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Richard Wagner’s Contributionto

Warrior Nationalism

“Ride of the Valkries”from the

“Ring Trilogy” opera

Richard Wagner, 1813-1883

• Little formal musicaltraining

• Worked as a conductorwith a traveling operatroop

• Spent time in debtor'sprison

• King Ludwig II ofBavaria became hispatron

Bayreuth Festival

• 1873 to present• Opening attended

by kings and otherroyalty and many ofthe most importantmusicians in theworld.

• The Ring Trilogyopened the theater.

A leader of theRomantic Movement

• “Inner Light” is the source of truth• Emotion, not reason, is its deepest

source.• Truth is sometimes mystical, mysterious• Its truths are transmitted across

generations of a people in and throughart and language.

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Wagner revolutionized music

• Refused to resolve chords in order to usemusic to break out of normal experience.

• Expanded the size of the orchestra• Invented a tuba to expand the sound of the

brass section.• Wanted to create a "mystical abyss"

separating the real world (the viewers)from the ideal world (the singers on thestage).

The Plot of the Trilogy

• The gold ring stolen by a mythical dwarf is thekey to power.

• The struggle to return the ring to their originalowners, river-maidens, spans generations.

• Who will die trying, among the many who do,is determined by the Valkyries, female figureswho decide who dies in battle then deliversthem to the place of rest for heroic warriors.

The Ride of the Valyries

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A myth of national identityis born

• Wagner drew on Nordic myths that wouldcontribute to concepts of Northern Europeans(and Germans in particular) as a distinct andspecial people.

• The opera made “the warrior” a spirituallypowerful & superior part of a nation.

• Hitler would celebrate Wagner as a nationalhero.

But Hitler was by no meansthe only one use the Valkyries

to signify heroism• 1915: When “The former enemies of

North and South are united again indefense of their Aryan birthright” in Birthof a Nation.

• On Nazi shortwave radio.• 1979: in a battle scene in Apocalypse

Now about the U.S. war in Vietnam.

Apocalypse Now(1979)

Heart of Darkness(1890)

The first narrative movie

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Can music createa national identity?

• Can Wagner be held partly responsiblefor war?

• Should Wagner be performed in Israel?• What led millions of people to

participate in mass slaughter in the twoworld wars?