Thread by @Wagner2_0

#WednesdayWagner Wache, Wala! Wala! Erwach’! Another thread for you, Wagner-addicts. Let's continue with the Wotan-family leitmotifs, which indeed are related to the Wotan family members. Today: WOTAN AND SIEGFRIED.
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#WednesdayWagner A evolution of the "Wotan's spear" leitmotif is the "Wotan's anger". It's somehow "ondulated", although keeping the downside sense, to keep the relation with Wotan. You can listen to it below:


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#WednesdayWagner Well, the fact is that this "Wotan's anger" leitmotif is used in a very well known Siegfried's scene: the Forging Scene (link below, featuring the amazing Siegfried Jerusalem): 
  

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#WednesdayWagner What's happening? In the forging scene the rhythm pattern is a bit more regular, reflecting probably the continuous hammer blows needed to forge the sword. But the comparison offers no doubt:
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#WednesdayWagner Indeed, it makes sense that, as the grandson (Siegfried) is an extension of the grandfather (Wotan), the sword (Siegfried's weapon) should be related to the Spear (Wotan's weapon). Nothing is randomly made in Wagner's music! 
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#WednesdayWagner Last but not least, the Wotan's anger idea has their counterpart ... in "Siegfried's Freedom". As two sides of the same coin, the anger of the grandfather is transformed into the happiness of the grandson. Listen here: 
  
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#WednesdayWagner What Wagner did was to "invert" the motiv, moving the pitches in a reverse way (down instead up, and vice versa). There are slight modifications, but this "reverse Wotan's anger" is even the retrogradation of the Forging song!
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#WednesdayWagner But finally, the main questions: are these modifications perceivable? Are we aware of them while listening to the piece? Well, it depends on the person and also on the transformation. Maybe some of you notice all, others just some of them ...
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#WednesdayWagner But does it really care? In my opinion, these manipulations are mainly a tool for the composer to reach a high level of "unity" in the piece. Even though we may not recognize them, we understand them as coherent elements
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#WednesdayWagner Of course, the more we identify them in the ear, the higher our joy during the listening will be. And the magic of almost any Art milestone is to "hide" this unity making us to believe that everything is a product of "inspiration"
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