style and indifference to ancient formula seemed to him -to weigh little as against its freshness and eloquence and ardor. But -Sachs could not prevent judgment going against the singer. That night -the young couple resolved to elope and seek their happiness outside -the code of laws of the Master-singers, but were interrupted by the -circumstance that Sachs, haunted by the song of the knight whose cause -he had espoused, was unable to sleep, and had resolved to finish a pair -of shoes ordered by Beckmesser. Sachs was kindly disposed towards the -lovers, but he had a strong sense of the duty due to parents. He saw -the pair in the shadow of a tree while he was musing on the occurrences -of the day, and suspected their purpose, as, indeed, he well might, for -Eva had changed her head-dress for that of her maid, Magdalena. As if -without special purpose, he drew his bench to the door, and threw a -ray of light across the street, through which they would be obliged to -pass. In another moment the malicious town-clerk appeared on the scene -with a lute. He had come to serenade Eva, in the hope of making an -impression which would be useful to him on the morrow, for it had been -stipulated that though the winner of the prize must be a master-singer, -yet Eva was to have a voice in the decision. While Magdalena took -her place at the window to delude Beckmesser with the belief that -his serenade was being listened to by its object, Sachs interrupted -the malicious clown by lustily shouting a song as he cobbled at the -bench, pleading in extenuation, when Beckmesser remonstrated with -him, that he must finish the shoes, for want of which Beckmesser had -twitted him at the meeting in St. Catherine's Church a few hours -before. Finally, having reduced the boor to the verge of distraction, -Sachs agreed to listen to his serenade, provided he were allowed the -privilege of playing adjudicator and marking the errors of composition -by striking his lapstone. The errors were not few, and, as you may -imagine, each critical tap threw Beckmesser into more of a rage, until -he lost his head altogether, and Sachs beat such a tattoo on his -lapstone that he had finished his work when Beckmesser came to the -end of his song, which, we may believe, was comical enough. And now, -to complete Beckmesser's misery, David, an apprentice of Sachs' and -Magdalena's sweetheart, thinking that the serenade had been intended -for her, began to belabor the singer with a club; the hubbub called the -neighbors into the street, and, as many of them bore little grudges -against each other, they took occasion to feed them all fat. A right -merry brawl was in progress when the watchman's horn was heard. Quick -as a flash the brawlers disappeared, and when the sleepy old watchman -entered the street none of the peace disturbers was to be seen; the -old Dogberry stared about him in amazement, rubbed his eyes, sang the -monotonous chant which told the hour and cautioned the burghers against -spooks, and walked off in the peaceful moonlight. - -Next morning Walther, who had been taken in by Sachs, sang the recital -of a dream which had enriched his sleep. It was as beautiful in the -telling as in the experience, and Sachs transcribed it, punctuating -the pauses with bits of advice which enabled Walther easily to throw -it into the form of a master-song which would pass the muster even of -the pedantic code, though a few liberties were taken in the matter -of melody. While Sachs was absent from his shop to don clothes meet -for the coming festivities, Beckmesser came in and found the song, -which he conveyed to his own pocket. Sachs, returning, discovered -the theft, and gave the song to the thief, who, knowing Sachs' great -talent in composition, secured a promise from him not to claim it as -his own, and to permit him to sing it at the contest. This suited -Sachs' purposes admirably. A few hours later all the good people of -Nuremberg were gathered on the meadow just outside the walls, which -was their customary place of merrymaking. The guilds were there--the -cobblers and tailors and bakers and toy-makers--God bless 'em!--with -trumpeters and drummers and pipers, and hundreds of spruce apprentices; -and the master-singers with their banner and insignia, headed by Sachs. -Beckmesser was there, too, with the words of Walther's song whirling -in a hopeless maze in his addled pate. He tried to sing it, but made -a monstrously stupid parody, and when the populace hooted and railed -and jeered at him for presuming to aspire to the hand of the beauteous -Eva he flew into a rage, charged the authorship of the song which had -caused his downfall on Sachs, and left the field to his rival Walther, -who, to vindicate Sachs' statement that the song was a good one when -well sung, presently burdened the air with its loveliness, adding, in -his enthusiasm, an improvised apostrophe to Eva and the Parnassus of -poetry. Master-singers, people--and Eva--were agreed that the gallant -knight had won the prize, and Sachs gently compelled him, in spite -of his protest, to take the master-singer's medallion along with the -bride, and charged him never more to affect to despise the German -masters of song, whose works shall live though the Holy Roman Empire go -up in smoke. - - - I. - -The story of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" furnishes more food for -reflection than one might think at first blush, and opens a channel -of thought not commonly used when Wagner is in mind. It is a comedy, -and it is easiest to think of Wagner as a tragedian. Yet it is not the -smallest of his achievements that, more thoroughly and consistently -than any dramatist of our time, he has in his works restored the -boundary line which in the classic world separated comedy from -tragedy. In "Tannhäuser," "Tristan und Isolde," and "The Niblung's -Ring" are found examples of the old tragedy type. They deal with grand -passions, and their heroes are gods or god-like men who are shattered -against Fate. His only essay in the field of comedy was made in "Die -Meistersinger," and this is as faithful to the old conception of -comedy as the other dramas are to the classic ideals of tragedy. It -deals with the manners and follies and vices of the common people, and -exemplifies the purpose of comedy as it was set down in one of the -truest and best definitions ever written. It aims to chastise manners -with a smile. There are two ways of looking at "Die Meistersinger." It -can be weighted with a symbolical character, or it can be taken as an -example of pure comedy, with no deeper significance than lies on the -easily-reached surface of its lines, action, and music. There is no -doubt that Wagner conceived it as a satire, and it is even possible -(although I can recall no direct statement of his to that effect) that -he intended to chastise with it the spirit of conservatism and pedantry -which was for so long a time a stumbling-block in the way of his -system. Telling of his first draft of the comedy in 1845, immediately -after the completion of "Tannhäuser," he said that he had planned it -as a satyr-play after the tragedy, and, conceiving Hans Sachs as the -last example of the artistically productive Folk-spirit, had placed -him in opposition to the master-singer burgherdom, to whose droll and -rule-of-thumb pedantry he gave individual expression in the character -of the adjudicator, or _Merker_. This statement, although it was made -nearly a generation before the comedy was written, justifies the -assumption that it was his purpose in it to celebrate the triumph of -the natural poetic impulse, stimulated by communion with nature, over -pedantic formulas. But a word of caution should be uttered against the -autobiographic stamp which some extremists have wanted to impress upon -it. The comedy is not rendered more interesting or its satire more -admirable by thinking of Walther as the prototype of Wagner himself, -of Beckmesser as Wagner's opponents, and of Hans Sachs as King Ludwig, -embodying in himself, furthermore, the symbol of enlightened public -opinion, which neither despises rules nor is willing to be ridden -by them. Such an exposition of its symbolism lies near enough in -its broad lines, but there is danger in carrying it through all the -details of the plot. When it is too far pushed, critics will ask in -the future, as they have asked in the past, how this can be accepted -as the satirical motive of the comedy when the hero who triumphs over -the supposed evil principle in the drama does so, not to advance the -virtue which stands in opposition to that evil principle, but simply -to win a bride--a purpose that is purely selfish, however amiable and -commendable it may be. Walther does, indeed, discover himself as the -champion of spontaneous, vital art, and the antagonist of the pedantry -represented by the master-singers; but this is not until after he -has learned that he can only win the young lady by himself becoming -a member of the guild, and defeating all comers at the tournament of -song. Knowing none of the rules, he boldly relies on the potency of -the inspiration begotten by his love, and does his best under the -circumstances; that he ultimately succeeds he owes to the help of -Sachs, and the fact that his rival defeats himself by resorting to foul -means. Besides, to justify fully this dramatic scheme, Beckmesser ought -not to have been made the blundering idiot and foolish knave that he -appears to be in the stage versions, but at the worst a short-sighted, -narrow-minded, and perhaps malicious pedant. As he stands in the stage -representations Beckmesser is an ill-natured and wicked buffoon, a -caricature of a peculiarly gross kind, and only an infinitesimally -tiny corrective idea lies in the fact that a manly young knight who -loves a pretty young woman should have saved her from falling into such -a rival's hands by marrying her himself. He would have had the vote of -the public on his side if he had sung like a crow and Beckmesser like -Anacreon. - - - II. - -If we will look upon the contest symbolized in the comedy, not as -that between Wagner and his contemporaries, but as between the two -elements in art whose opposition stimulates life, and whose union, -perfect, peaceful, mutually supplemental, is found in every really -great art-work, I think we shall come pretty near the truth. At least, -we will have an interesting point of view from which to study its -musical and literary structure. Simply for convenience sake let us -call these two principles Romanticism and Classicism. The terms are a -little vague, entirely arbitrary, and if we were seeking scientific -exactness we should be obliged to condemn their use. Popularly, they -are conceived as antithetical in the critical history of literature as -well as music. It is in this sense (with a difference) that I wish to -use them. - -If the history of music be looked at with a view to discovering -the spirit which animates its products rather than observing their -integument, it will be found that from the beginning two forces have -been in operation, and by their antagonism have done the work of -progressive creation. In the religious chant, with its restrictive -clog (the fruit of superstitious veneration and fear) we find that -manifestation of the spirit of antique music which was chiefly -instrumental in its establishment and regulation. To that spirit -tribute above its meed is paid in the hand-books which begin the -history of modern music with the chants of the Christian Church. The -other spirit, having been cultivated outside the church, has had -fewer historians to do it reverence. It is the free, untrammelled -impulse which rests on the law of nature and refuses the domination -of formal rule and restrictive principle. On the love-song, war-song, -and hunting-song of early man, on the cradle-song crooned by early -woman, there rested not the weight of superstitious fear and hope which -fettered the religious chant. They were individual manifestations of -feeling, and in them the fancy was free to discover and use all the -tonal and rhythmical combinations which might be helpful in giving -voice to emotion. The mission of this spirit (which I will call -Romanticism to distinguish it from the conservative, and regulative -spirit which I will call Classicism) was fulfilled, during the -artificiality and all-pervading scholasticism of the Middle Ages, by -the _Minnesinger_ and _trouvère_; and though the death of chivalry -ended that peculiar ministry, the spirit continued to live as it had -lived from the beginning, as it still lives and will live _in sæcula -sæculorum_, in the people's songs and dances. When the composers of -two hundred and fifty years ago began to develop instrumental music -they found the germ of the sonata form--the form that made Beethoven's -symphonies possible--in the homely dance tunes of the people which till -then had been looked upon as vulgar things, wholly outside the domain -of polite art. The genius of the masters of the last century moulded -this form of plebeian ancestry into a vessel of wonderful beauty; but -by the time this had been done the capacity of music as an emotional -language had been greatly increased, and the same Romantic spirit -which had originally created the dance forms that they might embody -the artistic impulses of that early time, suggested the filling of the -vessel with the new contents. When the vessel would not hold these new -contents it had to be widened. New bottles for new wine. That is the -whole mystery of what conservative critics decry as the destruction of -form in music. It is not destruction, but change. When you destroy form -you destroy music, for the musical essence can manifest itself only -through form. - -As a perfectly natural result of the development of this beautiful and -efficient vessel called the Sonata form, a love of symmetry and order, -of correct logic and beautiful sequence, came to dominate composers, -and it is a relic of this love, a love which we must not despise in -such masters as Haydn and Mozart, which led them to fill so many of -their compositions with repetitions of parts and conventional passages -that appear meaningless and wearisome to us. They were written in -compliance with the demands of form. - - - III. - -For the purposes of our exposition of the symbolism of Wagner's comedy, -of the meaning of its satire, we shall have to look upon classical -composers as those who developed music chiefly on its formal side and -conserved the laws which enabled them to reach one ideal of beauty. -The Romantic composers will then be those who sought their ideals in -other regions than the formal, and strove to give them expression -irrespective--or, if necessary, in defiance--of the conventions of law. -Romanticism will appear to us as the creative principle, and hence we -shall find it in Wagner's comedy associated with Youth, its passions -and enthusiasms; with Love, and heedless, reckless daring; with Spring -and blooming time; with the singing of birds and the perfume of -flowers; with assertion of the right of unfettered utterance and denial -of the wisdom or justice of reflection and moderation. - -Do not visions corresponding with these attributes rise up out of the -incidents of the play? The lovers, with their impetuous love-making -and reckless resolve which sapient Sachs frustrates; Walther's songs -in the first act, telling of Spring releasing Nature from her icy -shackles and winning her smiles, while sunlight and birds and meadow -flowers, and the old poet who sang the praises of them and was named -after the mead he loved, united in teaching him the art of song; the -bold defiance of the master-singers and their code; the rejection of -the medal when it had been won. Classicism, in turn, will appear as -the regulative and conservative principle, and its association in the -play will be with maturity of age and moderation in thought and action; -with personages in whom the creative impulse is not an elemental force, -but a pleasure or a duty which waits upon the judgment; also, for -satirical purposes, with a guild of handicraftsmen and tradespeople -who enforce an apprenticeship in art as they do in trade; who think -that by adherence to rule artworks may be created as shoes are made -over a last; who are pompous in their pedantry and amiable only in -the holy simplicity of their earnestness, their vanity, and their -complacency. Such are the associations which arise when the pictures of -the comedy are passed in hasty review; and they have been grievously -incomplete. They have omitted the real hero of the play, the poet -who belongs to the guild and upholds its laws while battling for the -spirit represented by him who falls under the condemnation of those -very laws. Where is Hans Sachs? Search him out. You will find him -in the midst of the combatants fighting valiantly _on both sides_; -representing a principle at once creative and conservative, standing, -in the history of artistic development, for those true geniuses who -breathe the breath of life into the body, not for the purpose of -destruction, but that the spirit may become manifest in the flesh. - -It is contest which brings life. All the great classical composers from -Brahms back to Bach have had their moments of Romantic feeling; it is -never absent from the truly creative artist; but its most eloquent -expression was reserved for our century. You recognize it in the whole -body of instrumental music, beginning with Beethoven; you yield to its -influence when you hear the operas of Gluck, Mozart, and Weber. The -musicians whose influence was strongest when Wagner began his reforms -were frank in their protestations of allegiance to this conception of -Romanticism: "The Spirit builds the forms, or finds them ready-built, -and refashions them according to its needs and desires," said Marx. -"If you wish to adopt art as a profession you cannot accustom yourself -early enough to consider the contents of an art-work as more important -and serious a matter than its structure," said Mendelssohn, the -greatest master of form that the century has known. "That would be a -trivial art which would have only sounds but no language or signs for -the conditions of the soul," said Schumann. - -Wagner was too thorough an artist, too profound a musician, not to -recognize the value of constructive law. He would have been false -to his principles and false to his practice had he written a comedy -for the purpose of glorifying mere lawlessness. Had this been his -purpose he would not have told us as he has that it was Sachs whom he -intended to oppose to the spirit of pedantry and formalism personified -in Beckmesser. Sachs has no condemnation to pronounce on the laws of -the guild of which he was the brightest ornament. On the contrary, he -upholds them even against Walther, and persuades him to adopt them in -the composition of his prize song, just as after the victory is won he -admonishes him to give the reverence due to the masters. What he learns -from Walther, and impresses on his colleagues, is the need of adapting -form to spirit, and the mental conflict which brings him to this -conviction is a reflection of that creative activity which looks to the -short-sighted like destructive war, but is exemplified in the works of -the great masters as the highest peace. We can gain an insight into the -musical structure of the comedy, and find proofs for our contention at -the same time, if we observe Sachs under the influence of this seeming -contradiction. - -It is evening, and the poet has returned to his cobbler's bench. The -scent of the elder-tree, the charm of the summer night, will not -permit him to work; they turn his thoughts to poetry; but memories of -Walther's song come over him, and under their influence he can neither -work nor compose. There was an inexplicable charm in the song. No rule -would fit it, yet it was faultless. It was new and strange, yet sounded -old and familiar, like the carolling of birds in May-time. To try to -imitate it would result in shame and contumely. That he knew. Where lay -the mystery? At last he discovers it. The song was the voice of Spring, -of the heyday of the singer's life and passion. The need of utterance -brought with it the capacity and the privilege. All this we may learn -from the words of Sachs, while the music tells us of what is passing -through his mind in the intervals of his soliloquizing. This music is -built up out of a very short phrase, but it is the phrase which may be -set down as the chief musical symbol of the spirit which I have called -Romanticism: - - [Illustration: score] - -To learn why this phrase should haunt the mind of Sachs its genesis -must be traced. It is found first to enter the score of the drama -(after the prelude) to accompany a tender but urgent glance of inquiry -which Walther bestows on Eva in the first scene between the lines of -the _chorale_ sung by the congregation: - - [Illustration: score] - -Next, when Eva shyly rebukes his ardor with a glance, but quickly -returns it with emotion: - - [Illustration: score] - -When the congregation breaks up, Walther, gazing intently on Eva, from -whom he had received a look which confessed her love (accompanied by -a phrase which afterwards plays an important role in his prize song), -hurries to address her; his eagerness is published by the orchestra in -this variation of the phrase: - - [Illustration: score] - -A threefold augmentation of the phrase is shown in these examples, -which suffice to identify it with one of the fundamental feelings -concerned in the play. It depicts or typifies the youthful impetuosity -of the lovers, the ardor of their passion before it had been confessed -in words. Is not its fitness for such a mission obvious? Observe the -eagerness which the triplet injects into its rhythm, the ebulliency -expressed by the tendency of its melody to ascend ever higher and -higher in the regions of tonality. Poetical association consorts -analogous attributes with Love and Youth and Spring-time; and it is in -the song which Walther sings in praise of Spring and Love--his trial -song in the first act--that the phrase receives its most eloquent -treatment. Note the irrepressible enthusiasm of its proclamation in -this song (_Fanget an!_); how, after a peaceful announcement, it -surges upward and ever upward in the accompaniment, until the voice -can no longer hold out against but is borne up on it, until left by a -scintillant explosion which seems to be the only means at hand to bring -the jubilant phrase back into control. This is the Romantic expression -which haunted the mind of Sachs when, after the stormy meeting in St. -Catherine's Church, he thought to work in the perfumed quiet of the -evening. - - - IV. - -In broad lines the prelude to "Die Meistersinger" not only serves to -delineate the characteristic traits of the personages concerned in -the comedy, but also exhibits Wagner's method of musical exposition, -and teaches the lesson which is at the bottom of the satire--the -lesson, namely, that it is through the union of the two principles, -which until the close of the play appear in conflict, that a genuine -work of art is quickened. The prelude contains the whole symbolism -of the comedy in a nutshell. In form it is unique, but in so far as -it employs only melodies drawn from the play it may not incorrectly -be classed with the medley overtures which composers used to throw -together for ante-curtain music. It is the manner in which Wagner -has treated his melodies, and the delineative capacity with which he -has endowed them, that render the prelude a capital exemplification -of the theory advanced by Gluck, when, in his preface to "Alceste," -he said, "I imagined that the overture ought to prepare the audience -for the action of the piece, and serve as a kind of argument to it." -Wagner follows this precept and the example set by Beethoven in the -"Leonore" overtures, and indicates the elements of the plot, their -progress in its development, and finally the outcome, in his symphonic -introduction. The melodies which are its constructive material are -of two classes, broadly distinguished in external physiognomy and -emotional essence. They are presented first consecutively, then as in -conflict (first one, then another, pushing forward for expression), -finally in harmonious and contented union. It should always be borne in -mind that no matter how numerous the hand-books--which a witty German -critic called "musical Baedeckers"--if one wishes to know Wagner's -purpose in the use of a typical phrase or melody, he need take no one's -word for it except Wagner's. He can turn to the score and trace it out -himself, learning its meaning from the words and situations with which -it is associated. If this plan be followed, it will be seen that the -master-singers are throughout the comedy characterized by two melodies, - - [Illustration: score] - -and - - [Illustration: score] - -Note that as the master-singers belonged to the solid burghers of -old Nuremberg--a little vain, as was to be expected in the upholders -of an institution of great antiquity and glorious traditions; staid, -dignified, and complacent, as became the free citizens of a free -imperial city, whose stout walls sheltered the best in art and -science that Germany could boast--so these two melodies are strong, -simple tunes; sequences of the intervals of the simple diatonic -scale; strongly and simply harmonized; square-cut in rhythm; firm -and dignified, if a trifle pompous, in their stride. The three -melodies belonging to the class presented in opposition to the spirit -represented by the master-singers are disclosed by a study of the -comedy to be associated with the passion of the young lovers, Walther -and Eva, and those influences in nature which are the inspiration -of romantic utterance--spring-time, the birds, and flowers. They -differ in every respect--melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, as well as in -treatment--from the melodies which stand for the old master-singers and -their notions. They are chromatic; their rhythms are less regular and -more eager (through the agency of syncopation); they are harmonized -with greater warmth, and set for the instruments with greater passion. -The first, - - [Illustration: score] - -most surely tells us of the incipiency of the lovers' passion, for it -is the subject of the interludes between the lines of the _chorale_ -which accompany the flirtation in the church scene. The second, - - [Illustration: score] - -is again concerned with the passion, showing it in the phase of ardent -longing. Another is the melody to which Walther sings the last stanza -of his prize song. I have already quoted and described it as the -phrase to which Eva confesses her love by a gesture of the eyes in the -church scene. Lest the significance of that telltale glance should -not be recognized, observe that both lovers use the melody in their -protestations of devotion to each other at parting: - - [Illustration: score] - -The fourth is the impatiently aspiring phrase described in the analysis -of Sachs' monologue. - -There is another theme which is of less importance, seemingly, in the -score, but which plays a happy part in the comedy as it is prefigured -in the prelude. It is the rhythmically strongly-marked phrase with -which the populace jeers at Beckmesser, and effects his discomfiture in -the final scene of the play. - - [Illustration: score] - -This little phrase it is which performs the duty of musical satirist -in the middle part of the prelude, where the grotesque elements in the -character of Beckmesser are pictured. It is a _scherzando_ movement, -the master-singers' march melody being presented in diminution by the -choir of wood-wind instruments, which persist stubbornly in their -fussy cackling, in spite of the fact that the strings take every -opportunity to send some of the passionate, pushing, pulsating love -music surging through the desiccated mass of tones. Here it is that -Wagner chastises the foolish manners of the master-singers, as he does -later in the actual representation. The jeering phrase, started by the -middle strings, eventually cuts through the mass of tones, and when -the caricature of the broad melody, typical of the master-singers, -has been laughed out of court, the music which exemplifies the -freshness and vigor of Youth and Spring and Love, and their right -to free and spontaneous proclamation, masters the orchestra and -conquers recognition, and even celebration, from the representatives -of conservatism and pedantry. In the musical contest it is only the -perverted idea of Classicism which is treated with contumely and -routed; the glorification of the triumph of Romanticism is found in the -stupendously pompous and brilliant setting given to the master-singers' -music at the end. - -You see already in this prelude that Wagner is a true comedian. He -administers chastisement with a smile (_ridendo castigat mores_), and -chooses for its subject only things which are temporary aberrations -from the good. What is strong and true and pure and wholesome in the -art of the master-singers he permits to pass through his satirical -fires unscathed. Classicism in its original sense, as the conservator -of that which is highest and best in art, he leaves unharmed, -presenting her after her trial, as Tennyson presents his Princess, at -the close of his corrective poem, when - - "All - Her falser self slipt from her like a robe, - And left her woman, lovelier in her mood - Than in her mould that other, when she came - From barren deeps to conquer all with love." - - - V. - -The third act of the comedy is preceded by a prelude which, rightly -understood, reflects the cobbler-poet whom I have chosen to think the -real hero of the play, in the light in which he appears in the history -of German civilization and culture. Twice before, in the comedy, a -glimpse of him in that character had been given--in the summer evening, -after the meeting, when he could not work because he was haunted by the -memory of Walther's song, and again when, having found the solution -of the problem raised by that song, he drove away all the phantoms of -melancholy by his lusty cobbling song. Apparently that song is all -carelessness and contentment, but in reality it tells of the lofty -thinker and his melancholy, bred of his contemplation of the vanities -of the things with which he finds himself surrounded. - -This is the last stanza: - - "O Eve, my sore complaints attend, - My needs and dire distresses, - For underfoot mankind the cobbler's work of art oppresses. - If I'd no angel knew - What 'tis to make a shoe, - I'd leave this cobbling in a trice. - But when I go to his retreat, - I leave the world beneath my feet, - Myself I view, Hans Sachs a shoemaker and song-master too!" - -In the accompaniment to this stanza a phrase appears in the orchestra -(it is not in the simplified pianoforte scores) in which, as Wagner -himself puts it, there is "the bitter cry of resignation of the man -who shows to the world a cheerful and energetic mien." It is the -solemn phrase which gives character and color to Sachs' monologue in -the third act, when he contemplates the follies and petty passions of -humanity (_Wahn! Wahn! überall Wahn!_). It symbolizes for us Sachs, -the philosopher. To appreciate the full significance of the Nuremberg -cobbler as poet and thinker, a glance must be thrown upon a highly -important phase in the history of German culture. A new melody had -been put into that voice by the Reformation. Luther lived to be hailed -by it as "the Nightingale of Wittenberg" in a poem whose opening lines -Wagner ingeniously uses as a tribute to Sachs in the third act of the -comedy. It is the chorale, _Wach auf! Es nahet gen dem Tag._ - -The Reformation had revived interest in the old art of master-song -which had sunk into decadence under the edict of the Romish Church -prohibiting the reading of the Bible by the common people. The greatest -of the Nuremberg school of master-singers was inspired by the new dawn, -and Luther and Melanchthon looked up from the pages of Homer, Virgil, -and Horace to listen to the strange new melody which felt and sang with -and for the people. This character of Sachs, in all the details that I -have pointed out, is delineated in the prelude to the third act, whose -melodic contents are thus summarized: First, the contemplative phrase, -_Wahn! Wahn!_ next the Lutheran chorale, _Wach auf!_ a portion of the -cobbling song ("as if the man had turned his gaze from his handiwork -heavenwards, and was lost in tender musing," says Wagner); then the -chorale again, with increased sonority, and eventually the opening -phrase attuned to cheerfulness and resignation. - - - VI. - -Wagner's "Meistersinger von Nürnberg" is a comedy, and by that token is -more difficult of understanding and appreciation by persons unfamiliar -with the German tongue, history, and social customs than any of his -tragedies. In considering the latter, it is only the elements of -expression that need give us pause. In their essence, being true -tragedies, they are as much the property of one race as another. -This is not the case with comedies. They do not deal with the great -fundamental passions of humanity, but with the petty foibles and -follies and vices of a people. Being such, they vary with peoples and -with times, and their representation compels the use of historical -backgrounds, the application of local color. "Die Meistersinger" is -a capital illustration of this principle of dramatic poetry. As a -picture of the social life of a German city three hundred years ago -its vividness and truthfulness are beyond praise; it has no equal in -operatic literature, and few peers in the literature of the spoken -drama. It is absolutely photographic in its accuracy. To appreciate -this fact fully one must have visited Nuremberg, gone through its -museum, and turned over the records. With such assistance it is easy -to call up in fancy such a vision of its social life in the middle of -the sixteenth century as will form a most harmonious setting for the -series of pictures which Wagner created. It is still the quaintest -city in Germany, and full of relics of its old glory. Of these relics, -however, fewer belong to the time of the master-singers than an -investigator would be likely to imagine. In the Germanic Museum may -be found remains of many of the old guilds of the town, but none of -the Master-singers' Guild, except a tablet which once hung on the -walls of St. Catherine's Church and has been removed to the museum for -safe-keeping. The church, indeed, is still in existence, but its use -by the master-singers never brought it fame until after Wagner's comic -opera had been written, and now I doubt whether a hundred residents -of Nuremberg, aside from those who live in the immediate vicinity, -could even tell a visitor where to find it. For more than a century -it has been put to secular uses, and nothing of the interior remains -to indicate what it looked like in the time of Hans Sachs except the -walls. All the furniture and decorations were long ago removed, for -it has been a painters' academy, drawing-school, military hospital, -warehouse, public hall, and perhaps a dozen other things since it -ceased to be a place of public worship. Just now it is the paint-shop -of the Municipal Theatre. It is a small, unpretentious building, -absolutely innocent of architectural beauty, hidden away in the middle -of a block of lowly buildings used as dwellings, carpenter-shops, -and the like. I got the keys from a sort of police supervisor of -the district and inspected the interior in 1886. The janitor knew -nothing about its history beyond his own memory, and that compassed -only a portion of its career as a sort of municipal lumber-room. It -was built in the last half-decade of the thirteenth century, and on -its water-stained walls can be seen faint bits of the frescos which -once adorned it and were painted in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and -sixteenth centuries; but they are ruined beyond recognition or hope of -restoration. I went to the director of the Germanic Museum to learn -what had become of the old church furniture. He did not know. - -"Have you seen the tablet of the master-singers which we have -up-stairs?" he asked. - -"Yes." - -"Well, that is all that we have in the way of master-singer relics. If -you have seen that and the church, you have seen all, and will have to -compose the rest of the picture--draw on your imagination, or hire an -artist to do it for you." - -The tablet is really a more interesting relic than the church. It is a -small affair of wood, with two doors, and was painted by a Franz Hein -in 1581. On the doors are portraits of four distinguished members of -the guild. Two pictures occupy the middle panel, the upper, with a -charmingly naïve disregard of chronology, showing King David praying -before a crucifix; the lower, a meeting of master-singers with a -singer perched in a box-like pulpit. Over the heads of the assemblage -is a representation of the chain and medallion with which the victor -in a singing contest used to be decorated. Sachs gave one of these -ornaments to the guild, and it was used for a hundred years. By that -time, however, it had become so worn that Johann Christoph Wagenseil, a -professor of Oriental languages at the University of Altdorf (to whose -book, entitled _De Sacri Rom. Imperii Libera Civitate Noribergensi -Commentatio_, printed in 1697, we owe the greater part of our knowledge -of the art and customs of the _Meistersinger_), replaced it with -another. The tablet might offer suggestions to the theatrical costumer -touching the dress of the master-singers, and also the picture of David -and his harp which ornamented their banner; but old Nuremberg costumes -are familiar enough, and can be studied to better purpose elsewhere. -Only one feature suggests itself as worthy of special notice. On the -tablet the master-singers all appear wearing the immense neck-ruff of -the Elizabethan period. As for the architectural settings of the stage -in the first act (which plays in the Church of St. Catherine), so far -as I know no attempt at correctness has been made by scene-painters; -nor would it be possible to reproduce a picture of the church and still -follow Wagner's stage directions. Evidently the poet-composer never -took the trouble to visit the Church of St. Catherine. - - [Illustration: WOODEN TABLET OF THE MASTERSINGERS OF NUREMBERG.] - -I have said that, barring the church and tablet, there are no relics -of the old guild to be found in the Nuremberg of to-day. Until -lately it was supposed that the Municipal Library contained a number -of autographic manuscripts by Hans Sachs, but when I asked for them, -they were produced with the statement that they were no longer looked -upon as genuine. It did not require much investigation to convince -me that the claim long maintained that they were autographs of the -cobbler-poet rested wholly on presumption. Sachs autographs are -extremely scarce. The Royal Library at Berlin possesses a volume of -master-songs known to be in the handwriting of Sachs (among them is one -by Beckmesser), but when I was in the Prussian capital this treasure -was in Dresden, whither it had been sent to enable a literary student -to utilize it in the preparation of a book on Sachs. A Berlin scholar, -whom I found at work in the Nuremberg Library gathering material -for a new biography of Sachs, informed me that the greatest number -of Sachs autographs, and they not many, had been found in Zwickau, -whither they had been brought by some member of the Sachs family many -years ago. There are, then, no manuscript relics of him who was the -chief glory of the Nuremberg guild in the old town. You may drink a -glass of wine at the street-corner where tradition says the old poet -cobbled and composed, but the house is a modern one. Of his companions -in the guild I found no manuscripts in the library, and not one of -them left his mark in any way on the town. But I did find a number of -old manuscript volumes dating back two hundred years or more, which -served to vitalize in a peculiarly interesting manner the record which -the learned old Wagenseil left behind him, and some of the personages -of Wagner's comedy. Those who have taken the trouble to investigate -the source to which Wagner went for the people and customs introduced -in his "Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (Wagenseil's book) know that the -names of the master-singers who figure in the comedy once belonged to -veritable members of the Nuremberg guild. Wagenseil mentions them as -singers whose memories were cherished in his day, and some of them -were also mentioned by an older author, whose book, devoted chiefly -to the Strassburg guild, which at one time was even more famous than -that of Nuremberg, is referred to by Wagenseil. The book of the -Strassburg writer, singularly enough, was known to Wagenseil only as a -manuscript, and such it remained until two or three decades ago, when -it was printed by a literary society at Stuttgart. In Wagenseil's day -it was valued so highly that it was kept wrapped in silk, like the -sacred scrolls of the Jews, a circumstance that enabled the pedantic -Orientalist to air his learning on the subject for many pages in his -wofully discursive but extremely interesting book. But if Wagenseil -had not given his testimony, I could now bear witness to the fact that -Conrad Nachtigal, Hans Schwartz, Conrad Vogelgesang, Sixtus Beckmesser, -Hans Folz, Fritz Kothner, Balthasar Zorn, and Veit Pogner once lived -as well as Hans Sachs. I have read some of their poems and copied some -of the melodies invented by them and utilized by their successors in -the guild. The volumes containing these curiosities of literature have -been in the Municipal Library over one hundred years. In the catalogue -of the Bibliotheca Norica Williana, printed one hundred and sixteen -years ago, they are mentioned as having been purchased from an old -master-singer. Five of them are small oblong books of music paper, -upon which some old masters or apprentices in the art of master-song -have copied melodies which were much used at the meetings in St. -Catherine's Church. It was the custom of the members of the guild -to compose poems to fit these melodies. In the second scene of his -opera Wagner mentions a great many of the singular titles by which -these melodies or modes were designated. He got them from Wagenseil. -Besides these books, there are two immense manuscript volumes, in -which some industrious old lover of the poetical art transcribed songs -which he evidently thought admirable. They are each almost as large -as Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and must represent months, if not -years, of labor. One is devoted wholly to German paraphrases of Ovid's -"Metamorphoses," set to a great variety of melodies. The author is M. -Ambrosius Metzger, who was one of the few members of the guild who were -scholars. He wrote the poems in 1625. The other volume contains songs -by a great number of master-singers, though Hans Sachs is the principal -contributor. The plan of the volume indicates that it was a collection -of admired poems. It begins with paraphrases from the Pentateuch. -Some early pages are missing, the first poem preserved dealing with -the sixth chapter of Genesis. Chronological order is maintained up to -chapter twenty-eight of the same book. Then follow songs dealing with -the Gospels and Epistles. The Book of Job is not forgotten. Finally, -there are a number of secular poems, many recounting Æsop's fables and -anecdotes drawn from old writers. Songs of this character were composed -by the master-singers for diversion at their informal gatherings. At -the meetings in the Church of St. Catherine only sacred subjects were -allowed. It is for this reason that Wagner's Kothner asks Walther in -the opera whether he had chosen sacred matter (_ein heil'gen Stoff_) -for his trial song, which provokes the reply from the ardent young -knight that he would sing of love, a subject sacred to him. Whether -sacred or secular, however, the form and style of the songs are -alike. Nothing could more completely illustrate the absurdity of the -fundamental theory of the foolish old pedants that poetry might be -written by rule of thumb than the publication of a few of the songs in -this old book. The nature of the poetical frenzy which fills them can, -perhaps, be guessed if I record the fact that the majority of them, I -think, begin with a citation of chapter and verse, or some statement -equally matter of fact, as thus: - -"The twenty-ninth chapter of Genesis records," or "Diogenes, the wise -master," or "Strabo writes of the customs," or "Moses, the eleventh, -reports," or "The Lesser Book of Truth doth tell," etc. - -The last of these lines is the beginning of a master-song which has -a twofold interest. In the first place, it is a secular poem by Hans -Sachs which, to the best of my knowledge, has never been printed or -written about. In the second place, it is set to a melody by the -veritable Pogner who, in Wagner's comedy, offers his daughter and his -fortune to the winner in the singing contest which makes up Wagner's -last act. The poem is so amusing that I would like to give it entire -in English, but its irregularity of accent and peculiarities of -rhyme do not lend themselves willingly to translation. Of musical -accent the master-singers, who followed the rhyming rules of those -marvellously ingenious rhymesters the _Minnesinger_, had not the -slightest idea. Wagner knew that. Sachs' first critical tap on his -lapstone in Beckmesser's serenade is evoked by a blunder in accent -which the veritable Sachs would have passed unnoticed, though, being a -real poet, his sins in this respect were not as numerous as those of -his colleagues and predecessors. I content myself, therefore, with the -first _Stollen_, or stanza, and its _Abgesang_, or burden, which the -curious student will find to be composed in strict accordance with the -rules which, in the opera, Kothner reads from the blackboard. These -_Leges Tabulaturæ_, by-the-way, are almost a literal transcription from -the original laws preserved in Wagenseil's book. The matter of the song -is this: A boor falls ill. Finding that his appetite is wholly gone, -he calls in a physician, who informs him (in a drastic fashion) that -the trouble is caused by an accumulation of slime in the stomach. He -administers a purgative, but without result. The sickness increases, -and the boor upbraids the doctor, who retorts that his patient will -be a dead man within an hour unless he consent to having his stomach -taken out and scoured with chalk. The boor consents, the physician -performs the operation, cutting the man open with a pair of shears, -brushes out the offending organ with a wisp, and hangs it on the fence -to dry. What the farmer does meanwhile is not recorded; but before -the physician could replace his stomach a raven carried it off to the -woods and ate it. In this dilemma the physician disclosed himself as -a worthy progenitor of the modern race of surgeons. He was terribly -frightened, but didn't let any one see it. By stealth he procured a -sow's stomach, introduced it into the farmer's body, and quickly sewed -up the aperture. The farmer got well, and paid eight florins for the -job. But heavens, what an appetite was that which he developed! To -satisfy him now was utterly impossible, for which reason, concludes the -moralist, an insatiable eater is nowadays said to be a hog (literally -"to have a sow's stomach"), who devours more than he produces, as many -women lament: - - "Darum spricht man noch von ein Man, - Den man gar nicht erfuellen kan, - Wie er hab einen Sawmagen; - Verthut mehr denn er gewinnen kan, - Hoert man vil Frawen klagen." - - - FIRST _STOLLEN_. - [Illustration: score] - - The Less - er Book of Truth doth tell, - How ill - ness on a boor once fell, - Taste for all food de - stroy - ing; - A - gainst all drugs it did re - bel, - His pleas - ures all al - loy - ing....... - - One day there came a doc - tor wise, - Who glanced him o'er with search - ing eyes, - Found out what caused his ail - ing. - His learn - ing proof a - gainst sur - prise, - Made work like that plain sail - ing....... - - - THE _ABGESANG_. - [Illustration: score] - - "Far - mer, of all your pains... the cause, - Is slime with - in your stom - ach wide dis - tend - ing." - - The far - mer heard with gap - - ing jaws, - For gnaw - ing pains in - side his paunch were rend - ing. - - -The tale is an old one, popular in one form or another in the Middle -Ages. A variant of it is to be found in the _Gesta Romanorum_, to which -extraordinary collection of moral tales it is possible that Sachs -had reference when he spoke of the _Buch der Kleinen Wahrheit_, or -Lesser Book of Truth, as I have rendered it. In the _Gesta_, however, -the physician substitutes a goat's eye, and subjects his patient to -an extraordinary strabismus. Hans Sachs's variation is eminently -characteristic of the man and the people for whom he wrote. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - "DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN." - - -The common error of looking upon the outward covering of things for the -things themselves has led to the real plot of Wagner's tetralogical -drama "The Niblung's Ring" being overlooked by the majority of persons -who have written about it. Especially has the significance of the -prologue to the tragedy failed of appreciation. I shall try to tell -what I conceive to be the true story of the tragedy, and at least hint -at the meaning which that story had when it came into the mind of the -sagaman and myth-maker ages ago, which meaning, moreover, Richard -Wagner, unlike his modern predecessors among the poets who have treated -the subject, apprehended and conserved. - -It is a pretty solemn fact that unless this tragedy in four parts be -approached with other aims than mere diversion, much will be found -in it that appears ridiculous to the judgment, no matter how it -affects the senses. To some it may seem a fatal confession to say -that sincere and sufficient enjoyment of "The Niblung's Ring" is only -to be had by persons willing to let critical judgment wait upon the -imagination; yet I am willing to make that confession, and even to -augment it by the statement that there are scenes in the tragedy when -even this unfettered faculty must needs be as ingenuous as the "raised -imagination" of Charles Lamb at his first play, which transformed -the glistering substance on the pillars of Old Drury into "glorified -sugar-candy." Yet I do not believe that thereby the potential beauty, -impressiveness, and significance of the tragedy are brought into -question. Is it not easy to conceive of a mental condition which would -accept such a childlike receptivity as the only mood in which an -art-work designed to appeal to emotions which the humdrum routine of -modern life leaves untouched ought to be approached? Wagner's "Ring des -Nibelungen" is not an idle fairy-tale, the offspring of a mind working -with fanciful material amid the environment of the nineteenth century. -It is a tragedy Hellenic in its scope and proportions, dealing with one -of the great problems of human existence, reflecting the operations of -the quickened mind and conscience of humanity in its impressionable -childhood. - -"Das Rheingold" is the prologue to a tragedy which has not only the -dimensions, but also the aim, of a Greek trilogy. This conception of -its dignity greatly widens the significance of its few incidents. Of -necessity? Yes. Observe the manner in which Wagner approaches his -subject. The hero of the mediæval epic popularly called "The Lay of -the Niblung" is Siegfried; and this story of Siegfried is mixed with -considerable historical alloy. The character of Gunther, which figures -in the story, is Gundikar, founder of the Burgundian monarchy, who was -slain by Attila, A.D. 450. Attila himself is one of the personages of -the poem, the scene of which plays largely at Worms. - -It was Wagner's aim to illustrate a profound truth of universal -bearing, and in harmony with his belief that such truths are -best taught by presenting pictures of humanity stripped of all -conventionality, he went back to the earliest forms of the tale which -the mediæval poet wove into the "Lay of the Niblung." By this means -he purified it of its historical dross; but also came in contact with -the creations of the myth-maker. The period into which he moved his -drama was the period reflected by our Northern ancestors when they -were striving by an exercise of a vivid imagination and unyielding -logic to answer the questions raised by a primitive religious instinct. -Whether we want to or not, we must look upon "The Niblung's Ring" as a -religious play which, by means of the symbols created by the Northern -myth-maker, teaches a lesson universal and eternal in its application. - - - I. - -No legend dealing with the deep passions of human nature, and -reflecting the tragic struggle between the human and the divine, which -has been playing on the stage of the human heart since the race began, -is restricted by the circumstances of time, place, or people. If it -is really beautiful and moving it is a bit of universal property, and -in one form or another phases of it will be found in the mythology -or folk-lore of all civilized peoples. Not only the foundation -principles of such a legend, but even its theatre and apparatus may be -discovered. Parallels in religious mythologies will readily occur, but -perhaps not so readily parallels in those heroic tales which reflect -the national characteristics of peoples. Yet they are not the less -numerous. The grotto of Venus, in which Tannhäuser steeps himself -with sensuality, is but a German form of the Garden of Delight, in -which the heroes of classic antiquity met their fair enslavers. It is -Ogygia, the Delightful Island, where Ulysses met Calypso. It is that -Avalon in which King Arthur was healed of his wounds by his fairy -sister Morgain. The staff which bursts into green in the hands of -Pope Urban in token of Tannhäuser's forgiveness has prototypes in the -lances which, when planted in the ground by Charlemagne's warriors, -were transformed over night into a leafy forest; in the staff which -put on leaves in the hands of Joseph wherefore the Virgin Mary gave -herself to him in marriage; in the rod of Aaron, which, when laid -up among others in the tabernacle, "brought forth buds and bloomed -blossoms and yielded almonds." The _Tarnhelm_ which the cunning Mime -fashions at the command of Alberich, what else is it but the Mask of -Arthur, which had the power of rendering its wearer invisible, or the -Helmet of Pluto worn by Perseus in his battle with the Gorgon? The Holy -Grail, which Wagner has surrounded with such a refulgent halo, is not -merely a relic of Christ's suffering and death. Its power of supplying -food and sustaining life identifies it with an article common to the -mystical apparatus of many peoples. As Achilles was dipped into Styx -and rendered invulnerable, so Jason was smeared with Medea's ointment, -and Siegfried became covered with a horny armor when he bathed in the -dragon's blood; and as the magic wash was kept from Achilles's heel -by the hand of Thetis, so the falling of a leaf from a lime-tree on -the back of Siegfried caused the one unprotected spot through which a -weapon might reach his life. The sword of Wotan, thrust into the tree -so firmly and miraculously that none but a hero worthy to wield it and -inspired by the desperation of supremest need might draw it from its -mighty sheath, what else is it than the "fair sword" which stuck in the -marble stone in the church-yard against the high altar, which all the -barons assayed in vain to draw forth, but which young Arthur "lightly -and fiercely" pulled out of the stone, by which token he was recognized -as rightwise king of England? Or, going back further into story-land, -who does not see in it that bow of Ulysses which the wicked suitors -of Penelope vainly strove to bend, but which yielded to the hero -disguised as a beggar with such ease "as a harper in tuning of his harp -draws out a string?" - -Horus, Apollo, and Baldur in Egypt, Greece, and the savage Northland -have represented the highest union of physical and moral excellencies -to millions of human beings; and when the Norse myth-maker, exercising -his imagination under the influence of that need and longing and hope -on which Plato based his argument in proof of the immortality of the -soul, drew his picture of Ragnarök, the Twilight of the Gods, the end -of the old regime of brute force, of gods and giants, and the return of -Baldur and his reign of peace, gentleness, and loveliness, he felt the -emotions with which the Christian of to-day looks forward to the second -coming of Christ the Redeemer. - -So striking are the parallels between the heroic tales of the class to -which the story of Siegfried belongs, that it has been possible for -Dr. J. G. von Hahn, in his _Sagwissenschaftliche Studien_, to draw -up a formula according to which the families belonging to the Aryan -race have constructed their most admired tales. This formula, he says, -exists more or less perfect in the heroic literature of every known -Aryan people. Hellenic mythology produced no less than seven of these -stories, of which the most striking are those of Perseus, Theseus, -Å’dipus, and Herakles; Roman mythological history, one--Romulus and -Remus; Teutonic sagas, two--Wittich-Siegfried and Wolfdietrich; -Iranian mythic history, two, and Hindu mythology, two, the most -striking parallelisms occurring in the story of Krishna. Of this story -Mr. Alfred Nutt has found eight variants in old Keltic literature, -among them the story of Perceval. According to this formula - -I. The hero is born - - (_a_) Out of wedlock. - - (_b_) Posthumously. - - (_c_) Supernaturally - - (_d_) One of twins. - -II. The mother is a princess residing in her own country. - -III. The father is - - (_a_) A god, or - } from afar. - (_b_) A hero - -IV. There are tokens and warnings of the hero's future greatness; - -V. In consequence of which he is driven from home. - -VI. Is suckled by wild beasts. - -VII. Is brought up by a childless couple, or shepherd, or widow. - -VIII. Is of passionate and violent disposition. - -IX. Seeks service in foreign lands. - - (_a_) Attacks and slays monsters. - - (_b_) Acquires supernatural knowledge through eating a fish or other - magic animal (the dragon's heart in the case of Sigurd, his - blood in the case of Siegfried). - -X. Returns to his own country, retreats, and again returns. - -XI. Overcomes his enemies, frees his mother, seats himself on a throne. - - - II. - -We should accustom ourselves to look upon the plot of "The Niblung's -Ring" as more celestial than terrestrial; the essential things of -the tragedy are those which concern Wotan, who is its real hero. The -happenings among the personages whose conduct under varying trying -circumstances is brought to notice in the three dramas constituting -the trilogy are, in reality, but accidents. In this respect "The -Niblung's Ring" is in a different case with Homer's _Iliad_ which also -has a double plot, celestial and terrestrial. The cause of the contest -celebrated in the _Iliad_ originated on earth; the gods took part in -it simply to avenge slights which had been put upon them by one or -another of the contestants, or because they were the special protectors -of certain of those personages. In Wagner's tragedy the contest waged -by the demi-gods, giants, dwarfs, and men, is but the continuation -of one invited by the gods. It is the consequence of a sin committed -by the chief god and his efforts to repair it. That consequence, in -its last and chiefest estate, is the destruction of Wotan and all his -fellows; this is what it signifies to all those concerned in it, but -to us it means a destruction followed by a new creation. Wotan dies -like a tragic hero, and his heroic offspring--the bond connecting gods -and men--die one after another, all in consequence of his sin; but the -death of the last, being the expiatory self-sacrifice of loving woman, -removes the curse from the earth. "Old things are passed away; behold, -all things are become new." This is the kernel of the plot of the -tragedy, the beginning of which is exhibited in "The Rhinegold," and -the outcome prefigured. The progress is from the state of sinlessness, -through sin and its awful consequences, to expiation. For each of these -steps there are symbols in the pictures, poetry, and music of the -prologue. - -The gods of our ancestors in the Northland were created in the image -of man. Originally the feeling of religion had been satisfied by the -conception of a dynasty of gods who, if they were made in the image -of man, were at least idealized; they had none of the passions of -men, none of their infirmities, none of their trials. When, in later -times, the impossibility of such a conception maintaining itself became -manifest, humanity among the rugged mountains and in the deep forests -of the North dreamed of a time that was past, before the reign of -primeval sinlessness and peacefulness had come to an end. That was the -Golden Age of the world. Wrong was unknown; the passions which wreck -men's lives and beget wrong were unknown; it was the state of Eden -before the advent of the tempter. The silence of peace rested upon -the waters. Gold was the symbol of radiant innocency; it was but the -plaything of the gods. As in Milton's Eden, flowers were of all hue, - - "And without thorn the rose." - - "----Airs, vernal airs, - Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune - The trembling leaves, while universal Pan, - Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance, - Led on the eternal Spring." - -Put aside the prosaic frame of mind into which the Wolzogen labels are -calculated to throw one, and look at the instrumental introduction -to the prologue as a symbol of this state of physical and moral -loveliness. Could the peacefulness and passionlessness of primeval -purity be better typified in music? There are three aspects in which -the introduction should be viewed. It is most significant in this study -of the tragedy as a type of the Golden Age in Northern mythology. Not -until the principle of evil enters the play (in the person of Alberich) -is the serenity of the music disturbed. - -Next, it is interesting as scenic music. By ingenious use of gauze -screens, painted canvas, and light-effects, the stage is made to seem -filled with water from floor to flies. Strange plants creep up the -side, and gnarled roots project into the water. Below is the rocky bed -of the Rhine. Above, a faint light plays on the rippling surface. -The music has begun with a single deep tone, but gradually it grows -more animated; there is no change in melody, but the introduction of -instruments with lighter and lighter tone-color, the introduction and -carefully graduated augmentation of a wavy accompaniment, suggest to -the ear at once growth in the movement of the water and in the light -which shines from above. The music is now doubly delineative. While -its spirit reflects the sinless quietude of the Golden Age of the -world, its matter depicts, first, the slow movement of the water in its -depths, then the gentle undulations of its half-depths, finally the -ripples and dartings and flashings and eddyings of its surface. - -The third aspect in which we may look at it is as a peculiarly -striking exemplification of Wagner's theories of composition carried -out to their most logical conclusion. That theory in its extremity -would demand that nothing be said when there is nothing to say--a -self-evident proposition much oftener honored in the breach than in -the observance. Remember that Wagner, in giving an account of the -genesis of his typical phrases cites his conduct in "Der Fliegende -Holländer," when, having found themes to stand for the mental states -described in the ballad, he resolved to repeat its thematic expression -every time a mental mood recurred. A necessary corollary of such a -logical proceeding would seem to be that until the play had introduced -something--a picture, a personage, an idea--there could be no room for -music. It is not necessary to go to this extremity; but if we want to -we will find that Wagner is true to himself even here. Only the mood of -the scene is delineated for us in the music of the introduction, and -his willingness to begin as near nothing as possible is shown by the -use at the outset of the single deep bass tone. The whole introduction -is built on this note and its simplest harmony, the development being -accomplished by the gradual changes of orchestration, the employment of -higher octaves, and the augmentation of the wavy accompaniment. - - - III. - -It was an inevitable consequence of the structure of the Northern -mythological system that the gods should lose their primeval -sinlessness. Before the mind of the Northern myth-maker, as before -the minds of the Athenians, who erected the altar on Mars-hill "to -the Unknown God," there hovered a dim apprehension of a First Cause -of all being, older and more puissant than the gods whom he conceived -as reigning. As Zeus and his fellows reigned by reason of having -overthrown Cronos and the dynasty of the Titans, so Wotan and his -fellows reigned by reason of conquest and treaty. In consequence, -there was a perpetual struggle between the sky-dwellers, the -mountain-dwellers, and the earth-dwellers--the gods, giants, and -dwarfs--for dominion. This lust for power it was that caused the -downfall of the gods. Dormant within the radiant gold, buried in the -Rhine and guarded by the daughters of the Rhine, lay the secret of -universal dominion. In the Golden Age no one courted it because there -was no need. But when the greed of power and gain asserted itself, the -gold was a prize to be sought after and bought at any price. The first -change in the stage picture still leaves us the spirit of purity and -innocency undisturbed. The Rhine daughters, whose duty it is to guard -the magical gold, are careless creatures, as well they may be, for, -though warned, they have never seen danger approach their treasure. -Floating up and down, they sing and gambol with each other as they swim -around the jagged rock, their song being as undulating as the element -in which they live. They partake in their nature of that element, and -the melodies with which they are associated are imitative of watery -movements. - -The beginning of the end of the Golden Age was dated by the old poets -from the time when three giantesses were admitted among the gods. They -were the Nornir, the Fates, whose deep thoughts were given respectively -to the past, present, and future. The entrance of a stranger into the -domains of the Rhine daughters is also the signal for the introduction -of evil into the drama. The representative of this evil principle -is Alberich, the Niblung--one of the race of dwarfs; musically his -mischievous character, his restless energy, and his strangeness to -the element in which he finds himself is told by the orchestra in -the abrupt, jerky music to which he enters, and which accompanies -his slipping and sliding on the slimy rocks of the river's bottom. -Alberich's aims were simply lust. To the nixies he is merely amusing. -They engage him in tormenting dalliance till he utters an imprecation -against them and shakes his fist. He forgets his anger at his pretty -tantalizers, however, when a new spectacle falls upon his sight. The -sunlight, piercing the water, has fallen upon the gold, which lies in -the cleft of a rock and now begins to glow. The increasing refulgence -is seen and heard simultaneously, for as the new light floods the -scene, singers and orchestra break out into a ravishing apostrophe to -the gold. - -Now we reach the point where the ethical contest, at the bottom of the -entire tragedy, is first foreshadowed. The nixies, rendered careless -by the long uselessness of their watch, prattle away the secret that -universal power would be the reward of him who would seize the gold and -fashion it into a ring: - - "The realm of the world - By him shall be won, - Who from the Rhine gold - Hath wrought the ring, - Imparting measureless might." - -But the power to fashion the ring can only be obtained by one willing -to renounce the delight and happiness of love: - - "Who the delight of Love forswears, - He who derides its ravishing joys, - He alone has the magic might - To shape the gold to a ring." - -The issue is joined. Here Love and contentment in the Niblung's lot; -there the prospect of power universal and lovelessness. The dwarf does -not hesitate long. In the next scene the giants hesitate longer, and -Wotan ponders longer than either whether the gold is worth the price -demanded for it. But the Age of Innocency is past--all yield in turn -to the lust for power, the greed of gain, which the gold promises to -satisfy. The first step in the tragedy is taken. Alberich puts love -aside forever and curses it. Then, in spite of the shrieks of the -nixies, he seizes the gold and dives into the depths. - -The light dies out of the scene. The bright song of the nixies runs -out into minor plaints, and the orchestra discourses mournfully of the -renunciation of love and the rape of the ring, until the scene changes -from depths of the Rhine to the heights where Valhalla, newly built, -stands in massive strength, gleaming in the morning sun. - -We have witnessed the beginning of the struggle for dominion begun -cunningly by a dwarf. Not the race of the Niblungs, but the race of -giants had caused Wotan concern. Against them he thought to raise an -impregnable fortress, and the cunning Loge, the representative of the -evil principle in the celestial plot, had contrived to have the work -done by two giants, to whom Wotan, at Loge's instigation, promised the -goddess Freia as a reward, though Loge had privately assured him that -he would never be called on to meet the obligation. The whole tale is -borrowed by Wagner from Norse mythology. - -Once upon a time, so runs the old story, an artisan came to the gods -and offered to build for them a fortress which would forever shield -them from the frost giants, if they would give him, in payment, Freya, -the goddess of youth, beauty, and love, besides the sun and the moon. -The gods agreed, provided he would do the work alone, and in the space -of a single winter. When summer was but three days distant the castle -was so nearly finished that the gods saw that the compact would be -kept by the strange artisan. The imminent loss of Freya frightened the -gods, and they threatened Loge with death if he did not prevent the -completion of the work within the period fixed. The artisan had the -help of a horse named Svadilfari, who drew the most enormous stones to -the castle at night. Loge the next night decoyed the horse Svadilfari -into the forest, so that the usual quota of work was not done. Then -the mysterious workman appeared before the gods in his real form as a -giant, and Thor killed him with a blow of his hammer. The Norse Freya -is the Teutonic Freia. In Wagner's poem Freia is the reward which -the giants Fafner and Fasolt expect for having built Valhalla in a -single night. Loge had instigated the compact, and promised to relieve -Wotan of the obligation of payment. But the giants carry Freia off -and restore her only after Wotan and Loge have given the Niblung's -hoard in exchange. To Freia, Wagner has given an attribute which, in -Scandinavian mythology, belongs to Iduna. She is the guardian of the -golden apples, the eating of which keeps the gods young. Iduna's apples -the student of comparative mythology will at once identify with the -golden apples which Hera received as a wedding-gift, and which were -guarded by the Hesperides and stolen by Hercules. In the Norse story -they are carried away by a winged giant named Thiassi, and brought -back by Loge, who had tempted Iduna out of her beautiful grove "Always -Young," in order that the giant might swoop down upon her and carry -the apples away. Wagner gives these apples to Freia for the sake of a -dramatic effect. The gods turn wrinkled and gray so soon as the giants -carry off the goddess of youth and beauty. - -Wotan has his Valhalla, but the giants demand their reward. Loge -is summoned to extricate the god from the predicament in which his -lust after power has plunged him. The god of fire and the restless -representative of the destructive principle appears, and thereafter he -is never absent long from the action. He pervades every scene, his red -cloak fluttering, eyes, hands, feet, body moving synchronously with -that fitful chromatic phrase which crackles and flashes and flickers -through the orchestra whenever he takes part in the action. He has -searched through the world for a ransom for Freia, and found but one -creature who estimated anything higher than the beauty and worth of -woman. It is Alberich who, having wrought a ring out of the magic gold, -has bent the race of Niblungs to his will, and is now preparing to -conquer universal dominion for himself. Thus a new danger threatens the -race of gods. In this extremity Wotan listens to the advice of Loge and -decides to possess himself of the Niblung hoard, that with it he may -purchase the release of Freia, and "make assurance double sure." The -two descend to the abode of the dwarfs. In Nibelheim the rocky caverns -glow with the reflection of forge fires, and the ear is saluted with -the clang of hammers falling upon anvils. Loge cunningly tempts the -dwarf to exhibit the magical properties of the _Tarnhelm_ (the cap -of darkness), and when he assumes the shape of a toad the gods seize -and bind him. Under the walls of Valhalla they compel him to ransom -himself with gold for the giants and rob him of the ring. Then Alberich -burdens it with a curse, introducing into the tragedy the poison which -accomplishes the destruction of all its heroes, and remains a bane -upon the earth till restitution is made and expiation achieved by the -self-immolation of Brünnhilde. - -The first fruits of the curse follow hard upon the heels of its -utterance. The giants, ravished by the tale of the wealth of the -Niblung treasure, exact it all as ransom for Freia. Wotan had aimed to -keep the ring as another hostage for the future--with ring and fortress -he would feel secure--but the giants demand, the runes upon his spear -contain the pledge, and Erda warns. The ring is grudgingly surrendered, -and at once its baneful effect is seen. The giants quarrel for its -possession, and Fafner kills Fasolt with blows of his staff. Not till -then does Wotan realize the deep significance of the warning words of -Erda. A solemn duty, an awful task devolves upon him. Murder as well as -theft lies at his door; with the ring a fearful curse has entered the -world as a consequence of his wrong-doing; henceforth he must devote -himself to the work of reparation. Mayhap the wrong may be righted by -a restoration of the ring to the original owners of the gold. His own -hands are bound, but he conceives a plan, of which the visible symbol -is the magic sword. A new race shall arise, the sword shall aid it in -obtaining the ring, and of its own will it shall return the circlet to -the element from which lust for power wrested it. It is this creative -thought which makes him pause with his foot upon the rainbow bridge, -across which the celestial household have passed into Valhalla. The -sword phrase flashes through the pompous music which is the postlude of -the prologue. - - - IV. - - "Höre, höre, höre! - Alles was ist, endet. - Ein düst'rer Tag - Dämmert den Göttern. - Dir rath ich, meide den Ring!" - -Thus does Erda warn Wotan. Of all the words of the prologue they are -biggest with significance for the tragedy as a whole. They foretell the -consequences of Wotan's sin. Erda is the Vala, the goddess of primeval -wisdom, "the pantheistic symbol of the universe, the timeless and -spaceless mother of gods and men," as Dr. Hueffer calls her. She is the -mother of the Nornir. Their phrase is an elemental one, like that of -the Rhine. Its ascending intervals suggest growth. The antithesis of -this concept is decay, destruction. The melody of the "Twilight of the -Gods" (_b_), in the prediction of Erda, appears as an inversion of the -elemental melody (_a_). - - [Illustration: score (_a_)] - [Illustration: score (_b_)] - -It is an awful consummation that is predicted by Erda and symbolized -in this descending phrase--the destruction of a world as the outcome -of that contest which since time began has been the basis of religions -and mythologies. No civilized people has escaped being confronted by -that problem, but all peoples have not solved it alike. In our own -religion the spectacle of its tragical consequences has held the world -in awe for nearly nineteen hundred years. Generally in the legends -which the human imagination, fired by religious instinct, has created -to symbolize the eternal conflict, the hero who goes to destruction is -an ideal man. Sometimes he is a god; but only the daring imagination -of the Northern myth-maker was equal to the task of making that hero -the chiefest of the gods, and connecting his downfall with the end of -the race to which he belongs. In this awful flight of the Northern -imagination, this sublime achievement of the Northern conscience, lies -the essential difference between the religious systems of the classic -Greeks and our savage ancestors. The Greeks, profoundly philosophical -as they were, would yet have shrunk back appalled from such a solution -of the great problem as the Teuton provided in his _Götterdämmerung_. -Logic might force them to recognize the necessity of it or something -like it, but they would not permit logic to compel them to contemplate -it. Once the stern mind of Æschylus seemed on the point of disclosing a -divine tragedy approximate in its proportions. Prometheus, chained to -the rock on Mount Caucasus, comforts himself in his bitter agony with -thoughts of the time when grim necessity shall force Zeus to right his -wrongs. But observe that the end of his sufferings is not to follow as -an act of retributive justice, but is to be purchased by a compromise. -The time will come when Zeus will need his help, for of all the gods -Prometheus alone knows how the plot will be laid and how Zeus can -escape it: - - "I know that Zeus is hard, - And keeps the right supremely to himself; - But then, I know, he'll be - Full pliant in his will - When he is thus crushed down. - Then calming down his mood - Of hard and bitter wrath, - _He'll hasten unto me, - As I to him shall haste_, - For friendship and for peace." - -This is the nearest approach that the Greeks came to a parallel -with the most tremendous conception of Northern mythology. Does it -strike you as strange? It need not. Remember, the loveliness of their -country and climate kept before the Greeks perpetually the benignant -aspect of their gods. It is true they found themselves as little able -as our ancestors later to maintain these embodiments of a primeval -conception of idealized humanity in a state of sinlessness; but -when brought face to face with the contradictions which followed, -they extricated themselves as best they might by the makeshift of a -compromising reconciliation, or flew to the extreme of unbelief. The -moral obliquity of the gods was recognized, but was not permitted to -throw a shadow over the radiant ones in the Olympian court. You may -observe an illustration of this mental trait in the unwillingness of -the Greeks to call unpleasant things by their right names. The Euxine, -or Hospitable Sea, was once righteously called by them the Axine, or -Inhospitable Sea. The dreadful Furies, with their heads covered with -writhing snakes, after they had scourged Orestes through the world, -were given a temple and worship at Athens as the Eumenides--the -kind or good-tempered ones. These Furies belonged to the class of -gloomy deities, which was the offspring of conscience and the sense -of moral responsibility. They were bound to present themselves to a -thinking people, but a people who basked always in Nature's smile were -equally bound to subordinate them to the gods of nature that were the -embodiment of cheerfulness and light. To contemplate the latter was -a delightful occupation; the former were viewed through a veil which -concealed their hideousness. - -There was nothing in the surroundings of our ancestors to encourage -such a species of indirection. The natural powers which confronted -them oftenest were inimical. They did not live in the sunlight of -Nature's smile, but in the shadow of her frown. The simple right to -exist had daily to be conquered. The vague apprehensions of a sinless, -an absolute and omnipotent Deity, which flitted furtively across their -minds, took deeper and deeper root when the logic of necessity began to -taint their dynasty of gods with weakness and crimes. But, like the -Greeks, they could give such a conception neither form, habitation, nor -name. It remained hovering in the background. As their physical life -was a ceaseless struggle with Nature in her sternest aspects, and as -the more cruel of those aspects were connected with the phenomena of -winter, it was natural that when the conception of overshadowing Fate -had to be personified in the process of mythological construction, the -Nornir should have been imagined as daughters of the giants of the -North--harsh, cruel, vengeful, implacable. The terrible Fimbul winter -was to precede Ragnarök. All their training taught them to look the -actual in the face. They lived in war, and death possessed terror only -to those who could not die in battle. Destruction was a conception -with which they were familiar; destruction was the logical outcome of -all activities. So soon as they began to contemplate a race of gods -who were offenders against that moral law which was the outgrowth of -the primitive religious instinct, just so soon such a people had to -provide for a catastrophe which would resolve the discord. The Greek -tragedian made Prometheus the symbol of humanity and achieved his -aim by a reconciliation with offended Deity. The Norse myth-maker -chose the chief of the gods as his representative, raised the issue -between him and unpersonified moral law, and compelled the god to go -down to destruction with all his race to satisfy a vast and righteous -necessity. "If," says Felix Dahn, "a religion has become thoroughly -corrupt, then, unless the nation professing it is to be destroyed along -with its civilization, a new religion, satisfying to the needs of the -period, must either be introduced from without--as Christianity was -introduced in the Roman world in the first centuries of the Empire--or -the existing religion must be purified and reconstructed; as was the -case with Christianity in the sixteenth century through the Protestant -Reformation, and also, indeed, through the very material Catholic -improvements achieved by the Tridentine Council. - -"But beside these two there is a third means of resolving the -difficulty; this third was seized upon by the Germanic consciousness. -_It is the tragical remedy._ - -"The Germanic gods, too, placed themselves in irreconcilable and -unendurable opposition to morality; and the Germanic conscience -condemned them every one to destruction--to death! _That is the -meaning of the Götterdämmerung_; it is a peerlessly great moral deed -of the Germanic race, and it stamps Germanic mythology with its tragic -character. - -"Destruction because of an irreparable rupture with established and -peaceful order in Religion, Morality, or Law, is essentially tragical. - -"The _Götterdämmerung_ a sacrifice? A stupendous deed of morality? Aye, -indeed, that it is!"[D] - - - V. - -We are henceforth to observe Wotan in his conduct when brought face -to face with the consequences of his violations of moral law. That -conduct it is which reflects the real tragedy in "The Niblung's Ring." -Bound by the contract whose runes were cut in the haft of his spear, -the god could not again possess himself of the ring, which was now -become doubly a menace. If it were again to fall into the hands of -Alberich, whom he had so cruelly wronged, the desire for vengeance -would spur that mischievous Niblung to seize the dominion which had -been forfeited. To prevent such a catastrophe, Wotan would beget a new -race of beings and endow them with a magic sword. This was to be the -extent of his activity in the development of his plot. As a Volsung he -wandered through the forests with Siegmund, his son born of woman. At -an early age this son had lost his mother and been separated from his -twin-sister. Then his father left him mysteriously to be seasoned to -his task by hardships. At the climax of his distress, the culmination -of his need, he was to arm himself with the divine sword which the god -had thrust up to the hilt in a tree, around which was built the hut of -that very enemy of the Volsung race, who had carried off the sister -and married her against her will. The achievement of the sword was -to be the sign of Siegmund's fitness for the enterprise. Of his own -free-will the divinely-begotten hero was to acquire the ring, and rid -the world of the curse by restoring it to its rightful owners. How vain -a plot! The first step in its development shatters the whole elaborate -fabric! Both of the children forfeit their lives to outraged law; the -god is compelled to destroy the very agencies on which he had built his -hopes. The curse under whose fatal influence he had fallen because of -wrong-doing was not to be averted by so shallow a subterfuge; but even -if such an outcome had been possible, the plan would have split on the -rock of newly offended morality. - -In this outline of the contents of "Die Walküre" I have but hinted at -its incidents, yet we have before us a whole vast act of the Wotan -tragedy, and one, too, that is pregnant with consequences to the -tragical scheme of the myth-maker. I do not ask that the occasional -interpretations of Wagner's music which I attempt be accepted as -literal expositions of the composer's purposes; but we can benefit -in our understanding of the scope and progress of his tragedy by -discovering symbols for its great philosophical moments in the musical -investiture. In this view of the case observe how appropriate is -the instrumental introduction to the first act. We have gone beyond -the hand-books in seeing a reflection of the purity and quietude of -the Golden Age in the introduction to the prologue. Its antithesis -is presented in the introduction to the first drama of the trilogy. -Again Wagner makes nature reflect the mental and moral states of his -personages. Again he presents a musical mood-picture. And again the -musician is invited to discover that, in spite of the contrast between -the objects of his musical delineation, the technical means resorted to -are the same. There the peacefully undulating _major_ harmonies over -a sustained bass note--a pedal-point, if you will--pictured the age -of sinlessness; the harmlessness of the untainted, uncoveted virgin -gold; the gentle flux and reflux of the element in which it was buried; -the careless innocency of its unsuspicious and playful guardians. -Here wildly flying _minor_ harmonies under a sustained note--again a -pedal-point--picture the storm which buffets the exhausted, unprotected -Siegmund, and impels him to seek refuge in Hunding's hut. - -If this parallel is merely fanciful, it at least invites such an -exercise of the fancy in the listeners as will better help them to -appreciate the interdependence of the arts which Wagner consorts in -his dramas than any amount of structural dissection and analysis. If -you wish you may note that in addition to the music which aims merely -at imitative delineation of a thunder-storm (the rushing figure in the -basses, the incessant _staccato_ patter of the sustained note, the -attempts to suggest flashes of lightning in short and rapid figures -in the high register of the instruments, the crashing and rumbling of -thunder, and the howling of the wind in the chromatic passages), the -music also presents a pompous phrase with which, in the scene of the -prologue where Thor created the rainbow bridge, the Thunderer summoned -the elements to his aid, and at the close a heavy-footed phrase which -may be identified with the weary Siegmund. - -If these two preludes be accepted as broadly and comprehensively -delineative of moods in the theatre and personages of the play, -another significant parallel will now present itself. It was to a -phrase which has the rhythm afterwards associated with the Niblungs in -their capacity as smiths (see Chapter I.)--the hammering rhythm--that -Alberich disclosed his wicked nature and resolve when he shook his -fist at the nixies. Observe how the element of danger to the Volsung -pair is introduced in the first scene of the tragedy. It enters -with the sinister Hunding, who, as the unconscious instrument of -Fate and Fricka's vengeance, brings death to Siegmund. In the music -which precedes Hunding's entrance there are only strains of pathetic -tenderness which invite sympathy for the unhappy children of Wotan, -and which we are asked by the analyst and commentator to associate -with the compassion which they feel for each other, and the growth of -that feeling into the more ardent emotion of love. The phrase which -ushers in Hunding is in sharp contrast; if is gloomy in harmony -and orchestration, and publishes the evil in his heart, not only by -its dark colors, but also by employing the threatening rhythm which -Alberich used against the Rhine daughters. The incidents which serve -to complete the first great step in the drama so far as Wotan, the -hero, is concerned, can now be hastily reviewed. Hunding discovers his -guest to be the enemy of his race; the laws of hospitality protect -him for the night, but he must fight on the morrow. Siegmund's need -has reached its climax. But Sieglinde, after putting Hunding to sleep -with a draught, returns to him and discloses the mystery of the sword. -Mutually they confess their love, and discover their relationship in -the moment when the magic sword is won. A new thought prevents that -terrible discovery from checking the progress of their passion. _The -race of the Volsungs must be perpetuated._ If you want to learn how -powerful an element this thought is in the old legend from which -Wagner borrowed the episode, you must study it in the Volsunga -Saga, where it is consorted with elements which largely atone for -the features so offensive and so much criticised in Wagner's drama. -There Signy (Wagner's Sieglinde) desiring to avenge herself on her -husband Siggeir (Hunding), who had murdered all the race but her and -Sigmund, and kept her in loveless wedlock, tried in vain to rear a -son of sufficient hardihood to perform the deed of vengeance. At -last, fearful that the Volsungs might become extinct, she changed -semblance with a witch-wife, and in this guise visited Sigmund at his -hiding-place in the woods. When their son grew to manhood he and his -father avenged Signy's wrongs. But when they offered her great honors -Signy told Sigmund: "I went into the woods to thee in witch-wife's -shape, and Sinfjötli (Siegfried) is the son of thee and me both; and -therefore has he this great hardihood and fierceness, because he is -the son of Välse's son and Välse's daughter. For naught else have I -so wrought that King Siggeir might get his bane at last; and merrily -now will I die with the King though I was naught merry to wed him;"[E] -and she entered the burning palace and died with the King and his -men. The motive here is the same as in the objectionable episode in -Wagner, but it is presented more forcibly and, at the same time, less -offensively--or, at least, with less show of moral depravity. But the -sin is speedily expiated. Fricka, the patron goddess of marriage, -demands that Siegmund shall become her victim; and Fricka's right -cannot be gainsaid by the representative of Law. Wotan pronounces the -oath that Fricka demands. The Volsung is doomed; the plan of the god -frustrated. The first act of the tragedy is complete; the second stage -of the development of Wotan's tragical character is entered upon. These -are the essential features of that stage: - -In despair the god surrenders his plan, invokes the consequences of his -guilty deed, and pronounces a blessing on the inimical agency which has -been established for his punishment. He turns his longing gaze towards -that outcome of the terrible conflict in which he became involved -because of his greed of power, which his own wisdom, clarified by the -mystic words of Erda, recognizes as inevitable. - -Unhappily for the popular understanding of the tragedy, the scene in -which this stupendously significant phase in the celestial action -of the drama is disclosed is one that is generally sacrificed to -theatrical exigencies. It is presented in the long address in which -Wotan countermands the order previously given for the death of Hunding, -and commands that the death-mark be placed on Siegmund. From this -recital we learn that the Valkyrior had been born to Wotan by Erda -as part of his scheme to perpetuate his dominion. They were to fill -Valhalla with heroes against the great battle which he knew would -come. We also learn that as Wotan had begotten a new race, in the hope -of preventing the baneful ring from falling again into the hands of -Alberich, so Alberich, in turn, had begotten a son to labor for its -return. But as Alberich had foresworn love, he wooed a woman with -gold. Again, here in the counter-plot, the greed of gold usurps the -place sanctified to love. Thus there are pitted against each other the -Volsungs, beloved progeny of the god, and Hagen (whom we shall meet -actively engaged in the contest later), the loveless offspring of the -Niblung. And the demi-god it is who is doomed. Wotan is called upon -to perform his act of renunciation. As things go in the theatre, his -recital is thought overlong and undramatic, and the thoughtless laugh -at the spectacle of a sad god. Can we forget that it is at this supreme -moment that the god embodies that which is at once the loftiest and -the most profoundly melancholy conception of the Germanic conscience? -He recognizes the necessity and the justice of the destruction of his -race. Listen to his words: - - "Begone, then, and perish, - Thou gorgeous pomp, - Thou glittering disgrace - Of godhood's grandeur! - Asunder shall burst - The walls I built! - My work I abandon, - For one thing alone I wish-- - The end-- - The end--" - -(_He pauses in thought._) - - "And to the end - Alb'rich attends! - Now I perceive - The secret sense - Of the Vala's 'wildering words: - 'When Love's ferocious foe - In rage begetteth a son, - The night of the gods - Draws near anon.'"[F] - -And now observe how the logic of Wagner's constructive scheme marshals -the symbols of the chief things which are in Wotan's thoughts while -he contemplates past, present, and future--the wicked cause and the -terrible effect. The curse, with death in its train, confronts him: - - [Illustration: score] - -the Nomir and their all-wise mother revisit his fancy: - - [Illustration: score] - -the ceaseless, tireless energy of the Niblung, which will not cease -till the work of destruction be complete, pursues him with its -rhythmical scourge as the Furies pursued Orestes: - - [Illustration: score] - -and the image of Valhalla rises in his far-seeing mind, not as a castle -in its present grandeur (see Chapter I.), but in ruins; the rhythm -of the musical symbol is shattered; its solid, restful, simple major -harmony is destroyed: - - [Illustration: score] - -All this because of the accursed gold (closing cadence _a_). - -The daughter to whom the god confides the whole depth of his misery is -of all his daughters the dearest. She has no higher ambition than to -be the embodiment of Wotan's will. Unconsciously to both, the god, in -his divine resignation, is merely prefiguring the sacrifice to which, -in the providence of a higher power than the Lord of Valhalla, that -daughter has been chosen. But the god has not yet learned the full -bitterness of his cup. He loves the Volsung, and is obliged to destroy -at a blow the object of his love and the agent of his plan. In doing -this the irresistible might of law bears down his will. That will is -known to Brünnhilde. In defiance of Wotan's commands she attempts -to shield the Volsung; and to bring the combat between Hunding and -Siegmund to the conclusion inexorably demanded by that law of purity -which the hero unwittingly violated, the god is himself compelled -to interfere, and to cause the sword, designed as the symbol of the -Volsung power, to be shattered on the spear with which Wotan exercises -dominion. - -Love, for a second time, feels the weight of Alberich's curse. Now -the beloved daughter falls under the condemnation of the law. But the -god is becoming unconsciously an agent in a plan of redemption, which -belongs to a loftier ethical scheme than was possible before. Wotan -is about to disappear as an active agent from the scene. His plot is -wrecked. The representative of his will, the object of his tenderest -paternal affection, unknown to him, but inspired wholly by a love void -of all selfishness, is about to take up the task surrendered by the -god, and carry it out to a conclusion different from and yet like that -imagined by the god. Before the punishment is visited upon her, the -intensity of that love, turned through sympathy towards Sieglinde, -has for a moment endowed her with prophetic powers. She hails the -hero yet unborn, and persuades Sieglinde to save her own life for his -sake. Then she accepts her punishment. She is bereft of her divinity, -put into a magic sleep, and left by the way-side to be the prey of -the first passer-by. But the love of the father, awakened to tenfold -power by the bitterness of his own fate and the knowledge that his -child's disobedience was but the execution of his own will, shields her -from dishonor by surrounding her with a wall of fire, which none but -a freer hero than the god himself, and one for whom the divine spear -has no terrors, shall pass. The god's egotism is completely broken, -the reconciliation between his offended majesty and the offender -established. The punishment of Brünnhilde is but the chastisement of -love. Can there be any doubt of this after the musical proclamation -contained in the finale of "Die Walküre?" - - - VI. - -I am presuming, to a great extent, upon the reader's familiarity with -the incidents of the dramas constituting the tragedy. It is the action -which takes place where we have not been in the habit of looking for -it that I am seeking to discover. "Siegfried," the second drama of -the trilogy, is almost wholly devoted to preparation for the fateful -outcome. To this fact is due much of its cheerfulness of tone. It is a -period of comparative rest. The celestial plot has entered upon a new -phase, and in this drama the new combination of characters is formed -for the development of that new phase. The ethical drama which the play -symbolizes might be described as follows: - -The hero has been born and bred under circumstances which have -developed his freedom in every direction. The representative of -the evil principle seeks to direct his heroic powers towards an -advancement of the sinister side of the counter-plot; but in vain. By -his own efforts he endows himself with the magic sword, and in the -full consciousness of his free manhood he achieves for himself the -adventures and the happiness which were denied to the god. He gains the -ring and tastes the delight of love. - -At first Siegfried appears simply as a wild forest lad, who has grown -up with no sympathetic acquaintance beyond the beasts and birds with -which he is wont to associate in their haunts. In this character the -composer pictures him musically by means of the merry hunting-call -which he is supposed to blow on his horn (see Chapter I.). Most of -the music which is associated with him in the first act of the drama, -in which this horn-call enters so largely, is markedly characteristic -of the impetuous nature of the forest lad, with his contempt for -dissimulation and his rough, straight-forward energy. But a different -side of his nature is disclosed when, having learned the story of his -birth and acquired possession of his father's sword, remade by himself, -he becomes a part of the sylvan picture of the second act, which lends -so much charm to the "Siegfried" drama. Here, again, is scenic music -of the kind which each of the dramas possesses, and which has so often -set us to wondering at Wagner's marvellous faculty for juggling with -the senses--making our ears to see and our eyes to hear. Siegfried has -been brought before the cave--where Fafner, in the form of a dragon, -is guarding the ring and the hoard--by Mime, who has planned that the -lad shall kill the dragon and then himself fall a victim to treachery. -Siegfried throws himself on a hillock at the foot of a tree and listens -to nature's music in the forest. And such music! Music redolent of that -sweet mystery which peopled the old poets' minds with the whole amiable -tribe of fays and dryads and wood-nymphs. The spirit which lurks under -gnarled roots and in tangled boughs, in hollow trees and haunted forest -caves, breathes through it. The youth is brooding over the mystery of -his childhood, and he utters his thoughts in tender phrases, while the -mellow wood-wind instruments in the orchestra identify his thoughts -with the dead parents whom he never knew. He wonders what his mother -looked like, and pathetically asks whether all human mothers die when -their children are born. Suddenly the sunlight begins to flicker along -the leafy canopy; a thousand indistinct voices join in that indefinable -hum, of which, when heard in reality and not in the musician's -creation, one is at a loss to tell how much is actual and how much the -product of imagination, both sense and fancy having been miraculously -quickened by the spirit which moves through the trees. - -At last all is vocal, and Siegfried's ear is caught by the song of -the bird to which we too have been listening. In his longing for -companionship he wishes that he might understand and converse with his -feathered playmate. Might he not if he were able to whistle like the -bird? Now note the naïve touch of musical humor with which Wagner, the -tragedian, enlivens the scene. Siegfried cuts a reed growing beside a -rivulet and fashions a rude pipe out of it. He listens, and when the -bird quits singing he attempts to imitate its "wood-note wild." But -his pipe is too low in pitch and out of tune. He cuts it shorter and -raises its pitch half a tone. Again he cuts it, with the same result; -then squeezes it impatiently, and renders it still more "out of tune -and harsh." He throws it away, confesses his humiliation by the bird, -then reaches for his horn. With its merry call he wakes the echoes, -disturbs the sleep of the dragon, and precipitates the combat which -ends in his equipment with _Tarnhelm_ and ring, and his receipt of the -injunction from the bird (which now he understands through the magic of -the dragon's blood touching his lips) to slay Mime and waken Brünnhilde -on the burning mountain. - -We now catch our last glimpse of Wotan as a personage in the play. -He has not been active in the plot since he was obliged to destroy -his own handiwork. Twice he appeared in the character of a seemingly -unconcerned spectator wandering over the face of the earth, and once he -even offered to help Alberich recover the ring from Fafner. He aroused -the dragon and suggested that Alberich warn him of threatened danger, -and ask the ring as a reward. His present concern is to learn whether -the danger threatening the gods is yet to be averted. By chanting of -powerful runes he summons Erda, of ancient wisdom. But she refuses to -speak. Now he tells her that he no longer grieves over the approaching -doom of the gods; his will, newly enlightened, has decreed that the -catastrophe shall overwhelm the gods, but also that the world, which in -his despair he had surrendered to the hate of the Niblung, shall become -instead the heritage of the Volsung who has won the ring. A single act -remains to be done: the free-agency of Siegfried must be tested. The -youth follows his feathered guide up the mountain to find the promised -bride. Wotan bars his way with his spear. Siegfried hews the shaft -through the middle. On the runes cut into that shaft rested Wotan's -dominion. They were the bond by which he governed. Its destruction -symbolizes the approaching end of the old order of things. The musical -phrase, typical of that compact, accompanies him, in broken rhythm, -as he gathers up the pieces of the spear and departs. Prophecy and -fulfilment are indicated by the recurrence of the phrase of Erda and -her daughters, the Nornir, and its inversion, which symbolizes the -twilight of the gods. - - - VII. - -All the adventures of Siegfried in this part of the drama, from the -forging of the sword to the awaking of Brünnhilde, Wagner derived in -almost the exact shape in which he presents them from the Scandinavian -legends which tell of Sigurd. In the death-like sleep of Brünnhilde, -the stream of fire around her couch, the passage of that stream by -Siegfried, as later in the immolation of the heroine, there are so -many foreshadowings of the mystery of the Atonement that I scarcely -dare attempt a study of it. Let me but call attention to the fact that -the fiery wall in the old legends always denotes the funeral pyre; -that it was once customary to light the pyre with a thorn, and that -when the Eddas tell us that Odin put his child Brynhild to sleep by -pricking her in the temple with a sleep-thorn, the meaning is that -she died. I have said a foreshadowing of the Atonement because these -things are old Aryan possessions--much older than Christianity. The -infernal river of the Greeks, which Alkestis had to cross when she -went to the under-world on her mission of salvation, had a Greek name -(_Pyriphlegethon_), which meant "fire-blazing." It was not, however, -to lose myself in such speculations that I called up the old story, -but simply to show with what fine insight into dramatic possibilities -Wagner studied his sources. In the old Icelandic tale, some gossiping -eagles, whose language Sigurd had come to understand by drinking of -the blood of Regin and Fafnir, told him of a maiden who slumbered in -a hall on high Hindarfiall surrounded with fire. Thither Sigurd went, -penetrated the barrier of fire, found Brynhild, whom he thought to be -a knight until he had ripped up her coat of mail with his sword, and -awakened her. Learning the name of her deliverer, Brynhild cried out: - - "Hail to thee, Day, come back! - Hail, sons of the Daylight! - Hail to thee, daughter of night! - Look with kindly eyes down - On us sitting here lonely, - And give us the gain that we long for."[G] - - - VIII. - -We reach the last drama of the trilogy. - -In the joy of his new-found love Siegfried forgets his mission. -Brünnhilde teaches him wisdom (recall how the ancient Teutons -reverenced the utterance of their women), and he gives her the baneful -circlet as the badge of his love. He goes out in search of adventure, -and, separated from the protecting influence of woman's love, he -falls a victim to the wiles of Hagen, the Niblung's son. Alberich had -warned Hagen that so great was Siegfried's love for Brünnhilde that -were she to ask it he would restore the ring to the Rhine nixies. This -must be prevented, and Hagen has a plan ready. With a magic drink he -robs Siegfried of all memory of Brünnhilde, and the hero, to gain a -new love, puts on his _Tarnhelm_ and rudely drags Brünnhilde from her -flame-encircled retreat. - -To Wagner's skill in expressing the miraculous in music is due the -effectiveness of two scenes highly essential to the ethical scheme of -the tragedy and very difficult to present in a dramatic form. The music -accompanying the drink alone makes it possible to realize that the -fateful change has taken place in Siegfried. He looks into the horn and -pledges Brünnhilde: - - "Were I to forget - All thou gav'st, - One lesson I'll never - Unlearn in my life. - This morning-drink, - In measureless love, - Brünnhild, I pledge to thee!"[H] - -Niemann puts the horn from his lips, and we know that a change has -taken place in the man. It is the mystical property of that weird music -that brings us this consciousness. We could not believe it if acts or -words alone were relied on to make the publication. - -Again has love been wronged. The guilt of a tragic hero may be -unconsciously committed; still he must yield to fate. Chance puts the -opportunity in the way of Siegfried to prevent the ring from falling -into the hands of the powers inimical to the gods; but he proudly puts -it aside because the demand of the Rhine daughters was coupled with a -threat. Brünnhilde had also spurned the opportunity, but in her case -the motive was her great love for Siegfried, which made her prize the -ring, as its visible sign, above the welfare of the gods. That love, -misguided, causes the death of the hero. Brünnhilde, learning of -Siegfried's unconscious treachery, gives her aid to the Niblung's son. -Only his death clears away the mystery. Then she expiates her crime and -his with her life, and from her ashes the Rhine daughters recover the -ring. - -"The ultimate question concerning the correctness or effectiveness of -Wagner's system must be answered along with the question, Does the -music touch the emotions, quicken the fancy, fire the imagination? If -it does this we may, to a great extent, if we wish, get along without -the intellectual process of reflection and comparison conditioned upon -a recognition of his themes and their uses. But if we do this, we will -also lose the pleasure which it is the province of memory sometimes -to give;"[I] for a beautiful constructive use of the themes is for -reminiscence. The culminating scene of the tragedy furnishes us an -illustration of the twofold delight which Wagner's music can give: the -simply sensuous and the sensuous intensified by intellectual activity. -I refer to the death of Siegfried. As Siegfried, seated among Gunther's -men, who are resting from the chase, tells the story of his life, we -hear a recapitulation of the musical score of the second and third acts -of "Siegfried" the drama. He starts up in an outburst of enthusiasm as -he reaches the account of Brünnhilde's awaking, which is interrupted -by the flight of Wotan's ravens, who go to inform the god that the end -is nearing. He turns to look after the departing birds, when Hagen -plunges a spear into his back. The music to which the hero, regaining -his memory, breathes out his life, is that ecstasy in tones to which -Siegfried's kiss had inspired the orchestra in the last scene of the -preceding drama. Why is this? Because, as Siegfried's last thoughts -before taking the dreadful draught which robbed him of his memory -were of Brünnhilde, so his first thoughts were of her when his memory -was restored. Before his dying eyes there is only the picture of her -awaking, till the last ray of light bears to him Brünnhilde's greeting: - - "Brünnhild! - Hallowed bride! - Awaken! Open thine eyes! - Who again has doomed thee - To dismal slumber? - Who binds thee in bonds of sleep? - The awakener came, - His kiss awoke thee; - Once more he broke - The bonds of his bride; - Then shared he Brünnhild's delight! - Ah! those eyes - Are open forever! - Ah! how sweet - Is her swelling breath! - Delicious destruction-- - Ecstatic awe-- - Brünnhild gives greeting--to me!" - -This reminiscent love-music gives way to the Death March, which, from a -purely structural point of view, is an epitome of much that is salient -in the musical investiture of the entire tetralogy, yet in spirit is a -veritable apotheosis, a marvellously eloquent proclamation of antique -grief and heroic sorrow. This music loses nothing in being listened -to as absolute music. Never mind that in obedience to his system of -development Wagner has passed the life of Siegfried in review in -the score. The orchestra has a nobler mission here. It is to make a -proclamation which neither singers nor pantomimists nor stage mechanism -and pictures can make. - -The hero is dead! - -What does it mean to him? - - Union with Brünnhilde--restoration to that love of which he had been - foully robbed. - -What to his fellows in the play? - - The end of a Teutonic hero of the olden kind. He is dead; they are - awed at the catastrophe and they grieve; but their grief is mixed with - thoughts of the prowess of the dead man and the exalted state into - which he has entered. A Valkyria has kissed his wounds, and Wotan has - made place for him at his board in Valhalla. There, surrounded by the - elect of Wotan's wishmaidens, he is drinking mead and singing songs of - mighty sonority--Viking songs like Ragnar Lodbrok's: "We smote with - swords." - -Is there room here for modern mourning; for shrouding crape and -darkened rooms and sighs and tears and hopeless grief? No. The proper -expression is a hymn, a pæan, a musical apotheosis; and this is what -Wagner gives us until the funeral train enters Gutrune's house and the -expression of sorrow goes over to the deceived wife. - -But what does this march mean to us who have been trying to study the -real meaning of the tragedy? The catastrophe which is to usher in -the new era of love. Search for a musical symbol for the redeeming -principle. It cannot appear in its fulness till the old order, -changing, gives place to the new; but still we may find it in the -prevision of a woman to whom the shadow of death gave mystical lore. A -new song was put into the mouth of Sieglinde when Brünnhilde acclaimed -her child, yet unborn, as destined to be the loftiest hero of earth. -She poured out her gratitude in a prophetic strain in which we may, if -we wish, hear the Valkyria celebrated as the loving, redeeming woman -of the last portion of the tragedy. Out of that melody, and out of a -phrase in the love duet in which Brünnhilde blesses the mother who -gave birth to the glorious hero, grew the phrase in which, in "Die -Götterdämmerung," Brünnhilde, Valkyria no longer, is symbolized in her -new character as loving woman. But when the flames from Siegfried's -funeral pile reach Valhalla, when by a stupendous achievement the -poet-composer recapitulates the incidents of the tragedy in his -orchestral postlude, while pompous brass and strident basses depict -the destruction of Valhalla, the end of the old world of greed of gold -and lust of power, this melody, the symbol of redeeming love, soars -high into ethereal regions on the wings of the violins, and its last -transfigured harmonies proclaim the advent of a new heaven and a new -earth under the dominion of love. 'Tis the "Woman's Soul" leading us -"upward and on:" - - [Illustration: score] - - - FOOTNOTES: - -[D] _Walhall. Germanische Götter und Heldensagen._ Felix Dahn and -Therese Dahn. Kreutznach, 1888. - -[E] _Vide_ Magnusson and Morris. - -[F] Professor Dippold's translation. - -[G] Dippold. Wagner's poem, "The Ring of the Nibelung," p. 61. - -[H] Professor Dippold's translation. - -[I] See page 35. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - "PARSIFAL." - - -The last of Wagner's dramas is not only mystical in its subject, -but also in the manner in which it confronts the critical student. -In Bayreuth it exerts a most puissant influence upon the spectator -and listener; but when one has escaped the sweet thraldom of the -representation, and reflection takes the place of experience, there -arise a multitude of doubts touching the essential merit of the drama. -These doubts do not go to the effectiveness of "Parsifal" as an -artistic entertainment. If they did they would arise in the course of -the representation and hinder enjoyment. Against what, then, do they -direct themselves? - -An answer to this question must precede our study of the drama. - - - I. - -"Parsifal" is not a drama in the ordinary acceptation of the term; -yet it is a drama in the antique sense. It is a religious play; but, -again, not a religious play in the general sense in which Wagner's -mythological tetralogy may be said to be a religious play; it is -specifically a Christian play. It is contemplation of it in this -light which gives the student pause. There are indications in the -records of Wagner's intellectual activity that he wrote it to take -the place of two dramas which had occupied his mind many years before -"Parsifal" was written. The first of these dramas, which he sketched -in 1848, was a tragedy entitled "Jesus of Nazareth;" the second, which -he planned in 1856, was entitled "The Victors," and was based on a -Hindu legend. Its hero was to be Chaka-Munyi--the Buddha. In a manner, -it may be said, these two dramas were blended in "Parsifal," but, -strangely enough, that blending was accomplished so as to bring into -prominence a conception of religion more in harmony with the feeling of -Buddhistic, or mediæval asceticism than with the sentiments of modern -Christianity. Wagner's Jesus of Nazareth was a purely human philosopher -who preached the saving grace of love, and sought to redeem his time -from the domination of conventional law--the offspring of selfishness. -His philosophy was socialism imbued with love. Wagner's Buddha, on the -other hand, was the familiar apostle of abnegation and asceticism. The -heroism of the lovers Ananda and Prakriti was to have been displayed in -their voluntary renunciation of the union, towards which love impelled -them. They were to accept the teachings of the Buddha, take the vow of -chastity, and live thereafter in the holy community. - -When Wagner came to write his Christian drama he put aside his human -Christ, accepted the doctrine of the Atonement with all its mystical -elements, but endowed his hero with scarcely another merit than that -which had become the ideal of monkish theologians under the influence -of fearful moral depravity and fanatical superstition, as far removed -from the teachings and example of his original hero as the heavens -are from the earth. After having eloquently proclaimed the ethical -idea which is at the basis of all the really beautiful mythologies -and religions of the world, and embodied it in "The Flying Dutchman," -"Tannhäuser," and "The Niblung's Ring"--the idea that salvation -comes to humanity through the redeeming love of woman--he produced a -drama in which the central idea, so far as the dramatic spectacle is -concerned, is a glorification of a conception of sanctity which grew -out of a monstrous perversion of womanhood, and a wicked degradation of -womankind. - -This, I say, is the case "so far as the dramatic spectacle is -concerned." Of course there is much more in "Parsifal" than a -celebration of the principal feature in mediæval asceticism, but I am -speaking now of the things which fill the vision during representation, -which inspire a feeling of awe at the time, but afterwards irritate and -confound the reflective faculty. So far as the spectacle is concerned, -the heroism of Parsifal is not that of the Divine Being, of whom Wagner -does not hesitate to make him a symbol, but that of a desert recluse. -This contradiction of the modern sense of propriety is accentuated by -the means resorted to by Wagner for the sake of identifying the hero -with his lofty prototype. In the third act, scenes are borrowed from -the life of Christ, and Parsifal is made to play in them as the central -figure; Kundry anoints the feet of the knight and dries them with -her hair; Parsifal baptizes Kundry and absolves her from sin. These -acts, and the resistance of Kundry's seductions in the Magic Garden, -make up, for the greater part, the sum of the acts of a hero in whom -the spectator wishes to see, on the one hand, some of the attributes -of the heroes of the profoundly poetical romances from which the -subject-matter of the drama was drawn, or, on the other, some evidences -of that nobility and that gentleness of conduct, and that fine sanity -of thought which marked the life of Him of whom it has been said that -he was - - "The best of men - That e'er wore earth about him-- - A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit, - The first true gentleman that ever breathed." - -These things, taken in connection with the adoration of the Holy Grail, -which makes up so much of the action of the drama, and the worship of -the Sacred Lance, seem to us of the nineteenth century like little -else than relics of the monkish superstitions of the early Middle -Ages. Under them, it is true, there is much deep philosophy, and the -symbolism of the drama is surcharged with meaning; but a recognition -of the paradox is necessary, the better to appreciate the fact that -the essence of "Parsifal" lies less in what is seen on the stage than -in what the things seen stand for. To appreciate the work at its full -worth it must be accepted for the lesson which it inculcates, and -that lesson must be accepted in the spirit of the time which produced -the materials of the drama. The ethical idea of the drama is that it -is the enlightenment which comes through conscious pity that brings -salvation. The allusion is to the redemption of man by the sufferings -and compassionate death of Christ; and that stupendous tragedy is the -pre-figuration of the mimic tragedy which Wagner has constructed. The -spectacle to which he invites us, and with which he hopes to impress us -and move us to an acceptance of the lesson underlying his drama, is the -adoration of the Holy Grail, cast in the form of a mimicry of the Last -Supper, bedizened with some of the glittering pageantry of mediæval -knighthood and romance. The trial to which the hero is subjected is -that with which the folk-lore of all times and peoples, as well as -their monkish legends, have made us familiar: the hero proves his -fitness for his divine calling, and accomplishes it by withstanding the -temptations which Ulysses withstood on the Delightful Island where he -met Calypso, to which Tannhäuser succumbed in the grotto of Venus. - -Though "Parsifal" endures a separation of its poetic, scenic, and -musical elements less graciously than any other drama of its creator, -it is the music which must be relied on to bring about a reconciliation -between modern thought and feeling, and the monkish theology and relic -worship which I have discussed. The music reflects the spirit of -that Divine Passion which is the kernel of theological Christianity. -There is extremely little music in the score, which is descriptive of -external things--less than in any other of Wagner's works except "Die -Meistersinger." It is like that of "Tristan und Isolde," which deals -much more with mental and psychic states than with the outward things -of nature. It is music for the imagination rather than the fancy. In -listening to it one can be helped by bearing in mind the distinction so -beautifully made by Ruskin: - -"The fancy sees the outside, and is able to give a portrait of the -outside, clear, brilliant, and full of detail. - -"The imagination sees the heart and inner nature, and makes them felt, -but is often obscure, mysterious, and interrupted in its giving out of -outer detail. - -"Fancy, as she stays at the externals, can never feel. She is one of -the hardest-hearted of the intellectual faculties, or, rather, one of -the most purely and simply intellectual. She cannot be made serious, -no edge-tool but she will play with; whereas the imagination is in all -things the reverse. She cannot be but serious; she sees too far, too -darkly, too solemnly, too earnestly ever to smile. There is something -in the heart of everything, if we can reach it, that we shall not be -inclined to laugh at. - -"Now observe, while as it penetrates into the nature of things, the -imagination is pre-eminently a beholder of things as they are, it -is, in its creative function, an eminent beholder of things when and -where they are not; a seer, that is, in the prophetic sense, calling -the things that are not as though they were; and forever delighting -to dwell on that which is not tangibly present.... Fancy plays like -a squirrel in its circular prison and is happy; but imagination is a -pilgrim on the earth, and her home is in heaven." - -The fundamental elements of the music of "Parsifal" are suffering and -aspiration. When they are apprehended the ethical purpose of the drama -becomes plain. But not till then. - - - II. - -The investigations of scholars determined long ago that the legend -which is at the bottom of Wagner's drama is formed of two portions -which were once distinct. One of these portions is concerned with -the origin and wanderings of the Holy Grail prior to the time when it -became the object of the Quest which occupied so much of the attention -of the knights of King Arthur's Round Table; the second portion is -concerned with that Quest. The relative age of the two portions of the -legend and the genesis of each have caused much controversy, which has -thrown a great deal of light on mediæval civilization. We are little -concerned in that controversy, however, except so far as it enlightens -us as to the real nature of the legend, and helps us to understand how -the Grail became the loftiest symbol of Christian faith, and the Grail -Quest the highest duty of Christian knighthood. - -Formerly it was believed that the Grail was the product of Christian -legends which had become grafted on the Arthurian romances. Now it -is asserted, and with much show of probability, that the Grail, like -those romances, is Celtic in origin, and became what it is represented -in the legend by being endowed with a symbolism which originally it -lacked. For our view of the case, since we are not concerned with -literary criticism, this, too, is a matter of indifference, except so -far as it helps us to understand a proposition much broader and more -significant. The Holy Grail and the Seeker after it are both relics -of what, long before Christianity was in existence, was a universal -possession among Aryan peoples. Each has a multitude of prototypes -among the mythological apparatus and personages of the peoples of -the Indo-European family. To the class of popular heroes which figure -in the tales whose essential elements Von Hahn has formulated in his -_Arische Aussetzung und Rückkehr Formel_ (see Chapter IV.), Parsifal -belongs as well as Siegfried. A parallel between the two might be -carried through many details of their early life and riper adventures. -Both are born to a mother, far from her home, of a father who is dead; -both are brought up in a wilderness; both are in youth passionate -and violent of disposition; both are thrown for companionship on the -animals of the forests in which they are reared. There are other -elements held in common by the tales of which Wagner makes no mention -in his version of the Percival legend. A significant one is the mending -of a broken sword, a talisman, which act in the old Percival legends, -as well as in the tale of Siegfried, is the sign of the hero's election -to a high mission; but this need not now detain us. - -Wagner has been much criticized for changing the name of his hero -from Percival or Percivale, as we know it in English literature, and -Parzival, as he found it in the greatest of all the Grail epics, that -of Wolfram von Eschenbach, to Parsifal. Criticism of this kind is -often wasted. In making the change Wagner exercised a poet's privilege -for an obvious purpose--he made the name an index of his hero's moral -character. The suggestion came from Görres. According to this scholar, -whose derivation has long been set aside as fanciful, _Fal_ in the -Arabian tongue signifies "foolish," and _Parsi_ "pure one." By changing -the order of the words we obtain Parsi-fal--pure, or guileless, fool. -It is thus that Kundry expounds his name to the hero in Wagner's drama, -when she tells him the story of his birth. In Wolfram's poem he is also -called foolish because his mother dressed him in motley when he left -her, broken-hearted, to go out into the world in search of knighthood. -The French Perceval signifies simply one who goes "through the Valley." -A Welsh tale of at least equal antiquity with the preserved French -romances calls the hero Peredur, which has been interpreted into "the -seeker after the basin or the dish," this signification being again in -harmony with the principal incident of the French form of the legend, -_greal_ in old French meaning a dish. Wolfram, under the influence -of his model, claims nothing for the name of his hero except that -it means "right through the middle," but Meyer-Markau, who seems to -have accepted the theory that the tale is originally Keltic, strove -to give dramatic propriety to the name by pointing out that in Welsh, -Breton, and Cornish, _par_ signifies lad; _syw_, in Welsh, clad or -decorated, and _fall_, scantily, poorly, ill, foolishly, wretchedly. -Out of these words, then, he compounded _Par-syw-fall_, a lad who is -ill-clad. Plausibility, if nothing else, is lent to this derivation by -the circumstances under which the hero's mother sent him out into the -world. In the hope that the rude treatment which would be heaped upon -him would return him to her arms, she dressed him in fool's clothing: - - "'Thorenkleider soll mein Kind - An seinem lichten Leibe tragen: - Schlägt und rauft man ihn darum, - So kommt er mir wohl wieder.' - Weh, was litt die Arme da! - Nun nahm sie grobes Sacktuch her - Und schnitt ihm Hemd und Hose draus - In einem Stück, das bis zum Knie - Des nackten Beins nur reichte. - Das war als Narrenkleid bekannt. - Oben sah man eine Kappe."[J] - - - III. - -Interesting as this speculation is, however, we are now concerned only -with one element of it. Whatever his name may signify, it is obvious -that Parsifal was an innocent, a _simplex_, a fool. It is this trait -which enables us to identify him with his prototype in Aryan folk-lore. -He is the hero of what the English folk-lorists call "The Great Fool -Tales," and the Germans "_Dümmlingsmärchen_." In the following outline -of a very old poetic narrative of the Kelts, called by students "The -Lay of the Great Fool," may be found all that part of Parsifal's -youthful history which, in Wagner's drama, is learned either from his -own lips or those of Kundry: - - -Once there were two knightly brothers, of whom one was childless while -the other had two sons. A strife breaks out between them, and the -father is slain with his sons. The wicked knight then sends word to -the widow that if she should give birth to another son, he, too, must -be put to death. She does give birth to a son, and to save his life -sends him into the wilderness to be reared by a kitchen wench who has -a love-son. The lads grow up strong and hardy. One day the knightly -lad runs down a deer, kills it, and of its skin makes himself a motley -suit of clothes. He slays his foster-brother for laughing at him in -his strange dress, catches a wild horse, rides to his uncle's palace, -and though when asked his name he can only answer "Great Fool," he is -recognized. Thus his adventures begin. He avenges the wrongs of his -mother. This Great Fool is the original Seeker after the Grail. - - - IV. - -Among the oldest manuscripts which contain the Quest story there are -two which make no mention of the Holy Grail as a Christian relic or -symbol. The most interesting of these is Welsh, and is known as -the Mabinogi (_i. e._, the Juvenile Tale) of "Peredur, the Son of -Evrawc." It is an Arthurian story, and the majority of its adventures -are identical with those of Percival. Its beginning is a parallel of -"The Lay of the Great Fool." The Holy Grail of the Percival romances -is replaced by a bleeding lance, a bloody head on a salver, and a -silver dish. These talismans are brought into the hall of a castle -belonging to a lame king, and are greeted with loud lamentations by the -assembled knights. In the French romances the talismans are the Holy -Grail and the bleeding lance, the latter being identified, as in Sir -Thomas Malory's "Morte d'Arthur," with the spear with which Longinus -opened the side of the crucified Christ. As Percival is condemned in -these romances for a long time to wander in fruitless search of this -castle, because having seen the wonders he did not ask their meaning, -so Peredur, in the Welsh romance, is cursed in the Court of King Arthur -for a similar neglect. Had he asked, the lame king would have got well -of his wound, and Peredur would have proved his fitness to avenge the -death of his cousin, who was the lame king's son, and had been killed -by the sorceresses of Gloucester. After many trials, tallying with -those of Percival in the French romances and Parzival in Wolfram's -poem, Peredur finds the castle again (where he had on his first visit -united the pieces of a broken sword and cut through an iron staple, -as Siegfried split the anvil), is recognized as the nephew of the -king, and avenges his cousin's death by leading Arthur and his knights -against the sorceresses of Gloucester. There are some allusions to the -Christian religion in the old tale, but essentially it is pagan. The -bloody head and bleeding lance are part of ancient British legendary -apparatus. - -A bleeding lance, says Mr. Alfred Nutt,[K] is the bardic symbol of -undying hatred of the Saxon. Here it bled till the death of Peredur's -cousin was avenged. The bloody head was the head of that cousin. - - - V. - -We find in Parsifal on his entrance only a thoughtless, impetuous -forest lad, unlearned in the affairs of life, utterly unconscious of -its conventions--in short, another young Siegfried. He is the hero of -the "Great Fool" stories, but in the process of Christianizing the -character a new meaning has been given to the epithet. He is a chosen -vessel for a divine deed, because he is a pure or guileless fool. In -this, though the suggestion was derived from the old Aryan folk-tales, -we are obliged to see a new, a Christian symbolism, the spirit of -which may be found in Christ's words, "Whosoever shall not receive the -kingdom of God as a _little child_ shall not enter it." In Wagner's -conception of the legend it was necessary that the hero be one as -guiltless of all knowledge of sin as he was of the necessity and nature -of salvation. Enlightenment was to come to him through compassion or -fellow-suffering, and this enlightenment was to enable him in turn -to resist temptation and bring surcease of suffering to Amfortas, -Kundry, and the community of Grail knights. In his musical phrase as -it enters the drama with him one may hear chiefly his youthful energy, -but also a certain innate dignity, a germ of nobility which contains -the possibility of the stupendous proclamation which greets him on -his entrance into the Castle of the Grail in the last act. But there -is another element in the typical music of "Parsifal" which chiefly -we recognize in its bright, assertive, militant rhythm. It is the -chivalric element which may also be noticed in the brilliant phrase -with which Lohengrin, the son of Parsifal, is greeted by the populace -in the earlier drama of Wagner's. This kinship need not be set down as -fanciful. There are few features of Wagnerian study more interesting -than the tracing of spiritual and material parallels between the -composer's own melodies. As a writer uses forms of expression which -resemble each other to express related ideas, so Wagner has frequently -recurred in his later works to melodic phrases and modulations which -he had used with like intent many years before. In two cases he made -a direct quotation. Hans Sachs's allusion to the story of Tristram -and Iseult in Act III. of "Die Meistersinger" is accompanied by the -fundamental melody of "Tristan und Isolde," and the swan which Parsifal -kills comes fluttering across the scene and dies to a reminiscence of -the swan harmonies in "Lohengrin." - - -In his character as the mystically chosen Agent of the Grail and the -instrument of salvation, Parsifal is also typified in the music by the -phrase to which the oracular promise which appeared on the Holy Vessel -is repeated in the first scene, and again with great solemnity in the -ceremony of the Adoration of the Grail. - - - VI. - -Prototypes of the Quest of the Grail and of the Quester have been found -in popular tales which have nothing to do with Christianity. Until the -talisman became a symbol of religion, the object of the search for it -was simply the performance of a sacred duty by the hero to his family, -by avenging a death, healing the lingering illness of a relative, or -in some instances (which connect the Grail legends with stories of -the Barbarossa kind) to bring freedom to individuals whose lives have -been miraculously and burdensomely prolonged. The talisman itself is -to be found in a multitude of forms, from the dawn of literature down -to today. To recognize it we must study its properties rather than its -shape or material. In the legend of the Holy Grail it is the chalice -used by Christ - - "At the last sad supper with his own," - -in which afterwards his blood was caught. In one form of the -legend--that which is most familiar, because of Tennyson's "Idyls of -the King"--this cup is carried to Great Britain by Joseph of Arimathea -and deposited at Glastonbury. In another form, which was that adopted -by Wagner, it is given into the keeping of Titurel, who builds a -sanctuary for it on Monsalvat (the Mountain of Salvation), where it is -guarded by a body of knights obviously organized on the model of the -Knights Templars of the Crusades. It is not always a cup. Wolfram von -Eschenbach describes it as a jewel. But whether stone or cup (and we -shall find prototypes of both forms) its miraculous properties are of -two kinds. - -The first of these properties is purely physical: the talisman feeds -its possessor; the second is spiritual: the talisman is a touchstone, -an oracle. In the perfect form of the legend both these properties are -united, as we see in Wagner's drama: the Grail chooses those who are -to serve it, and nourishes them miraculously. It also predicts the -coming of Parsifal. This is the case, too, in Wolfram's poem, where -the names of the elect appear in glowing letters upon the jewel, and -its guardian knights, whom Wolfram calls _Templeisen_, are fed by it, -this miraculous power being refreshed every Friday by the coming of -a dove bringing the sacred host and placing it upon the jewel, which -Wolfram calls the "Graal," in defiance of the etymology which makes -the word mean dish. Wolfram calls it "_lapsit exillis_;" but Wolfram, -though he composed the grandest of all mediæval poems, could neither -read nor write, so his Latin has caused not a little brain-cudgelling -among the learned. A most ingenious guess is that of Professor Martin, -who thinks _lapsit exillis_ is a corruption of _lapsi de Cælis_--that -is, the stone of him who fell from heaven. In support of this there -is the poem about the contest of the minstrels in the Wartburg, which -describes the Grail as a jewel which fell from the crown of Lucifer -when the Archangel Michael tore it from his head. This origin of the -Grail connects it with the black stone in the Kaaba at Mecca, which was -originally white, but has been blackened by the sins of mankind. The -legend says that it was once the angel set as a guard over Adam. He was -cast down from heaven in the form of a stone for being derelict in duty. - -The Grail's property of furnishing sustenance is the possession of so -many talismans of ancient story that it would be a waste of space to -enumerate them all. The most striking examples must suffice. A horn was -the earliest drinking-vessel. The horn which the nymph Amalthea gave to -Hercules, whose memory we still preserve in those pretty toys called -cornucopias--horns of plenty--is easily recalled in this connection. -The Grail is nothing else than the Philosopher's Stone which was to -transmute all baser metals into gold; it is the stone which Noah was -commanded to hang up in the Ark that it might give out light; it is -the goblet which Oberon gave to Huon of Bordeaux, which in the hands -of a good man became filled with wine; it is the golden cup which was -given to Hercules by the sun-god Helios; it is the cup of Hermes, which -played a part in the Eleusinian mysteries; it is the magic napkin or -table-cloth of Aryan fairy-lore which produced all manner of food -simply for the wishing; it has its fellows in three of the thirteen -Rarities of Kingly Regalia which were preserved in Arthur's Court at -Caerleon, viz., the horn of Bran the Hardy of the North--the drink -that might be desired of it would appear as soon as wished for; the -Budget or Basket of Gwyddno with the High Crown--provision for a single -person if put into it multiplied a hundredfold; the table-cloth (in one -manuscript it is called the dish) of Rhydderch the Scholar--whatever -victuals or drink were wished thereon were instantly obtained. It is -the stone in the serpent's tail told about in the old Welsh story of -Peredur, the virtue of which was that it would give as much gold to -the possessor as he might desire. It is the magic ring Draupnir of -Scandinavian mythology which every ninth night dropped eight other -rings of equal weight and fineness. - -But of prototypes of this class the most striking in its relation to -the Holy Grail is found in the legendary lore of the primitive home of -the Aryan race. Long ago the Holy Grail was the Golden Cup of Jamshid, -King of the Genii in Persia, the power of which extended his career -over seven hundred years, and then left him to die because he failed -to look upon it for ten days. Here we have a parallel of the legend of -Joseph of Arimathea, of whom it is said that the Jews having thrown -him into a subterranean prison after he and Nicodemus had prepared -the body of Christ for burial, Christ appeared to him and brought the -chalice which he had used at the Last Supper, and in which Joseph had -caught the blood which flowed from his wounds. The sight of this dish -kept Joseph alive forty-two years, until he was released by the Emperor -Vespasian, who had been miraculously cured of leprosy in his youth by -a touch of the kerchief of Veronica with which Christ wiped his face -while on his way to Calvary. Like Joseph of Arimathea, Wagner's Titurel -lives in his grave, being sustained by the Grail until Amfortas refuses -longer to unveil it. - -The second property of the Grail, its spiritual property, is also found -in the talismans of ancient folk-lore. It was possessed by the silver -cup which Joseph in Egypt had put into Benjamin's sack that he might -be brought back to him. "Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost -overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for -good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh and whereby, indeed, -he divineth?"[L] There is a Hebrew legend (told in the _Clavicula -Salomonis_) to the effect that "the supernatural knowledge of Solomon -was recorded in a volume which Rehoboam inclosed in an ivory ewer and -deposited in his father's tomb. On repairing the sepulchre, some wise -men of Babylon discovered the cup, and having extracted the volume, -an angel revealed the key to its mysterious writing to one Troes, a -Greek, and hence the stream of occult science which has so beneficially -unfolded the destinies of the West."[M] There is a parallel story in -Greek literature telling how, warned by the Delphic oracle, Aristomenes -secreted an article while the Lacedemonians were storming the fortress -of Mount Ira. The article was to be a talisman for the future security -of the Messinians. When, later, the talisman was exhumed it was "found -to be a brazen ewer containing a roll of finely-beaten tin on which -were inscribed the mysteries of the great divinities."[N] The Holy -Grail is a divining-cup: it speaks oracularly, like its prototypes. It -was not only the chalice from which Christ drank at the Last Supper, -but also the dish which discovered Judas as the future betrayer of his -master: "He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall -betray me."[O] - - - VII. - -The Grail romances, as we possess them, were written within the fifty -years compassing the last quarter of the twelfth and the first quarter -of the thirteenth centuries--that is to say, while the third and fourth -crusades were in progress, and the memory of the supposed discoveries -of the sacred cup and lance were still fresh in the minds of Europeans. -This fact furnishes ample suggestion as to how such talismans as I have -mentioned became transformed into the relics of Christ's passion. It -was by a literary process that has always been familiar to the world. -The species of belief or superstition which inspired the transformation -is not yet dead. If we are to believe Father Ignatius the miracle of -the Grail vision was repeated but recently at Llanthony Abbey in Wales, -where an Episcopal monk saw the chalice shining through the oaken doors -of the cabinet which enclosed it. That is a Christian form of the -belief; evidences of a pagan may be observed in nearly all civilized -communities almost any date. When you see a baby cutting its teeth upon -a red bit of bone, or ivory shaped like a branch of coral and tricked -out with bells, you see a relic of an unspeakably ancient superstition -closely allied to the belief in these miraculous talismans. When you -see a baby with a string of red coral beads around its neck you see -another. In Wagner, as in Tennyson, the Grail shines red: - - "Fainter by day, but always in the night - Blood-red, and sliding down the blacken'd marsh - Blood-red, and on the naked mountain-top - Blood-red, and in the sleeping mere below - Blood-red." - -Now note this truth of vast significance: the essential element in the -Grail, whether seen as a chalice or as a salver containing a head, -_is the blood_. The meaning of this need not be sought far. The human -imagination cannot be projected into the past sufficiently far to -picture the time when the awful idea of a bloody atonement did not -confront humanity. Hence it is that in pagan mythology blood is the -symbol of creative power, as the cups, horns, dishes, ewers, were -symbols of fecundity, abundance, and vivification. The essence of the -Grail myth is the reproductive power of the blood of a slain god. The -application which lies so near in a study of the Christian symbolism -of the Grail cannot fail. I omit it in order to trace the evolution -of the idea in a pagan talisman whose history the ingenuity of Dr. -Gustave Oppert, a German _savant_, has disclosed to us. When Perseus -cut off the head of the Medusa he placed the bleeding member on the -sward near the sea-coast. The blood transformed the grass that it dyed -into a red stone which was found to have marvellous healing power. -This belief is expressed in the poems descriptive of the virtues of -stones which are attributed to Orpheus. Dr. Oppert traces the record -touching the curative powers of coral into the book of a Christian -bishop of the twelfth century, and thence into a Latin work printed -in Strassburg in 1473, in which allusions to the Orphic songs and -the Christian religion are blended. Wolfram's alleged model, Kyot, -professes to have derived his account of the Grail from the book of a -pagan called Flegetanis, written in Arabic and deposited at Toledo. -Now, Dr. Oppert finds an Arabic physician and philosopher of the tenth -century who describes coral as having a strengthening and nourishing -influence upon the heart, which belief seems recognized again in a bit -of mediæval etymology which compounds the word of _cor_ and _alere_. -Mediæval Latin poems express the belief that peculiar properties of -sustenance are possessed by coral, and, finally, in a book entitled -_Musæum Metallicum_ it is defined as a memorial of the blood of Christ. -In its physical attributes coral and the Grail are now identical. Had -Dr. Oppert wished, he might have gone further and quoted Pliny's remark -that the Indian soothsayers and diviners "look upon coral as an amulet -endowed with sacred properties and a sure preservative against all -dangers; hence it is that they equally value it as an ornament and as -an object of devotion."[P] Here spiritual properties are attributed -to it; but also physical. Pliny says that calcined coral is used -as an ingredient for compositions for the eyes; that it makes flesh -(very significant this) in cavities left by ulcers. In his day it was -hung about the necks of infants to preserve them against danger. The -Romans thought that it preserved and fastened the teeth of children -when hung about their necks. Paracelsus prescribed coral necklaces as -preservatives "against fits, sorcery, charms, and poison," and an old -English writer makes it disclose the presence of sickness in a wearer -by turning pale and wan. Here it is a touchstone, and this superstition -has penetrated to the United States. In our day I have been told by -devoted mothers that coral beads strengthen the eyes. When the present -Crown-prince of Italy was born in Naples the municipality presented the -royal babe with a coral cradle. - - -Thus much for the genesis of the Grail, its Quest, and its Quester. We -have seen that they are all relics of a time antedating Christianity; -but that fact only adds interest to them, for even in their pagan -guises they show those potential attributes which adapted them to -receive the lofty symbolism which they acquired under the influence of -Christianity. - - - VIII. - -It is in the prelude to the drama that the fundamental elements of -suffering and aspiration are most eloquently proclaimed. The visible -symbol of suffering among the personages of the play is Amfortas. He, -too, has come into the Christianized legend from the secular romances -and folk-tales. In the earlier forms he is simply the representative -of unsatisfied vengeance, symbolized in the bardic emblem of the -bleeding lance. In the French romances and Wolfram's poem he is a royal -fisherman--a singular fact, which critics with a taste for hidden -meanings have sought to explain by references to the circumstance -that in the early Church a fish was a symbol for Christ, the letters -composing its name in Greek, ICHTHYS, being the initial letters of the -brief but comprehensive creed, _Iesous Christos, Theou Yios, Soter_ -(Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour). But always, even in the Welsh tale, -he is a sufferer whose healing depends on the asking of a question by -a predestined hero. In the Mabinogi of Peredur and the French romances -the question goes simply to the meaning of the talismans which are -solemnly displayed. Wolfram deepens the ethical significance of the -question immeasurably by changing it to "What ails thee, uncle?" It is -the sympathy thus manifested that brings the fisher-king's sufferings -to an end; and the failure to ask the question on the first visit, -through a too literal interpretation of the advice given while Parzival -was receiving his education in chivalry, is the cause of the long -wanderings and many trials which test and temper the religious nature -of Parzival. Wagner, by ignoring the question which plays so important -a role in all the other versions, and making the healing of Amfortas -depend upon a touch of the sacred lance, has gained a theatrical effect -at the expense of a profoundly beautiful ethical principle. He has also -laid himself open to a charge of inconsistency which, strangely enough, -seems to have escaped the attention of his many inimical critics in -Germany. The prohibited question is the dramatic _motif_ upon which the -story of Percival's son, Lohengrin, is reared: - - "Nie sollst du mich befragen, - Noch Wissens Sorge tragen, - Woher ich kam der Fahrt, - Noch wie mein Nam' und Art!" - -The reason of the prohibition may be learned from Wolfram von -Eschenbach. The sufferings of Amfortas having been needlessly prolonged -by Parzival's failure to ask the healing question, the Knights of the -Grail thereafter refused to permit themselves to be questioned: - - "Als die Taufe nun geschen, - Fand am Grale man geschrieben: - 'Welchen Templer Gottes Hand - Fremdem Volk zum Herren gäbe, - Fragen sollt' er widerraten - Nach seinem Namen und Geschlecht, - Und dann zum Recht ihm helfen. - Wird die Frage doch gethan, - So bleibt er ihnen länger nicht.' - Weil der gute Amfortas - So lang im bittern Schemerzen lag, - Und ihn die Frage lange mied, - Ist ihnen alles Fragen leid: - All des Grales Dienstgesellen - Wolln sich nicht mehr fragen lassen."[Q] - -Wagner utilized the _motif_ in "Lohengrin," but ignored it in -"Parsifal." - -The suffering of Amfortas, which came upon him because he, the King of -the Grail, fell from the estate of bodily purity enjoined by the rules -of the order, receives more eloquent expression than any of the other -feelings which enter the drama. In Wagner's philosophical scheme it, -as well as the tortures of conscience felt by Parsifal when Kundry's -impure kiss awakens him to consciousness of transgression, recalls the -vicarious suffering of Christ on the Cross. In the personal history of -Parsifal, furthermore, it is associated with the death-agonies of his -mother, who died because he left her to go in search of knighthood. -The name of this mother Wagner changes so that it becomes a symbol of -pain. It is Herzeleide--that is, Heart's-sorrow, or Heart's-suffering, -the antithesis of our sweet English word Heart's-ease. The phrases -which give the predominant mood of agony and pain to the music of the -drama, which, as I have already said, reflect the spirit of theological -Christianity, salvation through sacrifice, are these: - -_First._ The melody to which in the ceremony of the Adoration of the -Grail the sacramental formula is pronounced: "Take ye My Body, take My -Blood, in token of our Love." - - -_Second._ The personal melody of Amfortas. - -_Third._ The symbol of Herzeleide. Parsifal's mother, does not enter -the drama, but is only spoken of; yet a typical phrase is allotted to -her, and is introduced for the first time under circumstances that -are profoundly poetical and pathetic. Parsifal is being questioned by -Gurnemanz. To all interrogations save one he has the single answer, "I -do not know." Asked his name, he answers: "Once I had many, but now I -remember none." This answer is accompanied by the Herzeleide phrase. To -find the clue to this somewhat enigmatic proceeding resort must be had -to Wagner's model Wolfram, where it is said of the lad's mother that - - "A thousand times she said tenderly: - '_Bon fils, cher fils, beau fils._'" - -These were the names which Parsifal once knew but had forgotten. They -are associated in his mind with his mother, and therefore the allusion -is accompanied by the Herzeleide phrase. - -_Fourth._ The phrase to which in the memorial ceremony of Christ's -suffering the words are sung: - - "For a world that slumbered - With sorrows unnumbered - He once His own blood offered." - -It is this phrase that lends such great poignancy to the music which -accompanies Parsifal and Gurnemanz as they walk towards the Castle of -the Grail. - -In the prelude suffering has its expression in the first of these -phrases, whose concluding figure in the second part reaches an -expression of agony like the cry that rent the air of Calvary even -as the curtain of the temple was rent in twain: "_Eli, Eli, lama -sabachthani?_" Aspiration is proclaimed by the symbol of the Grail -itself, the familiar Amen formula of the Dresden Court Church, an -ethereal phrase which soars ever upward towards the zenith of tonality. -The melody of Faith is marked by lofty firmness, and derives a peculiar -emphasis from successive repetition in remote keys. - -For the prelude, whose melodic material has been thus marshalled, we -have Wagner's own poetic exposition: - -"Strong and firm does Faith reveal itself, elevated and resolute even -in suffering. In answer to the renewed promise the voice of Faith -sounds softly from dimmest heights--as though borne on the wings of -the snow-white dove--slowly descending, embracing with ever-increasing -breadth and fulness the heart of man, filling the world and the whole -of nature with mightiest force; then, as though stilled to rest, -glancing upward again towards the light of heaven. Then once more -from the awe of solitude arises the lament of loving compassion, the -agony, the holy sweat of the Mount of Olives, the divine sufferings of -Golgotha; the body blanches, the blood streams forth and glows now with -the heavenly glow of blessing in the chalice, pouring forth on all that -lives and languishes the gracious gift of Redemption through Love. For -him we are prepared, for Amfortas, the sinful guardian of the shrine -who, with fearful rue for sin gnawing at his heart, must prostrate -himself before the chastisement of the vision of the Grail. Shall there -be redemption from the devouring torments of his soul? Yet once again -we hear the promise and--hope!" - - - IX. - -The first act of the drama treats of the election of the hero, the -guileless simpleton of the talismanic oracle. In the second stage of -the action the hero is proved by temptation. All the elements here are -derived from legendary stories, but in their combination Wagner has -proceeded with remarkable dramatic power, freedom, and ingenuity. The -apparatus is magical. Klingsor, a pervasive personage in mediæval -sorcery; Kundry, the repulsive messenger of the Grail no longer, but a -supernaturally beautiful siren; a magic garden and castle, and a bevy -of maidens, whose office it is to stimulate the senses by suggesting an -appeal to all of them at once (they are half human, half floral)--these -are the agencies of Parsifal's temptation. The prototype of the scene -in old mythologies and folk-lore is a visit to a bespelled castle -where generally the hero succumbs to sensual weakness of some kind; -he eats of proffered food and loses his speech; or he asks a question -which is _tabu_; or he fails to ask a question which is commanded; or -falls asleep; or fails to bring away a talisman which has opened the -castle to him; or he falls as Tannhäuser fell. As a rule the castle -vanishes at the end of the adventure, as it does in "Parsifal," when -the hero resists Kundry's love-spell, seizes the lance which the -magician launches against him, and with it makes the sign of the -cross and pronounces a formula of exorcism. Often the purpose of the -visit is to release a damsel who is bespelled or imprisoned. Students -of comparative folk-lore have found the mythological essence of the -stories of this class to lie in a visit to the underworld. Siegfried -achieved an analogous adventure when he penetrated the wall of fire, -and awakened Brünnhilde from the spell of sleep in which she was held. - -Klingsor is remotely connected with the history of two other dramas -of Wagner. In the poem describing the Contest of Minstrelsy held -in the Wartburg which Wagner blended with the legend of Tannhäuser, -Klingsor is a magician and minstrel of Hungary, and to him Heinrich von -Effterdingen, otherwise Tannhäuser, appeals when defeated by Wolfram -von Eschenbach, who is not only the author of the poem "Parzival," but -also the tuneful minstrel who sings a woful ballad to the evening star -in Wagner's opera. In his epic Wolfram makes Klingsor a nephew of the -renowned magician Virgilius of Naples.[R] - -Cyriacus Spangenberg, who wrote a book on the Art of the Master-singers -in 1598, devotes several pages to Klingsor, describing him as the -greatest master-singer of his age, who met all comers in poetical -combat and overthrew them to the number of fifty-two. He was finally -confounded by Wolfram von Eschenbach, who discovered his dependence on -the Powers of Evil, and put both him and his familiar, a devil called -Nazian, to shame by singing the glories of the Son of God become Man. - -"Kundry," says Mr. Alfred Nutt, "is Wagner's greatest contribution to -the legend. She is the Herodias whom Christ, for her laughter, doomed -to wander till He come again." The manner in which Wagner compounded -this, his most striking and original dramatic character, is the most -marvellous of his poetical achievements in the drama. Kundry draws her -elements from the Grail romances, from Christian legends, from fairy -tales, and from the profoundest depths of the poet's imagination. In -the Welsh tale her prototype is the hero's cousin, who is under a -spell, and in accordance with the popular tale formula appears as a -loathly damsel until her kinsman achieves the vengeance demanded by -family ties. Then she appears in her true form as a handsome youth. -In Wolfram, Kundrie la Sorcière is only the Grail Messenger, and as -such is hideous of appearance; the temptress of the Magic Garden is -a beauteous damsel named Orgeluse. Wagner united both attributes in -his creation. As a penitent, seeking atonement for sin committed, she -is a loathly damsel in the service of the Grail. As a siren she is a -tool of Klingsor, to whose power she is subject while asleep. She has -innumerable prototypes in fairy-lore, who are released from wicked -spells by the kisses of handsome princes, the fidelity of husbands, or -the granting of their wills, as in "The Marriage of Sir Gawaine." In -Wagner, the dissolution of the spell releases her from a double curse. -The suggestion to make use of the Herodias legend lies near enough -in both the Mabinogi of Peredur and Wolfram's epic. The Templeisen, -as Wolfram calls his Knights of the Grail, were an order obviously -patterned after the Knights Templars, who were accused among other -things of having secretly worshipped a head which they credited with -the virtues of the talismans that I have discussed. Their patron saint -was John the Baptist, and when the vessel of green glass, so long and -piously revered as the _santo catino_, was brought back by crusaders -seven hundred years ago, it was deposited in the Chapel of St. John -at Genoa. A relic of the John the Baptist cult has survived among -the Knights Templar, a branch of the Order of Free Masons, to this -day. That the talisman of a bloody head upon a salver in the Welsh -tale should have suggested the Herodias legend is obvious enough. -Wagner's transformation of the legend, accomplished for the purpose -of identifying his Kundry with Herodias, is extremely suggestive and -felicitous. According to the old tale, Herodias was in love with the -prophet of the New Dispensation. After the dance before Herod and its -awful consequences, she secretly crept to the head upon the salver -for the purpose of covering it with tears and kisses. At that moment -a blast issued from the dead lips which sent Herodias flying off into -space. Thus she is still driven forward, permitted to rest only from -midnight to dawn, when she sits cowering under willow and hazel copses, -and bemoans her fate. In Wagner she becomes a Wandering Jewess. She saw -Christ staggering under the burden of the Cross and laughed. His glance -fell upon her, and doomed her to wander ceaselessly without the sweet -refuge of tears, subject to the powers of evil, yet longing to make -atonement by deeds of virtue. These characteristics Wagner developed -with marvellous dramatic power in the music which he associates with -her, and which is equally wild and hysterical, whether it picture her -flying along on a horse doing errands in the service of the Grail, -or in one of those fits of mad laughter to which the curse makes her -subject. - -Yet Kundry, to proceed with Mr. Nutt, "would find release and salvation -could a man resist her love spell. She knows this. The scene between -the unwilling temptress, whose success would but doom her afresh, -and the virgin Parsifal thus becomes tragic in the extreme. How does -this affect Amfortas and the Grail? In this way: Parsifal is the pure -fool, knowing naught of sin or suffering. It had been foretold of him -that he should become 'wise by fellow-suffering,' and so it proves. -The overmastering rush of desire unseals his eyes, clears his mind. -Heart-wounded by the shaft of passion, he feels Amfortas' torture -thrill through him. The pain of the physical wound is his, but far -more, the agony of the sinner who has been unworthy of his high trust, -and who, soiled by carnal sin, must yet daily come in contact with the -Grail, symbol of the highest purity and holiness. The strength of the -new-born knowledge enables him to resist sensual longing, and thereby -to release both Kundry and Amfortas." - - - X. - -In spite of this, however, and more than this, in spite of all the -religious mysticism with which the work can be infused by the analyst -and interpreter, I cannot but question the right of "Parsifal" to -be considered as in any sense a reflex of the religious feeling of -to-day. It is beautiful in much of its symbolism, and it is profound; -but it is too persistently mediæval in its dramatic manifestations to -satisfy the intelligence of the nineteenth century. The adoration of -the relics of Christ's passion, and the idea that all human virtues are -summed up in celibate chastity, were products of an age whose theories -and practices as regards sex relationship can have no echo in modern -civilization. Wolfram von Eschenbach's married Parzival, who clings -with fond devotion to the memory of the wife from whose arms he had to -tear himself in order to undertake the quest, and who loses himself -in tender brooding for a long time when the sight of blood-spots on -the snow suggests to his fancy the red and white of his wife's cheeks, -seems to me to be a much more amiable and human hero than the young -ascetic of Wagner's drama. - - - FOOTNOTES: - -[J] _Parzival, von Wolfram von Eschenbach._ Dr. Gotthold Bötticher. -Berlin, 1885. - -[K] _Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail._ David Nutt. London, 1888. - -[L] Genesis xliv., 4 and 5. - -[M] Mr. Price's Preface in Warton's _History of English Poetry_, vol. i. - -[N] Mr. Price's note in Warton, vol. i. - -[O] Matthew xxvi., 23. - -[P] Natural History, Book XXXII., chap. ii. - -[Q] Bötticher's Translation Book XVI. - -[R] The stories concerning Virgil and his connection with the Black Art -are admirably discussed in Mr. J. S. Tunison's study, _Master Virgil, -the Author of the Æneid as he seemed in the Middle Ages_. Second -Edition. Robert Clarke & Co. Cincinnati, 1890. - - - * * * * * - - - BY ANNA ALICE CHAPIN - - WONDER TALES FROM WAGNER. Told for Young People. Illustrated. - Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. - -Miss Chapin's idea of reducing to a compact and readable form the -more or less involved stories of Wagner's operas is one that met with -pronounced success in her first book, "The Story of the Rhinegold." -Although announced as "for young people," it was received with marked -favor by older lovers of Wagner, who found in it an intelligent, -consecutive, and concise guide to the narrative covered by the -Nibelungen cycle. "Wonder Tales from Wagner" is planned upon much -the same lines, and forms an invaluable companion volume to its -predecessor. Told with singular simplicity and grace, these stories -of the old gods have all the charm of modern fairy-tales and are, -moreover, of great assistance in the study of Wagner and Wagner's -operas. - - - THE STORY OF THE RHINEGOLD. (Der Ring des Nibelungen.) Told for Young - People. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25. - -The legend of the Rhinegold is both interesting and dramatic, and it -has lost nothing of either quality in the hands of Miss Chapin. It may -have been written with the hope of explaining the music of Wagner to -young folks, but we imagine that old people will find in it a great -deal of much-needed information.--_N. Y. Herald._ - -The stories on which Wagner founded his great operas are told in a -clear, beautiful, story-telling manner that claims and holds the -attention. The musical motif of each development of the stories is -given, and greatly adds to the value of the book.--_Outlook_, N. Y. - HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS - NEW YORK AND LONDON -[Illustration] _Either of the above works will be sent by mail, postage -prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on -receipt of the price._ - - - THE BROWNING LETTERS - - - THE LETTERS OF ROBERT BROWNING AND ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, - 1845-1846. Illustrated with Two Contemporary Portraits of the - Writers, and Two Facsimile Letters. With a Prefatory Note by - R. BARRETT BROWNING, and Notes, by F. G. KENYON, Explanatory of - the Greek Words, Two Volumes. Crown 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, Deckel - Edges and Gilt Tops, $5.00; Half Morocco, $9.50. - - -Many good gifts have come to English literature from the two Brownings, -husband and wife, besides those poems, which are their greatest. The -gift of one's poems is the gift of one's self. But in a fuller sense -have this unique pair now given themselves by what we can but call the -gracious gift of these letters. As their union was unique, so is this -correspondence unique.... The letters are the most opulent in various -interest which have been published for many a day.--_Academy_, London. - -We have read these letters with great care, with growing astonishment, -with immense respect; and the final result produced on our minds is -that these volumes contain one of the most precious contributions to -literary history which our time has seen.--_Saturday Review_, London. - -We venture to think that no such remarkable and unbroken series of -intimate letters between two remarkable people has ever been given -to the world.... 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Studies in the Wagnerian Drama - -Author: Henry Krehbiel - -Release Date: September 9, 2020 [EBook #63163] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES IN THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA *** - - - - -Produced by Andrés V. Galia, Jude Eylander, for the music -files, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 757px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="757" height="1200" alt="cover" /> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class='tnote'> - -<p class='p2 big2 center'>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:</p> - -<p>The book cover has been modified and was put on the public domain.</p> - -<p>A number of words in this book have both hyphenated and -non-hyphenated variants. For the words with both variants present the -one used more times has been kept. It was also detected that some names -have two different spellings. That was respected as both are correct.</p> - -<p>The musical examples that are discussed in the book can be heard by -clicking on the [Listen] tab. This is only possible in the HTML version -of the book. The scores that appear in the original book have been -included as images.</p> - -<p>In some cases the scores that were used by the music transcriber -to generate the music files differ from the original scores. Those -differences are in part due to modifications that were made during the process -of creating the musical archives as the music transcriber added -instruments that were not indicated in the original scores. Other -modifications were made to correct obvious mistakes in the original -scores. These scores are included as png images, -and can be seen by clicking on the [PNG] tag in the HTML version of the -book.</p> - -<p>Obvious punctuation and other printing errors have been -corrected.</p> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1>STUDIES<br /> <small>IN THE</small><br /> WAGNERIAN DRAMA</h1> - -<p class="center big1">BY</p> -<p class="big4 center">HENRY EDWARD KREHBIEL</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 90px;"> -<img src="images/tp-ilo.jpg" width="90" height="102" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class= "center">NEW YORK AND LONDON<br /> -HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS<br /> -1904</p> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center p6">Copyright, 1891, by H<small>ARPER</small> & B<small>ROTHERS</small>.<br /> -<em>All rights reserved.</em></p> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p> -</div> - -<p class="half-title"> -TO<br /> -JOSEPH S. TUNISON</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> -</div> - - - -<p class="p4 center big3">CONTENTS.</p> - -<div class="table1-container"> -<div class="table1"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - - <tr><td align="center">CHAPTER I.<br /> - THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA: ITS PROTOTYPES AND ELEMENTS.</td> - </tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl hangingindent">Wagner a Regenerator of the Lyric Drama.—Greek Tragedy.—Solemn<br /> -Speech and Music.—The Poet-composers<br /> -of Hellas.—The Florentine Reformers and their Invention<br /> -of the Lyric Drama.—Peri and Caccini.—Their<br /> -Declamation.—Monteverde's Orchestra.—How Wagner<br /> -Touches Hands with his Predecessors.—Poet and<br /> -Composer.—Music a Means, not an Aim in the Drama.—A<br /> -Typical Teuton, but also a Cosmopolite.—Teutonic<br /> -and Roman Ideals.—Absolute Beauty and Characteristic<br /> -Beauty.—The Ethical Idea in Wagner's Dramas.—Fundamental<br /> -Principle of his Constructive Scheme.<br /> -The Typical Phrases.—Symbols, not Labels.—Music as<br /> -a Language.—Characteristics of Some Typical Phrases.—Wotan<br /> -in Two Aspects.—Form the First Manifestation<br /> -of Law in Music and Essential to Repose.—Tonality<br /> -and the Effect of its Loss.—Phrases Delineative<br /> -and Imitative of External Characteristics.—The<br /> -Giants, the Dwarfs, the Rhine; Loge, the God of<br /> -Fire.—Prophetic Use of the Phrases.—Their Dramatic<br /> -Development.—Wagner's Orchestra and the Greek<br /> -Chorus.—Alliteration and Rhyme.—The Ethical Idea<br /> -Again.</td> -<td class="tdr">Pages <a href="#Page_1">1</a>-36</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center">CHAPTER II.<br /> - "TRISTAN UND ISOLDE."</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl hangingindent">The Legend in Outline.—A Subject that has Fascinated<br /> -Poets for over Six Centuries in Spite of Changes in<br /> -Moral Feeling.—Wagner's Variations from the Versions<br /> -of Gottfried von Strassburg, Matthew Arnold, Tennyson,<br /> -and Swinburne.—The Prelude.—Absence of Scenic<br /> -Music.—Fundamental Musical Thought of the Drama.—Its<br /> -Duality in Unity.—Longing and Suffering.—Wagner's<br /> -Exposition.—Use of the Sailor's Song and the<br /> -Sea Music.—Suffering and Chromatic Descent.—The<br /> -Love Glance and its Symbol.—Fatality and the Interval<br /> -of the Seventh.—The Heroic Phrase of Tristan.—The<br /> -Death Phrase.—Music as an Expounder of Hidden<br /> -Meanings.—The Horn Music.—The Signal.—The Love<br /> -Duet.—Dramatic Feeling Supplied by Music.—King<br /> -Marke.—Philosophy of the Drama.—Musical Mood<br /> -Pictures.—A Dying Man: an Empty Sea.—Tristan's<br /> -Longing and Death.—Swan Song of Isolde.—Passions<br /> -Purified by Music.—Mediæval Love.—Effect of Wagner's<br /> -Variations on the Morals of the Poem.—Excision<br /> -of the Second Iseult.—The Philter not a Love-potion.—Wagner's<br /> -Pure Humanity Freed from the Bonds of<br /> -Conventionality</td> - -<td class="tdr">Pages <a href="#Page_37">37</a> -71</td></tr> - -<tr><td align="center">CHAPTER III.<br /> - "DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG."</td></tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl hangingindent">Story of the Drama.—A Comedy Faithful to Classical<br /> -Conceptions.—<em>Ridendo Castigat Mores.</em>—Its Specific Purpose<br /> -is to Celebrate the Triumph of Natural Poetic<br /> -Impulse, Stimulated by Communion with Nature, over<br /> -Pedantic Formalism.—Romanticism <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">versus</i> Classicism.—A<br /> -Contest which Stimulates Growth.—Walther as<br /> -the Representative of Romantic Utterance.—Pedantry<br /> -Pictured in the Master-singers and Caricatured in<br /> -Beckmesser.—Sachs, the Real Hero of the Play.—An Intermediary<br /> -and Champion of Both Parties.—Form must<br /> -Adapt Itself to Spirit.—The Proposition Proved by the<br /> -Music of Sachs' First Monologue.—The Symbolism of<br /> -a Phrase Investigated.—Corrective Purpose of the Play<br /> -as it is Disclosed by the Prelude.—Sachs as a Philosopher.—The<br /> -Introduction to Act III. Expounded.—Photographic<br /> -Pictures of Nuremberg Life.—Relics of<br /> -the Master-singers.—A Master-song by the Veritable<br /> -Sachs </td> - -<td class="tdr"> -Pages <a href="#Page_72">72</a>-111</td></tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center">CHAPTER IV.<br /> - "DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN."</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl hangingindent">Beautiful and Enduring Legends are Universal Property.—Parallels<br /> -Between the Elements and Apparatus of<br /> -Mythological Tales.—The Grotto of Venus, the Garden<br /> -of Delight, Avalon, Ogygia, the Delightful Island.—Pope<br /> -Urban's Staff, the Lances of Charlemagne, Joseph's<br /> -Staff, and Aaron's Rod.—The <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Tarnhelm</i>, the<br /> -Mask of Arthur, Helmet of Pluto.—The Holy Grail, the<br /> -Horn of Bran; Huon's Goblet, the Horn of Amalthea.—Invulnerability<br /> -of Achilles, Jason, and Siegfried.—The<br /> -Sword of Wotan, Arthur's Sword, Ulysses's Bow.—Siegfried's<br /> -Prototypes in Egypt, Greece, and Scandinavia.—Von<br /> -Hahn's <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Arische Aussetzung und Rückkehr Formel</i>.—The<br /> -Celestial Plot in the Tragedy.—Wotan its Hero.—A<br /> -Contest Between Greed of Gain and Temporal<br /> -Power and Love.—Effect of the Curse.—Wotan's Vain<br /> -Plot.—The Force of Law.—Brünnhilde becomes the<br /> -Agent of Redemption by Becoming Simple, Loving<br /> -Woman.—The Progress of the Plot is from a State of<br /> -Sinlessness through Sin and its Awful Consequences to<br /> -Expiation.—Symbols for These Steps in "Das Rheingold."—The<br /> -Golden Age and the Instrumental Introduction.—Elemental<br /> -Music.—Erda and the Götterdämmerung.—Greek<br /> -and Teuton.—The Tragic Nature of the<br /> -Northern Mythological System.—Wotan's Effort to<br /> -Escape the Penalty of Violated Law.—A Plan Doomed<br /> -to Failure from the Start.—Wagner's Mood Pictures.—How<br /> -Nature Reflects the Discord Created by the God's<br /> -Wrong Doing.—Contrasted Pictures in Two Preludes<br /> -and First Scenes: the Peacefulness of the Golden Age,<br /> -the Storm which Buffets Siegmund.—Entrance of the<br /> -Sinister Element with Alberich and Hunding.—Agents<br /> -Created to Carry on the Contest: the Beloved Progeny<br /> -of the God, the Loveless Offspring of the Niblung.—Wotan's<br /> -Tragic Grandeur in the Moment of Despair.—Brünnhilde<br /> -the Embodiment of Wotan's Will.—The<br /> -God Destroys his Agents, but Unconscious Love Carries<br /> -on the Plot.—Siegfried.—The Forest Lad Achieves<br /> -Heroic Stature.—He Discloses that he is a Free Agent<br /> -by Shattering the Visible Symbol of the God's Power.—Wotan<br /> -Disappears for the Action and Awaits the End of<br /> -his Race.—The Miraculous in Wagner's Musical System.—The<br /> -Drink of Forgetfulness.—Brünnhilde Prizes Love<br /> -More than the Welfare of the Gods.—Outraged Love<br /> -Avenged.—The Catastrophe.—The Death March a<br /> -Hymn of Praise.—The Musical Symbol of the Ethical<br /> -Principle of the Tragedy</td> - -<td class="tdr">Pages <a href="#Page_112">112</a> -161</td></tr> - -<tr><td align="center">CHAPTER V.<br /> - "PARSIFAL."</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="tdl hangingindent">Wagner's Last Drama.—Paradoxical in its Appeals to the<br /> -Spectator and Student.—A Religious Play.—Blending<br /> -of Buddhistic and Christian Plots.—Socialistic Philosophy<br /> -and Asceticism.—Identification of Parsifal and<br /> -Christ.—Monkish Relic Worship.—Ethical Idea of the<br /> -Drama.—The Apparatus, the Hero, the Trial.—Mission<br /> -of the Music.—It must Reconcile Modern Thought and<br /> -Feeling and Mediæval Religion.—Imagination and<br /> -Fancy.—Suffering and Aspiration.—Original Elements<br /> -of the Grail Story.—Parsifal an Aryan Hero.—His Name<br /> -as an Index of Moral Character.—"The Great Fool<br /> -Tales."—The Holy Grail not Originally a Christian<br /> -Symbol.—Percival and Peredur.—Parsifal in Wagner's<br /> -Drama.—His Musical Symbols.—Properties of the Talisman:<br /> -Physical, it Provides Sustenance; Spiritual, it<br /> -is a Touchstone and Oracle.—Its Prototypes in Many<br /> -Lands.—The Golden Cup of Jamshid and the Joseph<br /> -of Arimathea Legend.—The Grail and Coral.—Dr. Oppert's<br /> -Theory.—Blood the Essential Element.—The<br /> -Prelude.—Amfortas.—Question and Lance.—Herzeleide.—Musical<br /> -Symbols of Suffering and Aspiration.—Wagner's<br /> -Interpretation.—Tried by Temptation.—Klingsor.—Kundry.—The<br /> -Loathly Damsel and Herodias.—Wolfram's<br /> -Married Parzival </td> - -<td class="tdr">Pages <a href="#Page_162">162</a>-198</td></tr> -</table></div> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> -</div> - - - -<p class="p4 center big2">THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2> CHAPTER I.<br /> -<small>THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA: ITS PROTOTYPES AND ELEMENTS.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>To understand the real position which Richard -Wagner occupies in the world of art, and to appreciate -the significance of the achievements which -have kept that world in a turmoil for two generations, -it is necessary to guard against a very prevalent -misconception touching him and his activities. -The world knows him as an agitator and -reformer, but it does not know as clearly as it -ought that the object for which he labored as -controversialist and composer was a reform of the -opera, not a reform of music in general. Outside -the theatre, it is true, he exerted a tremendous -influence on the development of the musical art, -but that influence he exerted only because he was -a gifted musician who stood in the line of succession -with the great ones who had widened the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> -boundaries of music and struck out new paths -for it—let me say Bach, Haydn, Gluck, Mozart, -Beethoven, and Schumann. As a legitimate successor -of these Kings by the grace of Genius, he -advanced the musical art indeed, but as a reformer -his activities went, not to music in its absolute -forms, but to an entirely distinct and complex art-form: -the modern opera. The term which Wagner -invented to describe what he wished to see as -the outcome of his strivings—the term which his -enemies parodied so successfully that the parody -has clung to the popular tongue and lingered in -the popular ear, in spite of all explanation—is -"The Art-work of the Future." By this "Art-work" -he meant a form of theatrical entertainment -in which poetry, music, pantomime, painting, -and the plastic arts were to co-operate on a -basis of mutual dependence—or better, perhaps, -interdependence—and common aim, the inspiring -purpose of all being dramatic expression. In the -history of music and the drama certain strongly-marked -phases are found, in which the interdependence -of the elements which Wagner consorts -in his Art-work can be traced; and if we look -at these phases a little thoughtfully, they may -help us to understand the present phase, and we -may learn not only how to appreciate what Wagner -has done, but also how to avoid the misconceptions -which so frequently stand in the way of -appreciation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>I.</h3> - -<p>Wagner, then, was a Reformer of the Opera; -or, as I think it would better be put, a Regenerator -of the Lyric Drama. The latter definition is -to be preferred, because it presupposes the earlier -existence of an art-form similar in purpose and -elements (however dissimilar in scope and effectiveness -it may have been) to that with which -Wagner's name is identified in music's history. -The spirit which created that art-form is as old -as humanity; but the record of civilization shows -two manifestations of it so striking that even the -most cursory study ought to disclose Wagner's relationship -to them. The Greek stage-plays were -much more closely allied to the modern opera -than to the modern drama. Music was an integral -and essential element of them. So says Aristotle, -adding, "and their greatest embellishment." The -dramatic and lyrical elements were inseparable in -Greek tragedy, which had its origin in the Dithyramb, -a dance-song. The one modified the other. -The cheer, the gravity, or the horror of the action -were reflected at the same time in the music. -While there was music also in comedy, yet, as -Aristotle indicates, it was there of less importance, -probably because comedy—which was really broad -enough to meet the modern notions of farce—was -beneath the true level of music as apprehended by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> -the Greeks. As between the lyre and flute, the -Greeks gave a vastly greater admiration to the -former, as is indicated by a proverb quoted by -Cicero: "As they say among the Greeks, they are -flautists who cannot be citharists;" and it is significant -that stringed accompaniments were given -to the dithyrambic chorus when its purposes were -serious, and accompaniments on the <em>aulos</em> when -those purposes were of lighter character. Obviously -the writers of Greek tragedy were of necessity -versed in the musical art of their time. -Æschylus was not merely a poet; he was also a -musical composer. A fragment of a theoretical -book on rhythm by Aristoxenus, a fellow-pupil -with Alexander the Great of Aristotle, has been -preserved to us. It is filled with lamentations -over the decadence of dramatic music since the -good old days of Æschylus, and accuses contemporary -composers of pandering to the depraved -tastes of the public, and disregarding the noble art -of the Æschylean period. We know that Sophocles -was a practical musician. He was taught -both music and dancing by Lampros (or Lamprocles) -the dithyrambist, in his time the foremost -professor of these arts in Athens. It is on record -that he played in two of his own dramas, taking -the character of Nausikaa in the "Pluntriæ," and, -in "Thamyris," that of a singer stricken blind by -the Muses. In this latter role he so pleased the -popular fancy that, by public vote, a portrait of -him, with a cithara in his hands, was placed in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> -Painted Porch—a fact which finds mention in -Athenæus. Another indication of his proficiency -as a musician is that he wrote pæans and elegies, -and a work in prose for the instruction of choral -artists. It is written that Euripides, obviously -less musician than poet, had to call in the aid of a -composer to supply the essential music for one of -his plays. Possibly this explains the fact that in -his tragedies the odes are less intimately connected -with the play than they are in the tragedies of -Æschylus. They no longer form part of the action, -and their beauty consists in their skilfulness -of form rather than in the natural union of rhythm -and music.</p> - -<p>In the Greek tragedies the actors did not declaim -their lines as ours do; they chanted them. -The word which they used to describe what we -call dramatic declamation was <i lang="el" xml:lang="el">emmeleia</i>, from <i lang="el" xml:lang="el">en</i> -and <i lang="el" xml:lang="el">melos</i>, whence we get our word melody; so -that they literally spoke of their plays as being -spoken "in tune." Even the Attic orators, as well -as the later Roman, delivered their orations musically, -and, like the actors, sometimes had the help -of an accompaniment on the lyre or flute to keep -them in pitch. Cicero and Plutarch both relate an -anecdote to the effect that Caius Gracchus once -lost his pitch in the heat of an oration, and was -brought back to it by a slave with an instrument, -who was concealed behind him for that very purpose. -In the plays the chorus sang the odes -which filled the pauses between the various stages<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> -of the action; and as they sang they kept time -with solemn dance-steps, moving from side to side -and around an altar which stood in the centre of -the space between the audience and the stage, -called then, as now, the orchestra.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> The choric -odes were sung in unison, but, more richly than -the declamation of the actors, they were accom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>panied -by instruments which I believe we are justified -in assuming (though it is a debated point) -supplied a foundation of harmony for the vocal -melody. Unfortunately, none of the music composed -for these tragedies has been preserved; but -we are surely justified in believing that, in spite of -its simplicity (for simple it had to be to meet the -demands of Greek philosophy), it was beautiful, -impressive, and, in the highest degree, expressive -music. No people have ever come nearer than -those old Greeks to a correct estimate of the real -nature of music and the role that it can and ought -to be made to play in the economy of civilized life. -So convinced were they of the directness and forcefulness -of its appeal to the emotional part of man -that they refused to divorce it from poetry, and -hedged its practice about with legal restrictions, -fearful that a too one-sided cultivation of it in its -absolute state would tend to the development of -the emotions at a cost of the rational and sterner -elements on which the welfare of the individual -and the community depended. Theirs was surely -a lofty ideal: an art which charmed the senses -while it persuaded the reason was a noble art. -But it died with much else that was noble and -lovely when the Romans succeeded the Greeks as -arbiters of the civilized world. Under the Romans -the lyric drama degenerated into mere spectacular -mummery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>II.</h3> - -<p>Thus much for the first manifestation of the -spirit which is exemplified in the Art-work of -Richard Wagner. I have laid stress upon the -Greek tragedy simply because it was the direct -inspiration of the second manifestation, out of -which the Art-work which Wagner reformed was -evolved, through steps that are easily followed by -students of modern musical history. Wherever -we turn we find the genesis of the drama to be the -same. I might have chosen the Hindu drama as -a starting-point, and found in it the same intimate -association of poetry, music, and action that characterized -Greek tragedy. Or I might have pointed -to the Chinese drama, and invited you to a -study of that association as it has existed for -thousands of years, and still exists in the theatres -of the Great Pure Kingdom.</p> - -<p>Now for the second manifestation. Towards the -close of the sixteenth century dissatisfaction with -the inelastic artificiality of polite music took possession -of a body of scholars and musical amateurs -who were in the habit of meeting for learned discussion -in the house of Giovanni Bardi, Count -Vernio, in Florence. Their discussions led them -to formulate two aims: <em>First</em>, To give emotional -expressiveness to music by putting aside polyphony, -and inventing what is called the monodic -style. They wrote solos for the voice with har<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>monic -support for the instruments in the shape of -chords. <em>Second</em>, They tried to revive the Greek -tragedies, or, rather, to imitate them in new compositions, -to which they applied their monodic -music. They conceived the purpose of music to -be to heighten the expressiveness of poetry, and -held the play to be "the thing." To "Euridice," -the first drama of the new style which was published, -the composer of the music, Jacopo Peri, -wrote a preface, in which he said that he had been -convinced by a study of the ancients that though -their dramatic declamation may not have risen to -song, it was yet musically colored. This exaltation -of speech he evidently thought had its basis -in those variations of pitch, dynamic intensity, and -vocal quality which Herbert Spencer, in his essay -on the "Origin and Function of Music," shows to -be the physiological results of variations of feeling, -all feelings being muscular stimuli. Peri made -careful observations of the inflections which mark -ordinary speech, and attempted to reproduce his -discoveries as faithfully as possible in the musical -investiture which he gave to the poet's lines. -"Soft and gentle speech he interpreted by half-spoken, -half-sung tones, on a sustained instrumental -bass; feelings of a deeper, emotional kind -by a melody with greater intervals and a lively -<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">tempo</i>, the accompanying instrumental harmonies -changing more frequently."<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> He bestowed the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>greatest care on the rhythm of the music, making -it flow along with the rhythm of the words.</p> - -<p>These men were as revolutionary in their day as -Wagner in ours, many times as intolerant, and, some -will say, perhaps equally visionary. They revamped -the Hellenic myths concerning the power of -music, not as containing a germ of verity wrapped -in an ample cloak of poetical symbolism, but as -very truth. What the ancient art had been they -did not know, but they did not hesitate to say -that compared with it the music of their own time -(the time of Palestrina and the Netherland School) -was a barbarism, the creation of a people whose -natural rudeness was evidenced even in their uncouth -names—Okeghem, Hobrecht, etc. They -could not reconcile counterpoint with the theories -touching the province of music laid down by -Plato; and that fact sufficed to condemn it. -Count Vernio himself published a tract stating the -purposes of the reformers. The first step in the -process of curing the evil which had come over -music, he said, should be to protect the poetical -text from the musicians who, to exploit their inventions, -tore the poetry to tatters, giving different -voices different words to sing simultaneously. -The philosophers of old—Plato in particular—had -said that the melody should follow the verses of -the poet and sweeten them. "When you compose, -therefore," said the noble amateur, "have a -care that the text remain uninjured, the words be -kept intelligible, and do not permit yourselves to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> -be carried off your feet by counterpoint, that -wicked swimmer, who is swept along unresistingly -by the stream, and arrives at an entirely different -landing-place than he intended to make. For, as -much as the soul is nobler than the body, so much -nobler are words than counterpoint; and as the -soul must govern the body, so counterpoint must -take its laws from poetry." Caccini, who was a -famous singing-master, and the first professional -musician to join the Florentine coterie, made many -statements in the preface to his <cite>Nuove Musiche</cite> -which Gluck and Wagner only echoed when they -came to urge their reforms. Thus he recommends -the choice of a pitch which will enable the singer -always to use his natural voice, so that expression -may be unconstrained. He advises that the singer -emancipate himself from a too strict adherence to -measure, fixing, instead, the relative value of notes -by consideration for the words to which they are -set. More striking than either of these utterances, -however, is his condemnation of the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">roulades</i> which -had come into use even before the solo style had -been invented. He calls these <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">roulades</i> "Long -flights" (flourishes or whirlings) of the voice (<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">lunghi -giri di voce</i>); and says of them, literally: "They -were not invented as being necessary to good singing, -but, as I believe, to provide a certain titillation -of the ears for the benefit of such as have little -knowledge of what expressive singing means; for -if they understood this, they would unquestionably -detest these passages, since nothing is so offensive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> -as they to expressive singing. And it is for this -reason that I have said the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">lunghi giri di voce</i> are -so ill applied. I introduce them in songs which -are less passionate, and, indeed, on long, not on -short syllables, and in closing cadences." Caccini -further advises the avoidance of artificial tones, -and the use of the natural voice in order that the -feelings may have expression. Wagner urges his -singers to leave off the affected pathos which they -are so prone to assume with the song-voice, and -to enunciate, breathe, and phrase as naturally and -unconstrainedly as they would if they were speaking -the dialogue instead of singing it. Caccini -wished the singer to emancipate himself from the -fetters of musical metre, and to consult the rhythm -of the words. In Wagner's vocal parts the aim is -to achieve through music an increased expressiveness -for the poetry, and to this end he raises it to -a kind of intensified speech, which retains as much -as possible of the distinctness of ordinary dialogue -with its emotional capacity raised to a higher -power. He desires that the melody shall spring -naturally from the poetry, but also that the poetry -shall "yearn" for musical expression. Caccini recognized -the beauty of embellished song, but restricted -the introduction of vocal flourishes to -songs which were wanting in expressiveness—in -other words, to songs intended merely to charm -the ear. Wagner (and here I should like to correct -an almost universal misconception)—Wagner -never condemned beautiful singing, even in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> -Italian sense, except where it stands in the way of -truthful, dramatic utterance. But he raises the -question of nationality and tongue as one which -must first of all be considered in determining how -poetry is to be set to music. Deference must be -paid to the genius of the language employed, and -also to the vocal peculiarities of the people who are -to perform and enjoy the drama. This is really Wagner's -starting-point. He aims to be a national -dramatist. In the Italian opera the vocal adornments, -favored by the inherent softness and beauty -of the Italian language, gradually usurped the first -place, while dramatic motive, which had inspired -the invention of the opera, dropped out of sight. -For such an art there is little natural aptitude in -the German, and consequently only a modicum of -sympathy. Sung to florid tunes, German words -become worse than unintelligible; the poetry loses -its merit as speech, and the music is robbed of all -its purpose and most of its charm. Believing this, -and having already striven to restore naturalness -of expression in the spoken drama, Wagner wrote -the vocal parts of his lyric dramas so as to bring -out first the force of the poetry as such.</p> - -<p>There is one more point of resemblance between -Wagner and the creators of the Italian lyric drama -which I must refer to briefly. It may help us out -from the sway of that prejudice which we are so -prone to feel towards an innovator, to learn that -in so many essentials Wagner has simply given -new expression to old ideas. Already, in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> -"Euridice," Peri concealed his orchestra behind -the scenes; but as this device was borrowed from -the old Roman pantomimes, and was a general -custom, I lay no stress upon it. Monteverde, who -did not belong to the band of Florentine reformers, -but adopted their theories and put them into -practice with far greater skill than any of the originators -of the new style, added to the instrumental -apparatus until he had a reputation for noise with -which that of Wagner, in this respect, is no circumstance. -In his "Orfeo" he employed thirty-six -different instruments, and it has even been suspected -that he was the precursor of Wagner in the -device of characterizing his personages by relegating -to each a certain instrument or set of instruments. -But this, I am convinced, is based on a -misunderstanding. It is certain, however, that he -used his instruments in such a way as to emphasize -climaxes, holding some of them back until the arrival -of moments in the action when their sudden -entrance would have a particularly telling effect.</p> - - -<h3>III.</h3> - -<p>Where does Wagner touch hands with the first -creators of the art-form of which I have called -him the regenerator? What are the fundamental -features of his system? What were the impulses -which led him out of the beaten path of opera<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> -composers? I will try to answer these questions -on broad lines, keeping essential principles in view -rather than trifling details.</p> - -<p>Wagner must be associated with the Greek -tragedy-writers: <em>First</em> (and foremost), because he -is poet as well as musical composer. He unites -in himself the same qualifications (but with the -tremendous difference in degree brought about by -the changed conditions) as did Æschylus.</p> - -<p><em>Second.</em> Wagner sees in the drama the highest -form of art—one that unites in itself the expressive -potentiality of each of the elements employed -in it, raised to a still higher potency through the -merit of their co-operation.</p> - -<p><em>Third.</em> Wagner believes, like the Greek tragedians, -that the fittest subjects for dramatic treatment -are to be found in legends and mythologies.</p> - -<p><em>Fourth.</em> Wagner believes that the elements of -the lyric drama ought to be adapted to the peculiarities, -and to encourage the national feeling of -the people for whom it is created.</p> - -<p>This last point is of such vast significance to -the question of the degree of appreciation which -Wagner's art ought to receive, and also to an understanding -of his attitude towards Italian music, -that I wish to emphasize it before proceeding further. -Wagner is as distinctively a German dramatist -as Æschylus was a Greek or Shakespeare an -English. In his poetry, in his music, in the moral -and physical character of his dramatic personages—in -brief, in the matter and the essence of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> -dramas—the world must recognize the Teuton. -As their spirit roots in the German heart, so their -form roots in the German language. One of -Wagner's most persistent aims was to reanimate a -national art-spirit in Germany. The rest of the -world he omitted from his consideration. Those -of his dramas in which he carried out his principles -in their fulness are scarcely conceivable in -any other language than the German, and complete -or ideal appreciation of them is possible only -to persons who sympathize deeply with German -feelings. His whole system, of dramatic declamation -rests on the genius of the German tongue. -He protests against the attempt to use the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">bel -canto</i> of the Italians in German opera, because the -German language is too harsh for florid music, and -German throats are not flexible enough to execute -agile and mellifluous melodies. In the structure -of his system there is everywhere discernible a -recognition of the characteristics, physiological as -well as psychological, which have always marked -Teutonic races. Look at Wagner in the conduct -of his polemical battle; in the vehemence of his -sincerity, and the rude, sledge-hammer vigor of his -manner, he is as distinctively a national type as -Luther. Aside from all other considerations, such -a man cannot conceive music to be mere "lascivious -pleasings." To the Northern mind there has -always seemed to be something vicious in the -influence of Southern art and manners. It seems -to feel instinctively that its vigor is preserved by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -periodical rebellion against Roman things, and it -points as a reason and a warning example to the -physical and moral degeneracy of those Goths and -Franks who lost their rugged virtues by too long -dalliance with the Roman colonists. "Strength before -Beauty," "Truth before Convention"—these -are German ideals in art as well as in morals.<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a></p> - -<p>It is only to recognize a truth, which Wagner -himself freely confessed, to say that arts and manners -based on such ideals do not always appear -pleasing—that, in fact, they sometimes, at first -blush, at least, appear uncouth and unamiable. -But that fact need not long give us pause. We -have simply to recognize that beauty, like everything -else so far as we are concerned, is subject to -change, and that a new order of beauty, which -may be called characteristic beauty, has come to -the fore with a claim for recognition as a fit element -in dramatic representation. Are we bound -to accept as infallible the popular maxim that no -matter what the state of affairs on the stage, the accompanying -music must delight the ear? Suppose -that a composer, utilizing the ear simply as one of -the gate-ways to the higher faculties, and aiming -to quicken the imagination and stir the emotions, -should find a means for doing this without pleasing -the ear—would his art be bad for that reason? -Was the agony on the faces of the Laocoön put -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>there by the sculptor for the purpose of pleasing -the eye? Does it please the eye, or does it fascinate -with a horrible fascination, and achieve the -artist's real purpose by appealing through the eye -to the imagination and emotions?</p> - -<p>These questions are in the nature of argument -and foreign to my immediate purpose; in the way -of contrast, however, the thoughts to which they -give rise will help us to appreciate one phase of -the Teutonism which Wagner has impressed upon -his dramas which is altogether lovely. We will -look at it in both of its expositions, musical and -literary, for thus we shall learn something of his -constructive methods as well as his poetical impulses. -I refer to the ethical idea pervading those -of his dramas which, like the Greek tragedies, are -based on legendary or mythical tales. The idea -is that <em>salvation comes to humanity through the -self-sacrificing love of woman</em>. This idea is at the -bottom of the great poems and dramas of Germany; -it is the main-spring of "The Flying -Dutchman," "Tannhäuser," and "The Niblung's -Ring;" the <em>chorus mysticus</em> which ends Goethe's -"Faust" proclaims it oracularly:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">"All things transitory</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">But as symbols are sent.</div> -<div class="verse">Earth's insufficiency</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">Here grows to event.</div> -<div class="verse">The Indescribable,</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">Here it is done.</div> -<div class="verse">The Woman-Soul leadeth us</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">Upward and on!"</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the creations of Wagner, by a singular coincidence, -this beautiful idea is born simultaneously -with the fundamental principle of his constructive -scheme—the use of melodic phrases as symbols -of the persons, passions, and principles concerned -in the play. His first drama based on a legendary -story is "The Flying Dutchman." The infinite -longing for rest of the Wandering Jew of the sea, -and the infinite pity and wondrous love of the -woman who, through sacrifice of her own life, -achieved for the wanderer surcease of suffering—these -are the two fundamental passions of the -play. The legend of the Dutchman and his doom -is told in a ballad which the heroine sings in the -second act of the opera; and this ballad, Wagner -tells us himself, he set to music first, even before -he had completed the book. It is an epitome of -the drama, ethically and musically, having two -significant musical themes corresponding to the -longing of the Dutchman and the redeeming love -of Senta. The first of these musical themes is -this:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p19_s1.jpg" width="400" height="74" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p19_s1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p19_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>The second is this:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p19_s2.jpg" width="400" height="152" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p19_s2_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p19s2_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p> - -<p>Having invented these two phrases for use simply -in the ballad, Wagner tells us how he proceeded -with his work:</p> - -<p>"I had merely to develop according to their respective -tendencies the various thematic germs -comprised in the ballad to have, as a matter of -course, the principal mental moods in definite thematic -shapes before me. When a mental mood -returned, its thematic expression also, as a matter -of course, was repeated, since it would have been -arbitrary and capricious to have sought another -<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">motivo</i> so long as the object was an intelligible -representation of the subject, and not a conglomeration -of operatic pieces." This is Wagner's account -of the genesis of the "leading motives," or, -as I think they would better be called, "typical -phrases," and it directs attention to a misconception -of their nature and purpose which is pretty -general even among the admirers of his works. -They were not invented to announce the entrance -of persons of the play on their stage; their duties -are not those of footmen or ushers. Nor are they -labels. Neither can they rightly be likened, as a -German critic has declared, to the lettered ribbons -issuing from the mouths of figures in mediæval -pictures. They stand for deeper things—for the -attributes of the play's personages; for the instruments, -spiritual as well as material, used in developing -the plot; for the fundamental passions of -the story. If they were labels, they could only -accompany the characters with which they had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> -been associated at the outset, and this we know is -not the case; in fact, in some very significant instances, -they enter the score long before the characters -with whom they are associated have been -heard of or their existence is surmised. They are -symbols, and hence arbitrary signs, but not more -arbitrary than words. All language is arbitrary -convention. Only the emotional elements at the -bottom of it are real, absolute, universal. It would -be just as easy to build up a language of musical -tones capable of expressing ideas as it was to build -up a language of words. In fact, though we seldom -think of it, the rudiments of such a language -exist. We are all familiar with some of them, -or we should not involuntarily associate certain -rhythms with the dance, and others with the march. -A drone-bass under an oboe melody in 6-8 time -would not suggest a pastoral; trumpets and drums, -war; French-horn harmonies, a hunting scene; -and so on. More than this, the Chinese have retained -in their language a relic of the time when -music was an integral element of all speech, not -only of solemn and artistic speech, as we see it in -the beginnings of the drama in India, Greece, and -China. The meaning of many words in the monosyllabic -Chinese language depends upon the musical -inflection given to them in utterance. In a -sense, a phrase of melody, or a chord, or a succession -of chords, of harmony, is a "bow-wow word," -the only kind of word universally intelligible. A -great deal of music is direct in its influence upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> -the emotions, but it is chiefly by association of -ideas that we recognize its expressiveness or significance. -Sometimes hearing a melody or harmony -arouses an emotion like that aroused by the -contemplation of a thing. Minor harmonies, slow -movements, dark tonal colorings, combine directly -to put a musically susceptible person in a mood -congenial to thoughts of sorrow and death; and, -inversely, the experience of sorrow, or the contemplation -of death, creates affinity for minor harmonies, -slow movements, and dark tonal colorings. -Or we recognize attributes in music possessed also -by things, and we consort the music and the things, -external attributes bringing descriptive music into -play which excites the fancy, internal attributes -calling for an exercise of the loftier faculty, imagination, -to discern their meaning. A few examples -in both classes will help to make my meaning -plain, and I begin with the second class as the -nobler of the two.</p> - -<p>In Wagner's Niblung tragedy two of the musical -phrases associated with Wotan may be taken -as symbols of contrasted attributes of the god. -Throughout the tragedy of which he is the hero, -Wotan figures, by virtue of his supremacy among -the gods, as Lord of Valhalla, and consequently -as the manifest embodiment of law.</p> - -<p>In music the first manifestation of law is in form.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to conceive of a combination of -the integral elements of music—rhythm, melody, -and harmony—in a beautiful manner without<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -some kind of form. Form means measure, order, -symmetry. In music more than in any art it is -essential to the existence of the loftiest attribute -of beauty, which is repose—an attribute whose -divine character Ruskin proclaimed when he defined -it as "the 'I am' contradistinguished from -the 'I become;' the sign alike of the supreme -knowledge which is incapable of surprise, the supreme -power which is incapable of labor, the supreme -volition which is incapable of change." -Now what are the musical qualities of which Wagner -makes use in order to symbolize the wielder of -supreme power? Here is the phrase whose innate -nobility and beauty appear to best advantage at the -opening of the second scene in "Das Rheingold:"</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 440px;"> -<img src="images/p23_s.jpg" width="440" height="235" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p23_s.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p23_s.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>The melody is built out of the intervals of the -common chord—the triad—the starting-point of -harmony, its first and most pervasive law. This -chord, too, supplies the harmonic structure. Its -instrumentation (for four tubas with peculiarly -orotund voices, specially constructed for Wagner) -is unvarying, calm, stately, majestic, dignified, reposeful. -Thus does Wagner symbolize musically<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> -the chief deity and chief personage of his tragedy -in his character as Lord of Valhalla. But through -the operation of the curse to which he became -subject when he took the baneful ring, another -character than that of a supreme god is forced -upon Wotan. He has plotted to regain the ring, -and restore it to the original owners of the magic -gold. He has begotten a new race, the Volsungs, -to execute a purpose which, as the representative -of law, he is restrained himself from executing. -He becomes a wanderer over the face of the earth, -a mere spectator of the development of his foolish -plot. How is this new character symbolized? -Note the music which accompanies Wotan when, -disguised as the Wanderer, he enters Mime's cavern -smithy in the second scene of "Siegfried:"</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/p24_s.jpg" width="450" height="177" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p24_s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p24s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>The fundamental harmonies are retained. The -solemn instrumental color is held fast. The dignity -of the chord progressions is still there. What, -then, is gone? <em>The element of repose.</em> The harmonies -are still triads, but tonality, with its benison -of restfulness, has been sacrificed. The phrase -is in no key, or rather it is in as many keys as -there are chords. There is another beautiful in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>stance -in which, by the same means, a deprivation -which one of the personages of the play undergoes -is made plain to the listener. Note the descending -series of chords which follows Wotan's kiss depriving -Brünnhilde of her divinity, just after he -has spoken his pathetic farewell, and just before -the orchestra begins its lullaby, in the final scene -of "Die Walküre." Here the loss of divine attributes -in the disobedient goddess is published by -absence of fixed tonality in the chords which accompany -the visible signs of her punishment.</p> - -<p>In the last two examples we have been called -on to observe how changes in character and loss of -attributes are delineated by departure of tonality. -I will now cite a case in which not the attributes -of a personage, but the property of a thing, is the -composer's objective point. The case is a striking -one, for it is a supernatural property which is to -be brought to the notice of the listener, the power -of the <em>Tarnhelm</em> (the familiar cap of darkness of -folk-lore) to render its wearer invisible. The musical -symbol of this magical apparatus in the Niblung -tragedy is this:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p25_s.jpg" width="500" height="134" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p25_s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p25s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>This phrase is not often used, but whenever it occurs -in the music its mysteriousness arrests attention. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> -What is the source of that mysteriousness? -Nothing else than indefiniteness, vagueness of -mode. The closing harmony is an empty fifth; -we do not know whether it is major or minor, -because the determining interval is lacking. Supply -a major third and it is major, a minor third -and it is minor; in either case, however, the mystical -property of the phrase, the element which -establishes its propriety, vanishes.</p> - -<p>There are many of these typical phrases primarily -associated with personages, whose delineation -goes to moods and moral traits. There are others -that are frankly delineative of externals. The -giants in "Das Rheingold" are the representatives -of brute force. They are heavy-witted as well as -heavy-footed, and their stupidity and clumsiness -are aptly characterized in their melody:</p> - -<p class="p1 center">(<em>Fasolt and Fafner, of gigantic stature,<br /> - armed with strong staves, enter.</em>)</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p26_s.jpg" width="550" height="347" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p26_s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p26s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Niblungs are the antipodes in character of -the giants—cunning, resourceful, industrious. Intellectually -they are schemers and tricksters; by -occupation they are smiths. Wagner delineates -these activities, the mental as well as the manual, -in the orchestral introduction to "Siegfried." A -descending figure (<em>a</em>), (two thirds at the interval of -a seventh) characterizes the brooding thoughtfulness, -the cogitation of Mime; the fact that the -dwarf is a Niblung Wagner publishes by means of -a rhythmical phrase like the pounding of hammers -(<em>b</em>):</p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p27_s-a.jpg" width="500" height="109" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p27_s-a.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p27s-a.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p27_s-b.jpg" width="500" height="110" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p27_s-b.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p27s-b.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> -<p>Sometimes Wagner becomes frankly delineative -or descriptive, utilizing imitation of nature where -it will be effective, as in the phrases associated -with the Rhine and its denizens—the nixies whom -he calls Daughters of the Rhine. The slow undulation -of water in its depths, the flux and reflux -of the element, the ripples on its surface, the motions -of the swimmers, are all pictured to the ear -(if I may be permitted to say so) in the melodies -of the Rhine and the nixies whose home the river -is, and the changes of time and treatment to -which those melodies are subjected. The fitful, -flickering, crackling crepitation of fire furnishes a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> -suggestion for the phrase which is typical of Loge, -the fire-god, whether he appears in his elemental -form, as in the finale of "Die Walküre," or bodily -as the incarnation of the spirit of mischief in "Das -Rheingold:"</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 520px;"> -<img src="images/p28_s.jpg" width="520" height="388" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p28_s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p28s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>In describing how he proceeded in the composition -of "The Flying Dutchman," Wagner says -that when a mental mood recurred for which he -had once found thematic expression, that expression -was repeated. He speaks here only of moods, -but he extended the principle involved to the -whole apparatus of the drama—its secret impulses -as well as its external agencies. These agencies, -in their physical manifestation, moreover, are -sometimes anticipated by the appearance in the -music of the melodic phrases which typify them; -but this never happens unless they are spiritually -present in the drama. This is what I have called -the use of the themes for prophecy, and to me it -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> -seems one of the most beautiful features of Wagner's -constructive scheme. Let me illustrate: the -sword, which is the instrument designed by Wotan -for the working-out of his plot for the return of -the baneful ring to its original owners, for itself -and as a symbol of the race of demi-gods who -were to be endowed with it; Siegfried, the hero -who is to be the vessel chosen, not by Wotan but -by fate in the prevision of Brünnhilde, to execute -the purposes of the god; Brünnhilde herself, not -as a goddess but in the character of loving woman -willing and able to make the redeeming sacrifice; -all these are prefigured in the drama by the entrance -of their typical phrases long before the -action permits their physical appearance. They -are seen by the prophetic vision of certain personages -of the play and manifested to us through -the music. Thus: the sword phrase appears in -the orchestral postlude of "Das Rheingold" at -the moment when Wotan, crossing the Rainbow-bridge -with the members of his divine household, -stops in thought and conceives the plot which is -worked out in the tragedy proper; the phrase -typical of the heroic character of Siegfried accompanies -Brünnhilde's prediction to Sieglinde that -she shall give birth to "the loftiest hero in the -world," in the drama "Die Walküre;" in giving -voice to her gratitude, Sieglinde, in turn, hails -Brünnhilde as the representative of the redeeming -principle of the tragedy, Goethe's "Ewig-Weibliche," -by using a melody which examination<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> -shows to be an augmentation of the melodic symbol -of Brünnhilde when she appears as mere woman -in the last drama of the trilogy.</p> - -<p>Let this suffice as an exhibition of Wagner's -method of inventing and introducing the melodic -material out of which he weaves his fabric, while -we look at some of the principles applied in its -use. His system rests upon the development of -these themes, not according to the laws of the -symphony, but in harmony with the dramatic -spirit of the text. The orchestra is the vehicle of -this development. It is pre-eminently the expositor -of the drama. It has acquired some of the -functions of the Greek chorus, in that it takes part -in the action to publish that which is beyond the -capacity of the personages alone to utter. The -music of the instruments is the voice of the fate, -the conscience, and the will concerned in the -drama. To those who wish to listen, it unfolds, -unerringly, the thoughts, motives, and purpose of -the personages, and lays bare the mysteries of -the plot and counter-plot. As the passions and -purposes of the drama grow complex, the musical -texture, into which the themes which typify -those passions and purposes enter, grows complex -and heterogeneous. The most obvious factors in -this development are changes of mode, harmony, -rhythm, time, and orchestration. A single illustration -must here suffice. By applying the principle -of augmentation to a phrase, in the three -phases of melodic, harmonic, and instrumental<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> -structure, Wagner illustrates the tragic growth of -Siegfried in the Niblung tragedy. When the hero -is merely a high-spirited lad, roaming through -the forest and associating with its denizens, the -phrase appears as the call which he blows upon -his hunting-horn:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p31_s1.jpg" width="500" height="107" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p31_s1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p31_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>When he has entered upon man's estate, has -awakened Brünnhilde from her long sleep, learned -wisdom from her teaching, donned her armor, and -is about to set out in quest of adventure, the typical -phrase which greets him has taken on this -form:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p31_s2.jpg" width="550" height="457" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p31_s2_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p31s2_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - - - -<p>Finally, the phrase is metamorphosed into that -thrilling pæan at the climax of the Death March,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> -to indicate which is impossible by means of pianoforte -transcription:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p32_s.jpg" width="550" height="418" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p32_s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p32s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<h3>IV.</h3> - -<p>From the beginning of his career Wagner wrote -his own librettos; but it is only in "Tristan und -Isolde," "Die Meistersinger," "Der Ring des Nibelungen," -and "Parsifal" that he realized his conception -of what the poet-composer should be. -The starting-point of his reformatory ideas was -that music had usurped a place which does not -belong to it in the lyric drama. It should be a -means, and had become the aim. As an æsthetic -principle, he contended that it lies in the nature -of music to be not the end, but a medium, of -dramatic expression. He therefore reversed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> -old relations of librettist and composer, and made -music, which can only address itself to the emotions -and imagination, dependent for form, spirit, -and character on the poetry, which appeals to -reason. Each art when isolated has a restricted -range of expression; but in the Wagnerian drama -each contributes a complement and helps it to -convey all its meanings and intentions without -the help of a frequently untrustworthy imagination. -In elaborating his theory, Wagner held that -as a poetical form of expression rhyme is useless -in music, because it not only implies identity of -vowel-sounds, but also of the succeeding consonants, -which are lost by the singer's need of dwelling -on the vowels. The initial consonant, however, -cannot be lost in song, because it is that -which stamps its physiognomy on the word, and -repetition creating a sort of musical cadence -which is agreeable to the ear, Wagner desired -alliteration to be substituted for rhyme in the -chief parts of his verse. From the verse-melody -thus obtained he wished the musical melody -to spring, words and music becoming lovingly -merged in each other, each sacrificing enough of -selfishness to make the union possible. To what -I have already said about the nature of the typical -phrases I wish to add this as a résumé of their -purpose: In every drama there are employed certain -dramatic and ethical principles as well as -agencies. The development of these principles -in the conduct and words of the personages, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> -employment of the agencies, give us the action -and significance of the play. For these principles -and agents Wagner provides musical symbols. -The nature of the principles, the character of the -agents, explain the form and spirit of the symbols; -the symbols, in turn, sometimes help us to understand -the real nature of the things symbolized. -If we have grasped the fundamental ideas of a -drama, therefore, and appreciated the fitness of -their symbols, we shall have penetrated near to -the heart of the Art-work. But it cannot be too -forcibly urged that if we confine our study of -Wagner to the forms and names of the phrases -out of which he constructs his musical fabric, we -shall at the last have enriched our minds with a -thematic catalogue and—nothing else. We shall -remain guiltless of knowledge unless we learn -something of the nature of those phrases by noting -the attributes which lend them propriety and -fitness, and can recognize, measurably at least, the -reasons for their introduction and development. -Those attributes give character and mood to the -music constructed out of the phrases. If we are -able to feel the mood we need not care how the -phrases which produce it have been labelled. If -we do not feel the mood we may memorize the -whole thematic catalogue of Wolzogen and have -our labor for our pains. It would be better to -know nothing about the phrases and content one's -self with simple sensuous enjoyment than to spend -one's time answering the baldest of all the rid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>dles -of Wagner's orchestra: "What am I playing -now?"</p> - -<p>The ultimate question concerning the correctness -or effectiveness of Wagner's system of composition -must, of course, be answered along with -the question, "Does the composition, as a whole, -touch the emotions, quicken the fancy, fire the -imagination?" If it does these things, we may, -to a great extent, if we wish, get along without -the intellectual processes of reflection and comparison, -which are conditioned upon a recognition -of the themes and their uses. But if we put aside -this intellectual activity, we shall deprive ourselves, -among other things, of the pleasure which it is the -province of memory to give; and the exercise of -memory is called for by music much more urgently -than by any other art, because of its volatile -nature and the role which repetition plays in it.</p> - -<p>Nothing could have demonstrated more perfectly -the righteousness of Wagner's claim to the title of -poet than his acceptance of the Greek theory that -the legends and myths of a people are the fittest -subjects for dramatic treatment, unless it be the -manner in which he has reshaped his material in -order to infuse it with that deep ethical principle -to which reference has several times been made. -In "The Flying Dutchman," "The Niblung's -Ring," and "Tannhäuser," the idea is practically -his creation. In the last of these three dramas -it is evolved out of the simple episode in the -parent-legend of the death of Lisaura, whose -heart broke when her knight went to kiss the -Queen of Love and Beauty. The dissolute knight -of the old story Wagner in turn metamorphoses -into a type of manhood "in its passionate desires -and ideal aspirations"—like the Faust of Goethe. -All the magnificent energy of an ideal man is -brought forward in the poet's conception, but it is -an energy which is shattered in its fluctuation between -sensual delights and ideal aspirations, respectively -typified in the Venus and the Elizabeth -of the play. Here is the contradiction against -which he was shattered as the heroes of Greek -tragedy were shattered on the rock of implacable -Fate. But the transcendent beauty of the modern -drama is lent by the ethical idea of salvation -through the love of pure woman—a salvation -touching which no one can be in doubt when -Tannhäuser sinks lifeless beside the bier of the -atoning saint, and Venus's cries of woe are swallowed -up by the pious canticle of the returning -pilgrims.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<p class="p4 center big2">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> For popular purposes there is no harm in letting this statement -stand as made. Of course the reference goes only to the Greek -theatre in its latest form, the evolution of which is indicated, perhaps, -in the comparative weakness of the bond which unites the -chorus to the action in Euripides. The orchestra was, in fact, the -centre around which all the rest, the <em>theatron</em> and the <i lang="el" xml:lang="el">skēnē</i>, were -gradually grouped. In the antique festal plays the principal feature -was the dance in a circle around the <i lang="el" xml:lang="el">thymele</i>, or altar of Dionysus. -It was only by a slow process that the actor came to be -thought of as anywise distinguished from his companions. As generally -in ancient art priority was indicated by height, there is here -a reason for the tragic <i lang="el" xml:lang="el">cothurnus</i>, which might be said to be an inexplicable -deformity on any other theory; for it was only by putting -them on stilts, so to speak, that it was possible to indicate the -participants in the dialogue as apart from the general rout of dancing -worshippers. Even in the time of the three great dramatic -writers, it seems probable, disturbing as such an idea may be to -popular impressions, that some, if not all, plays were performed -without any stage. The word <i lang="el" xml:lang="el">skēnē</i> (tent) points to a temporary -structure, used in the first place, perhaps, as a shrine for the symbols -and properties of the god (like the Tabernacle of the Israelites), -then as the dressing-room of the actors; it was succeeded by -the temple when the place had become consecrated to the worship -of Dionysus, then by the structures suited to a given play, and finally -by a permanent stage, which gradually encroached on the space -that had once belonged to the orchestra. These conclusions, at -least, seem to be borne out by the discoveries and arguments of -Dörpfeld.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> - Naumann's <cite>History of Music</cite>, vol. i., p. 524.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> <cite>Mephist.</cite> Du weisst wohl nicht, mein Freund, wie grob du bist?<br /> -<span style="padding-left: 1.5em; "><cite>Bac.</cite></span> Im Deutschen lügt man wenn man höflich ist.</p> -<p><span style="margin-left: 11em;">G<small>OETHE.</small> "Faust," Part II., Act 2, Sc. 1.</span></p> -</div></div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> -</div> - -<h2> CHAPTER II.<br /> -<small>"TRISTAN UND ISOLDE."</small></h2> - - -<p>A vassal is sent to woo a beauteous princess for -his lord. While he is bringing her home the two, -by accident, drink a love-potion, and ever thereafter -their hearts are fettered together. In the -mid-day of delirious joy, in the midnight of deepest -woe, and through all the emotional hours between, -their thoughts are only of each other, for -each other. Meanwhile the princess has become -the vassal's queen. Then the wicked love of the -pair is discovered, and the knight is obliged to -seek safety in a foreign land. There (strange note -this to our ears) he marries another princess whose -name is like that of his love, save for the addition -"With the White Hand;" but when wounded unto -death he sends across the water for her who is -still his true love, that she come and be his healer. -The ship which is sent to bring her is to bear -white sails on its return if successful in the mission; -black, if not. Day after day the knight waits -for the coming of his love—while the lamp of his -life burns lower and lower. At length the sails -of the ship appear on the distant horizon. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> -knight is now too weak himself to look. "White -or black?" he asks of his wife. "Black," replies -she, jealousy prompting the falsehood; and the -knight's heart-strings snap in twain just as his love -steps over the threshold of his chamber. Oh, -the pity of it! for with the lady is her lord, who, -having learned the story of the fateful potion, has -come to unite the lovers. Then the queen, too, -dies, and the remorseful king buries the lovers in -a common grave, from whose caressing sod spring -a rose-bush and a vine, and intertwine so curiously -that none may separate them.</p> - -<p>Here, in its simple forms, is the tale which half -a millennium of poets have celebrated as the High -Song of Love, the canticle of all canticles which -hymn the universal passion. British bards, French -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">trouvères</i>, and German <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Minnesinger</i>, while they -sang of the joys and sorrows of humanity, united -in holding up Sir Tristram and La beale Isoud as -the supreme type of lovers. To-day our poets, -writing under the influence of social and moral -systems, radically different from those which surrounded -the original singers, send back the perennial -note with fervor. But the moralist shakes his -head, sinks into perplexed brooding, or launches -the thunders of his righteous wrath against the -storied lovers and their sin. We wish to study the -manner in which a great dramatic poet of our day -has presented this profoundly tragical yet universally -fascinating tale. Must we confront the problem -and seek to reconcile the paradox created by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> -the attitudes of poet and moralist? Or may we -put aside the phenomenon as one whose interpretation -is to be left to each individual's notions of -the True, the Beautiful, and the Good, and address -ourselves directly to a study of the drama as a -work of art regardless of its ethical phases? -Eventually, I am inclined to believe, we shall be -obliged to do the latter; but as appreciation of -what the poet-composer has done depends upon -an understanding of his purposes, and this again -upon a discovery of the elements of the legend -which seemed to him potential, we are compelled -to make at least a cursory survey of some of the -phases through which the story has gone in the -progress of time; for each poet, passing the original -metal through the fires of his imagination, -brought it forth changed in color and enriched -with new designs. In the new color and adornments -we study something of the social institutions -and moral and intellectual habits of the poet's -time, these being superimposed on the original -idea embodied in the fundamental story. In one -of the beautiful tales of Northern mythology (a -tale in which I am tempted to think a relic of the -primitive Tristram myth may one day be found) -we are told how Skirnir cunningly stole the reflection -of Frey's sunny face from the surface of -a brook, and imprisoned it in his drinking-horn -that he might pour it out into Gerd's cup, and by -its beauty win the heart of the giantess for the -lord for whom, like Tristan, he had gone a-wooing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> -A legend which lives to be retold often, is like the -reflection of Frey's face in this beautiful allegory; -each poet who uses it spreads it upon a mirror -which not only reflects the original picture, but also -the environment of the relator. It will be necessary -to remember this when we attempt an inquiry -into the morals of Wagner's drama.</p> - - -<h3>I.</h3> - -<p>To readers of English literature opportunities -to acquaint themselves with the legend which is -the basis of Wagner's drama have been given by -Sir Thomas Malory, Matthew Arnold, Tennyson, -and Swinburne, to say nothing of critics and commentators. -The story is of Keltic origin, and is -supposed to have got into the mouths of the -German <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Minnesinger</i> by way of France. The -most admirable as well as complete version extant -is the epic poem of Gottfried von Strassburg, -written in the thirteenth century. Sir Walter -Scott, who was deeply interested in the literary -history of the tale, in 1804 edited a metrical version -of it from a manuscript said to be the production -of Thomas the Rhymer, who lived about -a century after Gottfried, if, indeed, he lived at -all. From this manuscript Scott argued in favor -of a Welsh source for the romance instead of a -Norman, as was then generally accepted. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> -author of the German epic followed a French -version, as was customary with the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Minnesinger</i> of -his period. Tennyson's share in the exposition is -exceedingly scant and wholly valueless. It is found -in the poem, "The Last Tournament," one of the -"Idyls of the King." Arnold's is much more interesting. -He treats directly of the outcome of -the tragedy in his poem "Tristram and Iseult," -and indirectly relates nearly all that is essential -to an understanding of the story. His poem presents -the death scene of Tristram in Brittany, with -the fanciful imaginings of the dying man while -waiting for the coming of Iseult, who has been -summoned from Tintagel. The whole tale is related -by Swinburne in his "Tristram of Lyonesse."</p> - -<p>The names of the chief personages in the romance -vary slightly in the different German and -English versions, but the variations need lead no -one astray. Wagner's Tristan is otherwise known -as Sir Tristrem and Tristram. All derive the -name from the French word <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">triste</i>, and find in it -a premonition of his fate. Thus Arnold:</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Son," she said, "thy name shall be of sorrow;<br /> -Tristram art thou called for my death's sake."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The poet speaks of the hero's dying mother. -So also Swinburne:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<p>"The name his mother, dying as he was born,<br /> -Made out of sorrow in very sorrow's scorn,<br /> -And set it on him smiling in her sight,<br /> -Tristram."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> - -<p>Isolde is variously Iseult, Ysolt, Isoud, and -Ysonde; Brangäne is Brangwain and Brenqwain; -Kurwenal, Gouvernayle. The changes in orthographical -physiognomy are trifling and easily recognized.</p> - -<p>It cannot be amiss to call attention to several -deviations in Wagner's drama from the legend as -it has been handed down by the poets. The -majority of these deviations will be found to be -full of significance. At the outset we are confronted -with the chief of these. In all the other -versions the love-potion is drunk by Tristan and -Isolde by mistake. In Mr. Swinburne's poem -Tristram toils at the oars,</p> - -<p class="center p1 small1"> -"More mightily than any wearier three,"</p> - -<p>and when he rests, calls for a drink,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Saying: 'Iseult, for all dear love's labor's sake,<br /> -Give me to drink, and give me for a pledge<br /> -The touch of four lips on the beaker's edge'."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Iseult's maid, Brangwain, is asleep, and the Princess, -not wishing to awake her, herself looks for -wine and finds a curious cup hid in the maid's -bosom. She thinks its contents wine and drinks, -and hands it to Tristram to drink. It is the love-draught -prepared by Queen Iseult and intrusted -to Brangwain, to be by her sacredly guarded and -given to Mark and Iseult on their wedding night. -Mr. Arnold also has these lovers drink unwittingly</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">"——that spiced magic draught</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">Which since then forever rolls</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">Through their blood and binds their souls,</div> -<div class="verse">Working love, but working teen."</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In this respect both English poets follow the -German epic of Gottfried von Strassburg. The -dramatic significance of Wagner's variation can be -reserved for discussion hereafter. Its value as intensifying -the character of Isolde is obvious at a -glance.</p> - -<p>Tennyson omits all mention of the love-potion, -and permits us to imagine Tristram and Iseult as -a couple of ordinary sinners, the former's doctrines -on the subject being published in lines like -these:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">"Free love—free field—we love but while we may;</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">The woods are hush'd, their music is no more:</div> -<div class="verse">The leaf is dead, the yearning passed away:</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">New leaf, new life—the days of frost are o'er:</div> -<div class="verse">New life, new love to suit the newer day:</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">New loves are sweet as those that went before;</div> -<div class="verse">Free love—free field—we love but while we may."</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The next important variation (I do not speak -of omissions which are inevitable in throwing an -epic into dramatic form) is in the scene which follows -the discovery of the lovers by King Marke. -To discuss this in all its bearings would require -more space than I shall care to employ for the -purpose, but it is well to know it. The wronged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> -Marke of Wagner, some will say as many have -said, is not wronged at all since he chooses to remain -inactive, whereas the popular impulse is illustrated -in Tennyson's version, where Mark cleaves -Tristram to the brain on discovering his treachery. -But the Marke of Gottfried and the Mark of -Swinburne are scarcely more comprehensible in -their conduct than Wagner's Marke. In Gottfried's -epic, after the king has repeatedly sent the -lovers away and taken them back again, he is -finally convinced of their guilt. But before he -takes action against Tristan, the latter escapes. -In Swinburne, Tristram is taken and led towards -the chapel for trial. On the road he wrenches a -sword from Moraunt's hands, kills him and ten -knights more, leaps into the sea from a cliff, and -escapes, aided by Gouvernayle.</p> - -<p>In his last act, Wagner has proceeded with the -utmost freedom, as in all respects he had a right -to do, since no authentic version of the close of -the legend has been preserved. Karl Simrock, -following the old English "Sir Tristrem," appended -to his translation into modern German of Gottfried's -epic the episode of Tristan's life in Brittany -with a second Isolt, called Isolt of the White -Hand. Being low with a wound received in combat, -Tristan sends for the first Isolt, cautioning -his brother-in-law (as Ægeus cautioned Theseus -in Greek story), who goes on the mission, to hoist -white sails on returning if successful, black if not. -Isolt of the White Hand, who is watching for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> -return of the ship, moved by jealousy, announces -that the sails are black, and Tristan dies just as -Isolt enters the chamber. This version Swinburne -follows, but Arnold adds a beautiful touch to the -old legend by making the second Iseult tend her -husband with unflinching love and unfailing fidelity, -even while she awaits the coming of her rival. -Arnold gives Tristram and the second Iseult a -family of children; Swinburne keeps the latter a -"maiden wife." Bayard Taylor, in writing about -Gottfried's epic, almost angrily refuses to believe -that Iseult of the White Hand killed her knight -by the falsehood about the sails. Wagner saves -himself this embarrassment, and ennobles his hero -by omitting the second Isolde from the play altogether, -a proceeding which not only brings the -tale into greater sympathy with modern ideas of -love, but also serves marvellously to exalt the passion -of the lovers.</p> - - -<h3>II.</h3> - -<p>Wagner tells the story of the tragedy in three -acts. Few dramas have so little to offer in the -way of action, if by action we are to understand -incident and diversity of situation. At Bayreuth, -in the summer of 1886, Mr. Seidl characterized it -very aptly as consisting in each of its three acts -as merely preparation, expectation and meeting -of the ill-starred lovers. Yet I doubt not that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> -many will agree with me, that the effect of the -tragedy upon a listener is that of a play surcharged -with significant occurrence. The explanation of -this is to be found in the fact that music which -has a high degree of emotional expressiveness -makes us forget the paucity of external incident, -by diverting interest from externals to the play of -passion going on in the hearts of the personages. -This play is presented to us freed from every vestige -of spectacular integument in the instrumental -prelude to the drama. I want to lay stress on -this statement. It is the passion of the lovers to -which the composer wishes to direct our attention -at the outset, and to do this most effectively he -constructs his musical "argument of the play" out -of melodic phrases which have purely a psychological -significance. There is considerable music -of the kind that I will call scenic in the score of -"Tristan und Isolde," but none of it is introduced -in the prelude, which for that reason appeals much -more directly to the emotions and the lofty faculty -of imagination than it does to the fancy. It -is true that this makes the task of analytical study -more difficult, but for this there is compensation -in the fact that enjoyment of its beauties and -apprehension of its purposes do not require the -intellectual activity conditioned by a following of -its typical phrases through the web and woof of -the composition. This is characteristic of the entire -score of the drama. More than any other of -the dramas of Wagner, with the possible excep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>tion -of "Die Meistersinger," it shows the spontaneity -in artistic creation, without which a real -art-work cannot come into existence. Wagner -himself expressed a preference for "Tristan" over -others of his works, and based it on the solid -ground that in the composition of its score he had -proceeded without thought of his own theories; -in other words, he worked spontaneously and not -reflectively. The result is strikingly noticeable in -the fact that, though there are comparatively few -typical melodies in the score, one is much less inclined -to dissect it for the pleasure which such a -process brings than any other of his scores. The -direct, sensuous, and emotional appeal is sufficient. -Yet we know that it is a perfect and complete exemplification -of his theories.</p> - -<p>To come back to the prelude:</p> - -<p>An ardent longing for the unattainable; a consuming -hunger</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse ileft4">"——which doth make</div> -<div class="verse">The meat it feeds on;"</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>a desire that cannot be quenched, yet will not -despair; finally, at the lowest ebb of the sweet -agony, the promise of an end of suffering, in self-forgetfulness, -oblivion, annihilation of individual -identity, and hence in a blending or union of identity—these, -according to Wagner's exposition and -the play itself, are the elements which are prefigured -in the instrumental introduction. What are -their musical symbols?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> - -<p>The fundamental theme of the drama, the kernel -of its musical development, is the phrase which -we hear at the beginning of the prelude:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p48_s.jpg" width="500" height="160" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p48_s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p48s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>Brief as this is, it illustrates one step in the melodic -development, in respect of which "Tristan -und Isolde" is Wagner's most marvellous achievement. -It is a unit, in so far as it stands for the -passion of the pair, in both its aspects of blissful -longing and infinite suffering, but it is nevertheless -already complex. It is two-voiced. One voice descends -chromatically, the other (beginning with the -third measure) ascends by similar degrees. A figure -like that used in music to indicate a <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">crescendo</i>,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> -<img src="images/pag48_ilo.jpg" width="200" height="42" alt="" /> -</div> - - -<p>presents a symbol of duality in unity for the eye -like that of this phrase for the ear. How simple -yet profound is the idea that all the conflicting -passions of the drama are one in origin and in -nature. Am I becoming fantastical in thinking -that Wagner purposed that this philosophical concept -should be stated in the basic material of his -music? I think not; but if there is a haunting -fear that way it may be dissipated by looking a -little further into the prelude. After a brief de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>velopment -of this first musical thought by means -of repetition on various degrees of the scale and -changes of instrumental color, two new phrases -are reached. The first:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/p49_s-1.jpg" width="350" height="128" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p49_s-1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p49_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>followed immediately by:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 250px;"> -<img src="images/p49_s-2.jpg" width="250" height="113" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p49_s-2.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p49_s2.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>Now, let us stop to note some resemblances, -and from significant portions of the play derive a -meaning for our symbols. In this we cannot be -helped, as we sometimes are, by natural likenesses. -These melodies are not imitative or delineative -of external things; they are the result of efforts -to give expression to soul-states. At the beginning -of Scene 5, Act I., the entrance of Tristan is -proclaimed in a manner that leaves no doubt as -to the meaning of the first of the two phrases now -under investigation. The melody there appears -extended, in augmentation, as the musicians say. -It stands for the hero of the tragedy. The genesis -of the love of Tristan and Isolde must next -be studied. That love antedated the beginning -of our tragedy. Isolde relates the story of its -beginning to her maid. Disguised as a harper, -Tristan had come to Ireland to be healed of a -wound received in battle with Isolde's betrothed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> -whom he had killed. Isolde nursed him, but before -he was completely restored to health she -discovered that the edge of his sword was broken, -and that a splinter of steel taken from the head -of her dead lover fitted into the nick. The slayer -of her betrothed lay before her. She raised the -sword to avenge his death, but as she was about -to strike, Tristan turned his glance upon her. He -looked not at the threatening sword, but into her -eyes, and in a moment her heart was empty of -anger. Hatred had given place to love. Note -here that while Wagner uses that silly apparatus -of mediæval romance, the philter, it is not as the -creator or provoker of love; that is born without -the aid of magic other than Nature's. "He looked -into my eyes," says Isolde, and immediately the -tender second phrase is uttered by the orchestra. -It is thus that this phrase is identified with the -glance which aroused Isolde's love.</p> - -<p>The material which has now been marshalled is -practically all that is contained in the prelude; -but there are two modifications of the fundamental -phrase which ought to be noticed. One of -these, frequently treated responsively by the instruments -to build up a climax,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p50_s.jpg" width="500" height="89" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p50_s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p50s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>seems to depict the gradual recognition by the -lovers of the state into which the potion has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> -plunged them. The other is a harmonized inversion -of the same figure,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p51_s.jpg" width="300" height="85" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p51_s.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p51_s.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>to which an added character is given by the jubilant -ascent of thirty-second notes, and which, -from several climactic portions of the drama, we -discover to be significant of the lovers' joyful defiance -of death—a sentiment which will be better -understood after the philosophy of the tragedy -has been studied.</p> - -<p>Wagner has himself given us an exposition of -this prelude. In one of his writings, after rehearsing -the legend down to the drinking of the fateful -potion, he says:</p> - -<p>"Now there is no end to the yearning, the longing, -the delight, and the misery of love. World, -might, fame, splendor, honor, knighthood, truth, -and friendship all vanish like a baseless dream. -Only one thing survives: desire, desire unquenchable, -and ever freshly manifested longing—thirst -and yearning. One only redemption: death, the -sinking into oblivion, the sleep from which there -is no awaking!</p> - -<p>"The musician who chose this theme for the -prelude to his love-drama, as he felt that he was -here in the boundless realm of the very element -of music, could only have one care: how he should -set bounds to his fancy; for the exhaustion of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> -theme was impossible. Thus he took once for -all this insatiable desire; in long-drawn accents it -surges up, from its first timid confession, its softest -attraction, through throbbing sighs, hope and pain, -laments and wishes, delight and torment, up to -the mightiest onslaught, the most powerful endeavor -to find the breach which shall open to the -heart the path to the ocean of the endless joy of -love. In vain! Its power spent, the heart sinks -back to thirst with desire, with desire unfulfilled, -as each fruition only brings forth seeds of fresh -desire, till, at last, in the depth of its exhaustion, -the starting eye sees the glimmering of the highest -bliss of attainment. It is the ecstasy of dying, -of the surrender of being, of the final redemption -into that wondrous realm from which we wander -farthest when we strive to take it by force. Shall -we call this Death? Is it not rather the wonder-world -of Night, out of which, so says the story, -the ivy and the vine sprang forth in tight embrace -o'er the tomb of Tristan and Isolde?"</p> - - -<h3>III.</h3> - -<p>We are on board a mediæval ship within a few -hours' voyage of Cornwall, whither Tristan, knight -and vassal, is bearing Isolde as bride of King -Marke. Isolde is an Irish princess, daughter of a -queen of like name with herself. The first scene<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> -discloses her to be a woman of most tumultuous -passion. Hearing the cheery song of a sailor, she -bursts forth like a tempest and declares to her -maid, Brangäne, that she will never set foot on -Cornwall's shore. She deplores the degeneracy -of her mother's sorcery, which can only brew balsamic -potions instead of commanding the elements; -and she wildly invokes wind and waves to -dash the ship to pieces. Brangäne pleads to know -the cause of her mistress's disquiet—what I have -already related of the previous meeting between -the princess and King Marke's ambassador.</p> - -<p>After telling this tale to Brangäne, Isolde sends -the maid to summon Tristan to her presence, but -the knight refuses to leave the helm until he has -brought the ship into harbor, and his squire, Kurwenal, -incensed at the tone addressed by the princess -to one who in his eyes is the greatest of heroes, -as answer to the summons sings a stave of a -popular ballad which recounts the killing of Morold -and the liberation of Cornwall by his master. -The refusal completes the desperation of Isolde. -Outraged love, injured personal and national pride -(for she imagines that he who had relieved Cornwall -from tribute to Ireland was now gratifying -his ambition by bringing her as Ireland's tribute -to Cornwall), detestation of a loveless marriage to -"Cornwall's weary king," a thousand fierce but -indefinable emotions are seething in her heart. -She resolves to die, and to drag Tristan down to -death with her. Brangäne unwittingly shows the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> -way. She tries to quiet her mistress's fears of the -dangers of a loveless marriage by telling her of a -magic potion brewed by the queen-mother with -which she will firmly attach Marke to his bride. -Thus innocently she takes the first step towards -precipitating the catastrophe. Isolde demands to -see the casket of magical philters, and finds that -it also contains a deadly poison. Kurwenal enters -to announce that the ship is in harbor, and Tristan -desires her to prepare for the landing. Isolde -sends back greetings and a message that before -she will permit the knight to escort her before the -king he must obtain from her forgiveness for unforgiven -guilt. Tristan obeys this second summons, -and in justification of his conduct in keeping -himself aloof during the voyage he, with great -dignity, pleads his duty towards good morals, custom, -and his king. Isolde reminds him of the -wrong done her in the slaying of her lover and her -right to the vengeance which once she had renounced. -Tristan yields the right, and offers her -his sword and breast, but Isolde replies that she -cannot appear before King Marke as the slayer of -his foremost knight, and proposes that he drink a -cup of reconciliation. Tristan sees one-half her -purpose, and chivalrously consents to pledge her -in what he knows to be poison. Isolde calls for -the cup which she had commanded Brangäne to -prepare, and when Tristan has drunk part of its -contents she wrenches it from his hand and drains -it to the bottom. Thus they meet their doom,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> -which is not death and surcease of sorrow, but life -and misery, for Brangäne had disobeyed her mistress -out of her love and mixed a love-potion instead -of a death draught. A moment of bewilderment, -and the two fated ones are in each other's -arms, pouring out an ecstasy of passion; then the -maids of honor robe Isolde to receive King Marke, -who is coming on board to greet his bride.</p> - -<p>These are the dramatic contents of the first act, -whose musical investiture is now to be looked at -a little analytically. At the outset there is an example -of the skill with which Wagner employs -the charm of contrast. I have said that the music -of the prelude is not scenic—it aims at moods and -passions, not at pictures. The drama opens with -music of the other kind. As the curtain is withdrawn -we see within the tent erected for Isolde -on the deck of the ship. Hangings conceal all -else from view; but the first music which we hear -is the voice of an unseen sailor at the mast-head, -who sings to the winds that are blowing him away -from his wild Irish sweetheart. The melody has -a most insinuating charm, especially its principal -phrase:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p55_s.jpg" width="500" height="103" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p55_s.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p55_s.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>There is something of the buoyant roll of the -ship and the freshness of sea-breezes about it. It -plunges us at once into the scenic situation, puts -us on shipboard, and helps us to share in the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> -pleasurable sensations of the voyage to Cornwall, -especially when, a moment later, it accompanies -and amplifies Brangäne's account of the happy -progress of the voyage. Scarcely have we surrendered -ourselves to this pleasure, however, before -Isolde's outburst of rage turns our attention -from the scenes to the personages of the play. -What was innocent delight to the singer and to -us (who are now playing sympathetically along in -the drama) has somehow loosened an emotional -tempest in the heart of the passenger most concerned -in that voyage. Suddenly, as we listen to -her imprecations, the whole past of the heroine is -revealed—she stands before us, not the inexperienced, -unconcerned princess of the other poems, -but a fully developed woman, a furious woman, a -tragic heroine ripe for destruction. It is a favorite -device of poets and musicians—of all creative artists, -indeed—to invite Nature to take part in the -play of their creations. We think a thunder-storm -the proper accompaniment of a murder, and balmy -sunshine of a wedding. Here the breezy sea-music -has provoked a storm of passion, and the composer -permits the enraged princess to lash it into a fury. -To suit her mood he invokes dark clouds to obscure -the sunshine of its tonality, sends harsh -harmonies hurtling among the simple chords that -sounded its original innocency, and stirs up a -whirlwind out of its first quiet movement. But -when, a few moments later, Isolde has checked -her wild passion, the music settles back into its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> -original quietude, and in time with its measured -pulsations we see the sailors pulling upon the -ship's tackle. Now it sings its "Yo-heave-ho!" as -decorously as any shanty-song.</p> - -<p>I have referred to the duality in unity of the -fundamental idea in the music of the drama. A -study of the scene in which Isolde resolves upon -the double crime of murder and suicide will disclose -how relation in thought, emotion, and dramatic -motive is expressed by relation in musical -symbol. The symbol of longing contained in the -fundamental phrase shows ascent in chromatic degrees. -Observe, now, that in Act I., Scene 3, the -sufferings of the wounded Tristan are depicted -in a theme composed wholly of descending half-steps,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/p57_s.jpg" width="350" height="78" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p57_s.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p57_s.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>and note, too, that the closing cadence of the -short phrase which stands for the love-glance is a -downward leap of seven degrees. In this phrase, -as we first hear it, there is much tenderness and -gentle happiness; but in the glance there was the -phantom of that Life-in-Death who won Coleridge's -Ancient Mariner from the grisly skeleton -in their awful game of dice. Though we do not -suspect it, at first, that downward leap of a seventh -is an ominous symbol—the symbol of Fate, -which might have been heard under the yearning -voices of the prelude, and is now proclaimed by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> -gloomy basses in the scene wherein Isolde selects -the poison from the casket of philters which her -mother had given in charge of Brangäne:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/p58_s-1.jpg" width="300" height="127" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p58_s1_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p58s1_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>There is another phrase of tragic puissance with -which we must now get acquainted. At the first -glance which Isolde throws upon Tristan, motionless -at the helm of the ship, when the curtains are -parted to permit the maid to summon the knight -into the presence of the princess, this phrase publishes -her dreadful determination to seek revenge -for outraged love in murder and suicide. It is -the symbol of death, whose relationship to the -symbol of fate will easily be recognized:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 417px;"> -<img src="images/p58_s-2.jpg" width="417" height="108" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="center p1">Death... de - vot - ed head!</p> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p58_s2_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p58s2_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - - -<p>Its ominous expressiveness, apart from instrumental -color, which cannot be reproduced on the -pianoforte, comes from the sudden and unprepared -change of key from A-flat to A.</p> - -<p>The culminating scene in the drama is that -which brings the first act to a close—the meeting -of Tristan and Isolde, and the drinking of the -potion. In this scene the device of introducing -cheerful and exciting sailors' music to heighten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> -the intensity of a dramatic climax is used with peculiarly -startling effect. It produces a marvellous -illusion by the suddenness of its entrance, its sharp -interruption of the tragic music expressive of the -soul-torments of the principal personages, and the -unprepared transition from the spectacle of doomed -humanity to the joy-inspiring aspect of nature. -An almost equally noteworthy effect is the orchestral -proclamation of Tristan in his character as a -fully-developed tragic hero. Observe how, by augmenting -the simple phrase, the orchestra increases -the stature of the knight; but note also how, -though he looms up in Isolde's door-way like a -demi-god clad in steel and brass, a knight capable -of overthrowing the choicest spirits of Arthur's -Round Table, and scattering thirty of King Marke's -knights, the fateful harmonies in their chromatic -descent (which have their model in the melody of -the wounded Tristan) publish his doom with a -prophetic forcefulness that cannot be misunderstood.</p> - -<p>There is in this scene, also, a peculiarly eloquent -example of the manner in which Wagner permits -the music to publish hidden meanings in the text. -While Brangäne, obeying her mistress's behest, is -preparing the fatal draught, the gladsome noise -of the sailors is heard from without. The ship -is entering the harbor. Tristan, who is brooding -over Isolde's demand that he drink a drink of expiation -for the slaying of Morold, suddenly arouses -himself. "Where are we?" he asks. "Near the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> -goal," answers Isolde. What goal does she mean? -Cornwall, the goal of the voyage? Ah, no! The -music tells us; the words are sung to the death-phrase.</p> - - -<h3>IV.</h3> - -<p>Wagner's skill in plunging his listeners into the -mood essential to the proper reception of his -drama has no brighter illustration than "Tristan -und Isolde." The passionate stress and profound -melancholy which mark all that really belongs to -the story are prefigured for us in the prelude. That -story is more than nine-tenths told in the first act. -The music that is introduced to give relief to the -mind, and also to heighten the tragic effect by -means of contrast, is the music that is related to -the scene which is the theatre of the outward -action, or to the personages of the play who bear -no part in the real tragedy which, as I have already -intimated, plays on the stage of the lovers' hearts. -These comparatively inactive persons who serve -as foils are the young seaman who sings at the -mast-head, the sailors, the shepherd who enters in -the last act, and Kurwenal, the squire. Kurwenal, -rugged yet tender, amiable and picturesque, gentle -as a woman at core, shares in the bright, flowing, -rhythmically vigorous music which tells of unfettered -breezes, heaving billows, and popular pride; -while to Tristan and Isolde is given the music<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> -made out of the few phrases which, as they unfold -themselves over and over again in an infinite variety -of combinations and with continually changing -instrumental color, bring to our consciousness in a -wonderfully vivid manner the torments which are -consuming them. In the introduction to the second -act we have another mood picture—a picture -of the longing and impatience of the lovers; but -this idea is presented with such peculiar eloquence -and beauty in the first scene that I prefer to pass -over the instrumental introduction with this bare -reference. I am not attempting a dissection of -every scene; my purpose will be attained if I can -suggest the things which best indicate the mood -in which it is well to listen, and give starting-points -to the imagination. The second act differs from -the first in that it is all but actionless. In it, however, -is presented the catastrophe of the tragedy—the -discovery of the guilt of the ill-starred lovers -by King Marke. The scene is a garden before -Queen Isolde's chamber; the time, a lovely night -in summer. A torch burns in a ring beside the -door leading from the chamber into the garden. -The King has gone a-hunting, and as the curtain -rises the tones of the hunting horns dying away -in the distance blend entrancingly with an instrumental -song from the orchestra, which seems a -musical sublimation of night and nature in their -tenderest moods. Isolde appears with Brangäne, -and pleads with her to extinguish the torch and -thus give a signal to Tristan, who is waiting in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> -concealment. But Brangäne suspects treachery -on the part of Melot, a knight who is jealous of -Tristan and himself enamoured of Isolde, and who -had planned the nocturnal hunt. She warns her -mistress and begs her to wait. In their dialogue -there is lovely fencing with the incident of the -vanishing sounds of the hunt like Shakespeare's -dalliance with nightingale and lark, in "Romeo -and Juliet." Beauty rests upon this scene like a -benediction. To Isolde the horns are but the -rustling of the forest leaves as they are caressed -by the wind, or the purling and laughing of the -brook. Longing has eaten up all patience, all -discretion, all fear. She extinguishes the torch in -spite of Brangäne's pleadings, and with wildly -waving scarf beckons on her hurrying lover. Beneath -the foliage they sing their love through -all the gamut of hope and despair. The text of -their duet consists largely of detached ejaculations -and verbal plays, each paraphrasing and varying -or giving a new turn to the outpouring of the -other, the whole permeated with the symbolism -of pessimistic philosophy, in which night and death -and oblivion (which have their symbols in the -music) are glorified, and day and life (which also -have their symbols) and memory are contemned. -There is transporting music in the duet, and many -evidences that in it Wagner wrote and composed -with tremendous enthusiasm, veritably with a pen -of fire. In the dialogue of this scene lies the key -of the entire philosophy of the tragedy. We -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> -ought to know this, but we do not need to justify -it. If I were to indulge in the unnecessary luxury -of criticism, I should suggest that pessimistic philosophy -transmitted through verbal plays which -are carried far beyond the limits of reason, if not -to the verge of childishness, is not good dramatic -matter, and half an hour of it is too much. Swinburne, -who repeatedly makes use of metaphors -and thoughts which tempt one to believe that he -made a study of Wagner's drama, also attempts a -dalliance with the images of night and day which -fill so many of Wagner's pages, but with a difference, -and his Iseult, unlike the German Isolde, -checks Tristram's song wherein he asks:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Love, is it day that makes thee thy delight,<br /> -Or thou that seest day made out of thy light?"</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>by calmly observing,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<p>"I have heard men sing of love a simpler way<br /> -Than these wrought riddles made of night and day."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>I have said that we ought to know something -of the philosophy of the tragedy. In Wagner's -exposition of the prelude he wishes us to observe -the "one glimmering of the highest bliss of -attainment" in the surrender of being, the "final -redemption into that wondrous realm from which -we wander farthest when we try to take it by -force." For this wondrous realm he chooses death -and night as symbols, but what he means to imply -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> -is the Nirvana of Buddhistic philosophy, the -"final deliverance of the soul from transmigration." -Nirvana is the antithesis of Sansâra. Sansâra, -the world, means turmoil and variety, and -each new transmigration means another relapse -into the miseries of existence. The love of Tristan -and Isolde presents itself to Wagner as ceaseless -struggle and endless contradiction, and for -such a problem there is but one solution—total -oblivion. Nirvana is the only conception which -offers a happy outcome to such love; it means -quietude and identity.</p> - -<p>The duet is rudely interrupted in its moment -of supremest ecstasy by a warning cry from -Brangäne. Kurwenal dashes in with a sword and -a shout: "Save thyself, Tristan!" King Marke, -Melot, and courtiers at his heels. Day, the symbol -of all that is fatal to their love, has dawned. -Tristan is silent, though King Marke, in a long -speech, bewails the treachery of his nephew and -friend. Much ridicule has been poured out on -this scene, which the ordinary theatre-goer finds -dramatically disappointing. There can be no -question that the popular sentiment is better expressed -by Tennyson, in the corresponding scene -in his poem, "The Last Tournament:"</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"But while he bow'd to kiss the jewell'd throat,<br /> -Out of the dark, just as the lips had touch'd,<br /> -Behind him rose a shadow and a shriek—<br /> -'Mark's way,' said Mark, and clove him thro' the brain."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p> - -<p>One need not be an advocate to say that though -Marke's sermonizing may be theatrically disappointing, -it offers in itself a complete defence of -its propriety. From the words of the heart-torn -king we learn that he had been forced into the -marriage by the disturbed state of his kingdom, -and that he had not consented to it until Tristan -(whose purpose it was to quiet the jealous anger -of the barons) had threatened to depart from Cornwall -unless the King revoked his decision to make -him his successor. Tristan's answer to the sorrowful -upbraidings of Marke is to obtain a promise -from Isolde to follow him into the "wondrous -realm of Night;" then (note this as bearing on -the ethics of the drama), seeing that Marke did not -wield the sword of retribution, he makes a feint -of attacking Melot, but permits the treacherous -friend to reach him with his sword. He falls -wounded unto death.</p> - - -<h3>V.</h3> - -<p>The dignified, reserved knight of the first act, -the impassioned lover of the second, is now a -dream-haunted, longing, despairing, dying man, lying -under a lime-tree in the yard of his ancestral -castle in Brittany, wasting his last bit of strength -in feverish fancies and ardent longings touching -Isolde. Kurwenal has sent for her. Will she come? -A shepherd tells of vain watches for the sight of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> -a sail by playing a mournful melody on his pipe. -What a vast expanse of empty sea is opened to -our view by the ascending passages in long-drawn -thirds! How vividly we are made to realize the -ebbing away of Tristan's vital powers!</p> - -<p>In the music of this act, if anywhere in the creations -of Wagner, we are lifted above the necessity -of seeking significances. Even the pianoforte can -speak the language of this act. There is not one -measure in it which does not tell its story in a -manner which puts mere words to shame. Oh, -the heart-hunger of the hero! The longing! Will -she never come? The fever is consuming him, -and his heated brain breeds fancies which one moment -lift him above all memories of pain, and the -next bring him to the verge of madness. Cooling -breezes waft him again towards Ireland, whose -princess healed the wound struck by Morold, then -ripped it up again with the avenging sword with -its telltale nick. From her hands he took the -drink whose poison sears his heart. Accursed the -cup and accursed the hand that brewed it! Will -the shepherd never change his doleful strain? Ah, -Isolde, how beautiful you are! The ship, the ship! -It must be in sight! Kurwenal, have you no eyes? -Isolde's ship! A merry tune bursts from the -shepherd's pipe. It is caught up by the orchestra -and whirled away on an ocean of excited sound. -It is the ship! What flag flies at the peak? The -flag of "All's well!" Now the ship disappears behind -a cliff. There the breakers are treacherous.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> -Who is at the helm? Friend or foe? Melot's -accomplice? Are you, too, a traitor, Kurwenal?</p> - -<p>Tristan's strength is unequal to the excitement -of the moment. His mind becomes dazed. He -hears Isolde's voice, and his wandering fancy transforms -it into the torch whose extinction once summoned -him to her side: "Do I hear the light?" -He staggers to his feet and tears the bandages -from his wound. "Ha, my blood, flow merrily now! -She who opened the wound is here to heal it!" -Life endures but for one embrace, one glance, one -word—"Isolde!"—which is borne to her ears by -the sadly sweet phrase, typical of the first glance -of love—the word and tones which first he had -uttered after the potion had made him forget all -but his love.</p> - -<p>While Isolde lies mortally stricken upon Tristan's -corpse, Marke and his train arrive upon a second -ship. Brangäne has told the secret of the -love-draught, and the king has come to unite the -lovers. But his purpose is not known, and faithful -Kurwenal receives his death-blow while trying -to hold the castle against Marke's men. He dies -at Tristan's side. Isolde, unconscious of all these -happenings, sings out her broken heart and expires.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"And ere her ear might hear, her heart had heard,<br /> -Nor sought she sign for witness of the word;<br /> -But came and stood above him, newly dead,<br /> -And felt his death upon her: and her head,<br /> -Bowed, as to reach the spring that slakes all drouth;<br /> -And their four lips became one silent mouth."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>VI.</h3> - -<p>The story of Tristan and Isolde, as it was sung -by the minstrel knights of the Middle Ages, is a -picture of chivalry in its palmy days. We need to -bear this in mind when we approach the ethical -side of Wagner's version. In the music of the love -duet and Isolde's death lies, perhaps, the most -powerful plea ever made for the guilty lovers. No -one will stray far from the judgment which the -future will pronounce on Wagner's creations, I imagine, -who sets down Isolde's swan's song as the -choicest flower of Wagner's creative faculty, the -culmination of his powers as a composer. I do -not believe that the purifying and ennobling capacity -of music was ever before or since demonstrated -as it is here. While listening to this tonal -beatification, it is difficult to hear the voice of reason -pronouncing the judgment of outraged law. -Yet it is right that that voice should be heard. It -is due to the poet-composer that it should be -heard. Wagner's attitude towards the old legend -differs vastly from that of the poets who preceded -him in treating it.</p> - -<p>In the days of chivalry depicted by Gottfried -von Strassburg and the other mediæval poets who -have sung the passion of these lovers, the odor -which assails our moral sense as the odor of death -and decay was esteemed the sweetest incense that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> -arose from a poet's censer. Read the <cite>Wachtlieder</cite> -of the German <cite>Minnesinger</cite>. The German <cite>Wachtlied</cite>, -the Provençal <em>alba</em>, is the song sung by the -squire or friend watching without, warning the -lovers to separate. Brangäne's song in the second -act is such a <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wachtlied</i>. Read the decisions of -the Courts of Love, which governed the actions -of chivalrous knighthood when chivalry was at -its zenith. Again and again was it proclaimed -by these tribunals that conjugal duty shut out -the possibility of love between husband and wife. -In the economy of feudal castle life there was no -provision for women. The place was the domicile -of warriors. Daughters of the lord of the castle -were married off in childhood. Who, then, -could be the object of knightly love? The answer -is not far to seek. The service of woman -to which mediæval knighthood was devoted, the -service which is celebrated in words which we -can scarcely accept, except as wildest hyperbole, -was the service paid to another man's wife. And -the fact that the knight himself had a wife was -not a hinderance but an incentive to the service -which was the occupation of his life. Now -think for a moment on Wagner's modification of -the Tristram legend. From it he eliminates the -second Iseult. His hero cannot contract a loveless -marriage, and at one stroke one element in -the attitude of the sexes which appears strange, -unnatural, and shocking to us, is wiped from the -story.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> - -<p>The versions of Gottfried von Strassburg, Matthew -Arnold, Swinburne, Tennyson, and Wagner -present three points of view from which the love -of the tragic pair must be studied. With the first -three the drinking is purely accidental, and the -passion which leads to the destruction of the lovers -is something for which they are in no wise responsible. -With Tennyson there is no philter, -and the passion is all guilty. With Wagner the -love exists before the dreadful drinking, and the -potion is less a maker of uncontrollable passion -than a drink which causes the lovers to forget -duty, honor, and the respect due to the laws of -society. It is a favorite idea of Wagner's that the -hero of tragedy should be a type of humanity -freed from all the bonds of conventionality. It is -unquestionable in my mind that in his scheme we -are to accept the love-potion as merely the agency -with which Wagner struck from his hero the -shackles of convention.</p> - -<p>Unquestionably, as Bayard Taylor argued, the -love-draught is the Fate of the Tristan drama, -and this brings into notice the significance of -Wagner's chief variation. It is an old theory, too -often overlooked now, that there must be at least -a taint of guilt in the conduct of a tragic hero in -order that the feeling of pity excited by his sufferings -may not overcome the idea of justice in the -catastrophe. This theory was plainly an outgrowth -of the deep religious purpose of the Greek -tragedy. Wagner puts antecedent and conscious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> -guilt at the door of both his heroic characters. -They love before the philter, and do not pay the -reverence to the passion which, in the highest -conception, it commands. Tristan is carried away -by love of power and glory before men, and himself -suggests and compels by his threats Marke's -marriage, which is a crime against the love which -he bears Isolde and she bears him. There is guilt -enough in Isolde's determination and effort to -commit murder and suicide. Thus Wagner presents -us the idea of Fate in the latest and highest -aspect that it assumed in the minds of the Greek -poets, and he arouses our pity and our horror, not -only by the sufferings of the principals, but also -by making an innocent and amiable prompting to -underlie the action which brings down the catastrophe. -It is Brangäne's love for her mistress -that persuades her to shield her from the crime of -murder and protect her life. From whatever point -of view the question is treated, it seems to me that -Wagner's variation is an improvement on the old -legend, and that the objection, which German critics -have urged, that the love of the pair is merely -a chemical product, and so, outside of human sympathy, -falls to the ground.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p> -</div> - - - -<h2> CHAPTER III.<br /> -<small>"DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG."</small></h2> - - -<p>Once upon a time—if I were disposed to be circumstantial -I would say in the early summer of the -year of our Lord 1560, for it was the year of Hans -Sachs' widowerhood—Veit Pogner, desiring to -honor the craft of the master-singers in Nuremberg, -to whose guild he belonged, offered a rare prize as -the reward of the victor in a singing contest to be -held on St. John's Day. Pogner was a rich silversmith -who had travelled much, who had loved the -arts of song and song-making, and whose pride had -been hurt by the discovery that the gentry and -nobility of the German nation affected to despise -the humble burgher for his too great devotion to -money-getting, unmindful of the fact, which Pogner -knew full well, that what there was of art-love -and devotion and talent was possessed and encouraged -by the common people. It was for this -reason that he resolved to stimulate a supreme effort -in the form of art which most interested him, -and the prize which he offered was nothing less -than his only child Eva in marriage, with all his -great wealth as a dowry. But Eva, dutiful in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> -main if rather forward and self-willed, was little -inclined to be bestowed as a prize unless she had -the picking of the winner. The fact is, she had -lost her heart to a handsome young knight from -Franconia—in the course of a flirtation carried on -during divine service, I regret to say—and had -told him so in a somewhat impetuous manner, -scarcely consistent with modern notions on the -subject of young women's behavior. She had not -thought it necessary to take her father into her -confidence, and so the young Franconian knight, -who had come to Nuremberg to repair his fortunes, -was reduced to the extremity of entering -the Guild of master-singers, so that he might be -qualified to go into the competition on the morrow. -A trial of candidates for admission to the -guild had been announced for that very day after -divine service, and Walther von Stolzing (that was -the young knight's name) entered the lists. But, -alas! he knew nothing of the code of laws which -governed the structure of master-songs and prescribed -the thirty-two offences which must not be -committed. Nor did he count on the fact that the -adjudicator who would keep tally of his violations -of those laws would be Sixtus Beckmesser, the -town-clerk, whose longing glances were also turned -in Eva's direction—or, at least, towards her father's -gold. He went into the contest trusting to -the inspiration of his love and his memory of the -spirit which breathes through the songs of that -ardent old nature-lover, Walther von der Vogelweide, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> -whom the master-singers counted among -the founders of their guild, to carry him through. -When the time came for him to improvise a song -which was to determine whether or not he was fit -to be a master-singer, he sang: now pouring out an -ecstasy of feeling, and anon scorching with scornful -allusions the jealous pedant behind the judge's -curtain. In a burst of enthusiasm he rose from -the chair in which the code required the singer to -sit, and this completed his discomfiture. Hans -Sachs, who, as he used to say, was "shoemaker -and poet, too," indeed had recognized evidences -of genius in the song, and its newness of style and -indifference to ancient formula seemed to him to -weigh little as against its freshness and eloquence -and ardor. But Sachs could not prevent judgment -going against the singer. That night the -young couple resolved to elope and seek their -happiness outside the code of laws of the Master-singers, -but were interrupted by the circumstance -that Sachs, haunted by the song of the knight -whose cause he had espoused, was unable to sleep, -and had resolved to finish a pair of shoes ordered -by Beckmesser. Sachs was kindly disposed towards -the lovers, but he had a strong sense of the -duty due to parents. He saw the pair in the shadow -of a tree while he was musing on the occurrences -of the day, and suspected their purpose, as, -indeed, he well might, for Eva had changed her -head-dress for that of her maid, Magdalena. As if -without special purpose, he drew his bench to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> -door, and threw a ray of light across the street, -through which they would be obliged to pass. In -another moment the malicious town-clerk appeared -on the scene with a lute. He had come to serenade -Eva, in the hope of making an impression which -would be useful to him on the morrow, for it had -been stipulated that though the winner of the prize -must be a master-singer, yet Eva was to have a -voice in the decision. While Magdalena took her -place at the window to delude Beckmesser with -the belief that his serenade was being listened -to by its object, Sachs interrupted the malicious -clown by lustily shouting a song as he cobbled at -the bench, pleading in extenuation, when Beckmesser -remonstrated with him, that he must finish -the shoes, for want of which Beckmesser had twitted -him at the meeting in St. Catherine's Church -a few hours before. Finally, having reduced the -boor to the verge of distraction, Sachs agreed to -listen to his serenade, provided he were allowed -the privilege of playing adjudicator and marking -the errors of composition by striking his lapstone. -The errors were not few, and, as you may imagine, -each critical tap threw Beckmesser into more of a -rage, until he lost his head altogether, and Sachs -beat such a tattoo on his lapstone that he had finished -his work when Beckmesser came to the end -of his song, which, we may believe, was comical -enough. And now, to complete Beckmesser's misery, -David, an apprentice of Sachs' and Magdalena's -sweetheart, thinking that the serenade had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> -been intended for her, began to belabor the singer -with a club; the hubbub called the neighbors -into the street, and, as many of them bore little -grudges against each other, they took occasion to -feed them all fat. A right merry brawl was in -progress when the watchman's horn was heard. -Quick as a flash the brawlers disappeared, and -when the sleepy old watchman entered the street -none of the peace disturbers was to be seen; the -old Dogberry stared about him in amazement, -rubbed his eyes, sang the monotonous chant which -told the hour and cautioned the burghers against -spooks, and walked off in the peaceful moonlight.</p> - -<p>Next morning Walther, who had been taken in -by Sachs, sang the recital of a dream which had -enriched his sleep. It was as beautiful in the telling -as in the experience, and Sachs transcribed it, -punctuating the pauses with bits of advice which -enabled Walther easily to throw it into the form -of a master-song which would pass the muster even -of the pedantic code, though a few liberties were -taken in the matter of melody. While Sachs was -absent from his shop to don clothes meet for the -coming festivities, Beckmesser came in and found -the song, which he conveyed to his own pocket. -Sachs, returning, discovered the theft, and gave the -song to the thief, who, knowing Sachs' great talent -in composition, secured a promise from him -not to claim it as his own, and to permit him to -sing it at the contest. This suited Sachs' purposes -admirably. A few hours later all the good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> -people of Nuremberg were gathered on the meadow -just outside the walls, which was their customary -place of merrymaking. The guilds were there—the -cobblers and tailors and bakers and toy-makers—God -bless 'em!—with trumpeters and drummers -and pipers, and hundreds of spruce apprentices; -and the master-singers with their banner and -insignia, headed by Sachs. Beckmesser was there, -too, with the words of Walther's song whirling in a -hopeless maze in his addled pate. He tried to sing -it, but made a monstrously stupid parody, and when -the populace hooted and railed and jeered at him -for presuming to aspire to the hand of the beauteous -Eva he flew into a rage, charged the authorship -of the song which had caused his downfall on -Sachs, and left the field to his rival Walther, who, -to vindicate Sachs' statement that the song was -a good one when well sung, presently burdened the -air with its loveliness, adding, in his enthusiasm, -an improvised apostrophe to Eva and the Parnassus -of poetry. Master-singers, people—and Eva—were -agreed that the gallant knight had won the -prize, and Sachs gently compelled him, in spite of -his protest, to take the master-singer's medallion -along with the bride, and charged him never more -to affect to despise the German masters of song, -whose works shall live though the Holy Roman -Empire go up in smoke.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>I.</h3> - -<p>The story of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" -furnishes more food for reflection than one might -think at first blush, and opens a channel of thought -not commonly used when Wagner is in mind. It -is a comedy, and it is easiest to think of Wagner -as a tragedian. Yet it is not the smallest of his -achievements that, more thoroughly and consistently -than any dramatist of our time, he has in his -works restored the boundary line which in the -classic world separated comedy from tragedy. In -"Tannhäuser," "Tristan und Isolde," and "The -Niblung's Ring" are found examples of the old -tragedy type. They deal with grand passions, and -their heroes are gods or god-like men who are -shattered against Fate. His only essay in the -field of comedy was made in "Die Meistersinger," -and this is as faithful to the old conception of comedy -as the other dramas are to the classic ideals of -tragedy. It deals with the manners and follies -and vices of the common people, and exemplifies -the purpose of comedy as it was set down in one -of the truest and best definitions ever written. It -aims to chastise manners with a smile. There are -two ways of looking at "Die Meistersinger." It -can be weighted with a symbolical character, or it -can be taken as an example of pure comedy, with no -deeper significance than lies on the easily-reached<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> -surface of its lines, action, and music. There is no -doubt that Wagner conceived it as a satire, and -it is even possible (although I can recall no direct -statement of his to that effect) that he intended to -chastise with it the spirit of conservatism and pedantry -which was for so long a time a stumbling-block -in the way of his system. Telling of his -first draft of the comedy in 1845, immediately after -the completion of "Tannhäuser," he said that he -had planned it as a satyr-play after the tragedy, -and, conceiving Hans Sachs as the last example of -the artistically productive Folk-spirit, had placed -him in opposition to the master-singer burgherdom, -to whose droll and rule-of-thumb pedantry -he gave individual expression in the character of -the adjudicator, or <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Merker</i>. This statement, although -it was made nearly a generation before the -comedy was written, justifies the assumption that -it was his purpose in it to celebrate the triumph -of the natural poetic impulse, stimulated by communion -with nature, over pedantic formulas. But -a word of caution should be uttered against the -autobiographic stamp which some extremists have -wanted to impress upon it. The comedy is not -rendered more interesting or its satire more admirable -by thinking of Walther as the prototype -of Wagner himself, of Beckmesser as Wagner's -opponents, and of Hans Sachs as King Ludwig, -embodying in himself, furthermore, the symbol of -enlightened public opinion, which neither despises -rules nor is willing to be ridden by them. Such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> -an exposition of its symbolism lies near enough in -its broad lines, but there is danger in carrying it -through all the details of the plot. When it is -too far pushed, critics will ask in the future, as they -have asked in the past, how this can be accepted -as the satirical motive of the comedy when the hero -who triumphs over the supposed evil principle in -the drama does so, not to advance the virtue which -stands in opposition to that evil principle, but simply -to win a bride—a purpose that is purely selfish, -however amiable and commendable it may be. -Walther does, indeed, discover himself as the champion -of spontaneous, vital art, and the antagonist -of the pedantry represented by the master-singers; -but this is not until after he has learned that he -can only win the young lady by himself becoming -a member of the guild, and defeating all comers at -the tournament of song. Knowing none of the -rules, he boldly relies on the potency of the inspiration -begotten by his love, and does his best under -the circumstances; that he ultimately succeeds he -owes to the help of Sachs, and the fact that his -rival defeats himself by resorting to foul means. -Besides, to justify fully this dramatic scheme, Beckmesser -ought not to have been made the blundering -idiot and foolish knave that he appears to be -in the stage versions, but at the worst a short-sighted, -narrow-minded, and perhaps malicious -pedant. As he stands in the stage representations -Beckmesser is an ill-natured and wicked buffoon, -a caricature of a peculiarly gross kind, and only an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> -infinitesimally tiny corrective idea lies in the fact -that a manly young knight who loves a pretty -young woman should have saved her from falling -into such a rival's hands by marrying her himself. -He would have had the vote of the public on his -side if he had sung like a crow and Beckmesser -like Anacreon.</p> - - -<h3>II.</h3> - -<p>If we will look upon the contest symbolized in -the comedy, not as that between Wagner and his -contemporaries, but as between the two elements -in art whose opposition stimulates life, and whose -union, perfect, peaceful, mutually supplemental, -is found in every really great art-work, I think we -shall come pretty near the truth. At least, we -will have an interesting point of view from which -to study its musical and literary structure. Simply -for convenience sake let us call these two -principles Romanticism and Classicism. The terms -are a little vague, entirely arbitrary, and if we -were seeking scientific exactness we should be -obliged to condemn their use. Popularly, they -are conceived as antithetical in the critical history -of literature as well as music. It is in this sense -(with a difference) that I wish to use them.</p> - -<p>If the history of music be looked at with a view -to discovering the spirit which animates its products -rather than observing their integument, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> -will be found that from the beginning two forces -have been in operation, and by their antagonism -have done the work of progressive creation. In -the religious chant, with its restrictive clog (the -fruit of superstitious veneration and fear) we find -that manifestation of the spirit of antique music -which was chiefly instrumental in its establishment -and regulation. To that spirit tribute above -its meed is paid in the hand-books which begin the -history of modern music with the chants of the -Christian Church. The other spirit, having been -cultivated outside the church, has had fewer historians -to do it reverence. It is the free, untrammelled -impulse which rests on the law of nature -and refuses the domination of formal rule and restrictive -principle. On the love-song, war-song, -and hunting-song of early man, on the cradle-song -crooned by early woman, there rested not the -weight of superstitious fear and hope which fettered -the religious chant. They were individual -manifestations of feeling, and in them the fancy -was free to discover and use all the tonal and -rhythmical combinations which might be helpful -in giving voice to emotion. The mission of this -spirit (which I will call Romanticism to distinguish -it from the conservative, and regulative spirit -which I will call Classicism) was fulfilled, during -the artificiality and all-pervading scholasticism of -the Middle Ages, by the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Minnesinger</i> and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">trouvère</i>; -and though the death of chivalry ended -that peculiar ministry, the spirit continued to live<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> -as it had lived from the beginning, as it still lives -and will live <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in sæcula sæculorum</i>, in the people's -songs and dances. When the composers of two -hundred and fifty years ago began to develop instrumental -music they found the germ of the sonata -form—the form that made Beethoven's symphonies -possible—in the homely dance tunes of -the people which till then had been looked upon -as vulgar things, wholly outside the domain of -polite art. The genius of the masters of the last -century moulded this form of plebeian ancestry -into a vessel of wonderful beauty; but by the time -this had been done the capacity of music as an -emotional language had been greatly increased, -and the same Romantic spirit which had originally -created the dance forms that they might embody -the artistic impulses of that early time, suggested -the filling of the vessel with the new contents. -When the vessel would not hold these new contents -it had to be widened. New bottles for new -wine. That is the whole mystery of what conservative -critics decry as the destruction of form -in music. It is not destruction, but change. When -you destroy form you destroy music, for the musical -essence can manifest itself only through form.</p> - -<p>As a perfectly natural result of the development -of this beautiful and efficient vessel called the -Sonata form, a love of symmetry and order, of -correct logic and beautiful sequence, came to -dominate composers, and it is a relic of this love, a -love which we must not despise in such masters as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> -Haydn and Mozart, which led them to fill so many -of their compositions with repetitions of parts and -conventional passages that appear meaningless and -wearisome to us. They were written in compliance -with the demands of form.</p> - - -<h3>III.</h3> - -<p>For the purposes of our exposition of the symbolism -of Wagner's comedy, of the meaning of its -satire, we shall have to look upon classical composers -as those who developed music chiefly on -its formal side and conserved the laws which enabled -them to reach one ideal of beauty. The -Romantic composers will then be those who sought -their ideals in other regions than the formal, and -strove to give them expression irrespective—or, if -necessary, in defiance—of the conventions of law. -Romanticism will appear to us as the creative -principle, and hence we shall find it in Wagner's -comedy associated with Youth, its passions and -enthusiasms; with Love, and heedless, reckless -daring; with Spring and blooming time; with the -singing of birds and the perfume of flowers; with -assertion of the right of unfettered utterance and -denial of the wisdom or justice of reflection and -moderation.</p> - -<p>Do not visions corresponding with these attributes -rise up out of the incidents of the play?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> -The lovers, with their impetuous love-making and -reckless resolve which sapient Sachs frustrates; -Walther's songs in the first act, telling of Spring -releasing Nature from her icy shackles and winning -her smiles, while sunlight and birds and meadow -flowers, and the old poet who sang the praises of -them and was named after the mead he loved, -united in teaching him the art of song; the bold -defiance of the master-singers and their code; the -rejection of the medal when it had been won. -Classicism, in turn, will appear as the regulative -and conservative principle, and its association in -the play will be with maturity of age and moderation -in thought and action; with personages in -whom the creative impulse is not an elemental -force, but a pleasure or a duty which waits upon -the judgment; also, for satirical purposes, with -a guild of handicraftsmen and tradespeople who -enforce an apprenticeship in art as they do in -trade; who think that by adherence to rule artworks -may be created as shoes are made over -a last; who are pompous in their pedantry and -amiable only in the holy simplicity of their earnestness, -their vanity, and their complacency. Such -are the associations which arise when the pictures -of the comedy are passed in hasty review; -and they have been grievously incomplete. They -have omitted the real hero of the play, the poet -who belongs to the guild and upholds its laws -while battling for the spirit represented by him -who falls under the condemnation of those very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -laws. Where is Hans Sachs? Search him out. -You will find him in the midst of the combatants -fighting valiantly <em>on both sides</em>; representing a -principle at once creative and conservative, standing, -in the history of artistic development, for those -true geniuses who breathe the breath of life into -the body, not for the purpose of destruction, but -that the spirit may become manifest in the flesh.</p> - -<p>It is contest which brings life. All the great -classical composers from Brahms back to Bach -have had their moments of Romantic feeling; it is -never absent from the truly creative artist; but its -most eloquent expression was reserved for our century. -You recognize it in the whole body of instrumental -music, beginning with Beethoven; you -yield to its influence when you hear the operas of -Gluck, Mozart, and Weber. The musicians whose -influence was strongest when Wagner began his -reforms were frank in their protestations of allegiance -to this conception of Romanticism: "The -Spirit builds the forms, or finds them ready-built, -and refashions them according to its needs and -desires," said Marx. "If you wish to adopt art as -a profession you cannot accustom yourself early -enough to consider the contents of an art-work as -more important and serious a matter than its -structure," said Mendelssohn, the greatest master -of form that the century has known. "That -would be a trivial art which would have only -sounds but no language or signs for the conditions -of the soul," said Schumann.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> - -<p>Wagner was too thorough an artist, too profound -a musician, not to recognize the value of -constructive law. He would have been false to -his principles and false to his practice had he written -a comedy for the purpose of glorifying mere -lawlessness. Had this been his purpose he would -not have told us as he has that it was Sachs whom -he intended to oppose to the spirit of pedantry -and formalism personified in Beckmesser. Sachs -has no condemnation to pronounce on the laws of -the guild of which he was the brightest ornament. -On the contrary, he upholds them even against -Walther, and persuades him to adopt them in the -composition of his prize song, just as after the victory -is won he admonishes him to give the reverence -due to the masters. What he learns from -Walther, and impresses on his colleagues, is the -need of adapting form to spirit, and the mental -conflict which brings him to this conviction is a -reflection of that creative activity which looks to -the short-sighted like destructive war, but is exemplified -in the works of the great masters as the -highest peace. We can gain an insight into the -musical structure of the comedy, and find proofs -for our contention at the same time, if we observe -Sachs under the influence of this seeming contradiction.</p> - -<p>It is evening, and the poet has returned to his -cobbler's bench. The scent of the elder-tree, the -charm of the summer night, will not permit him -to work; they turn his thoughts to poetry; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> -memories of Walther's song come over him, and -under their influence he can neither work nor compose. -There was an inexplicable charm in the -song. No rule would fit it, yet it was faultless. -It was new and strange, yet sounded old and familiar, -like the carolling of birds in May-time. To -try to imitate it would result in shame and contumely. -That he knew. Where lay the mystery? -At last he discovers it. The song was the voice -of Spring, of the heyday of the singer's life and -passion. The need of utterance brought with it -the capacity and the privilege. All this we may -learn from the words of Sachs, while the music tells -us of what is passing through his mind in the intervals -of his soliloquizing. This music is built up -out of a very short phrase, but it is the phrase -which may be set down as the chief musical symbol -of the spirit which I have called Romanticism:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 380px;"> -<img src="images/p88_s.jpg" width="380" height="240" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p88_s.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p88_s.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>To learn why this phrase should haunt the mind -of Sachs its genesis must be traced. It is found -first to enter the score of the drama (after the -prelude) to accompany a tender but urgent glance -of inquiry which Walther bestows on Eva in the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> -first scene between the lines of the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">chorale</i> sung -by the congregation:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p89_s-1.jpg" width="500" height="204" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p89s1_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p89s1_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>Next, when Eva shyly rebukes his ardor with a -glance, but quickly returns it with emotion:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p89_s-2.jpg" width="500" height="193" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p89s2_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p89s2_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>When the congregation breaks up, Walther, gazing -intently on Eva, from whom he had received a -look which confessed her love (accompanied by a -phrase which afterwards plays an important role -in his prize song), hurries to address her; his eagerness -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> -is published by the orchestra in this variation -of the phrase:</p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p89s3_p90s.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p89s3_p90s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p89s3_p90s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>A threefold augmentation of the phrase is -shown in these examples, which suffice to identify -it with one of the fundamental feelings concerned -in the play. It depicts or typifies the youthful -impetuosity of the lovers, the ardor of their passion -before it had been confessed in words. Is not its -fitness for such a mission obvious? Observe the -eagerness which the triplet injects into its rhythm, -the ebulliency expressed by the tendency of its -melody to ascend ever higher and higher in the -regions of tonality. Poetical association consorts -analogous attributes with Love and Youth and -Spring-time; and it is in the song which Walther -sings in praise of Spring and Love—his trial song -in the first act—that the phrase receives its most -eloquent treatment. Note the irrepressible enthusiasm -of its proclamation in this song (<cite>Fanget -an!</cite>); how, after a peaceful announcement, it -surges upward and ever upward in the accompaniment, -until the voice can no longer hold out against -but is borne up on it, until left by a scintillant explosion -which seems to be the only means at hand -to bring the jubilant phrase back into control.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> -This is the Romantic expression which haunted -the mind of Sachs when, after the stormy meeting -in St. Catherine's Church, he thought to work in -the perfumed quiet of the evening.</p> - - -<h3>IV.</h3> - -<p>In broad lines the prelude to "Die Meistersinger" -not only serves to delineate the characteristic -traits of the personages concerned in the comedy, -but also exhibits Wagner's method of musical exposition, -and teaches the lesson which is at the -bottom of the satire—the lesson, namely, that it is -through the union of the two principles, which until -the close of the play appear in conflict, that a -genuine work of art is quickened. The prelude -contains the whole symbolism of the comedy in a -nutshell. In form it is unique, but in so far as it -employs only melodies drawn from the play it may -not incorrectly be classed with the medley overtures -which composers used to throw together for -ante-curtain music. It is the manner in which -Wagner has treated his melodies, and the delineative -capacity with which he has endowed them, -that render the prelude a capital exemplification -of the theory advanced by Gluck, when, in his preface -to "Alceste," he said, "I imagined that the -overture ought to prepare the audience for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> -action of the piece, and serve as a kind of argument -to it." Wagner follows this precept and the example -set by Beethoven in the "Leonore" overtures, -and indicates the elements of the plot, their -progress in its development, and finally the outcome, -in his symphonic introduction. The melodies -which are its constructive material are of -two classes, broadly distinguished in external physiognomy -and emotional essence. They are presented -first consecutively, then as in conflict (first -one, then another, pushing forward for expression), -finally in harmonious and contented union. -It should always be borne in mind that no matter -how numerous the hand-books—which a witty -German critic called "musical Baedeckers"—if -one wishes to know Wagner's purpose in the use -of a typical phrase or melody, he need take no one's -word for it except Wagner's. He can turn to the -score and trace it out himself, learning its meaning -from the words and situations with which it is associated. -If this plan be followed, it will be seen -that the master-singers are throughout the comedy -characterized by two melodies,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/p92_s-1.jpg" width="450" height="77" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p92_s_1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p92_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>and</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/p92_s-2.jpg" width="450" height="77" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p92_s_2.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p92_s2.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> - -<p>Note that as the master-singers belonged to the -solid burghers of old Nuremberg—a little vain, as -was to be expected in the upholders of an institution -of great antiquity and glorious traditions; -staid, dignified, and complacent, as became the free -citizens of a free imperial city, whose stout walls -sheltered the best in art and science that Germany -could boast—so these two melodies are strong, -simple tunes; sequences of the intervals of the simple -diatonic scale; strongly and simply harmonized; -square-cut in rhythm; firm and dignified, if a trifle -pompous, in their stride. The three melodies belonging -to the class presented in opposition to the -spirit represented by the master-singers are disclosed -by a study of the comedy to be associated -with the passion of the young lovers, Walther and -Eva, and those influences in nature which are the -inspiration of romantic utterance—spring-time, the -birds, and flowers. They differ in every respect—melodic, -rhythmic, harmonic, as well as in treatment—from -the melodies which stand for the old -master-singers and their notions. They are chromatic; -their rhythms are less regular and more -eager (through the agency of syncopation); they -are harmonized with greater warmth, and set for -the instruments with greater passion. The first,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p93_s.jpg" width="400" height="101" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p93_s.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p93_s.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>most surely tells us of the incipiency of the lovers' -passion, for it is the subject of the interludes between -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> -the lines of the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">chorale</i> which accompany -the flirtation in the church scene. The second,</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"> -<img src="images/p94_s-1.jpg" width="420" height="105" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p94_s-1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p94_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>is again concerned with the passion, showing it -in the phase of ardent longing. Another is the -melody to which Walther sings the last stanza of -his prize song. I have already quoted and described -it as the phrase to which Eva confesses -her love by a gesture of the eyes in the church -scene. Lest the significance of that telltale glance -should not be recognized, observe that both lovers -use the melody in their protestations of devotion -to each other at parting:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/p94_s-2.jpg" width="450" height="83" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p94_s-2.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p94_s2.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>The fourth is the impatiently aspiring phrase -described in the analysis of Sachs' monologue.</p> - -<p>There is another theme which is of less importance, -seemingly, in the score, but which plays a -happy part in the comedy as it is prefigured in the -prelude. It is the rhythmically strongly-marked -phrase with which the populace jeers at Beckmesser, -and effects his discomfiture in the final -scene of the play.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p94_s-3.jpg" width="500" height="73" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p94_s-3.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p94_s3.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p> - -<p>This little phrase it is which performs the duty -of musical satirist in the middle part of the prelude, -where the grotesque elements in the character -of Beckmesser are pictured. It is a <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">scherzando</i> -movement, the master-singers' march melody being -presented in diminution by the choir of wood-wind -instruments, which persist stubbornly in their fussy -cackling, in spite of the fact that the strings take -every opportunity to send some of the passionate, -pushing, pulsating love music surging through the -desiccated mass of tones. Here it is that Wagner -chastises the foolish manners of the master-singers, -as he does later in the actual representation. The -jeering phrase, started by the middle strings, eventually -cuts through the mass of tones, and when -the caricature of the broad melody, typical of the -master-singers, has been laughed out of court, the -music which exemplifies the freshness and vigor -of Youth and Spring and Love, and their right to -free and spontaneous proclamation, masters the -orchestra and conquers recognition, and even celebration, -from the representatives of conservatism -and pedantry. In the musical contest it is only -the perverted idea of Classicism which is treated -with contumely and routed; the glorification of -the triumph of Romanticism is found in the stupendously -pompous and brilliant setting given to -the master-singers' music at the end.</p> - -<p>You see already in this prelude that Wagner -is a true comedian. He administers chastisement -with a smile (<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ridendo castigat mores</i>), and chooses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> -for its subject only things which are temporary -aberrations from the good. What is strong and -true and pure and wholesome in the art of the -master-singers he permits to pass through his satirical -fires unscathed. Classicism in its original -sense, as the conservator of that which is highest -and best in art, he leaves unharmed, presenting her -after her trial, as Tennyson presents his Princess, -at the close of his corrective poem, when</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p><span style="padding-left: 10em;">"All</span><br /> -Her falser self slipt from her like a robe,<br /> -And left her woman, lovelier in her mood<br /> -Than in her mould that other, when she came<br /> -From barren deeps to conquer all with love."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<h3>V.</h3> - -<p>The third act of the comedy is preceded by -a prelude which, rightly understood, reflects the -cobbler-poet whom I have chosen to think the -real hero of the play, in the light in which he appears -in the history of German civilization and -culture. Twice before, in the comedy, a glimpse -of him in that character had been given—in the -summer evening, after the meeting, when he could -not work because he was haunted by the memory -of Walther's song, and again when, having found -the solution of the problem raised by that song, -he drove away all the phantoms of melancholy by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> -his lusty cobbling song. Apparently that song is -all carelessness and contentment, but in reality it -tells of the lofty thinker and his melancholy, bred -of his contemplation of the vanities of the things -with which he finds himself surrounded.</p> - -<p>This is the last stanza:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw30"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"O Eve, my sore complaints attend,<br /> -My needs and dire distresses,<br /> -For underfoot mankind the cobbler's work of art oppresses.<br /> -If I'd no angel knew<br /> -What 'tis to make a shoe,<br /> -I'd leave this cobbling in a trice.<br /> -But when I go to his retreat,<br /> -I leave the world beneath my feet,<br /> -Myself I view, Hans Sachs a shoemaker and song-master too!"</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In the accompaniment to this stanza a phrase -appears in the orchestra (it is not in the simplified -pianoforte scores) in which, as Wagner himself -puts it, there is "the bitter cry of resignation of -the man who shows to the world a cheerful and -energetic mien." It is the solemn phrase which -gives character and color to Sachs' monologue in -the third act, when he contemplates the follies -and petty passions of humanity (<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wahn! Wahn! -überall Wahn!</i>). It symbolizes for us Sachs, the -philosopher. To appreciate the full significance -of the Nuremberg cobbler as poet and thinker, a -glance must be thrown upon a highly important -phase in the history of German culture. A new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> -melody had been put into that voice by the Reformation. -Luther lived to be hailed by it as -"the Nightingale of Wittenberg" in a poem whose -opening lines Wagner ingeniously uses as a tribute -to Sachs in the third act of the comedy. It is the -chorale, <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wach auf! Es nahet gen dem Tag.</i></p> - -<p>The Reformation had revived interest in the -old art of master-song which had sunk into decadence -under the edict of the Romish Church prohibiting -the reading of the Bible by the common -people. The greatest of the Nuremberg school -of master-singers was inspired by the new dawn, -and Luther and Melanchthon looked up from the -pages of Homer, Virgil, and Horace to listen to -the strange new melody which felt and sang with -and for the people. This character of Sachs, in -all the details that I have pointed out, is delineated -in the prelude to the third act, whose melodic -contents are thus summarized: First, the -contemplative phrase, <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wahn! Wahn!</i> next the -Lutheran chorale, <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wach auf!</i> a portion of the -cobbling song ("as if the man had turned his gaze -from his handiwork heavenwards, and was lost in -tender musing," says Wagner); then the chorale -again, with increased sonority, and eventually the -opening phrase attuned to cheerfulness and resignation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>VI.</h3> - -<p>Wagner's "Meistersinger von Nürnberg" is a -comedy, and by that token is more difficult of understanding -and appreciation by persons unfamiliar -with the German tongue, history, and social -customs than any of his tragedies. In considering -the latter, it is only the elements of expression -that need give us pause. In their essence, -being true tragedies, they are as much the property -of one race as another. This is not the case -with comedies. They do not deal with the great -fundamental passions of humanity, but with the -petty foibles and follies and vices of a people. -Being such, they vary with peoples and with times, -and their representation compels the use of historical -backgrounds, the application of local color. -"Die Meistersinger" is a capital illustration of -this principle of dramatic poetry. As a picture -of the social life of a German city three hundred -years ago its vividness and truthfulness are beyond -praise; it has no equal in operatic literature, -and few peers in the literature of the spoken drama. -It is absolutely photographic in its accuracy. -To appreciate this fact fully one must have visited -Nuremberg, gone through its museum, and turned -over the records. With such assistance it is easy -to call up in fancy such a vision of its social life in -the middle of the sixteenth century as will form a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> -most harmonious setting for the series of pictures -which Wagner created. It is still the quaintest -city in Germany, and full of relics of its old glory. -Of these relics, however, fewer belong to the time -of the master-singers than an investigator would -be likely to imagine. In the Germanic Museum -may be found remains of many of the old guilds -of the town, but none of the Master-singers' Guild, -except a tablet which once hung on the walls of -St. Catherine's Church and has been removed to -the museum for safe-keeping. The church, indeed, -is still in existence, but its use by the master-singers -never brought it fame until after Wagner's -comic opera had been written, and now I doubt -whether a hundred residents of Nuremberg, aside -from those who live in the immediate vicinity, -could even tell a visitor where to find it. For -more than a century it has been put to secular -uses, and nothing of the interior remains to indicate -what it looked like in the time of Hans Sachs -except the walls. All the furniture and decorations -were long ago removed, for it has been a -painters' academy, drawing-school, military hospital, -warehouse, public hall, and perhaps a dozen -other things since it ceased to be a place of public -worship. Just now it is the paint-shop of the Municipal -Theatre. It is a small, unpretentious building, -absolutely innocent of architectural beauty, -hidden away in the middle of a block of lowly -buildings used as dwellings, carpenter-shops, and -the like. I got the keys from a sort of police<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> -supervisor of the district and inspected the interior -in 1886. The janitor knew nothing about its -history beyond his own memory, and that compassed -only a portion of its career as a sort of -municipal lumber-room. It was built in the last -half-decade of the thirteenth century, and on its -water-stained walls can be seen faint bits of the -frescos which once adorned it and were painted -in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries; -but they are ruined beyond recognition or -hope of restoration. I went to the director of -the Germanic Museum to learn what had become -of the old church furniture. He did not know.</p> - -<p>"Have you seen the tablet of the master-singers -which we have up-stairs?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Well, that is all that we have in the way of -master-singer relics. If you have seen that and -the church, you have seen all, and will have to -compose the rest of the picture—draw on your -imagination, or hire an artist to do it for you."</p> - -<p>The tablet is really a more interesting relic than -the church. It is a small affair of wood, with two -doors, and was painted by a Franz Hein in 1581. -On the doors are portraits of four distinguished -members of the guild. Two pictures occupy the -middle panel, the upper, with a charmingly naïve -disregard of chronology, showing King David -praying before a crucifix; the lower, a meeting of -master-singers with a singer perched in a box-like -pulpit. Over the heads of the assemblage is a rep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>resentation -of the chain and medallion with which -the victor in a singing contest used to be decorated. -Sachs gave one of these ornaments to the -guild, and it was used for a hundred years. By -that time, however, it had become so worn that -Johann Christoph Wagenseil, a professor of Oriental -languages at the University of Altdorf (to -whose book, entitled <cite>De Sacri Rom. Imperii Libera -Civitate Noribergensi Commentatio</cite>, printed in -1697, we owe the greater part of our knowledge -of the art and customs of the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Meistersinger</i>), replaced -it with another. The tablet might offer -suggestions to the theatrical costumer touching -the dress of the master-singers, and also the picture -of David and his harp which ornamented their -banner; but old Nuremberg costumes are familiar -enough, and can be studied to better purpose elsewhere. -Only one feature suggests itself as worthy -of special notice. On the tablet the master-singers -all appear wearing the immense neck-ruff of the -Elizabethan period. As for the architectural settings -of the stage in the first act (which plays in -the Church of St. Catherine), so far as I know no -attempt at correctness has been made by scene-painters; -nor would it be possible to reproduce a -picture of the church and still follow Wagner's -stage directions. Evidently the poet-composer -never took the trouble to visit the Church of St. -Catherine.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p103_ilo.jpg" width="550" height="686" alt="" /> -<p class="p1 center">W<small>OODEN</small> T<small>ABLET OF THE</small> M<small>ASTERSINGERS OF</small> N<small>UREMBERG.</small></p> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p> -</div> - -<p>I have said that, barring the church and tablet, -there are no relics of the old guild to be found in -the Nuremberg of to-day. Until lately it was supposed -that the Municipal Library contained a -number of autographic manuscripts by Hans Sachs, -but when I asked for them, they were produced -with the statement that they were no longer looked -upon as genuine. It did not require much investigation -to convince me that the claim long -maintained that they were autographs of the cobbler-poet -rested wholly on presumption. Sachs -autographs are extremely scarce. The Royal Library -at Berlin possesses a volume of master-songs -known to be in the handwriting of Sachs (among -them is one by Beckmesser), but when I was in -the Prussian capital this treasure was in Dresden, -whither it had been sent to enable a literary -student to utilize it in the preparation of a book -on Sachs. A Berlin scholar, whom I found at -work in the Nuremberg Library gathering material -for a new biography of Sachs, informed me that -the greatest number of Sachs autographs, and they -not many, had been found in Zwickau, whither they -had been brought by some member of the Sachs -family many years ago. There are, then, no manuscript -relics of him who was the chief glory of the -Nuremberg guild in the old town. You may drink -a glass of wine at the street-corner where tradition -says the old poet cobbled and composed, but the -house is a modern one. Of his companions in the -guild I found no manuscripts in the library, and -not one of them left his mark in any way on the -town. But I did find a number of old manuscript<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> -volumes dating back two hundred years or more, -which served to vitalize in a peculiarly interesting -manner the record which the learned old Wagenseil -left behind him, and some of the personages -of Wagner's comedy. Those who have taken the -trouble to investigate the source to which Wagner -went for the people and customs introduced in -his "Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (Wagenseil's -book) know that the names of the master-singers -who figure in the comedy once belonged to veritable -members of the Nuremberg guild. Wagenseil -mentions them as singers whose memories were -cherished in his day, and some of them were also -mentioned by an older author, whose book, devoted -chiefly to the Strassburg guild, which at -one time was even more famous than that of Nuremberg, -is referred to by Wagenseil. The book -of the Strassburg writer, singularly enough, was -known to Wagenseil only as a manuscript, and -such it remained until two or three decades ago, -when it was printed by a literary society at Stuttgart. -In Wagenseil's day it was valued so highly -that it was kept wrapped in silk, like the sacred -scrolls of the Jews, a circumstance that enabled -the pedantic Orientalist to air his learning on the -subject for many pages in his wofully discursive -but extremely interesting book. But if Wagenseil -had not given his testimony, I could now bear -witness to the fact that Conrad Nachtigal, Hans -Schwartz, Conrad Vogelgesang, Sixtus Beckmesser, -Hans Folz, Fritz Kothner, Balthasar Zorn, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> -Veit Pogner once lived as well as Hans Sachs. I -have read some of their poems and copied some -of the melodies invented by them and utilized by -their successors in the guild. The volumes containing -these curiosities of literature have been in -the Municipal Library over one hundred years. -In the catalogue of the Bibliotheca Norica Williana, -printed one hundred and sixteen years ago, -they are mentioned as having been purchased from -an old master-singer. Five of them are small oblong -books of music paper, upon which some old -masters or apprentices in the art of master-song -have copied melodies which were much used at -the meetings in St. Catherine's Church. It was -the custom of the members of the guild to compose -poems to fit these melodies. In the second -scene of his opera Wagner mentions a great many -of the singular titles by which these melodies or -modes were designated. He got them from Wagenseil. -Besides these books, there are two immense -manuscript volumes, in which some industrious -old lover of the poetical art transcribed -songs which he evidently thought admirable. -They are each almost as large as Webster's Unabridged -Dictionary, and must represent months, -if not years, of labor. One is devoted wholly to -German paraphrases of Ovid's "Metamorphoses," -set to a great variety of melodies. The author is -M. Ambrosius Metzger, who was one of the few -members of the guild who were scholars. He -wrote the poems in 1625. The other volume contains -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> -songs by a great number of master-singers, -though Hans Sachs is the principal contributor. -The plan of the volume indicates that it was a -collection of admired poems. It begins with paraphrases -from the Pentateuch. Some early pages -are missing, the first poem preserved dealing with -the sixth chapter of Genesis. Chronological order -is maintained up to chapter twenty-eight of -the same book. Then follow songs dealing with -the Gospels and Epistles. The Book of Job is -not forgotten. Finally, there are a number of secular -poems, many recounting Æsop's fables and -anecdotes drawn from old writers. Songs of this -character were composed by the master-singers for -diversion at their informal gatherings. At the -meetings in the Church of St. Catherine only sacred -subjects were allowed. It is for this reason -that Wagner's Kothner asks Walther in the opera -whether he had chosen sacred matter (<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">ein heil'gen -Stoff</i>) for his trial song, which provokes the reply -from the ardent young knight that he would sing -of love, a subject sacred to him. Whether sacred -or secular, however, the form and style of the -songs are alike. Nothing could more completely -illustrate the absurdity of the fundamental theory -of the foolish old pedants that poetry might be -written by rule of thumb than the publication of -a few of the songs in this old book. The nature -of the poetical frenzy which fills them can, perhaps, -be guessed if I record the fact that the majority -of them, I think, begin with a citation of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> -chapter and verse, or some statement equally matter -of fact, as thus:</p> - -<p>"The twenty-ninth chapter of Genesis records," -or "Diogenes, the wise master," or "Strabo writes -of the customs," or "Moses, the eleventh, reports," -or "The Lesser Book of Truth doth tell," etc.</p> - -<p>The last of these lines is the beginning of a master-song -which has a twofold interest. In the first -place, it is a secular poem by Hans Sachs which, -to the best of my knowledge, has never been printed -or written about. In the second place, it is set -to a melody by the veritable Pogner who, in Wagner's -comedy, offers his daughter and his fortune -to the winner in the singing contest which makes -up Wagner's last act. The poem is so amusing -that I would like to give it entire in English, but -its irregularity of accent and peculiarities of rhyme -do not lend themselves willingly to translation. -Of musical accent the master-singers, who followed -the rhyming rules of those marvellously ingenious -rhymesters the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Minnesinger</i>, had not the slightest -idea. Wagner knew that. Sachs' first critical tap -on his lapstone in Beckmesser's serenade is evoked -by a blunder in accent which the veritable Sachs -would have passed unnoticed, though, being a real -poet, his sins in this respect were not as numerous -as those of his colleagues and predecessors. -I content myself, therefore, with the first <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Stollen</i>, -or stanza, and its <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Abgesang</i>, or burden, which the -curious student will find to be composed in strict -accordance with the rules which, in the opera,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> -Kothner reads from the blackboard. These <em>Leges -Tabulaturæ</em>, by-the-way, are almost a literal transcription -from the original laws preserved in Wagenseil's -book. The matter of the song is this: A -boor falls ill. Finding that his appetite is wholly -gone, he calls in a physician, who informs him (in -a drastic fashion) that the trouble is caused by an -accumulation of slime in the stomach. He administers -a purgative, but without result. The sickness -increases, and the boor upbraids the doctor, -who retorts that his patient will be a dead man -within an hour unless he consent to having his -stomach taken out and scoured with chalk. The -boor consents, the physician performs the operation, -cutting the man open with a pair of shears, -brushes out the offending organ with a wisp, and -hangs it on the fence to dry. What the farmer -does meanwhile is not recorded; but before the -physician could replace his stomach a raven carried -it off to the woods and ate it. In this dilemma -the physician disclosed himself as a worthy -progenitor of the modern race of surgeons. He -was terribly frightened, but didn't let any one see -it. By stealth he procured a sow's stomach, introduced -it into the farmer's body, and quickly -sewed up the aperture. The farmer got well, and -paid eight florins for the job. But heavens, what -an appetite was that which he developed! To -satisfy him now was utterly impossible, for which -reason, concludes the moralist, an insatiable eater -is nowadays said to be a hog (literally "to have a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> -sow's stomach"), who devours more than he produces, -as many women lament:</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">"Darum spricht man noch von ein Man,</div> -<div class="verse">Den man gar nicht erfuellen kan,</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">Wie er hab einen Sawmagen;</div> -<div class="verse">Verthut mehr denn er gewinnen kan,</div> -<div class="verse ileft2">Hoert man vil Frawen klagen."</div> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center"> FIRST <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">STOLLEN</i>.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"> -<img src="images/p110_s-1.jpg" width="421" height="600" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p110_s-1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p110_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>The Less - er Book of Truth doth tell,<br /> -How ill - ness on a boor once fell,<br /> -Taste for all food de - stroy - ing;<br /> -A - gainst all drugs it did re - bel,<br /> -His pleas - ures all al - loy - ing.......<br /> -<br /> -One day there came a doc - tor wise,<br /> -Who glanced him o'er with search - ing eyes,<br /> -Found out what caused his ail - ing.<br /> -His learn - ing proof a - gainst sur - prise,<br /> -Made work like that plain sail - ing.......</p> -</div> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">THE <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">ABGESANG</i>.</p> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p110_s-2.jpg" width="500" height="219" alt="" /> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p110_s-2.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p110_s2.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Far - mer, of all your pains... the cause,<br /> -Is slime with - in your stom - ach wide dis - tend - ing."<br /> -The far - mer heard with gap - - ing jaws,<br /> -For gnaw - ing pains in - side his paunch were rend - ing.</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p> - -<p>The tale is an old one, popular in one form or -another in the Middle Ages. A variant of it is to -be found in the <cite>Gesta Romanorum</cite>, to which extraordinary -collection of moral tales it is possible that -Sachs had reference when he spoke of the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Buch -der Kleinen Wahrheit</i>, or Lesser Book of Truth, as -I have rendered it. In the <cite>Gesta</cite>, however, the -physician substitutes a goat's eye, and subjects -his patient to an extraordinary strabismus. Hans -Sachs's variation is eminently characteristic of the -man and the people for whom he wrote.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> - -</div> - - -<h2> CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<small>"DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN."</small></h2> - - -<p>The common error of looking upon the outward -covering of things for the things themselves -has led to the real plot of Wagner's tetralogical -drama "The Niblung's Ring" being overlooked by -the majority of persons who have written about -it. Especially has the significance of the prologue -to the tragedy failed of appreciation. I shall try -to tell what I conceive to be the true story of the -tragedy, and at least hint at the meaning which -that story had when it came into the mind of the -sagaman and myth-maker ages ago, which meaning, -moreover, Richard Wagner, unlike his modern -predecessors among the poets who have treated -the subject, apprehended and conserved.</p> - -<p>It is a pretty solemn fact that unless this tragedy -in four parts be approached with other aims -than mere diversion, much will be found in it that -appears ridiculous to the judgment, no matter -how it affects the senses. To some it may seem -a fatal confession to say that sincere and sufficient -enjoyment of "The Niblung's Ring" is only to -be had by persons willing to let critical judgment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> -wait upon the imagination; yet I am willing to -make that confession, and even to augment it by -the statement that there are scenes in the tragedy -when even this unfettered faculty must needs -be as ingenuous as the "raised imagination" of -Charles Lamb at his first play, which transformed -the glistering substance on the pillars of Old Drury -into "glorified sugar-candy." Yet I do not believe -that thereby the potential beauty, impressiveness, -and significance of the tragedy are brought -into question. Is it not easy to conceive of a -mental condition which would accept such a childlike -receptivity as the only mood in which an art-work -designed to appeal to emotions which the -humdrum routine of modern life leaves untouched -ought to be approached? Wagner's "Ring des -Nibelungen" is not an idle fairy-tale, the offspring -of a mind working with fanciful material amid the -environment of the nineteenth century. It is a -tragedy Hellenic in its scope and proportions, -dealing with one of the great problems of human -existence, reflecting the operations of the quickened -mind and conscience of humanity in its impressionable -childhood.</p> - -<p>"Das Rheingold" is the prologue to a tragedy -which has not only the dimensions, but also the -aim, of a Greek trilogy. This conception of its dignity -greatly widens the significance of its few incidents. -Of necessity? Yes. Observe the manner -in which Wagner approaches his subject. The -hero of the mediæval epic popularly called "The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> -Lay of the Niblung" is Siegfried; and this story -of Siegfried is mixed with considerable historical -alloy. The character of Gunther, which figures in -the story, is Gundikar, founder of the Burgundian -monarchy, who was slain by Attila, <small>A.D.</small> 450. Attila -himself is one of the personages of the poem, the -scene of which plays largely at Worms.</p> - -<p>It was Wagner's aim to illustrate a profound -truth of universal bearing, and in harmony with -his belief that such truths are best taught by presenting -pictures of humanity stripped of all conventionality, -he went back to the earliest forms -of the tale which the mediæval poet wove into -the "Lay of the Niblung." By this means he -purified it of its historical dross; but also came in -contact with the creations of the myth-maker. -The period into which he moved his drama was -the period reflected by our Northern ancestors -when they were striving by an exercise of a vivid -imagination and unyielding logic to answer the -questions raised by a primitive religious instinct. -Whether we want to or not, we must look upon -"The Niblung's Ring" as a religious play which, -by means of the symbols created by the Northern -myth-maker, teaches a lesson universal and eternal -in its application.</p> - - -<h3>I.</h3> - -<p>No legend dealing with the deep passions of -human nature, and reflecting the tragic struggle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> -between the human and the divine, which has been -playing on the stage of the human heart since the -race began, is restricted by the circumstances of -time, place, or people. If it is really beautiful and -moving it is a bit of universal property, and in one -form or another phases of it will be found in the -mythology or folk-lore of all civilized peoples. Not -only the foundation principles of such a legend, -but even its theatre and apparatus may be discovered. -Parallels in religious mythologies will -readily occur, but perhaps not so readily parallels -in those heroic tales which reflect the national -characteristics of peoples. Yet they are not the -less numerous. The grotto of Venus, in which -Tannhäuser steeps himself with sensuality, is but -a German form of the Garden of Delight, in which -the heroes of classic antiquity met their fair enslavers. -It is Ogygia, the Delightful Island, where -Ulysses met Calypso. It is that Avalon in which -King Arthur was healed of his wounds by his fairy -sister Morgain. The staff which bursts into green -in the hands of Pope Urban in token of Tannhäuser's -forgiveness has prototypes in the lances -which, when planted in the ground by Charlemagne's -warriors, were transformed over night into -a leafy forest; in the staff which put on leaves in -the hands of Joseph wherefore the Virgin Mary -gave herself to him in marriage; in the rod of -Aaron, which, when laid up among others in the -tabernacle, "brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms -and yielded almonds." The <em>Tarnhelm</em> which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> -the cunning Mime fashions at the command of Alberich, -what else is it but the Mask of Arthur, -which had the power of rendering its wearer invisible, -or the Helmet of Pluto worn by Perseus in -his battle with the Gorgon? The Holy Grail, which -Wagner has surrounded with such a refulgent halo, -is not merely a relic of Christ's suffering and death. -Its power of supplying food and sustaining life -identifies it with an article common to the mystical -apparatus of many peoples. As Achilles was -dipped into Styx and rendered invulnerable, so -Jason was smeared with Medea's ointment, and -Siegfried became covered with a horny armor when -he bathed in the dragon's blood; and as the magic -wash was kept from Achilles's heel by the hand of -Thetis, so the falling of a leaf from a lime-tree on -the back of Siegfried caused the one unprotected -spot through which a weapon might reach his life. -The sword of Wotan, thrust into the tree so firmly -and miraculously that none but a hero worthy to -wield it and inspired by the desperation of supremest -need might draw it from its mighty sheath, -what else is it than the "fair sword" which stuck in -the marble stone in the church-yard against the -high altar, which all the barons assayed in vain -to draw forth, but which young Arthur "lightly -and fiercely" pulled out of the stone, by which -token he was recognized as rightwise king of England? -Or, going back further into story-land, who -does not see in it that bow of Ulysses which the -wicked suitors of Penelope vainly strove to bend,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> -but which yielded to the hero disguised as a beggar -with such ease "as a harper in tuning of his -harp draws out a string?"</p> - -<p>Horus, Apollo, and Baldur in Egypt, Greece, and -the savage Northland have represented the highest -union of physical and moral excellencies to -millions of human beings; and when the Norse -myth-maker, exercising his imagination under the -influence of that need and longing and hope on -which Plato based his argument in proof of the -immortality of the soul, drew his picture of Ragnarök, -the Twilight of the Gods, the end of the -old regime of brute force, of gods and giants, and -the return of Baldur and his reign of peace, gentleness, -and loveliness, he felt the emotions with -which the Christian of to-day looks forward to the -second coming of Christ the Redeemer.</p> - -<p>So striking are the parallels between the heroic -tales of the class to which the story of Siegfried -belongs, that it has been possible for Dr. J. G. -von Hahn, in his <cite>Sagwissenschaftliche Studien</cite>, to -draw up a formula according to which the families -belonging to the Aryan race have constructed -their most admired tales. This formula, he says, -exists more or less perfect in the heroic literature -of every known Aryan people. Hellenic mythology -produced no less than seven of these stories, -of which the most striking are those of Perseus, -Theseus, Œdipus, and Herakles; Roman mythological -history, one—Romulus and Remus; Teutonic -sagas, two—Wittich-Siegfried and Wolfdietrich;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> -Iranian mythic history, two, and Hindu mythology, -two, the most striking parallelisms occurring in the -story of Krishna. Of this story Mr. Alfred Nutt -has found eight variants in old Keltic literature, -among them the story of Perceval. According to -this formula</p> - -<p>I. The hero is born</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>(<em>a</em>) Out of wedlock.</p> - -<p>(<em>b</em>) Posthumously.</p> - -<p>(<em>c</em>) Supernaturally</p> - -<p>(<em>d</em>) One of twins.</p></blockquote> - -<p>II. The mother is a princess residing in her own -country.</p> - -<p>III. The father is</p> - -<div class="table1"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="corchete"> -<tr><td align="left">(<em>a</em>) A god, or<br /> - <br /> -(<em>b</em>) A hero</td> -<td align="left"><img src="images/corder.jpg" width="14" height="60" alt="" /></td> -<td align="left">from afar.</td> -</tr> -</table> -</div> - -<p>IV. There are tokens and warnings of the hero's -future greatness;</p> - -<p>V. In consequence of which he is driven from -home.</p> - -<p>VI. Is suckled by wild beasts.</p> - -<p>VII. Is brought up by a childless couple, or -shepherd, or widow.</p> - -<p>VIII. Is of passionate and violent disposition.</p> - -<p>IX. Seeks service in foreign lands.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>(<em>a</em>) Attacks and slays monsters.</p> - -<p>(<em>b</em>) Acquires supernatural knowledge through -eating a fish or other magic animal (the -dragon's heart in the case of Sigurd, his -blood in the case of Siegfried).</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> - -<p>X. Returns to his own country, retreats, and -again returns.</p> - -<p>XI. Overcomes his enemies, frees his mother, -seats himself on a throne.</p> - - -<h3>II.</h3> - -<p>We should accustom ourselves to look upon the -plot of "The Niblung's Ring" as more celestial -than terrestrial; the essential things of the tragedy -are those which concern Wotan, who is its -real hero. The happenings among the personages -whose conduct under varying trying circumstances -is brought to notice in the three dramas constituting -the trilogy are, in reality, but accidents. In -this respect "The Niblung's Ring" is in a different -case with Homer's <cite>Iliad</cite> which also has a -double plot, celestial and terrestrial. The cause -of the contest celebrated in the <cite>Iliad</cite> originated -on earth; the gods took part in it simply to avenge -slights which had been put upon them by one or -another of the contestants, or because they were -the special protectors of certain of those personages. -In Wagner's tragedy the contest waged by -the demi-gods, giants, dwarfs, and men, is but the -continuation of one invited by the gods. It is the -consequence of a sin committed by the chief god -and his efforts to repair it. That consequence, in -its last and chiefest estate, is the destruction of -Wotan and all his fellows; this is what it signifies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> -to all those concerned in it, but to us it means a -destruction followed by a new creation. Wotan -dies like a tragic hero, and his heroic offspring—the -bond connecting gods and men—die one after -another, all in consequence of his sin; but the -death of the last, being the expiatory self-sacrifice -of loving woman, removes the curse from the earth. -"Old things are passed away; behold, all things -are become new." This is the kernel of the plot -of the tragedy, the beginning of which is exhibited -in "The Rhinegold," and the outcome prefigured. -The progress is from the state of sinlessness, -through sin and its awful consequences, to -expiation. For each of these steps there are symbols -in the pictures, poetry, and music of the prologue.</p> - -<p>The gods of our ancestors in the Northland -were created in the image of man. Originally -the feeling of religion had been satisfied by the -conception of a dynasty of gods who, if they were -made in the image of man, were at least idealized; -they had none of the passions of men, none of -their infirmities, none of their trials. When, in -later times, the impossibility of such a conception -maintaining itself became manifest, humanity -among the rugged mountains and in the deep forests -of the North dreamed of a time that was past, -before the reign of primeval sinlessness and peacefulness -had come to an end. That was the Golden -Age of the world. Wrong was unknown; the passions -which wreck men's lives and beget wrong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> -were unknown; it was the state of Eden before -the advent of the tempter. The silence of peace -rested upon the waters. Gold was the symbol of -radiant innocency; it was but the plaything of -the gods. As in Milton's Eden, flowers were of -all hue,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="verse ileft2">"And without thorn the rose."</div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse ileft6">"——Airs, vernal airs,</div> -<div class="verse">Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune</div> -<div class="verse">The trembling leaves, while universal Pan,</div> -<div class="verse">Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance,</div> -<div class="verse">Led on the eternal Spring."</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Put aside the prosaic frame of mind into which -the Wolzogen labels are calculated to throw one, -and look at the instrumental introduction to the -prologue as a symbol of this state of physical and -moral loveliness. Could the peacefulness and passionlessness -of primeval purity be better typified -in music? There are three aspects in which the -introduction should be viewed. It is most significant -in this study of the tragedy as a type of the -Golden Age in Northern mythology. Not until -the principle of evil enters the play (in the person -of Alberich) is the serenity of the music disturbed.</p> - -<p>Next, it is interesting as scenic music. By ingenious -use of gauze screens, painted canvas, and -light-effects, the stage is made to seem filled with -water from floor to flies. Strange plants creep up -the side, and gnarled roots project into the water. -Below is the rocky bed of the Rhine. Above, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> -faint light plays on the rippling surface. The music -has begun with a single deep tone, but gradually -it grows more animated; there is no change -in melody, but the introduction of instruments -with lighter and lighter tone-color, the introduction -and carefully graduated augmentation of a -wavy accompaniment, suggest to the ear at once -growth in the movement of the water and in the -light which shines from above. The music is now -doubly delineative. While its spirit reflects the -sinless quietude of the Golden Age of the world, -its matter depicts, first, the slow movement of the -water in its depths, then the gentle undulations of -its half-depths, finally the ripples and dartings and -flashings and eddyings of its surface.</p> - -<p>The third aspect in which we may look at it is -as a peculiarly striking exemplification of Wagner's -theories of composition carried out to their most -logical conclusion. That theory in its extremity -would demand that nothing be said when there is -nothing to say—a self-evident proposition much -oftener honored in the breach than in the observance. -Remember that Wagner, in giving an account -of the genesis of his typical phrases cites his conduct -in "Der Fliegende Holländer," when, having found -themes to stand for the mental states described -in the ballad, he resolved to repeat its thematic -expression every time a mental mood recurred. A -necessary corollary of such a logical proceeding -would seem to be that until the play had introduced -something—a picture, a personage, an idea—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>there -could be no room for music. It is not necessary -to go to this extremity; but if we want to -we will find that Wagner is true to himself even -here. Only the mood of the scene is delineated -for us in the music of the introduction, and his -willingness to begin as near nothing as possible is -shown by the use at the outset of the single deep -bass tone. The whole introduction is built on -this note and its simplest harmony, the development -being accomplished by the gradual changes of -orchestration, the employment of higher octaves, -and the augmentation of the wavy accompaniment.</p> - - -<h3>III.</h3> - -<p>It was an inevitable consequence of the structure -of the Northern mythological system that the -gods should lose their primeval sinlessness. Before -the mind of the Northern myth-maker, as before -the minds of the Athenians, who erected the altar -on Mars-hill "to the Unknown God," there hovered -a dim apprehension of a First Cause of all being, -older and more puissant than the gods whom he -conceived as reigning. As Zeus and his fellows -reigned by reason of having overthrown Cronos and -the dynasty of the Titans, so Wotan and his fellows -reigned by reason of conquest and treaty. -In consequence, there was a perpetual struggle -between the sky-dwellers, the mountain-dwellers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> -and the earth-dwellers—the gods, giants, and -dwarfs—for dominion. This lust for power it -was that caused the downfall of the gods. Dormant -within the radiant gold, buried in the Rhine -and guarded by the daughters of the Rhine, lay -the secret of universal dominion. In the Golden -Age no one courted it because there was no need. -But when the greed of power and gain asserted -itself, the gold was a prize to be sought after and -bought at any price. The first change in the stage -picture still leaves us the spirit of purity and innocency -undisturbed. The Rhine daughters, whose -duty it is to guard the magical gold, are careless -creatures, as well they may be, for, though warned, -they have never seen danger approach their treasure. -Floating up and down, they sing and gambol -with each other as they swim around the jagged -rock, their song being as undulating as the element -in which they live. They partake in their -nature of that element, and the melodies with -which they are associated are imitative of watery -movements.</p> - -<p>The beginning of the end of the Golden Age -was dated by the old poets from the time when -three giantesses were admitted among the gods. -They were the Nornir, the Fates, whose deep -thoughts were given respectively to the past, present, -and future. The entrance of a stranger into -the domains of the Rhine daughters is also the -signal for the introduction of evil into the drama. -The representative of this evil principle is Alberich, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> -the Niblung—one of the race of dwarfs; musically -his mischievous character, his restless energy, and -his strangeness to the element in which he finds -himself is told by the orchestra in the abrupt, -jerky music to which he enters, and which accompanies -his slipping and sliding on the slimy rocks -of the river's bottom. Alberich's aims were simply -lust. To the nixies he is merely amusing. -They engage him in tormenting dalliance till he -utters an imprecation against them and shakes -his fist. He forgets his anger at his pretty tantalizers, -however, when a new spectacle falls upon -his sight. The sunlight, piercing the water, has -fallen upon the gold, which lies in the cleft of a rock -and now begins to glow. The increasing refulgence -is seen and heard simultaneously, for as the -new light floods the scene, singers and orchestra -break out into a ravishing apostrophe to the gold.</p> - -<p>Now we reach the point where the ethical contest, -at the bottom of the entire tragedy, is first -foreshadowed. The nixies, rendered careless by -the long uselessness of their watch, prattle away -the secret that universal power would be the reward -of him who would seize the gold and fashion -it into a ring:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"The realm of the world<br /> -By him shall be won,<br /> -Who from the Rhine gold<br /> -Hath wrought the ring,<br /> -Imparting measureless might."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But the power to fashion the ring can only be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> -obtained by one willing to renounce the delight -and happiness of love:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Who the delight of Love forswears,<br /> -He who derides its ravishing joys,<br /> -He alone has the magic might<br /> -To shape the gold to a ring."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The issue is joined. Here Love and contentment -in the Niblung's lot; there the prospect of -power universal and lovelessness. The dwarf does -not hesitate long. In the next scene the giants -hesitate longer, and Wotan ponders longer than -either whether the gold is worth the price demanded -for it. But the Age of Innocency is past—all -yield in turn to the lust for power, the greed -of gain, which the gold promises to satisfy. The -first step in the tragedy is taken. Alberich puts -love aside forever and curses it. Then, in spite -of the shrieks of the nixies, he seizes the gold and -dives into the depths.</p> - -<p>The light dies out of the scene. The bright -song of the nixies runs out into minor plaints, and -the orchestra discourses mournfully of the renunciation -of love and the rape of the ring, until the -scene changes from depths of the Rhine to the -heights where Valhalla, newly built, stands in massive -strength, gleaming in the morning sun.</p> - -<p>We have witnessed the beginning of the struggle -for dominion begun cunningly by a dwarf. Not -the race of the Niblungs, but the race of giants -had caused Wotan concern. Against them he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> -thought to raise an impregnable fortress, and the -cunning Loge, the representative of the evil principle -in the celestial plot, had contrived to have -the work done by two giants, to whom Wotan, at -Loge's instigation, promised the goddess Freia as -a reward, though Loge had privately assured him -that he would never be called on to meet the -obligation. The whole tale is borrowed by Wagner -from Norse mythology.</p> - -<p>Once upon a time, so runs the old story, an -artisan came to the gods and offered to build for -them a fortress which would forever shield them -from the frost giants, if they would give him, in -payment, Freya, the goddess of youth, beauty, -and love, besides the sun and the moon. The -gods agreed, provided he would do the work alone, -and in the space of a single winter. When summer -was but three days distant the castle was so -nearly finished that the gods saw that the compact -would be kept by the strange artisan. The -imminent loss of Freya frightened the gods, and -they threatened Loge with death if he did not prevent -the completion of the work within the period -fixed. The artisan had the help of a horse named -Svadilfari, who drew the most enormous stones to -the castle at night. Loge the next night decoyed -the horse Svadilfari into the forest, so that the -usual quota of work was not done. Then the -mysterious workman appeared before the gods in -his real form as a giant, and Thor killed him with -a blow of his hammer. The Norse Freya is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> -Teutonic Freia. In Wagner's poem Freia is the -reward which the giants Fafner and Fasolt expect -for having built Valhalla in a single night. Loge -had instigated the compact, and promised to relieve -Wotan of the obligation of payment. But the -giants carry Freia off and restore her only after -Wotan and Loge have given the Niblung's hoard -in exchange. To Freia, Wagner has given an attribute -which, in Scandinavian mythology, belongs -to Iduna. She is the guardian of the golden apples, -the eating of which keeps the gods young. -Iduna's apples the student of comparative mythology -will at once identify with the golden apples -which Hera received as a wedding-gift, and which -were guarded by the Hesperides and stolen by -Hercules. In the Norse story they are carried -away by a winged giant named Thiassi, and brought -back by Loge, who had tempted Iduna out of her -beautiful grove "Always Young," in order that the -giant might swoop down upon her and carry the -apples away. Wagner gives these apples to Freia -for the sake of a dramatic effect. The gods turn -wrinkled and gray so soon as the giants carry off -the goddess of youth and beauty.</p> - -<p>Wotan has his Valhalla, but the giants demand -their reward. Loge is summoned to extricate the -god from the predicament in which his lust after -power has plunged him. The god of fire and the -restless representative of the destructive principle -appears, and thereafter he is never absent long -from the action. He pervades every scene, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> -red cloak fluttering, eyes, hands, feet, body moving -synchronously with that fitful chromatic phrase -which crackles and flashes and flickers through the -orchestra whenever he takes part in the action. -He has searched through the world for a ransom -for Freia, and found but one creature who estimated -anything higher than the beauty and worth of -woman. It is Alberich who, having wrought a ring -out of the magic gold, has bent the race of Niblungs -to his will, and is now preparing to conquer -universal dominion for himself. Thus a new danger -threatens the race of gods. In this extremity -Wotan listens to the advice of Loge and decides -to possess himself of the Niblung hoard, that with -it he may purchase the release of Freia, and "make -assurance double sure." The two descend to the -abode of the dwarfs. In Nibelheim the rocky -caverns glow with the reflection of forge fires, and -the ear is saluted with the clang of hammers falling -upon anvils. Loge cunningly tempts the -dwarf to exhibit the magical properties of the -<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Tarnhelm</i> (the cap of darkness), and when he assumes -the shape of a toad the gods seize and bind -him. Under the walls of Valhalla they compel -him to ransom himself with gold for the giants -and rob him of the ring. Then Alberich burdens -it with a curse, introducing into the tragedy the -poison which accomplishes the destruction of all -its heroes, and remains a bane upon the earth till -restitution is made and expiation achieved by the -self-immolation of Brünnhilde.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p> - -<p>The first fruits of the curse follow hard upon -the heels of its utterance. The giants, ravished -by the tale of the wealth of the Niblung treasure, -exact it all as ransom for Freia. Wotan had aimed -to keep the ring as another hostage for the future—with -ring and fortress he would feel secure—but -the giants demand, the runes upon his spear contain -the pledge, and Erda warns. The ring is -grudgingly surrendered, and at once its baneful -effect is seen. The giants quarrel for its possession, -and Fafner kills Fasolt with blows of his -staff. Not till then does Wotan realize the deep -significance of the warning words of Erda. A solemn -duty, an awful task devolves upon him. Murder -as well as theft lies at his door; with the ring -a fearful curse has entered the world as a consequence -of his wrong-doing; henceforth he must -devote himself to the work of reparation. Mayhap -the wrong may be righted by a restoration of -the ring to the original owners of the gold. His -own hands are bound, but he conceives a plan, of -which the visible symbol is the magic sword. A -new race shall arise, the sword shall aid it in obtaining -the ring, and of its own will it shall return -the circlet to the element from which lust -for power wrested it. It is this creative thought -which makes him pause with his foot upon the -rainbow bridge, across which the celestial household -have passed into Valhalla. The sword -phrase flashes through the pompous music which -is the postlude of the prologue.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>IV.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<p>"Höre, höre, höre!<br /> -Alles was ist, endet.<br /> -Ein düst'rer Tag<br /> -Dämmert den Göttern.<br /> -Dir rath ich, meide den Ring!"</p> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>Thus does Erda warn Wotan. Of all the words -of the prologue they are biggest with significance -for the tragedy as a whole. They foretell the consequences -of Wotan's sin. Erda is the Vala, the -goddess of primeval wisdom, "the pantheistic -symbol of the universe, the timeless and spaceless -mother of gods and men," as Dr. Hueffer calls her. -She is the mother of the Nornir. Their phrase is -an elemental one, like that of the Rhine. Its ascending -intervals suggest growth. The antithesis -of this concept is decay, destruction. The melody -of the "Twilight of the Gods" (<em>b</em>), in the prediction -of Erda, appears as an inversion of the elemental -melody (<em>a</em>).</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/p131a_s.jpg" width="400" height="112" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p131sa_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p131sa_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> -<img src="images/p131b_s.jpg" width="450" height="120" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p131sb_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p131sb_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>It is an awful consummation that is predicted -by Erda and symbolized in this descending phrase—the -destruction of a world as the outcome of -that contest which since time began has been the -basis of religions and mythologies. No civilized -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> -people has escaped being confronted by that problem, -but all peoples have not solved it alike. In -our own religion the spectacle of its tragical consequences -has held the world in awe for nearly -nineteen hundred years. Generally in the legends -which the human imagination, fired by religious -instinct, has created to symbolize the eternal conflict, -the hero who goes to destruction is an ideal -man. Sometimes he is a god; but only the daring -imagination of the Northern myth-maker was equal -to the task of making that hero the chiefest of the -gods, and connecting his downfall with the end of -the race to which he belongs. In this awful flight -of the Northern imagination, this sublime achievement -of the Northern conscience, lies the essential -difference between the religious systems of the -classic Greeks and our savage ancestors. The -Greeks, profoundly philosophical as they were, -would yet have shrunk back appalled from such a -solution of the great problem as the Teuton provided -in his <cite>Götterdämmerung</cite>. Logic might force -them to recognize the necessity of it or something -like it, but they would not permit logic to compel -them to contemplate it. Once the stern mind of -Æschylus seemed on the point of disclosing a divine -tragedy approximate in its proportions. Prometheus, -chained to the rock on Mount Caucasus, -comforts himself in his bitter agony with thoughts -of the time when grim necessity shall force Zeus to -right his wrongs. But observe that the end of his -sufferings is not to follow as an act of retributive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> -justice, but is to be purchased by a compromise. -The time will come when Zeus will need his help, -for of all the gods Prometheus alone knows how -the plot will be laid and how Zeus can escape it:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"I know that Zeus is hard,<br /> -And keeps the right supremely to himself;<br /> -But then, I know, he'll be<br /> -Full pliant in his will<br /> -When he is thus crushed down.<br /> -Then calming down his mood<br /> -Of hard and bitter wrath,<br /> -<em>He'll hasten unto me,<br /> -As I to him shall haste</em>,<br /> -For friendship and for peace."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This is the nearest approach that the Greeks -came to a parallel with the most tremendous conception -of Northern mythology. Does it strike -you as strange? It need not. Remember, the -loveliness of their country and climate kept before -the Greeks perpetually the benignant aspect -of their gods. It is true they found themselves -as little able as our ancestors later to maintain -these embodiments of a primeval conception of -idealized humanity in a state of sinlessness; but -when brought face to face with the contradictions -which followed, they extricated themselves as best -they might by the makeshift of a compromising -reconciliation, or flew to the extreme of unbelief. -The moral obliquity of the gods was recognized, -but was not permitted to throw a shadow over the -radiant ones in the Olympian court. You may -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> -observe an illustration of this mental trait in the -unwillingness of the Greeks to call unpleasant -things by their right names. The Euxine, or -Hospitable Sea, was once righteously called by -them the Axine, or Inhospitable Sea. The dreadful -Furies, with their heads covered with writhing -snakes, after they had scourged Orestes through -the world, were given a temple and worship at -Athens as the Eumenides—the kind or good-tempered -ones. These Furies belonged to the class -of gloomy deities, which was the offspring of conscience -and the sense of moral responsibility. -They were bound to present themselves to a thinking -people, but a people who basked always in -Nature's smile were equally bound to subordinate -them to the gods of nature that were the embodiment -of cheerfulness and light. To contemplate -the latter was a delightful occupation; the former -were viewed through a veil which concealed their -hideousness.</p> - -<p>There was nothing in the surroundings of our -ancestors to encourage such a species of indirection. -The natural powers which confronted them -oftenest were inimical. They did not live in the -sunlight of Nature's smile, but in the shadow of -her frown. The simple right to exist had daily -to be conquered. The vague apprehensions of a -sinless, an absolute and omnipotent Deity, which -flitted furtively across their minds, took deeper -and deeper root when the logic of necessity began -to taint their dynasty of gods with weakness and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> -crimes. But, like the Greeks, they could give such -a conception neither form, habitation, nor name. -It remained hovering in the background. As their -physical life was a ceaseless struggle with Nature -in her sternest aspects, and as the more cruel of -those aspects were connected with the phenomena -of winter, it was natural that when the conception -of overshadowing Fate had to be personified in -the process of mythological construction, the Nornir -should have been imagined as daughters of the -giants of the North—harsh, cruel, vengeful, implacable. -The terrible Fimbul winter was to precede -Ragnarök. All their training taught them to look -the actual in the face. They lived in war, and -death possessed terror only to those who could -not die in battle. Destruction was a conception -with which they were familiar; destruction was -the logical outcome of all activities. So soon as -they began to contemplate a race of gods who -were offenders against that moral law which was -the outgrowth of the primitive religious instinct, -just so soon such a people had to provide for a -catastrophe which would resolve the discord. The -Greek tragedian made Prometheus the symbol of -humanity and achieved his aim by a reconciliation -with offended Deity. The Norse myth-maker -chose the chief of the gods as his representative, -raised the issue between him and unpersonified -moral law, and compelled the god to go down to -destruction with all his race to satisfy a vast and -righteous necessity. "If," says Felix Dahn, "a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> -religion has become thoroughly corrupt, then, unless -the nation professing it is to be destroyed -along with its civilization, a new religion, satisfying -to the needs of the period, must either be introduced -from without—as Christianity was introduced -in the Roman world in the first centuries -of the Empire—or the existing religion must be -purified and reconstructed; as was the case with -Christianity in the sixteenth century through the -Protestant Reformation, and also, indeed, through -the very material Catholic improvements achieved -by the Tridentine Council.</p> - -<p>"But beside these two there is a third means -of resolving the difficulty; this third was seized -upon by the Germanic consciousness. <em>It is the -tragical remedy.</em></p> - -<p>"The Germanic gods, too, placed themselves in -irreconcilable and unendurable opposition to morality; -and the Germanic conscience condemned -them every one to destruction—to death! <em>That is -the meaning of the Götterdämmerung</em>; it is a peerlessly -great moral deed of the Germanic race, and it -stamps Germanic mythology with its tragic character.</p> - -<p>"Destruction because of an irreparable rupture -with established and peaceful order in Religion, -Morality, or Law, is essentially tragical.</p> - -<p>"The <cite>Götterdämmerung</cite> a sacrifice? A stupendous -deed of morality? Aye, indeed, that it is!"<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p> - -<h3>V.</h3> - -<p>We are henceforth to observe Wotan in his conduct -when brought face to face with the consequences -of his violations of moral law. That conduct -it is which reflects the real tragedy in "The -Niblung's Ring." Bound by the contract whose -runes were cut in the haft of his spear, the god -could not again possess himself of the ring, which -was now become doubly a menace. If it were again -to fall into the hands of Alberich, whom he had so -cruelly wronged, the desire for vengeance would -spur that mischievous Niblung to seize the dominion -which had been forfeited. To prevent -such a catastrophe, Wotan would beget a new -race of beings and endow them with a magic -sword. This was to be the extent of his activity -in the development of his plot. As a Volsung he -wandered through the forests with Siegmund, his -son born of woman. At an early age this son had -lost his mother and been separated from his twin-sister. -Then his father left him mysteriously to -be seasoned to his task by hardships. At the -climax of his distress, the culmination of his need, -he was to arm himself with the divine sword which -the god had thrust up to the hilt in a tree, around -which was built the hut of that very enemy of -the Volsung race, who had carried off the sister -and married her against her will. The achieve<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>ment -of the sword was to be the sign of Siegmund's -fitness for the enterprise. Of his own free-will -the divinely-begotten hero was to acquire the -ring, and rid the world of the curse by restoring -it to its rightful owners. How vain a plot! The -first step in its development shatters the whole -elaborate fabric! Both of the children forfeit -their lives to outraged law; the god is compelled -to destroy the very agencies on which he had built -his hopes. The curse under whose fatal influence -he had fallen because of wrong-doing was not to -be averted by so shallow a subterfuge; but even -if such an outcome had been possible, the plan -would have split on the rock of newly offended -morality.</p> - -<p>In this outline of the contents of "Die Walküre" -I have but hinted at its incidents, yet we -have before us a whole vast act of the Wotan -tragedy, and one, too, that is pregnant with consequences -to the tragical scheme of the myth-maker. -I do not ask that the occasional interpretations -of Wagner's music which I attempt be -accepted as literal expositions of the composer's -purposes; but we can benefit in our understanding -of the scope and progress of his tragedy by discovering -symbols for its great philosophical moments -in the musical investiture. In this view of -the case observe how appropriate is the instrumental -introduction to the first act. We have -gone beyond the hand-books in seeing a reflection -of the purity and quietude of the Golden Age in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> -the introduction to the prologue. Its antithesis -is presented in the introduction to the first drama -of the trilogy. Again Wagner makes nature reflect -the mental and moral states of his personages. -Again he presents a musical mood-picture. -And again the musician is invited to discover that, -in spite of the contrast between the objects of his -musical delineation, the technical means resorted -to are the same. There the peacefully undulating -<em>major</em> harmonies over a sustained bass note—a -pedal-point, if you will—pictured the age of sinlessness; -the harmlessness of the untainted, uncoveted -virgin gold; the gentle flux and reflux of -the element in which it was buried; the careless -innocency of its unsuspicious and playful guardians. -Here wildly flying <em>minor</em> harmonies under -a sustained note—again a pedal-point—picture the -storm which buffets the exhausted, unprotected -Siegmund, and impels him to seek refuge in Hunding's -hut.</p> - -<p>If this parallel is merely fanciful, it at least invites -such an exercise of the fancy in the listeners -as will better help them to appreciate the interdependence -of the arts which Wagner consorts in -his dramas than any amount of structural dissection -and analysis. If you wish you may note that -in addition to the music which aims merely at -imitative delineation of a thunder-storm (the rushing -figure in the basses, the incessant <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">staccato</i> patter -of the sustained note, the attempts to suggest -flashes of lightning in short and rapid figures in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> -the high register of the instruments, the crashing -and rumbling of thunder, and the howling of the -wind in the chromatic passages), the music also -presents a pompous phrase with which, in the -scene of the prologue where Thor created the -rainbow bridge, the Thunderer summoned the elements -to his aid, and at the close a heavy-footed -phrase which may be identified with the weary -Siegmund.</p> - -<p>If these two preludes be accepted as broadly -and comprehensively delineative of moods in the -theatre and personages of the play, another significant -parallel will now present itself. It was to -a phrase which has the rhythm afterwards associated -with the Niblungs in their capacity as smiths -(see Chapter I.)—the hammering rhythm—that -Alberich disclosed his wicked nature and resolve -when he shook his fist at the nixies. Observe how -the element of danger to the Volsung pair is introduced -in the first scene of the tragedy. It -enters with the sinister Hunding, who, as the unconscious -instrument of Fate and Fricka's vengeance, -brings death to Siegmund. In the music -which precedes Hunding's entrance there are only -strains of pathetic tenderness which invite sympathy -for the unhappy children of Wotan, and -which we are asked by the analyst and commentator -to associate with the compassion which they -feel for each other, and the growth of that feeling -into the more ardent emotion of love. The phrase -which ushers in Hunding is in sharp contrast; if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> -is gloomy in harmony and orchestration, and publishes -the evil in his heart, not only by its dark -colors, but also by employing the threatening -rhythm which Alberich used against the Rhine -daughters. The incidents which serve to complete -the first great step in the drama so far as -Wotan, the hero, is concerned, can now be hastily -reviewed. Hunding discovers his guest to be the -enemy of his race; the laws of hospitality protect -him for the night, but he must fight on the morrow. -Siegmund's need has reached its climax. -But Sieglinde, after putting Hunding to sleep -with a draught, returns to him and discloses the -mystery of the sword. Mutually they confess -their love, and discover their relationship in the -moment when the magic sword is won. A new -thought prevents that terrible discovery from -checking the progress of their passion. <em>The race -of the Volsungs must be perpetuated.</em> If you want -to learn how powerful an element this thought is -in the old legend from which Wagner borrowed -the episode, you must study it in the Volsunga -Saga, where it is consorted with elements which -largely atone for the features so offensive and so -much criticised in Wagner's drama. There Signy -(Wagner's Sieglinde) desiring to avenge herself -on her husband Siggeir (Hunding), who had murdered -all the race but her and Sigmund, and kept -her in loveless wedlock, tried in vain to rear a -son of sufficient hardihood to perform the deed -of vengeance. At last, fearful that the Volsungs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> -might become extinct, she changed semblance -with a witch-wife, and in this guise visited Sigmund -at his hiding-place in the woods. When -their son grew to manhood he and his father -avenged Signy's wrongs. But when they offered -her great honors Signy told Sigmund: "I went -into the woods to thee in witch-wife's shape, and -Sinfjötli (Siegfried) is the son of thee and me -both; and therefore has he this great hardihood -and fierceness, because he is the son of Välse's son -and Välse's daughter. For naught else have I so -wrought that King Siggeir might get his bane at -last; and merrily now will I die with the King -though I was naught merry to wed him;"<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a> and -she entered the burning palace and died with the -King and his men. The motive here is the same -as in the objectionable episode in Wagner, but it -is presented more forcibly and, at the same time, -less offensively—or, at least, with less show of moral -depravity. But the sin is speedily expiated. -Fricka, the patron goddess of marriage, demands -that Siegmund shall become her victim; and -Fricka's right cannot be gainsaid by the representative -of Law. Wotan pronounces the oath -that Fricka demands. The Volsung is doomed; -the plan of the god frustrated. The first act of -the tragedy is complete; the second stage of the -development of Wotan's tragical character is entered -upon. These are the essential features of -that stage:</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> -<p>In despair the god surrenders his plan, invokes -the consequences of his guilty deed, and pronounces -a blessing on the inimical agency which -has been established for his punishment. He -turns his longing gaze towards that outcome of -the terrible conflict in which he became involved -because of his greed of power, which his own wisdom, -clarified by the mystic words of Erda, recognizes -as inevitable.</p> - -<p>Unhappily for the popular understanding of the -tragedy, the scene in which this stupendously significant -phase in the celestial action of the drama -is disclosed is one that is generally sacrificed to -theatrical exigencies. It is presented in the long -address in which Wotan countermands the order -previously given for the death of Hunding, and -commands that the death-mark be placed on Siegmund. -From this recital we learn that the Valkyrior -had been born to Wotan by Erda as part -of his scheme to perpetuate his dominion. They -were to fill Valhalla with heroes against the great -battle which he knew would come. We also learn -that as Wotan had begotten a new race, in the -hope of preventing the baneful ring from falling -again into the hands of Alberich, so Alberich, in -turn, had begotten a son to labor for its return. -But as Alberich had foresworn love, he wooed a -woman with gold. Again, here in the counter-plot, -the greed of gold usurps the place sanctified -to love. Thus there are pitted against each other -the Volsungs, beloved progeny of the god, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> -Hagen (whom we shall meet actively engaged in -the contest later), the loveless offspring of the -Niblung. And the demi-god it is who is doomed. -Wotan is called upon to perform his act of renunciation. -As things go in the theatre, his recital -is thought overlong and undramatic, and the -thoughtless laugh at the spectacle of a sad god. -Can we forget that it is at this supreme moment -that the god embodies that which is at once the -loftiest and the most profoundly melancholy conception -of the Germanic conscience? He recognizes -the necessity and the justice of the destruction -of his race. Listen to his words:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Begone, then, and perish,<br /> -Thou gorgeous pomp,<br /> -Thou glittering disgrace<br /> -Of godhood's grandeur!<br /> -Asunder shall burst<br /> -The walls I built!<br /> -My work I abandon,<br /> -For one thing alone I wish—<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">The end—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">The end—"</span></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="p1 center">(<em>He pauses in thought.</em>)</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<p>"And to the end<br /> -Alb'rich attends!<br /> -Now I perceive<br /> -The secret sense<br /> -Of the Vala's 'wildering words:<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> -'When Love's ferocious foe<br /> -In rage begetteth a son,<br /> -The night of the gods<br /> -Draws near anon.'"<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>And now observe how the logic of Wagner's -constructive scheme marshals the symbols of the -chief things which are in Wotan's thoughts while -he contemplates past, present, and future—the -wicked cause and the terrible effect. The curse, -with death in its train, confronts him:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p145_s-1.jpg" width="550" height="173" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p145_s-1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p145_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>the Nomir and their all-wise mother revisit his -fancy:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p145_s-2.jpg" width="500" height="263" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p145s2_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p145s2_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>the ceaseless, tireless energy of the Niblung, which -will not cease till the work of destruction be com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>plete, -pursues him with its rhythmical scourge as -the Furies pursued Orestes:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p146_s-1.jpg" width="550" height="182" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p146_s-1.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p146_s1.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>and the image of Valhalla rises in his far-seeing -mind, not as a castle in its present grandeur (see -Chapter I.), but in ruins; the rhythm of the musical -symbol is shattered; its solid, restful, simple -major harmony is destroyed:</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/p146_s-2.jpg" width="500" height="406" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p146_s-2.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p146_s2.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<p>All this because of the accursed gold (closing cadence -<em>a</em>).</p> - -<p>The daughter to whom the god confides the -whole depth of his misery is of all his daughters -the dearest. She has no higher ambition than -to be the embodiment of Wotan's will. Uncon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>sciously -to both, the god, in his divine resignation, -is merely prefiguring the sacrifice to which, -in the providence of a higher power than the Lord -of Valhalla, that daughter has been chosen. But -the god has not yet learned the full bitterness of -his cup. He loves the Volsung, and is obliged to -destroy at a blow the object of his love and the -agent of his plan. In doing this the irresistible -might of law bears down his will. That will is -known to Brünnhilde. In defiance of Wotan's -commands she attempts to shield the Volsung; -and to bring the combat between Hunding and -Siegmund to the conclusion inexorably demanded -by that law of purity which the hero unwittingly -violated, the god is himself compelled to -interfere, and to cause the sword, designed as the -symbol of the Volsung power, to be shattered on -the spear with which Wotan exercises dominion.</p> - -<p>Love, for a second time, feels the weight of Alberich's -curse. Now the beloved daughter falls -under the condemnation of the law. But the god -is becoming unconsciously an agent in a plan of redemption, -which belongs to a loftier ethical scheme -than was possible before. Wotan is about to disappear -as an active agent from the scene. His -plot is wrecked. The representative of his will, -the object of his tenderest paternal affection, unknown -to him, but inspired wholly by a love void -of all selfishness, is about to take up the task surrendered -by the god, and carry it out to a conclusion -different from and yet like that imagined by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> -the god. Before the punishment is visited upon -her, the intensity of that love, turned through -sympathy towards Sieglinde, has for a moment -endowed her with prophetic powers. She hails -the hero yet unborn, and persuades Sieglinde to -save her own life for his sake. Then she accepts -her punishment. She is bereft of her divinity, put -into a magic sleep, and left by the way-side to be -the prey of the first passer-by. But the love of -the father, awakened to tenfold power by the bitterness -of his own fate and the knowledge that his -child's disobedience was but the execution of his -own will, shields her from dishonor by surrounding -her with a wall of fire, which none but a freer -hero than the god himself, and one for whom the -divine spear has no terrors, shall pass. The god's -egotism is completely broken, the reconciliation -between his offended majesty and the offender established. -The punishment of Brünnhilde is but -the chastisement of love. Can there be any doubt -of this after the musical proclamation contained in -the finale of "Die Walküre?"</p> - - -<h3>VI.</h3> - -<p>I am presuming, to a great extent, upon the -reader's familiarity with the incidents of the dramas -constituting the tragedy. It is the action -which takes place where we have not been in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> -habit of looking for it that I am seeking to discover. -"Siegfried," the second drama of the trilogy, -is almost wholly devoted to preparation for -the fateful outcome. To this fact is due much of -its cheerfulness of tone. It is a period of comparative -rest. The celestial plot has entered upon a -new phase, and in this drama the new combination -of characters is formed for the development -of that new phase. The ethical drama which the -play symbolizes might be described as follows:</p> - -<p>The hero has been born and bred under circumstances -which have developed his freedom in every -direction. The representative of the evil principle -seeks to direct his heroic powers towards an -advancement of the sinister side of the counter-plot; -but in vain. By his own efforts he endows -himself with the magic sword, and in the full consciousness -of his free manhood he achieves for -himself the adventures and the happiness which -were denied to the god. He gains the ring and -tastes the delight of love.</p> - -<p>At first Siegfried appears simply as a wild forest -lad, who has grown up with no sympathetic -acquaintance beyond the beasts and birds with -which he is wont to associate in their haunts. In -this character the composer pictures him musically -by means of the merry hunting-call which he -is supposed to blow on his horn (see Chapter I.). -Most of the music which is associated with him in -the first act of the drama, in which this horn-call -enters so largely, is markedly characteristic of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> -impetuous nature of the forest lad, with his contempt -for dissimulation and his rough, straight-forward -energy. But a different side of his nature -is disclosed when, having learned the story of his -birth and acquired possession of his father's sword, -remade by himself, he becomes a part of the sylvan -picture of the second act, which lends so much -charm to the "Siegfried" drama. Here, again, is -scenic music of the kind which each of the dramas -possesses, and which has so often set us to wondering -at Wagner's marvellous faculty for juggling -with the senses—making our ears to see and our -eyes to hear. Siegfried has been brought before -the cave—where Fafner, in the form of a dragon, -is guarding the ring and the hoard—by Mime, -who has planned that the lad shall kill the dragon -and then himself fall a victim to treachery. Siegfried -throws himself on a hillock at the foot of a -tree and listens to nature's music in the forest. -And such music! Music redolent of that sweet -mystery which peopled the old poets' minds with -the whole amiable tribe of fays and dryads and -wood-nymphs. The spirit which lurks under -gnarled roots and in tangled boughs, in hollow -trees and haunted forest caves, breathes through -it. The youth is brooding over the mystery of his -childhood, and he utters his thoughts in tender -phrases, while the mellow wood-wind instruments -in the orchestra identify his thoughts with the -dead parents whom he never knew. He wonders -what his mother looked like, and pathetically asks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> -whether all human mothers die when their children -are born. Suddenly the sunlight begins to -flicker along the leafy canopy; a thousand indistinct -voices join in that indefinable hum, of which, -when heard in reality and not in the musician's -creation, one is at a loss to tell how much is actual -and how much the product of imagination, -both sense and fancy having been miraculously -quickened by the spirit which moves through the -trees.</p> - -<p>At last all is vocal, and Siegfried's ear is caught -by the song of the bird to which we too have been -listening. In his longing for companionship he -wishes that he might understand and converse -with his feathered playmate. Might he not if he -were able to whistle like the bird? Now note the -naïve touch of musical humor with which Wagner, -the tragedian, enlivens the scene. Siegfried cuts -a reed growing beside a rivulet and fashions a rude -pipe out of it. He listens, and when the bird quits -singing he attempts to imitate its "wood-note -wild." But his pipe is too low in pitch and out of -tune. He cuts it shorter and raises its pitch half -a tone. Again he cuts it, with the same result; -then squeezes it impatiently, and renders it still -more "out of tune and harsh." He throws it -away, confesses his humiliation by the bird, then -reaches for his horn. With its merry call he wakes -the echoes, disturbs the sleep of the dragon, and -precipitates the combat which ends in his equipment -with <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Tarnhelm</i> and ring, and his receipt of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> -the injunction from the bird (which now he understands -through the magic of the dragon's blood -touching his lips) to slay Mime and waken Brünnhilde -on the burning mountain.</p> - -<p>We now catch our last glimpse of Wotan as a -personage in the play. He has not been active in -the plot since he was obliged to destroy his own -handiwork. Twice he appeared in the character -of a seemingly unconcerned spectator wandering -over the face of the earth, and once he even offered -to help Alberich recover the ring from Fafner. -He aroused the dragon and suggested that -Alberich warn him of threatened danger, and ask -the ring as a reward. His present concern is to -learn whether the danger threatening the gods -is yet to be averted. By chanting of powerful -runes he summons Erda, of ancient wisdom. But -she refuses to speak. Now he tells her that he no -longer grieves over the approaching doom of the -gods; his will, newly enlightened, has decreed that -the catastrophe shall overwhelm the gods, but also -that the world, which in his despair he had surrendered -to the hate of the Niblung, shall become instead -the heritage of the Volsung who has won the -ring. A single act remains to be done: the free-agency -of Siegfried must be tested. The youth -follows his feathered guide up the mountain to -find the promised bride. Wotan bars his way -with his spear. Siegfried hews the shaft through -the middle. On the runes cut into that shaft rested -Wotan's dominion. They were the bond by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> -which he governed. Its destruction symbolizes -the approaching end of the old order of things. -The musical phrase, typical of that compact, accompanies -him, in broken rhythm, as he gathers -up the pieces of the spear and departs. Prophecy -and fulfilment are indicated by the recurrence of -the phrase of Erda and her daughters, the Nornir, -and its inversion, which symbolizes the twilight of -the gods.</p> - - -<h3>VII.</h3> - -<p>All the adventures of Siegfried in this part of -the drama, from the forging of the sword to the -awaking of Brünnhilde, Wagner derived in almost -the exact shape in which he presents them from -the Scandinavian legends which tell of Sigurd. In -the death-like sleep of Brünnhilde, the stream of -fire around her couch, the passage of that stream -by Siegfried, as later in the immolation of the -heroine, there are so many foreshadowings of the -mystery of the Atonement that I scarcely dare attempt -a study of it. Let me but call attention to -the fact that the fiery wall in the old legends always -denotes the funeral pyre; that it was once -customary to light the pyre with a thorn, and that -when the Eddas tell us that Odin put his child -Brynhild to sleep by pricking her in the temple -with a sleep-thorn, the meaning is that she died. -I have said a foreshadowing of the Atonement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> -because these things are old Aryan possessions—much -older than Christianity. The infernal river -of the Greeks, which Alkestis had to cross when -she went to the under-world on her mission of salvation, -had a Greek name (<i lang="el" xml:lang="el">Pyriphlegethon</i>), which -meant "fire-blazing." It was not, however, to lose -myself in such speculations that I called up the -old story, but simply to show with what fine insight -into dramatic possibilities Wagner studied -his sources. In the old Icelandic tale, some gossiping -eagles, whose language Sigurd had come -to understand by drinking of the blood of Regin -and Fafnir, told him of a maiden who slumbered -in a hall on high Hindarfiall surrounded with fire. -Thither Sigurd went, penetrated the barrier of fire, -found Brynhild, whom he thought to be a knight -until he had ripped up her coat of mail with his -sword, and awakened her. Learning the name of -her deliverer, Brynhild cried out:</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse ileft4">"Hail to thee, Day, come back!</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Hail, sons of the Daylight!</div> -<div class="verse">Hail to thee, daughter of night!</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Look with kindly eyes down</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">On us sitting here lonely,</div> -<div class="verse">And give us the gain that we long for."<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> - -<h3>VIII.</h3> - -<p>We reach the last drama of the trilogy.</p> - -<p>In the joy of his new-found love Siegfried forgets -his mission. Brünnhilde teaches him wisdom -(recall how the ancient Teutons reverenced the -utterance of their women), and he gives her the -baneful circlet as the badge of his love. He goes -out in search of adventure, and, separated from -the protecting influence of woman's love, he falls -a victim to the wiles of Hagen, the Niblung's son. -Alberich had warned Hagen that so great was -Siegfried's love for Brünnhilde that were she to -ask it he would restore the ring to the Rhine -nixies. This must be prevented, and Hagen has -a plan ready. With a magic drink he robs Siegfried -of all memory of Brünnhilde, and the hero, -to gain a new love, puts on his <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Tarnhelm</i> and rudely -drags Brünnhilde from her flame-encircled retreat.</p> - -<p>To Wagner's skill in expressing the miraculous -in music is due the effectiveness of two scenes -highly essential to the ethical scheme of the tragedy -and very difficult to present in a dramatic -form. The music accompanying the drink alone -makes it possible to realize that the fateful change -has taken place in Siegfried. He looks into the -horn and pledges Brünnhilde:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Were I to forget<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>All thou gav'st,<br /> -One lesson I'll never<br /> -Unlearn in my life.<br /> -This morning-drink,<br /> -In measureless love,<br /> -Brünnhild, I pledge to thee!"<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Niemann puts the horn from his lips, and we -know that a change has taken place in the man. -It is the mystical property of that weird music -that brings us this consciousness. We could not -believe it if acts or words alone were relied on to -make the publication.</p> - -<p>Again has love been wronged. The guilt of a -tragic hero may be unconsciously committed; still -he must yield to fate. Chance puts the opportunity -in the way of Siegfried to prevent the ring -from falling into the hands of the powers inimical -to the gods; but he proudly puts it aside because -the demand of the Rhine daughters was coupled -with a threat. Brünnhilde had also spurned the -opportunity, but in her case the motive was her -great love for Siegfried, which made her prize the -ring, as its visible sign, above the welfare of the -gods. That love, misguided, causes the death of -the hero. Brünnhilde, learning of Siegfried's unconscious -treachery, gives her aid to the Niblung's -son. Only his death clears away the mystery. -Then she expiates her crime and his with -her life, and from her ashes the Rhine daughters -recover the ring.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> -<p>"The ultimate question concerning the correctness -or effectiveness of Wagner's system must be -answered along with the question, Does the music -touch the emotions, quicken the fancy, fire the imagination? -If it does this we may, to a great extent, -if we wish, get along without the intellectual -process of reflection and comparison conditioned -upon a recognition of his themes and their uses. -But if we do this, we will also lose the pleasure which -it is the province of memory sometimes to give;"<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a> -for a beautiful constructive use of the themes is -for reminiscence. The culminating scene of the -tragedy furnishes us an illustration of the twofold -delight which Wagner's music can give: the simply -sensuous and the sensuous intensified by intellectual -activity. I refer to the death of Siegfried. -As Siegfried, seated among Gunther's men, who -are resting from the chase, tells the story of his -life, we hear a recapitulation of the musical score -of the second and third acts of "Siegfried" the drama. -He starts up in an outburst of enthusiasm as -he reaches the account of Brünnhilde's awaking, -which is interrupted by the flight of Wotan's ravens, -who go to inform the god that the end is -nearing. He turns to look after the departing -birds, when Hagen plunges a spear into his back. -The music to which the hero, regaining his memory, -breathes out his life, is that ecstasy in tones -to which Siegfried's kiss had inspired the orchestra -in the last scene of the preceding -drama. Why is this? Because, as Siegfried's last -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>thoughts before taking the dreadful draught which -robbed him of his memory were of Brünnhilde, so -his first thoughts were of her when his memory -was restored. Before his dying eyes there is only -the picture of her awaking, till the last ray of -light bears to him Brünnhilde's greeting:</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse ileft4">"Brünnhild!</div> -<div class="verse">Hallowed bride!</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Awaken! Open thine eyes!</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Who again has doomed thee</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">To dismal slumber?</div> -<div class="verse">Who binds thee in bonds of sleep?</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">The awakener came,</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">His kiss awoke thee;</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Once more he broke</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">The bonds of his bride;</div> -<div class="verse">Then shared he Brünnhild's delight!</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Ah! those eyes</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Are open forever!</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Ah! how sweet</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Is her swelling breath!</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Delicious destruction—</div> -<div class="verse ileft4">Ecstatic awe—</div> -<div class="verse">Brünnhild gives greeting—to me!"</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This reminiscent love-music gives way to the -Death March, which, from a purely structural point -of view, is an epitome of much that is salient in -the musical investiture of the entire tetralogy, yet -in spirit is a veritable apotheosis, a marvellously -eloquent proclamation of antique grief and heroic -sorrow. This music loses nothing in being lis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>tened -to as absolute music. Never mind that in -obedience to his system of development Wagner -has passed the life of Siegfried in review in the -score. The orchestra has a nobler mission here. -It is to make a proclamation which neither singers -nor pantomimists nor stage mechanism and -pictures can make.</p> - -<p>The hero is dead!</p> - -<p>What does it mean to him?</p> - - -<p class="indent2">Union with Brünnhilde—restoration to that -love of which he had been foully robbed.</p> - -<p>What to his fellows in the play?</p> - - -<p class="indent2">The end of a Teutonic hero of the olden kind. -He is dead; they are awed at the catastrophe -and they grieve; but their grief is mixed with -thoughts of the prowess of the dead man and -the exalted state into which he has entered. -A Valkyria has kissed his wounds, and Wotan -has made place for him at his board in Valhalla. -There, surrounded by the elect of Wotan's -wishmaidens, he is drinking mead and -singing songs of mighty sonority—Viking -songs like Ragnar Lodbrok's: "We smote -with swords."</p> - -<p>Is there room here for modern mourning; for -shrouding crape and darkened rooms and sighs -and tears and hopeless grief? No. The proper -expression is a hymn, a pæan, a musical apotheosis; -and this is what Wagner gives us until the -funeral train enters Gutrune's house and the expression -of sorrow goes over to the deceived wife.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> - -<p>But what does this march mean to us who have -been trying to study the real meaning of the tragedy? -The catastrophe which is to usher in the -new era of love. Search for a musical symbol for -the redeeming principle. It cannot appear in its -fulness till the old order, changing, gives place to -the new; but still we may find it in the prevision -of a woman to whom the shadow of death gave -mystical lore. A new song was put into the -mouth of Sieglinde when Brünnhilde acclaimed -her child, yet unborn, as destined to be the loftiest -hero of earth. She poured out her gratitude -in a prophetic strain in which we may, if we wish, -hear the Valkyria celebrated as the loving, redeeming -woman of the last portion of the tragedy. -Out of that melody, and out of a phrase -in the love duet in which Brünnhilde blesses the -mother who gave birth to the glorious hero, grew -the phrase in which, in "Die Götterdämmerung," -Brünnhilde, Valkyria no longer, is symbolized in -her new character as loving woman. But when -the flames from Siegfried's funeral pile reach Valhalla, -when by a stupendous achievement the poet-composer -recapitulates the incidents of the tragedy -in his orchestral postlude, while pompous brass -and strident basses depict the destruction of Valhalla, -the end of the old world of greed of gold -and lust of power, this melody, the symbol of redeeming -love, soars high into ethereal regions on -the wings of the violins, and its last transfigured -harmonies proclaim the advent of a new heaven -and a new earth under the dominion of love. -'Tis the "Woman's Soul" leading us "upward -and on:"</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 550px;"> -<img src="images/p161_s.jpg" width="550" height="330" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center ebhide"><a href="pngscores/p161s_au.png">[PNG]</a> [<a href="music/mp3/p161s_au.mp3">Listen</a>]</p> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<p class="p4 center big2">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Walhall. Germanische Götter und Heldensagen.</i> Felix Dahn -and Therese Dahn. Kreutznach, 1888.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> <em>Vide</em> Magnusson and Morris.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> Professor Dippold's translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> Dippold. Wagner's poem, "The Ring of the Nibelung," p. 61.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> Professor Dippold's translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> See page <a href="#Page_35">35.</a></p></div></div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p> -</div> - - -<h2> CHAPTER V.<br /> -<small>"PARSIFAL."</small></h2> - - -<p>The last of Wagner's dramas is not only mystical -in its subject, but also in the manner in which -it confronts the critical student. In Bayreuth it -exerts a most puissant influence upon the spectator -and listener; but when one has escaped the -sweet thraldom of the representation, and reflection -takes the place of experience, there arise a -multitude of doubts touching the essential merit of -the drama. These doubts do not go to the effectiveness -of "Parsifal" as an artistic entertainment. -If they did they would arise in the course of the -representation and hinder enjoyment. Against -what, then, do they direct themselves?</p> - -<p>An answer to this question must precede our -study of the drama.</p> - - -<h3>I.</h3> - -<p>"Parsifal" is not a drama in the ordinary acceptation -of the term; yet it is a drama in the -antique sense. It is a religious play; but, again,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> -not a religious play in the general sense in which -Wagner's mythological tetralogy may be said to -be a religious play; it is specifically a Christian -play. It is contemplation of it in this light which -gives the student pause. There are indications in -the records of Wagner's intellectual activity that -he wrote it to take the place of two dramas which -had occupied his mind many years before "Parsifal" -was written. The first of these dramas, -which he sketched in 1848, was a tragedy entitled -"Jesus of Nazareth;" the second, which he -planned in 1856, was entitled "The Victors," and -was based on a Hindu legend. Its hero was to -be Chaka-Munyi—the Buddha. In a manner, it -may be said, these two dramas were blended in -"Parsifal," but, strangely enough, that blending -was accomplished so as to bring into prominence -a conception of religion more in harmony with -the feeling of Buddhistic, or mediæval asceticism -than with the sentiments of modern Christianity. -Wagner's Jesus of Nazareth was a purely human -philosopher who preached the saving grace of -love, and sought to redeem his time from the -domination of conventional law—the offspring of -selfishness. His philosophy was socialism imbued -with love. Wagner's Buddha, on the other hand, -was the familiar apostle of abnegation and asceticism. -The heroism of the lovers Ananda and -Prakriti was to have been displayed in their voluntary -renunciation of the union, towards which -love impelled them. They were to accept the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> -teachings of the Buddha, take the vow of chastity, -and live thereafter in the holy community.</p> - -<p>When Wagner came to write his Christian drama -he put aside his human Christ, accepted the -doctrine of the Atonement with all its mystical -elements, but endowed his hero with scarcely another -merit than that which had become the ideal -of monkish theologians under the influence of -fearful moral depravity and fanatical superstition, -as far removed from the teachings and example -of his original hero as the heavens are from the -earth. After having eloquently proclaimed the -ethical idea which is at the basis of all the really -beautiful mythologies and religions of the world, -and embodied it in "The Flying Dutchman," -"Tannhäuser," and "The Niblung's Ring"—the -idea that salvation comes to humanity through -the redeeming love of woman—he produced a -drama in which the central idea, so far as the dramatic -spectacle is concerned, is a glorification of a -conception of sanctity which grew out of a monstrous -perversion of womanhood, and a wicked -degradation of womankind.</p> - -<p>This, I say, is the case "so far as the dramatic -spectacle is concerned." Of course there is much -more in "Parsifal" than a celebration of the principal -feature in mediæval asceticism, but I am -speaking now of the things which fill the vision -during representation, which inspire a feeling of -awe at the time, but afterwards irritate and confound -the reflective faculty. So far as the spec<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>tacle -is concerned, the heroism of Parsifal is not -that of the Divine Being, of whom Wagner does -not hesitate to make him a symbol, but that of a -desert recluse. This contradiction of the modern -sense of propriety is accentuated by the means -resorted to by Wagner for the sake of identifying -the hero with his lofty prototype. In the third -act, scenes are borrowed from the life of Christ, -and Parsifal is made to play in them as the central -figure; Kundry anoints the feet of the knight -and dries them with her hair; Parsifal baptizes -Kundry and absolves her from sin. These acts, -and the resistance of Kundry's seductions in the -Magic Garden, make up, for the greater part, the -sum of the acts of a hero in whom the spectator -wishes to see, on the one hand, some of the attributes -of the heroes of the profoundly poetical -romances from which the subject-matter of the -drama was drawn, or, on the other, some evidences -of that nobility and that gentleness of conduct, -and that fine sanity of thought which marked the -life of Him of whom it has been said that he was</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">"The best of men</span><br /> -That e'er wore earth about him—<br /> -A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit,<br /> -The first true gentleman that ever breathed."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>These things, taken in connection with the adoration -of the Holy Grail, which makes up so much -of the action of the drama, and the worship of the -Sacred Lance, seem to us of the nineteenth cen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>tury -like little else than relics of the monkish superstitions -of the early Middle Ages. Under them, -it is true, there is much deep philosophy, and the -symbolism of the drama is surcharged with meaning; -but a recognition of the paradox is necessary, -the better to appreciate the fact that the essence -of "Parsifal" lies less in what is seen on the stage -than in what the things seen stand for. To appreciate -the work at its full worth it must be accepted -for the lesson which it inculcates, and that lesson -must be accepted in the spirit of the time which -produced the materials of the drama. The ethical -idea of the drama is that it is the enlightenment -which comes through conscious pity that brings -salvation. The allusion is to the redemption of -man by the sufferings and compassionate death of -Christ; and that stupendous tragedy is the pre-figuration -of the mimic tragedy which Wagner has -constructed. The spectacle to which he invites -us, and with which he hopes to impress us and -move us to an acceptance of the lesson underlying -his drama, is the adoration of the Holy Grail, -cast in the form of a mimicry of the Last Supper, -bedizened with some of the glittering pageantry -of mediæval knighthood and romance. The trial -to which the hero is subjected is that with which -the folk-lore of all times and peoples, as well as -their monkish legends, have made us familiar: the -hero proves his fitness for his divine calling, and -accomplishes it by withstanding the temptations -which Ulysses withstood on the Delightful Island<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> -where he met Calypso, to which Tannhäuser succumbed -in the grotto of Venus.</p> - -<p>Though "Parsifal" endures a separation of its -poetic, scenic, and musical elements less graciously -than any other drama of its creator, it is the music -which must be relied on to bring about a reconciliation -between modern thought and feeling, and -the monkish theology and relic worship which I -have discussed. The music reflects the spirit of -that Divine Passion which is the kernel of theological -Christianity. There is extremely little music -in the score, which is descriptive of external -things—less than in any other of Wagner's works -except "Die Meistersinger." It is like that of -"Tristan und Isolde," which deals much more -with mental and psychic states than with the outward -things of nature. It is music for the imagination -rather than the fancy. In listening to it -one can be helped by bearing in mind the distinction -so beautifully made by Ruskin:</p> - -<p>"The fancy sees the outside, and is able to give -a portrait of the outside, clear, brilliant, and full -of detail.</p> - -<p>"The imagination sees the heart and inner nature, -and makes them felt, but is often obscure, -mysterious, and interrupted in its giving out of -outer detail.</p> - -<p>"Fancy, as she stays at the externals, can never -feel. She is one of the hardest-hearted of the intellectual -faculties, or, rather, one of the most purely -and simply intellectual. She cannot be made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> -serious, no edge-tool but she will play with; -whereas the imagination is in all things the reverse. -She cannot be but serious; she sees too -far, too darkly, too solemnly, too earnestly ever -to smile. There is something in the heart of everything, -if we can reach it, that we shall not be -inclined to laugh at.</p> - -<p>"Now observe, while as it penetrates into the -nature of things, the imagination is pre-eminently -a beholder of things as they are, it is, in its creative -function, an eminent beholder of things when -and where they are not; a seer, that is, in the -prophetic sense, calling the things that are not as -though they were; and forever delighting to dwell -on that which is not tangibly present.... Fancy -plays like a squirrel in its circular prison and is -happy; but imagination is a pilgrim on the earth, -and her home is in heaven."</p> - -<p>The fundamental elements of the music of -"Parsifal" are suffering and aspiration. When -they are apprehended the ethical purpose of the -drama becomes plain. But not till then.</p> - - -<h3>II.</h3> - -<p>The investigations of scholars determined long -ago that the legend which is at the bottom of -Wagner's drama is formed of two portions which -were once distinct. One of these portions is con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>cerned -with the origin and wanderings of the -Holy Grail prior to the time when it became the -object of the Quest which occupied so much of the -attention of the knights of King Arthur's Round -Table; the second portion is concerned with that -Quest. The relative age of the two portions of -the legend and the genesis of each have caused -much controversy, which has thrown a great deal -of light on mediæval civilization. We are little -concerned in that controversy, however, except so -far as it enlightens us as to the real nature of the -legend, and helps us to understand how the Grail -became the loftiest symbol of Christian faith, and -the Grail Quest the highest duty of Christian -knighthood.</p> - -<p>Formerly it was believed that the Grail was the -product of Christian legends which had become -grafted on the Arthurian romances. Now it is asserted, -and with much show of probability, that -the Grail, like those romances, is Celtic in origin, -and became what it is represented in the legend -by being endowed with a symbolism which originally -it lacked. For our view of the case, since we -are not concerned with literary criticism, this, too, -is a matter of indifference, except so far as it helps -us to understand a proposition much broader and -more significant. The Holy Grail and the Seeker -after it are both relics of what, long before Christianity -was in existence, was a universal possession -among Aryan peoples. Each has a multitude -of prototypes among the mythological apparatus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> -and personages of the peoples of the Indo-European -family. To the class of popular heroes which -figure in the tales whose essential elements Von -Hahn has formulated in his <cite>Arische Aussetzung -und Rückkehr Formel</cite> (see Chapter IV.), Parsifal -belongs as well as Siegfried. A parallel between -the two might be carried through many details of -their early life and riper adventures. Both are -born to a mother, far from her home, of a father -who is dead; both are brought up in a wilderness; -both are in youth passionate and violent of disposition; -both are thrown for companionship on the -animals of the forests in which they are reared. -There are other elements held in common by the -tales of which Wagner makes no mention in his -version of the Percival legend. A significant one -is the mending of a broken sword, a talisman, -which act in the old Percival legends, as well as in -the tale of Siegfried, is the sign of the hero's election -to a high mission; but this need not now detain -us.</p> - -<p>Wagner has been much criticized for changing -the name of his hero from Percival or Percivale, -as we know it in English literature, and Parzival, -as he found it in the greatest of all the Grail epics, -that of Wolfram von Eschenbach, to Parsifal. -Criticism of this kind is often wasted. In making -the change Wagner exercised a poet's privilege -for an obvious purpose—he made the name an -index of his hero's moral character. The suggestion -came from Görres. According to this scholar,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> -whose derivation has long been set aside as fanciful, -<em>Fal</em> in the Arabian tongue signifies "foolish," -and <em>Parsi</em> "pure one." By changing the order -of the words we obtain Parsi-fal—pure, or -guileless, fool. It is thus that Kundry expounds -his name to the hero in Wagner's drama, when -she tells him the story of his birth. In Wolfram's -poem he is also called foolish because his mother -dressed him in motley when he left her, broken-hearted, -to go out into the world in search of -knighthood. The French Perceval signifies simply -one who goes "through the Valley." A Welsh -tale of at least equal antiquity with the preserved -French romances calls the hero Peredur, which has -been interpreted into "the seeker after the basin or -the dish," this signification being again in harmony -with the principal incident of the French form of -the legend, <em>greal</em> in old French meaning a dish. -Wolfram, under the influence of his model, claims -nothing for the name of his hero except that it -means "right through the middle," but Meyer-Markau, -who seems to have accepted the theory -that the tale is originally Keltic, strove to give -dramatic propriety to the name by pointing out -that in Welsh, Breton, and Cornish, <em>par</em> signifies -lad; <em>syw</em>, in Welsh, clad or decorated, and <em>fall</em>, -scantily, poorly, ill, foolishly, wretchedly. Out of -these words, then, he compounded <em>Par-syw-fall</em>, a -lad who is ill-clad. Plausibility, if nothing else, is -lent to this derivation by the circumstances under -which the hero's mother sent him out into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> -world. In the hope that the rude treatment which -would be heaped upon him would return him to -her arms, she dressed him in fool's clothing:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"'Thorenkleider soll mein Kind<br /> -An seinem lichten Leibe tragen:<br /> -Schlägt und rauft man ihn darum,<br /> -So kommt er mir wohl wieder.'<br /> -Weh, was litt die Arme da!<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nun nahm sie grobes Sacktuch her</span><br /> -Und schnitt ihm Hemd und Hose draus<br /> -In einem Stück, das bis zum Knie<br /> -Des nackten Beins nur reichte.<br /> -Das war als Narrenkleid bekannt.<br /> -Oben sah man eine Kappe."<a name="FNanchor_J_10" id="FNanchor_J_10"></a> -<a href="#Footnote_J_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a></p> -</div> -</div> - - -<h3>III.</h3> - -<p>Interesting as this speculation is, however, we -are now concerned only with one element of it. -Whatever his name may signify, it is obvious that -Parsifal was an innocent, a <em>simplex</em>, a fool. It is -this trait which enables us to identify him with -his prototype in Aryan folk-lore. He is the hero -of what the English folk-lorists call "The Great -Fool Tales," and the Germans "<cite>Dümmlingsmärchen</cite>." -In the following outline of a very old -poetic narrative of the Kelts, called by students -"The Lay of the Great Fool," may be found all -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>that part of Parsifal's youthful history which, in -Wagner's drama, is learned either from his own -lips or those of Kundry:</p> - - -<p>Once there were two knightly brothers, of whom -one was childless while the other had two sons. -A strife breaks out between them, and the father -is slain with his sons. The wicked knight then -sends word to the widow that if she should give -birth to another son, he, too, must be put to -death. She does give birth to a son, and to save -his life sends him into the wilderness to be reared -by a kitchen wench who has a love-son. The lads -grow up strong and hardy. One day the knightly -lad runs down a deer, kills it, and of its skin -makes himself a motley suit of clothes. He slays -his foster-brother for laughing at him in his -strange dress, catches a wild horse, rides to his -uncle's palace, and though when asked his name -he can only answer "Great Fool," he is recognized. -Thus his adventures begin. He avenges -the wrongs of his mother. This Great Fool is the -original Seeker after the Grail.</p> - - -<h3>IV.</h3> - -<p>Among the oldest manuscripts which contain -the Quest story there are two which make no mention -of the Holy Grail as a Christian relic or symbol. -The most interesting of these is Welsh, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> -is known as the Mabinogi (<em>i. e.</em>, the Juvenile Tale) -of "Peredur, the Son of Evrawc." It is an Arthurian -story, and the majority of its adventures are -identical with those of Percival. Its beginning is -a parallel of "The Lay of the Great Fool." The -Holy Grail of the Percival romances is replaced -by a bleeding lance, a bloody head on a salver, -and a silver dish. These talismans are brought -into the hall of a castle belonging to a lame king, -and are greeted with loud lamentations by the -assembled knights. In the French romances the -talismans are the Holy Grail and the bleeding -lance, the latter being identified, as in Sir Thomas -Malory's "Morte d'Arthur," with the spear with -which Longinus opened the side of the crucified -Christ. As Percival is condemned in these romances -for a long time to wander in fruitless search -of this castle, because having seen the wonders he -did not ask their meaning, so Peredur, in the Welsh -romance, is cursed in the Court of King Arthur for -a similar neglect. Had he asked, the lame king -would have got well of his wound, and Peredur -would have proved his fitness to avenge the death -of his cousin, who was the lame king's son, and -had been killed by the sorceresses of Gloucester. -After many trials, tallying with those of Percival -in the French romances and Parzival in Wolfram's -poem, Peredur finds the castle again (where he had -on his first visit united the pieces of a broken -sword and cut through an iron staple, as Siegfried -split the anvil), is recognized as the nephew of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> -king, and avenges his cousin's death by leading -Arthur and his knights against the sorceresses of -Gloucester. There are some allusions to the Christian -religion in the old tale, but essentially it is -pagan. The bloody head and bleeding lance are -part of ancient British legendary apparatus.</p> - -<p>A bleeding lance, says Mr. Alfred Nutt,<a name="FNanchor_K_11" id="FNanchor_K_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_K_11" class="fnanchor">[K]</a> is the -bardic symbol of undying hatred of the Saxon. -Here it bled till the death of Peredur's cousin was -avenged. The bloody head was the head of that -cousin.</p> - - -<h3>V.</h3> - -<p>We find in Parsifal on his entrance only a -thoughtless, impetuous forest lad, unlearned in the -affairs of life, utterly unconscious of its conventions—in -short, another young Siegfried. He is -the hero of the "Great Fool" stories, but in the -process of Christianizing the character a new meaning -has been given to the epithet. He is a chosen -vessel for a divine deed, because he is a pure or -guileless fool. In this, though the suggestion was -derived from the old Aryan folk-tales, we are -obliged to see a new, a Christian symbolism, the -spirit of which may be found in Christ's words, -"Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God -as a <em>little child</em> shall not enter it." In Wagner's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> -conception of the legend it was necessary that the -hero be one as guiltless of all knowledge of sin as -he was of the necessity and nature of salvation. -Enlightenment was to come to him through compassion -or fellow-suffering, and this enlightenment -was to enable him in turn to resist temptation and -bring surcease of suffering to Amfortas, Kundry, -and the community of Grail knights. In his musical -phrase as it enters the drama with him one -may hear chiefly his youthful energy, but also a -certain innate dignity, a germ of nobility which -contains the possibility of the stupendous proclamation -which greets him on his entrance into the -Castle of the Grail in the last act. But there is -another element in the typical music of "Parsifal" -which chiefly we recognize in its bright, assertive, -militant rhythm. It is the chivalric element which -may also be noticed in the brilliant phrase with -which Lohengrin, the son of Parsifal, is greeted -by the populace in the earlier drama of Wagner's. -This kinship need not be set down as fanciful. -There are few features of Wagnerian study more -interesting than the tracing of spiritual and material -parallels between the composer's own melodies. -As a writer uses forms of expression which resemble -each other to express related ideas, so Wagner -has frequently recurred in his later works to -melodic phrases and modulations which he had -used with like intent many years before. In two -cases he made a direct quotation. Hans Sachs's -allusion to the story of Tristram and Iseult in Act<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> -III. of "Die Meistersinger" is accompanied by -the fundamental melody of "Tristan und Isolde," -and the swan which Parsifal kills comes fluttering -across the scene and dies to a reminiscence of the -swan harmonies in "Lohengrin."</p> - - -<p>In his character as the mystically chosen Agent -of the Grail and the instrument of salvation, Parsifal -is also typified in the music by the phrase to -which the oracular promise which appeared on the -Holy Vessel is repeated in the first scene, and again -with great solemnity in the ceremony of the Adoration -of the Grail.</p> - - -<h3>VI.</h3> - -<p>Prototypes of the Quest of the Grail and of the -Quester have been found in popular tales which -have nothing to do with Christianity. Until the -talisman became a symbol of religion, the object -of the search for it was simply the performance -of a sacred duty by the hero to his family, by -avenging a death, healing the lingering illness of -a relative, or in some instances (which connect the -Grail legends with stories of the Barbarossa kind) -to bring freedom to individuals whose lives have -been miraculously and burdensomely prolonged. -The talisman itself is to be found in a multitude -of forms, from the dawn of literature down to today. -To recognize it we must study its properties -rather than its shape or material. In the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> -legend of the Holy Grail it is the chalice used by -Christ</p> - -<p class="p1 small1 center"> -"At the last sad supper with his own,"</p> - -<p>in which afterwards his blood was caught. In -one form of the legend—that which is most familiar, -because of Tennyson's "Idyls of the King"—this -cup is carried to Great Britain by Joseph of -Arimathea and deposited at Glastonbury. In another -form, which was that adopted by Wagner, -it is given into the keeping of Titurel, who builds -a sanctuary for it on Monsalvat (the Mountain -of Salvation), where it is guarded by a body of -knights obviously organized on the model of the -Knights Templars of the Crusades. It is not always -a cup. Wolfram von Eschenbach describes -it as a jewel. But whether stone or cup (and we -shall find prototypes of both forms) its miraculous -properties are of two kinds.</p> - -<p>The first of these properties is purely physical: -the talisman feeds its possessor; the second is -spiritual: the talisman is a touchstone, an oracle. -In the perfect form of the legend both these -properties are united, as we see in Wagner's -drama: the Grail chooses those who are to serve -it, and nourishes them miraculously. It also predicts -the coming of Parsifal. This is the case, -too, in Wolfram's poem, where the names of the -elect appear in glowing letters upon the jewel, -and its guardian knights, whom Wolfram calls -<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Templeisen</i>, are fed by it, this miraculous power<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> -being refreshed every Friday by the coming of -a dove bringing the sacred host and placing it -upon the jewel, which Wolfram calls the "Graal," -in defiance of the etymology which makes the -word mean dish. Wolfram calls it "<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">lapsit exillis</i>;" -but Wolfram, though he composed the -grandest of all mediæval poems, could neither -read nor write, so his Latin has caused not a little -brain-cudgelling among the learned. A most ingenious -guess is that of Professor Martin, who -thinks <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">lapsit exillis</i> is a corruption of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">lapsi de -Cælis</i>—that is, the stone of him who fell from -heaven. In support of this there is the poem -about the contest of the minstrels in the Wartburg, -which describes the Grail as a jewel which -fell from the crown of Lucifer when the Archangel -Michael tore it from his head. This origin -of the Grail connects it with the black stone in -the Kaaba at Mecca, which was originally white, -but has been blackened by the sins of mankind. -The legend says that it was once the angel set as a -guard over Adam. He was cast down from heaven -in the form of a stone for being derelict in duty.</p> - -<p>The Grail's property of furnishing sustenance -is the possession of so many talismans of ancient -story that it would be a waste of space to enumerate -them all. The most striking examples -must suffice. A horn was the earliest drinking-vessel. -The horn which the nymph Amalthea -gave to Hercules, whose memory we still preserve -in those pretty toys called cornucopias—horns of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> -plenty—is easily recalled in this connection. The -Grail is nothing else than the Philosopher's Stone -which was to transmute all baser metals into -gold; it is the stone which Noah was commanded -to hang up in the Ark that it might give out -light; it is the goblet which Oberon gave to -Huon of Bordeaux, which in the hands of a good -man became filled with wine; it is the golden cup -which was given to Hercules by the sun-god Helios; -it is the cup of Hermes, which played a part -in the Eleusinian mysteries; it is the magic napkin -or table-cloth of Aryan fairy-lore which produced -all manner of food simply for the wishing; -it has its fellows in three of the thirteen Rarities -of Kingly Regalia which were preserved in Arthur's -Court at Caerleon, viz., the horn of Bran -the Hardy of the North—the drink that might -be desired of it would appear as soon as wished -for; the Budget or Basket of Gwyddno with the -High Crown—provision for a single person if put -into it multiplied a hundredfold; the table-cloth -(in one manuscript it is called the dish) of Rhydderch -the Scholar—whatever victuals or drink -were wished thereon were instantly obtained. It -is the stone in the serpent's tail told about in the -old Welsh story of Peredur, the virtue of which -was that it would give as much gold to the possessor -as he might desire. It is the magic ring -Draupnir of Scandinavian mythology which every -ninth night dropped eight other rings of equal -weight and fineness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> - -<p>But of prototypes of this class the most striking -in its relation to the Holy Grail is found in -the legendary lore of the primitive home of the -Aryan race. Long ago the Holy Grail was the -Golden Cup of Jamshid, King of the Genii in Persia, -the power of which extended his career over -seven hundred years, and then left him to die because -he failed to look upon it for ten days. Here -we have a parallel of the legend of Joseph of Arimathea, -of whom it is said that the Jews having -thrown him into a subterranean prison after he -and Nicodemus had prepared the body of Christ -for burial, Christ appeared to him and brought -the chalice which he had used at the Last Supper, -and in which Joseph had caught the blood which -flowed from his wounds. The sight of this dish -kept Joseph alive forty-two years, until he was released -by the Emperor Vespasian, who had been -miraculously cured of leprosy in his youth by a -touch of the kerchief of Veronica with which -Christ wiped his face while on his way to Calvary. -Like Joseph of Arimathea, Wagner's Titurel lives -in his grave, being sustained by the Grail until -Amfortas refuses longer to unveil it.</p> - -<p>The second property of the Grail, its spiritual -property, is also found in the talismans of ancient -folk-lore. It was possessed by the silver cup -which Joseph in Egypt had put into Benjamin's -sack that he might be brought back to him. -"Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost -overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> -rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which -my lord drinketh and whereby, indeed, he divineth?"<a name="FNanchor_L_12" id="FNanchor_L_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_L_12" class="fnanchor">[L]</a> -There is a Hebrew legend (told in the -<cite>Clavicula Salomonis</cite>) to the effect that "the supernatural -knowledge of Solomon was recorded -in a volume which Rehoboam inclosed in an ivory -ewer and deposited in his father's tomb. On repairing -the sepulchre, some wise men of Babylon -discovered the cup, and having extracted the volume, -an angel revealed the key to its mysterious -writing to one Troes, a Greek, and hence the -stream of occult science which has so beneficially -unfolded the destinies of the West."<a name="FNanchor_M_13" id="FNanchor_M_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_M_13" class="fnanchor">[M]</a> There is -a parallel story in Greek literature telling how, -warned by the Delphic oracle, Aristomenes secreted -an article while the Lacedemonians were storming -the fortress of Mount Ira. The article was to -be a talisman for the future security of the Messinians. -When, later, the talisman was exhumed -it was "found to be a brazen ewer containing a -roll of finely-beaten tin on which were inscribed -the mysteries of the great divinities."<a name="FNanchor_N_14" id="FNanchor_N_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_N_14" class="fnanchor">[N]</a> The Holy -Grail is a divining-cup: it speaks oracularly, like -its prototypes. It was not only the chalice from -which Christ drank at the Last Supper, but also -the dish which discovered Judas as the future betrayer -of his master: "He that dippeth his hand -with me in the dish, the same shall betray me."<a name="FNanchor_O_15" id="FNanchor_O_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_O_15" class="fnanchor">[O]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> -<h3>VII.</h3> - -<p>The Grail romances, as we possess them, were -written within the fifty years compassing the last -quarter of the twelfth and the first quarter of the -thirteenth centuries—that is to say, while the third -and fourth crusades were in progress, and the memory -of the supposed discoveries of the sacred cup -and lance were still fresh in the minds of Europeans. -This fact furnishes ample suggestion as to -how such talismans as I have mentioned became -transformed into the relics of Christ's passion. It -was by a literary process that has always been -familiar to the world. The species of belief or -superstition which inspired the transformation is -not yet dead. If we are to believe Father Ignatius -the miracle of the Grail vision was repeated but -recently at Llanthony Abbey in Wales, where an -Episcopal monk saw the chalice shining through -the oaken doors of the cabinet which enclosed it. -That is a Christian form of the belief; evidences -of a pagan may be observed in nearly all civilized -communities almost any date. When you see a -baby cutting its teeth upon a red bit of bone, or -ivory shaped like a branch of coral and tricked out -with bells, you see a relic of an unspeakably ancient -superstition closely allied to the belief in -these miraculous talismans. When you see a baby -with a string of red coral beads around its neck<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> -you see another. In Wagner, as in Tennyson, the -Grail shines red:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw25"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Fainter by day, but always in the night<br /> -Blood-red, and sliding down the blacken'd marsh<br /> -Blood-red, and on the naked mountain-top<br /> -Blood-red, and in the sleeping mere below<br /> -Blood-red."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Now note this truth of vast significance: the -essential element in the Grail, whether seen as a -chalice or as a salver containing a head, <em>is the blood</em>. -The meaning of this need not be sought far. The -human imagination cannot be projected into the -past sufficiently far to picture the time when the -awful idea of a bloody atonement did not confront -humanity. Hence it is that in pagan mythology -blood is the symbol of creative power, as the cups, -horns, dishes, ewers, were symbols of fecundity, -abundance, and vivification. The essence of the -Grail myth is the reproductive power of the blood -of a slain god. The application which lies so near -in a study of the Christian symbolism of the Grail -cannot fail. I omit it in order to trace the evolution -of the idea in a pagan talisman whose history -the ingenuity of Dr. Gustave Oppert, a German -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">savant</i>, has disclosed to us. When Perseus cut off -the head of the Medusa he placed the bleeding -member on the sward near the sea-coast. The -blood transformed the grass that it dyed into a -red stone which was found to have marvellous -healing power. This belief is expressed in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> -poems descriptive of the virtues of stones which -are attributed to Orpheus. Dr. Oppert traces the -record touching the curative powers of coral into -the book of a Christian bishop of the twelfth century, -and thence into a Latin work printed in -Strassburg in 1473, in which allusions to the Orphic -songs and the Christian religion are blended. Wolfram's -alleged model, Kyot, professes to have derived -his account of the Grail from the book of a -pagan called Flegetanis, written in Arabic and deposited -at Toledo. Now, Dr. Oppert finds an Arabic -physician and philosopher of the tenth century -who describes coral as having a strengthening -and nourishing influence upon the heart, which belief -seems recognized again in a bit of mediæval -etymology which compounds the word of <em>cor</em> and -<em>alere</em>. Mediæval Latin poems express the belief -that peculiar properties of sustenance are possessed -by coral, and, finally, in a book entitled <cite>Musæum -Metallicum</cite> it is defined as a memorial of the -blood of Christ. In its physical attributes coral -and the Grail are now identical. Had Dr. Oppert -wished, he might have gone further and quoted -Pliny's remark that the Indian soothsayers and -diviners "look upon coral as an amulet endowed -with sacred properties and a sure preservative -against all dangers; hence it is that they equally -value it as an ornament and as an object of devotion."<a name="FNanchor_P_16" id="FNanchor_P_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_P_16" class="fnanchor">[P]</a> -Here spiritual properties are attributed -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>to it; but also physical. Pliny says that calcined -coral is used as an ingredient for compositions for -the eyes; that it makes flesh (very significant this) -in cavities left by ulcers. In his day it was hung -about the necks of infants to preserve them against -danger. The Romans thought that it preserved -and fastened the teeth of children when hung -about their necks. Paracelsus prescribed coral -necklaces as preservatives "against fits, sorcery, -charms, and poison," and an old English writer -makes it disclose the presence of sickness in a -wearer by turning pale and wan. Here it is a -touchstone, and this superstition has penetrated to -the United States. In our day I have been told -by devoted mothers that coral beads strengthen -the eyes. When the present Crown-prince of Italy -was born in Naples the municipality presented the -royal babe with a coral cradle.</p> - - -<p>Thus much for the genesis of the Grail, its -Quest, and its Quester. We have seen that they -are all relics of a time antedating Christianity; but -that fact only adds interest to them, for even in -their pagan guises they show those potential attributes -which adapted them to receive the lofty -symbolism which they acquired under the influence -of Christianity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>VIII.</h3> - -<p>It is in the prelude to the drama that the fundamental -elements of suffering and aspiration are -most eloquently proclaimed. The visible symbol -of suffering among the personages of the play is -Amfortas. He, too, has come into the Christianized -legend from the secular romances and folk-tales. -In the earlier forms he is simply the representative -of unsatisfied vengeance, symbolized -in the bardic emblem of the bleeding lance. In -the French romances and Wolfram's poem he is a -royal fisherman—a singular fact, which critics with -a taste for hidden meanings have sought to explain -by references to the circumstance that in -the early Church a fish was a symbol for Christ, the -letters composing its name in Greek, ICHTHYS, -being the initial letters of the brief but comprehensive -creed, <cite>Iesous Christos, Theou Yios, Soter</cite> -(Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour). But always, -even in the Welsh tale, he is a sufferer whose -healing depends on the asking of a question by a -predestined hero. In the Mabinogi of Peredur -and the French romances the question goes simply -to the meaning of the talismans which are -solemnly displayed. Wolfram deepens the ethical -significance of the question immeasurably by -changing it to "What ails thee, uncle?" It is the -sympathy thus manifested that brings the fisher-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>king's -sufferings to an end; and the failure to ask -the question on the first visit, through a too literal -interpretation of the advice given while Parzival -was receiving his education in chivalry, is -the cause of the long wanderings and many trials -which test and temper the religious nature of -Parzival. Wagner, by ignoring the question which -plays so important a role in all the other versions, -and making the healing of Amfortas depend upon -a touch of the sacred lance, has gained a theatrical -effect at the expense of a profoundly beautiful -ethical principle. He has also laid himself -open to a charge of inconsistency which, strangely -enough, seems to have escaped the attention -of his many inimical critics in Germany. The -prohibited question is the dramatic <em>motif</em> upon -which the story of Percival's son, Lohengrin, is -reared:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Nie sollst du mich befragen,<br /> -Noch Wissens Sorge tragen,<br /> -Woher ich kam der Fahrt,<br /> -Noch wie mein Nam' und Art!"</p> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>The reason of the prohibition may be learned -from Wolfram von Eschenbach. The sufferings -of Amfortas having been needlessly prolonged by -Parzival's failure to ask the healing question, the -Knights of the Grail thereafter refused to permit -themselves to be questioned:</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw20"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"Als die Taufe nun geschen,<br /> -Fand am Grale man geschrieben:<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> -'Welchen Templer Gottes Hand<br /> -Fremdem Volk zum Herren gäbe,<br /> -Fragen sollt' er widerraten<br /> -Nach seinem Namen und Geschlecht,<br /> -Und dann zum Recht ihm helfen.<br /> -Wird die Frage doch gethan,<br /> -So bleibt er ihnen länger nicht.'<br /> -Weil der gute Amfortas<br /> -So lang im bittern Schemerzen lag,<br /> -Und ihn die Frage lange mied,<br /> -Ist ihnen alles Fragen leid:<br /> -All des Grales Dienstgesellen<br /> -Wolln sich nicht mehr fragen lassen."<a name="FNanchor_Q_17" id="FNanchor_Q_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_Q_17" class="fnanchor">[Q]</a></p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Wagner utilized the <em>motif</em> in "Lohengrin," but -ignored it in "Parsifal."</p> - -<p>The suffering of Amfortas, which came upon -him because he, the King of the Grail, fell from -the estate of bodily purity enjoined by the rules -of the order, receives more eloquent expression -than any of the other feelings which enter the -drama. In Wagner's philosophical scheme it, as -well as the tortures of conscience felt by Parsifal -when Kundry's impure kiss awakens him to consciousness -of transgression, recalls the vicarious -suffering of Christ on the Cross. In the personal -history of Parsifal, furthermore, it is associated -with the death-agonies of his mother, who died -because he left her to go in search of knighthood. -The name of this mother Wagner changes so that -it becomes a symbol of pain. It is Herzeleide—that -is, Heart's-sorrow, or Heart's-suffering, the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>antithesis of our sweet English word Heart's-ease. -The phrases which give the predominant mood of -agony and pain to the music of the drama, which, -as I have already said, reflect the spirit of theological -Christianity, salvation through sacrifice, are -these:</p> - -<p><em>First.</em> The melody to which in the ceremony of -the Adoration of the Grail the sacramental formula -is pronounced: "Take ye My Body, take My -Blood, in token of our Love."</p> - - -<p><em>Second.</em> The personal melody of Amfortas.</p> - -<p><em>Third.</em> The symbol of Herzeleide. Parsifal's -mother, does not enter the drama, but is only spoken -of; yet a typical phrase is allotted to her, and -is introduced for the first time under circumstances -that are profoundly poetical and pathetic. Parsifal -is being questioned by Gurnemanz. To all interrogations -save one he has the single answer, "I -do not know." Asked his name, he answers: "Once -I had many, but now I remember none." This -answer is accompanied by the Herzeleide phrase. -To find the clue to this somewhat enigmatic proceeding -resort must be had to Wagner's model -Wolfram, where it is said of the lad's mother that</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"A thousand times she said tenderly:<br /> -'<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bon fils, cher fils, beau fils.</i>'"</p> -</div> -</div> - - -<p>These were the names which Parsifal once knew -but had forgotten. They are associated in his -mind with his mother, and therefore the allusion -is accompanied by the Herzeleide phrase.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> - -<p><em>Fourth.</em> The phrase to which in the memorial -ceremony of Christ's suffering the words are sung:</p> - - -<div class="poetry-container pw15"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p>"For a world that slumbered<br /> -With sorrows unnumbered<br /> -He once His own blood offered."</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It is this phrase that lends such great poignancy -to the music which accompanies Parsifal and -Gurnemanz as they walk towards the Castle of -the Grail.</p> - -<p>In the prelude suffering has its expression in the -first of these phrases, whose concluding figure in -the second part reaches an expression of agony -like the cry that rent the air of Calvary even as -the curtain of the temple was rent in twain: "<cite>Eli, -Eli, lama sabachthani?</cite>" Aspiration is proclaimed -by the symbol of the Grail itself, the familiar Amen -formula of the Dresden Court Church, an ethereal -phrase which soars ever upward towards the zenith -of tonality. The melody of Faith is marked -by lofty firmness, and derives a peculiar emphasis -from successive repetition in remote keys.</p> - -<p>For the prelude, whose melodic material has -been thus marshalled, we have Wagner's own poetic -exposition:</p> - -<p>"Strong and firm does Faith reveal itself, elevated -and resolute even in suffering. In answer to the -renewed promise the voice of Faith sounds softly -from dimmest heights—as though borne on the -wings of the snow-white dove—slowly descending, -embracing with ever-increasing breadth and ful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>ness -the heart of man, filling the world and the -whole of nature with mightiest force; then, as -though stilled to rest, glancing upward again towards -the light of heaven. Then once more from -the awe of solitude arises the lament of loving -compassion, the agony, the holy sweat of the -Mount of Olives, the divine sufferings of Golgotha; -the body blanches, the blood streams forth and -glows now with the heavenly glow of blessing in -the chalice, pouring forth on all that lives and languishes -the gracious gift of Redemption through -Love. For him we are prepared, for Amfortas, -the sinful guardian of the shrine who, with fearful -rue for sin gnawing at his heart, must prostrate -himself before the chastisement of the vision of -the Grail. Shall there be redemption from the devouring -torments of his soul? Yet once again we -hear the promise and—hope!"</p> - - -<h3>IX.</h3> - -<p>The first act of the drama treats of the election -of the hero, the guileless simpleton of the talismanic -oracle. In the second stage of the action -the hero is proved by temptation. All the elements -here are derived from legendary stories, -but in their combination Wagner has proceeded -with remarkable dramatic power, freedom, and ingenuity. -The apparatus is magical. Klingsor, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> -pervasive personage in mediæval sorcery; Kundry, -the repulsive messenger of the Grail no longer, -but a supernaturally beautiful siren; a magic garden -and castle, and a bevy of maidens, whose office -it is to stimulate the senses by suggesting an -appeal to all of them at once (they are half human, -half floral)—these are the agencies of Parsifal's -temptation. The prototype of the scene in old -mythologies and folk-lore is a visit to a bespelled -castle where generally the hero succumbs to sensual -weakness of some kind; he eats of proffered -food and loses his speech; or he asks a question -which is <em>tabu</em>; or he fails to ask a question which -is commanded; or falls asleep; or fails to bring -away a talisman which has opened the castle to -him; or he falls as Tannhäuser fell. As a rule the -castle vanishes at the end of the adventure, as it -does in "Parsifal," when the hero resists Kundry's -love-spell, seizes the lance which the magician -launches against him, and with it makes the sign -of the cross and pronounces a formula of exorcism. -Often the purpose of the visit is to release -a damsel who is bespelled or imprisoned. Students -of comparative folk-lore have found the -mythological essence of the stories of this class to -lie in a visit to the underworld. Siegfried achieved -an analogous adventure when he penetrated the -wall of fire, and awakened Brünnhilde from the -spell of sleep in which she was held.</p> - -<p>Klingsor is remotely connected with the history -of two other dramas of Wagner. In the poem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> -describing the Contest of Minstrelsy held in the -Wartburg which Wagner blended with the legend -of Tannhäuser, Klingsor is a magician and minstrel -of Hungary, and to him Heinrich von Effterdingen, -otherwise Tannhäuser, appeals when defeated -by Wolfram von Eschenbach, who is not -only the author of the poem "Parzival," but also -the tuneful minstrel who sings a woful ballad to -the evening star in Wagner's opera. In his epic -Wolfram makes Klingsor a nephew of the renowned -magician Virgilius of Naples.<a name="FNanchor_R_18" id="FNanchor_R_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_R_18" class="fnanchor">[R]</a></p> - -<p>Cyriacus Spangenberg, who wrote a book on -the Art of the Master-singers in 1598, devotes -several pages to Klingsor, describing him as the -greatest master-singer of his age, who met all comers -in poetical combat and overthrew them to the -number of fifty-two. He was finally confounded -by Wolfram von Eschenbach, who discovered his -dependence on the Powers of Evil, and put both -him and his familiar, a devil called Nazian, to -shame by singing the glories of the Son of God -become Man.</p> - -<p>"Kundry," says Mr. Alfred Nutt, "is Wagner's -greatest contribution to the legend. She is the -Herodias whom Christ, for her laughter, doomed -to wander till He come again." The manner in -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>which Wagner compounded this, his most striking -and original dramatic character, is the most marvellous -of his poetical achievements in the drama. -Kundry draws her elements from the Grail romances, -from Christian legends, from fairy tales, -and from the profoundest depths of the poet's imagination. -In the Welsh tale her prototype is -the hero's cousin, who is under a spell, and in accordance -with the popular tale formula appears -as a loathly damsel until her kinsman achieves -the vengeance demanded by family ties. Then -she appears in her true form as a handsome youth. -In Wolfram, Kundrie la Sorcière is only the Grail -Messenger, and as such is hideous of appearance; -the temptress of the Magic Garden is a beauteous -damsel named Orgeluse. Wagner united both attributes -in his creation. As a penitent, seeking -atonement for sin committed, she is a loathly -damsel in the service of the Grail. As a siren she -is a tool of Klingsor, to whose power she is subject -while asleep. She has innumerable prototypes -in fairy-lore, who are released from wicked -spells by the kisses of handsome princes, the fidelity -of husbands, or the granting of their wills, as -in "The Marriage of Sir Gawaine." In Wagner, -the dissolution of the spell releases her from a -double curse. The suggestion to make use of the -Herodias legend lies near enough in both the -Mabinogi of Peredur and Wolfram's epic. The -Templeisen, as Wolfram calls his Knights of the -Grail, were an order obviously patterned after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> -Knights Templars, who were accused among other -things of having secretly worshipped a head which -they credited with the virtues of the talismans -that I have discussed. Their patron saint was -John the Baptist, and when the vessel of green -glass, so long and piously revered as the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">santo catino</i>, -was brought back by crusaders seven hundred -years ago, it was deposited in the Chapel of -St. John at Genoa. A relic of the John the Baptist -cult has survived among the Knights Templar, -a branch of the Order of Free Masons, to -this day. That the talisman of a bloody head -upon a salver in the Welsh tale should have suggested -the Herodias legend is obvious enough. -Wagner's transformation of the legend, accomplished -for the purpose of identifying his Kundry -with Herodias, is extremely suggestive and felicitous. -According to the old tale, Herodias was in -love with the prophet of the New Dispensation. -After the dance before Herod and its awful consequences, -she secretly crept to the head upon the -salver for the purpose of covering it with tears -and kisses. At that moment a blast issued from -the dead lips which sent Herodias flying off into -space. Thus she is still driven forward, permitted -to rest only from midnight to dawn, when she sits -cowering under willow and hazel copses, and bemoans -her fate. In Wagner she becomes a Wandering -Jewess. She saw Christ staggering under -the burden of the Cross and laughed. His glance -fell upon her, and doomed her to wander cease<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>lessly -without the sweet refuge of tears, subject -to the powers of evil, yet longing to make atonement -by deeds of virtue. These characteristics -Wagner developed with marvellous dramatic power -in the music which he associates with her, and -which is equally wild and hysterical, whether it -picture her flying along on a horse doing errands -in the service of the Grail, or in one of those fits -of mad laughter to which the curse makes her -subject.</p> - -<p>Yet Kundry, to proceed with Mr. Nutt, "would -find release and salvation could a man resist her -love spell. She knows this. The scene between -the unwilling temptress, whose success would but -doom her afresh, and the virgin Parsifal thus becomes -tragic in the extreme. How does this -affect Amfortas and the Grail? In this way: Parsifal -is the pure fool, knowing naught of sin or suffering. -It had been foretold of him that he should -become 'wise by fellow-suffering,' and so it proves. -The overmastering rush of desire unseals his eyes, -clears his mind. Heart-wounded by the shaft of -passion, he feels Amfortas' torture thrill through -him. The pain of the physical wound is his, but -far more, the agony of the sinner who has been -unworthy of his high trust, and who, soiled by -carnal sin, must yet daily come in contact with -the Grail, symbol of the highest purity and holiness. -The strength of the new-born knowledge -enables him to resist sensual longing, and thereby -to release both Kundry and Amfortas."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> - - -<h3>X.</h3> - -<p>In spite of this, however, and more than this, in -spite of all the religious mysticism with which the -work can be infused by the analyst and interpreter, -I cannot but question the right of "Parsifal" to -be considered as in any sense a reflex of the religious -feeling of to-day. It is beautiful in much of -its symbolism, and it is profound; but it is too -persistently mediæval in its dramatic manifestations -to satisfy the intelligence of the nineteenth -century. The adoration of the relics of Christ's -passion, and the idea that all human virtues are -summed up in celibate chastity, were products of -an age whose theories and practices as regards sex -relationship can have no echo in modern civilization. -Wolfram von Eschenbach's married Parzival, -who clings with fond devotion to the memory -of the wife from whose arms he had to tear himself -in order to undertake the quest, and who -loses himself in tender brooding for a long time -when the sight of blood-spots on the snow suggests -to his fancy the red and white of his wife's -cheeks, seems to me to be a much more amiable -and human hero than the young ascetic of Wagner's -drama.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnotes"> - -<p class="p4 center big2">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_J_10" id="Footnote_J_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_J_10"><span class="label">[J]</span></a> <cite>Parzival, von Wolfram von Eschenbach.</cite> Dr. Gotthold Bötticher. -Berlin, 1885.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_K_11" id="Footnote_K_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_K_11"><span class="label">[K]</span></a> <cite>Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail.</cite> David Nutt. London, -1888.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_L_12" id="Footnote_L_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_L_12"><span class="label">[L]</span></a> Genesis xliv., 4 and 5.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_M_13" id="Footnote_M_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_M_13"><span class="label">[M]</span></a> Mr. Price's Preface in Warton's <cite>History of English Poetry</cite>, vol. i.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_N_14" id="Footnote_N_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_N_14"><span class="label">[N]</span></a> Mr. Price's note in Warton, vol. i.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_O_15" id="Footnote_O_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_O_15"><span class="label">[O]</span></a> Matthew xxvi., 23.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_P_16" id="Footnote_P_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_P_16"><span class="label">[P]</span></a> Natural History, Book XXXII., chap. ii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_Q_17" id="Footnote_Q_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Q_17"><span class="label">[Q]</span></a> Bötticher's Translation Book XVI.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_R_18" id="Footnote_R_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_R_18"><span class="label">[R]</span></a> The stories concerning Virgil and his connection with the -Black Art are admirably discussed in Mr. J. S. Tunison's study, -<em>Master Virgil, the Author of the Æneid as he seemed in the -Middle Ages</em>. Second Edition. Robert Clarke & Co. Cincinnati, -1890.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="tb"/> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p> -</div> - -<p class="p4 center big3">B<small>Y</small> ANNA ALICE CHAPIN</p> - -<hr class="r10"/> - -<div class="small1"> -<p class="p2 center big1">WONDER TALES FROM WAGNER. Told for -Young People. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, -$1.25.</p> - - -<p>Miss Chapin's idea of reducing to a compact and readable form -the more or less involved stories of Wagner's operas is one that -met with pronounced success in her first book, "The Story of -the Rhinegold." Although announced as "for young people," it -was received with marked favor by older lovers of Wagner, who -found in it an intelligent, consecutive, and concise guide to the -narrative covered by the Nibelungen cycle. "Wonder Tales from -Wagner" is planned upon much the same lines, and forms an invaluable -companion volume to its predecessor. Told with singular -simplicity and grace, these stories of the old gods have all the -charm of modern fairy-tales and are, moreover, of great assistance -in the study of Wagner and Wagner's operas.</p> - - -<p class="p2 center big1">THE STORY OF THE RHINEGOLD. (Der Ring -des Nibelungen.)<br /> -Told for Young People. Illustrated. Post 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1.25.</p> - -<p>The legend of the Rhinegold is both interesting and dramatic, -and it has lost nothing of either quality in the hands of Miss -Chapin. It may have been written with the hope of explaining -the music of Wagner to young folks, but we imagine that old people -will find in it a great deal of much-needed information.—<em>N. Y. -Herald.</em></p> - -<p>The stories on which Wagner founded his great operas are told -in a clear, beautiful, story-telling manner that claims and holds -the attention. The musical motif of each development of the -stories is given, and greatly adds to the value of the book.—<em>Outlook</em>, -N. Y.</p> - - -<p class="center p1">HARPER & BROTHERS, P<small>UBLISHERS</small><br /> -NEW YORK AND LONDON</p> - -<p><img src="images/hand.jpg" width="33" height="20" alt="" /> -<em>Either of the above works will be sent by mail, postage prepaid, -to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of -the price.</em></p> - -<hr class="r10" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="p2 center big2"> THE BROWNING LETTERS</p> - - -<p class="hang2">THE LETTERS OF ROBERT BROWNING AND -ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, 1845-1846. -Illustrated with Two Contemporary Portraits of the -Writers, and Two Facsimile Letters. With a Prefatory -Note by R. B<small>ARRETT BROWNING</small>, and Notes, -by F. G. K<small>ENYON</small>, Explanatory of the Greek Words, -Two Volumes. Crown 8vo, Cloth, Ornamental, Deckel -Edges and Gilt Tops, $5.00; Half Morocco, $9.50.</p> - -<p>Many good gifts have come to English literature from the two -Brownings, husband and wife, besides those poems, which are -their greatest. The gift of one's poems is the gift of one's self. But -in a fuller sense have this unique pair now given themselves by -what we can but call the gracious gift of these letters. As their -union was unique, so is this correspondence unique.... The -letters are the most opulent in various interest which have been -published for many a day.—<em>Academy</em>, London.</p> - -<p>We have read these letters with great care, with growing astonishment, -with immense respect; and the final result produced -on our minds is that these volumes contain one of the most precious -contributions to literary history which our time has seen.—<em>Saturday -Review</em>, London.</p> - -<p>We venture to think that no such remarkable and unbroken -series of intimate letters between two remarkable people has ever -been given to the world.... There is something extraordinarily -touching in the gradual unfolding of the romance in which two -poets play the parts of hero and heroine.—<em>Spectator</em>, London.</p> - -<p class="center p1">HARPER & BROTHERS, P<small>UBLISHERS</small><br /> -NEW YORK AND LONDON</p> - -<p><img src="images/hand2.jpg" width="33" height="20" alt="" /> -<em>The above work will be sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any -part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price.</em></p> - -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Studies in the Wagnerian Drama, by Henry Krehbiel - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES IN THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA *** - -***** This file should be named 63163-h.htm or 63163-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/1/6/63163/ - -Produced by Andrés V. 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