My Authors
Read all threads
#WednesdayWagner Another Wednesday, another time for Wagner leitmotifs! After talking about 'Ring' and 'Curse' leitmotifs, let's approach another related one: the 'Valhalla' leitmotif. This is the one shown below:
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner Image
#WednesdayWagner Again, the core of the idea is the same than in the 'Ring' leitmotif: a series of descending 3rds. The chord is almost the same than in the 'Ring' leitmotif, but this case the 5th of this chord (F) is a perfect 5th #StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner Image
#WednesdayWagner Note that the upper line of 'Valhalla' leitmotif is the same, from the beginning to the end, to the 'Ring' leitmotiv. Even the passing tone at the end appears in both ones. The rhythmic pattern is also quite similar #StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner Image
#WednesdayWagner What's the big difference? Of course, harmony. Now, the 'Valhalla' leitmotif is in a major key and is formed only by 3-note chords that result to be the I, IV and V of the key (D flat major in this case)
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner Image
#WednesdayWagner Thus, the 7th chord of the 'Ring' leitmotif (the melodic line) is treated here as two separate chords that are the two stable ones amongst the tonal functions: I and IV
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner
#WednesdayWagner The global harmony is the classic one to properly define a key: I-IV-I-V-I. That is, the concatenation of a Plagal and a Perfect cadence both in Root Position. Pure stability for the Gods at Valhalla! 
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner
#WednesdayWagner This harmony leads us again to the melody: if Wagner would have chosen the same melody as the 'Ring' leitmotif (i.e. with F flat), the Valhalla leitmotif would have been in minor mode. Not desired for the Gods! 
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner
#WednesdayWagner Another point of stability is achieved when Wagner considers all the pitches as 'real tones' of the chords previously mentioned. So the passing tone in the 'Ring' leitmotif is now a real pitch within the Dominant Chord (Eb)
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural Image
#WednesdayWagner And a last point of stability is given by rhythm: the binary subdivision gives allows to perceive more regular beat pattern than the ternary subdivision (as happen in the 'Ring' leitmotif)
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner Image
#WednesdayWagner And that is how Wagner links together the Ring, the Curse and Valhalla. The different compositional procedures for the same organic material is what give each leitmotif its own character. Trully magical!
#StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Richard Wagner 2.0

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!