Wagner Leitmotifs | 66 Redemption Through Love : Der Ring Des Nibelungen @wagnerleitmotifs7654 | Uploaded August 2013 | Updated October 2024, 10 hours ago.
This leitmotif is first heard in act 3 scene 1 of Die Walkure.
This soaring motif is heard only twice in the cycle, but is arguably the most important leitmotif.
It is first heard at the end of Die Walkure when Brunnhilde has just told Sieglinde that she is pregnant. Until this point Sieglinde considers herself as good as dead, now that Siegmund, her brother and lover, has died; she wishes to be united with him in death (for more on this idea, consult Tristan und Isolde), however she is redeemed from this through love for her unborn son: "O hehrstes Wunder!" ("Sublimest Wonder!") she sings to this tune.
This motif is heard again at the very end of the cycle, indeed it is the final motif as Brunhilde rides into Siegfried's funeral flames with the ring so as to cleanse it of it's curse and all of heaven burns. At this point the motif seems to develop naturally from Brunnhilde as Woman, the motif Brunhilde gains when she gives up her divinity to be with Siegfried. However of course, the Redemption Through Love motif is heard first in the cycle, so the devolution from this to get the Brunnhilde as Woman motif shows that Brunnhilde, in making her sacrifice, gave herself the power to save the world. The gods have screwed up the world, but it is redeemed by Brunnhilde's love for Siegfried, so that, with the old order eradicated, humans can start afresh with the hope of creating a new and better world.
Of course Wagner is trying to draw very clear parallels to the real world and what he thinks of the politicians and capitalists of his day. It is not a stretch to say that the industrialising capitalists have been replaced by bankers and Wagner's message is as potent, if not more potent now (since nothing has changed in the last ~140 years).
Progenitor leitmotifs:
Encharntment: youtu.be/5L673ONCuEY
Related Leitmotifs:
None
Subsidiary Leitmotifs:
Brunnhilde as Woman: youtu.be/H8gAPeJATj8
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use.
This video is designed for the purpose of teaching the viewer about the leitmotifs in Wagner's Operas, where they appear and how the work. This clearly comes under the umbrella of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
This leitmotif is first heard in act 3 scene 1 of Die Walkure.
This soaring motif is heard only twice in the cycle, but is arguably the most important leitmotif.
It is first heard at the end of Die Walkure when Brunnhilde has just told Sieglinde that she is pregnant. Until this point Sieglinde considers herself as good as dead, now that Siegmund, her brother and lover, has died; she wishes to be united with him in death (for more on this idea, consult Tristan und Isolde), however she is redeemed from this through love for her unborn son: "O hehrstes Wunder!" ("Sublimest Wonder!") she sings to this tune.
This motif is heard again at the very end of the cycle, indeed it is the final motif as Brunhilde rides into Siegfried's funeral flames with the ring so as to cleanse it of it's curse and all of heaven burns. At this point the motif seems to develop naturally from Brunnhilde as Woman, the motif Brunhilde gains when she gives up her divinity to be with Siegfried. However of course, the Redemption Through Love motif is heard first in the cycle, so the devolution from this to get the Brunnhilde as Woman motif shows that Brunnhilde, in making her sacrifice, gave herself the power to save the world. The gods have screwed up the world, but it is redeemed by Brunnhilde's love for Siegfried, so that, with the old order eradicated, humans can start afresh with the hope of creating a new and better world.
Of course Wagner is trying to draw very clear parallels to the real world and what he thinks of the politicians and capitalists of his day. It is not a stretch to say that the industrialising capitalists have been replaced by bankers and Wagner's message is as potent, if not more potent now (since nothing has changed in the last ~140 years).
Progenitor leitmotifs:
Encharntment: youtu.be/5L673ONCuEY
Related Leitmotifs:
None
Subsidiary Leitmotifs:
Brunnhilde as Woman: youtu.be/H8gAPeJATj8
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use.
This video is designed for the purpose of teaching the viewer about the leitmotifs in Wagner's Operas, where they appear and how the work. This clearly comes under the umbrella of fair use. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.
