MUSIC MT 100 R473, PRESENTED TO STH6 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OP MICMIGAN............ " 8~-....... MT Wq3, C am n ille Ee i. oi t The Typical Motives of The Master-singers of Nureinberg A Musical Comedy: by Richard Wagner. Enclh\ su by J. H. COR\NELL. A study for serving as a guide through the score, preceded by a review of the poetical work. New York: G. Schirmer. Copyright 1889 by G. Schirmer. Copyright 1889 by CT. Schirmer. 7644. To Mr. Charles Lamoureux Founder of the New Concerts. Contents. page Preface................... 7 The poetical work: I. The subject........ II II. The piece......... 15 The typical motives......... 25 Appendix: Explanation of an ancient vignette on wood representing the poetical mission of Hans Sachs (Goethe) 43 PREFACE. The Greeks, our masters in art and civilisation, had conceived, as a successor to the tragedy, for diverting the poignant emotions, the satyrical drama. The name gives evidence of this: in pieces of, this kind the principal personage was the satyr, this intermediate being between the animal and man, this fiction calculated for rejoicing the heart of a Darwinian. From the upper region inhabited by the Gods and Heroes, the spectator descended to the more familiar world of a humanity still hardly disengaged from its coarser attachments. The conflict of this double nature, this contradiction incessantly made conspicuous, provoked irrepressible laughter, which, of itself also, draws us nearer to the Olympians. The primitive idea of the "Meistersinger" is nearly related to the- Hellenic conception. It is, indeed, a mnusical comedy that the author wished to create; in it, by a stroke of unique genius, he has broken loose from the myth and the legend, he transports -8 - us to the very heart of German burgher life, inr the full light "of history, in the middle of the 6 th century. We may believe, according to the Cyclops of Euripides, the sole specimen that has reached us in its entirety, according to the sum-total of the testimonies of antiquity, that a decided and rigorous distinction separated these two connected species: tragedy, satyrical drama. This distinction is obli-, terated in Wagner's "musical comedy": here, as in Shakespeare, as in Moliere himself, the pathetic intervenes, and, in a certain measure, tears are mingled with laughter. In my opinion, and for the very reasons that. I have just given, the "Master-singers" is, of all Wagner's conceptions, if not the grandest in its proportions, the most universally human in its simplicity, the most profound in its symbolism, at least the greatest, the most comprehensive in the variety of sentiments and passions, certainly the most prolific through the extent of its direct influence. In truth, though Wagner had accomplished these prodigies, these miracles (to use Liszt's expression), the Tetralogy, Tristan, Parsifal, nevertheless, much admired as he was, he would be running the risk of remaining isolated in his greatness, he would perhaps have formed a marvellous exception. Through -9 - the "Master-singers" he has an immediate hold upon his age: in this gallery of portraits so individual, in this assemblage of characters so contrasted, so lifelike, the artists of the new generation, who feel in themselves the material of poet-musicians, will find the least tyrannical model for their own originality, the most spacious and most plastic form that can agree with their personal aspirations and accommodate itself to the most various experiences. I am persuaded, that in France especially the hour has arrived to look Wagner in the face, to regard with a virile resolution the problems that he has laid down... and solved. For this purpose no work can serve better than the one with which we are at present engaged. THE POETICAL WORK. I. The Subject. The plot, altogether Wagner's invention, is founded on the love of a young Franconian knight, Walther of Stolzing, for the daughter of his host Vitus Pogner, goldsmith and master-singer. In order to obtain the hand of Eva, Walther must become master, he must win the prize at the grand public competition of poetry and singing, he must baffle the calculations of his rival, the pedantic and ridiculous town-clerk, Sixtus Beckmesser; this is the knot of the complication. Thanks to the shoemaker-poet Hans Sachs, whose prudent mind and great soul hover over this homely drama like a vigilant Providence, Walther triumphs: the action is unraveled through the happy marriage of the two lovers. Stripped of its rich concrete form, translated into abstract language, this idea will represent, if - 12 - we will, the victory of spontaneous inspiration over scholastic formalism, of enthusiastic genius over cold routine. Hence we have been able without great effort to see in it a personal vindication, a plea )pro domo.1) It would be imprudent to affirm anything for or against the reality of this interested intervention of the poet in his own cause; be that as it may, no one will dream of denying to Wagner a right which Moliere. and others arrogated to themselves without asking permission of any one, and without any one protesting against it: suffice it to attest - and the fact is a striking one - that the high serenity of the. artist - creator has not been lessened for a single instant, that he has not once swerved from this supreme impersonality which is a. mark of great dramatic geniuses. If it be desired by all means to discover in ^ the "Master-singers" a symbolism of one kind or another, if we insist absolutely on drawing from it a hidden meaning, I should prefer to see in it the. triumph of this dominant thought: the long divorce between aristocratic poetry and popular poetry finally 1) Some have gone so far as to search in "The Master-singers" for allusions to noted personages, have pretended to raise masks, to recognise Wagner himself, Franz Liszt, the King of Bavaria... and what not besides? It is useless to dwell upon these exaggerations of malicious or too zealous interpreters: they manifest in their authors a regrettable disregard of the laws of artistic creation. 13 - discontinuing, the definitive reconciliation being brought about between high art and simple art, under the characteristics of Walther and of Sachs, whose friendship is for ever sealed through the magnanimous renunciation on the part of the artisan-poet. % This type of Hans Sachs is destined to take a place with the most marvellous ones that immortality has consecrated: it would suffice to give the lie flatly to those who call in question Wagner's dramatic genius. A mixture of joviality and profundity makes of it one of the most original figures that exist. Surely, the divine afflatus of the Renaissance passed that way. -I recommend here the reading of a poem by Goethe, Explanation of an ancient wood-cut representing the poetic mission of Hans Sachs.1) It will be seen what amplification Wagner has made of this beautiful sketch; we shall judge how much the music, thus conceived, adds of inmost and potent charm, of incomparable grandeur and nobility, to this simple portrait after the manner of the predecessors of Albrecht Ditrer. One word on the subject of the principal source from which Wagner has drawn - not the idea which is his own, but - a great number of special 1) A translation of this poem will be found at the end of the present Study. - 14 - details as to Nuremberg and the institution of the Masters: names, professions, customs, ceremonial, regulations, etc. In treating the subject of Tannhauser, in describing the,poetical and musical rivalry of the Wartburg, in bringing on the stage these aristocratic Minnesingers, ) which corresponded to the Troubadours of the IIth--14th century, was Wagner led to think of their homely successors, the dull-witted i"Master-singers"?... It cannot be doubted. Having once made up his mind upon this point, he had at his disposal, from the stand-point of local color, a precious source of information: we mean the work by Johann Christoph Wagenseil (1633-1708), who became the historiographer of the Confraternity. The book is entitled: De sacri romani imperii liberd civitate Noribergensi commentatio. Accedit de Germanice phonascorum (Meistersinger) origine, prcestantid, utilitate et institutis, sermone vernaculo liber. Altdorfii Noricorum, typis impensisque Jodoci Wilhelmi Kohlesii (1697). ) It is a veritable book de luxe, adorned with a portrait of the author engraved by J. Sandrart, 1) Love-singers. 2) Dissertation concerning the free city of Nuremberg, of the Roman empire. To which is added a book in the vulgar tongue treating of the origin, excellence, usefulness and rules of the Singing-teachers (Master-singers) of Germany. Altdorf in Noricum, printed and published by Jodocus Wilhelmus Kohles (1697). - 15 - bearing date of i680, illustrated by views of Nuremberg, and by prints of Peter Fischer's monument in St. Sebaldus, of Adam Kraft's tabernacle in St. Laurentius, etc. The portion relating to the Mastersingers comprises about 150 pages, and includes numerous poetical and even musical quotations. Mention is made of Wolfram von Eschenbach, of Walther von der Vogelweide, of Meister Klingsohr, of Hans Sachs, of the tabulature, of the thirty-two faults that may be committed, and of the punishments of them; we find in it, moreover, a long list of tones or modes with curious names, such as, the tone of the knight's blue spur; the most comical ones are cited in David's enumeration in the first act of Wagner's work. It is probable that a copy of this curious work exists in the library of the master, with annotations by his hand. II. The Piece. The action, then, takes place at Nuremberg, towards the middle of the I6th century; of the three acts, the third is assigned to St. John's day, the two others to the eve of this festival, which is at once that of the city and of Sachs. ' - 16 - The subject of the first act, which is represented in a side aisle of St. Catherine's church, is Walther's declaration of love, his presentation at the trial of admission to the mastership, his defeat. The second act takes place almost in the open air, at nightfall, at a place showing Pogner's house and Sachs's workshop; we are present at Beckmesser's serenade, at the nocturnal uproar which it provokes, at Walther's attempt to carry off Eva, at the paternal intervention on the part of Sachs, which frustrates the insane freak. In the third act we are in the very workshop of the shoemaker-poet: it is the morning of St. John's day. We see the young knight appear; carried off by Sachs at the height of the hubbub of the night before, he has just passed the night under his roof, he has had a beautiful dream; he tells, or rather sings it: it is this song, modified by the wise counsels of friend Sachs, that is to bring over to Walther the vote of the Masters /and gain for him the favor of the populace. - In fact, by a change of scene we are transported to the great meadow on the banks of the Pegnitz: we are present at the rejoicings of the people, at the filing off of the corporations: the competition is then opened, Beckmesser sustains the most piteous of defeats, Walther is proclaimed the happy spouse of Eva. - 17 - In addidon to the above, we here give the abstract and analysis of the scenes which each act comprises, as indicated in the full score. FIRST ACT. Scene I. Meeting of Walther and Eva in the church; reciprocal avowals of love; Walther learns at what cost he may win the hand of the young maiden. Scene II. David, the apprentice to Sachs in the art of shoe-making and of singing, informs -Walther of the rules of Tablature, and explains the formalities to be complied with for gaining the diploma of mastership; he himself superintends the preparations for the trial for admission to the competition, the trial being about to take place that very moment. Scene III. The presentationz: the Master-singers arrive at their place of meeting; Walther is presented by his host Pogner, he undergoes the trial, fails to observe the rules, is unsuccessful; Sachs, alone among the Masters, interests himself for him. SECOND ACT. Scene I. The apprentices close the shops and set about celebrating the festival; at the sight of - 18 - David, acquainting Magdalena, Eva's nurse, with the issue of the trial, they make game of the couple. Sachs appears, and sends David home...'the merry scapegraces disperse. Scene II. Pogner, accompanied by Eva, returns from a walk.. Pogner enters first, Magdalena informs Eva of the bad news communicated by David, and counsels her to go after supper to consult Sachs, who is fond of her.. both enter also. Scene III. Sachs sets about his work near the open door of his shop; but he is absent-minded, dreamy, he is thinking of Walther, whose passionate song he cannot drive out of his mind. Scene IV. Eva happens in, and seeks to engage Sachs in conversation: he evades it, then finishes by inveighing with affected ill-humor against the young contemner of the rules; Eva takes this ironical attack seriously, is provoked with Sachs, and hastily quitting him with words of defiance, withdraws to the company of Magdalena, beneath the porch of her father's house. Sachs closes his window in such a way as to allow but a feeble ray of light to pass through it, and lies in wait. Scene V. Walther appears; transports, explanations, bursts of rage against the Mastership... The night-watchman passes by: first warning.. Eva slips away for an instant, and returns in the - 19 - dress of Magdalena; the two lovers are about to fly... Suddenly a bright light shines from the reopened window of Sachs's shop, and obstructs their passage; as they are getting ready to escape by another lane, Beckmesser arrives precisely from this side... The pair remain concealed under the linden-tree. Scene VI. Beckmesser, the ridiculous wooer, supporting himself against Sachs's house tunes his lute for accompanying his serenade; at the sound of this, Master Sachs, setting his door ajar, places his bench quite near the entrance; he betakes himself to the duty of working at the shoes of the enamored town-clerk, for he has to deliver them on the morrow; to encourage himself, and especially to thwart Beckmesser, he strikes up at the top of his voice satirical verses of double meaning, which are aimed also at the young couple. Rage of the wooer; after long expostulation, he in his turn strikes up the serenade; Sachs indicates the scansion of it by blows 'of the hammer, each mistake of the official marker is scored by the marker for the time being... The neighbors begin to be awakened at the noise... Magdalena, in the dress. of Eva, has shown herself at the window of Pogner's house... Scene VII. David, half opening a windowshutter, recognises Magdalena; seized with jealousy 2* - 20 -- he strides over the window and falls upon Beckmesser with might and main. The neighbors crowd in, apprentices, journeymen and masters: misunderstandings, tumult, general disorder... Walther endeavors to profit by it by carrying off Eva; Sachs rushes forward, holds him back, drives Eva home, with a kick makes David go in-doors, and drags the knight irnto the shop... Beckmesser escapes the best way he can, in the twinkling 6f an eye order is restored.. The night-watchman passes, rubs his eyes, and disappears... THIRD ACT. (Ist scene: Sachs's workshop. - 2d scene: the meadow on the banks of the Pegnitz.) Scene I. Hans Sachs, in festal raiment, seated in his workshop, is resting, reading and meditating; after having interrupted himself for an instant to give David some instructions, he again takes up the thread of his thoughts: he reflects upon the occurrences of the day before, upon what is to be done in regard to them. Scene II. Entrance of Walther: Sachs counsels him, and gets him to tell his dream... quite affected by the beautiful melody which Eva's lover improvises for painting his visions, he writes down - 21 - the words of it; a few slight alterations, and it will be a wonderful trial-song; the plan is traced out, the alliance is concluded, Sachs leads Walther to his chamber that he may put on his festal garments. Scene III. Beckmesser, still smarting under the effects of his recent cudgelling, penetrates haltingly into the deserted workshop, under pretext of getting something done to his shoes, which incommode him; perceiving a paper on which some verses are copied, he takes possession of it: no doubt, the ink is still fresh, the malignant cobbler is making ready to get Eva away from him, this paper contains the text of his trial-song... a noise at the door... Beckmesser crams the paper into his pocket, Sachs reappears. The amiable Sixtus breaks out into reproaches, into invectives, against him whom he believes to be his rival, and attributes to him his nocturnal misadventure. Sachs defends himself, he was at work upon Beckmesser's own shoes, for they had to be ready for the festival... is that the act of an enemy? And always bantering him, to prove that he is deceiving himself, he denies that he is to take part in the competition, he gives up to him the poetical text already pilfered. Stupid joy of Beckmesser: a poem by Sachs, what a Godsend!... He hastens away to prepare the music. Scene IV. Eva, in full dress, happens in in her - 22 - turn, always under pretext of having something done to her shoes...Sachs indulges in innocent naughtiness; while he is holding her foot on the stool and pretending to find out where the shoe pinches, Walther appears in full dress... Eva is taken aback, dumb show: Walther strikes up a new aud enthusiastic verse regarding his trial-song... Outburst of emotion;' Eva throws herself into the arms of Sachs, to whom Walther holds out his hand; Sachs disengages himself and causes the young maiden to lean upon the shoulder of her lover... But behold David and Magdalena approaching... to the surprise of all, Sachs names them as witnesses, he proclaims himself god-father, with Eva for god-mother: the matter in hand is the celebration of the symbolical baptism of the poetical and musical new-born infant, of the mnode (Weise) invented by Walther this very morning for the trial-song, for which mode a name must be found, according to custom. In spite of the pleasant, sportive side of the improvised ceremony, the moment is a solemn one... A profound, almost religious emotion carries away the five personages, transports them above themselves, reunites them, mingles them in an extatic hymn, an outpouring of intimate tenderness and of supreme hope. -23 After this oblivion of the little miseries of daily life, after this elevation to the higher spheres, after this time of lyric rest, quickly to deed! Wend we our way to the Pegnitz!. The scene changes: horns, trumpets and fifes resound; there is waltzing, all Nuremberg files off, with banners flying; the Guild of the Master-singers, preceded by the image of King David, closes the procession; the people uncover; all present, kneeling, their hats off, strike up Hans Sachs's grand choral. - Beckmesser competes for the prize; but the poetry of which he is not the author becomes mixed up in his head, adapts itself badly to his heavy and unanimated singing; he hems and haws, he sputters, he makes enormous blunders, he is grotesque, all are laughing at him; intoxicated with fury, he thinks to avenge himself and to get out of it by revealing that Sachs is the author of the verses: the latter improves the opportunity, denies the assertion, summons Walther to witness, who comes forward and sings. The assemblage, wonder-struck, recognise the true poet, all hearts are won and go out to him; by a novel outbreak of inspired improvisation he combines in the same adoration lover and poet, Eva - 24 - and the Muse... People and Master-singers, all are touched, all vie with each other in cheering him... pure art and genuine passion triumph together. Sachs rises, all are silent; the Master seems., transfigured, larger than life: he addresses to the multitude the exhortations of a wise man and the warnings of a prophet. And it was thus that on a beautiful summer's day the ancient city kept the festival of St. John. As I am forced to give here but a cursory view, I am the first to feel how necessarily imper-- fect this dry analysis is. I therefore refer my readers to more explicit accounts, such as the excellent. study by Mr. Edouard Schure, published in the Revue des deux Mondes of April 15, 1869 (it appears in the work of the same author, the Drame musical),. and especially I direct them to the quite recent translation in French rhyme, designed to appear in the score and to accompany the singing on the stage: a veritable feat of strength which the talent and conscientiousness of Mr. Victor Wilder alone could accomplish. THE TYPICAL MOTIVES. (Analysis of the music in its application to the Drama.) 4Listen to the first piece of a symphony by Beethoven: themes or. motives (sometimes very short and but little outlined, as in the Eroica) are at first proposed, in a traditional so-called exposition, having a regular shape. - The musician's fantasy then comes in play: at his bidding these motives become intertwined, detach themselves, break up into fragments, appear to be trying to re-unite, to be bound up together, there is a contention, an incessant agitation, nay, an infinite tossing of waves; we seem to have quitted the solid for the fluid element... Beethoven manoeuvres and sails before the wind with the lucky audacity of a navigator of genius, in this region of development, in which he excels, in which he triumphs. - At last we set foot on terra firma; the motives, comminuted, mingled, re-appear in their integrity, in their identity; this is the re-exposition, in which the themes pass before - 26 - us in an order of succession known in advance... frequently, as if taken with sailors' home-sickness, Beethoven risks his bark in a final and rapid excursion (Coda of development)... At times even, when the last stroke of the kettle-drum is sounded, he owns to us that he feels as it were a profound regret, it seems to him that be has not said all that he wished to say. Wagner follows Beethoven in the employment of this symphonic system of motives and developments; his originality consists in having applied it to a precise dramatic action, which unfolds itself on the stage, while the orchestra, even better than the antique chorus, comments on it, explains it, lights it up even in its most hidden recesses; it is thus that Wagner, by a magic altogether natural, succeeds in suggesting to us, with surprising instantaneousness and certainty, the sentiments, the thoughts which he desires us to have, in rendering present to us things that are remote, in enabling us to read with the most lucid assurance in the soul of his personages: all the resources of music, past and present, joined to those discovered by Wagner himself, are brought together to co-operate to this end. There are no more obscurities, no more enigmatical oddities: every thing is to be explained; if anything were not clear, it would be the fault of the drama. - 27 Here I point out to the reader the excellent summaries of Mr. Victor Wilder concerning the system under consideration, in his last feuilletons in "Parlement" of last year. Before returning to "The Master-singers", I desire also to quote a very interesting and remarkable page from Mr. Charles Tardieu's Letters from Bayreuth. I will add that I would like to see this pamphlet, so impartial, so animated, the testimony of one of the most penetrating and equable of minds, in the hands of all who occupy themselves with Wagnerian art. The passage referred to is concerned with the Tetralogy, but these remarks are also perfectly applicable to all Wagner's later style, i. e., to Tristan, the Master-singers, and Parsifal. "The essence of this music is its melody, a melody which is attached to the personage and follows him in all the fluctuations of his thought and action, changing with him without ever ceasing to be his, always different and always itself. Thence arise the characteristic motives. Modified according to the situations by the most subtle and audacious artifices of harmony and of instrumentation, re-appearing under ever new forms, while preserving their peculiar physiognomy, transformed, combined, developed ad infinitum, now condensed, now parcelled out, at times even comminuted to excess and reduced to sonorous dust, they move - 28 - about in the orchestra with the same independent gait as the personages on the stage; in turn por-- traits and landscapes, describing everything, ex-- plaining everything, the light and the wind, the conflict of the elements, of men and of gods, the exploit ýof the hero, as also the movements of the soul, betraying all secrets, divining hidden intentions,. avowing mental reservations, calling up remembrances, opening the recesses of hearts, and laughing at established forms and still more at formulas, but. utilising them on occasion, all without, exceptions or misinterpretations, from the popular song and the choral up to the most furious displays of the voice and the orchestra...?". Just now, in analysing the Beethoven symphony, we distinguished the motives from their developments. The motives express the essence, the special nature of beings and of things, they are of the contemplative, static order; the developments express the modifications, the alterations, the moral and physical transformations, they are of the active,. dynamic order. - To this latter order of ideas our study will necessarily be restricted: we are in the presence of a work in which psychology dominates, in which motives are developed as the moral character of the personages; it was necessary to follow them in their evolution, in the changes which - 29 - connect their occasionally timid and vague apparition with their apotheosis in the full light of day, their blossoming with their entire expansion. - Here we:shall have to content ourselves with noting their apparition, and with indicating their culminating point. - The overture, for reasons which I shall explain, will be treated of in the last place. In the following analysis, the reading of which should, as far as possible, take place with the score in the hand,') I adopt, for the sake of its clearness.and its practical utility, a classification based upon the greater or lesser importance of the motives in the course of the work: principal motives (in a great measure grouped in the Overture), secondary motives, playing a less essential, and as it were an episodic part. (We might, indeed, distinguish a third category, motives foreign to the wzork, but it is reduced to two motives from Tristan.) - In a more detailed, more exhaustive work than this elementary study, -a simpler, more philosophical classification, going more to the bottom of things, would be that into interior: psychographical, personal motives, and exterior: descriptive, decorative, episodical ones. 1) Reference is here made to the piano-forte and vocal score in smaller form, with simplified reduction by R. Kleinmichel, published by the firm of Schott; it is to this edition that my subsequent indications of pages, etc., apply. -- 30 - Returning to the classification proposed fartherup, I shall insist especially upon the principal motives, which will be indicated by means of Roman figures, reserving to myself to quote only such of the secondary motives which shall seem to me the most interesting, and which I shall mark by means of Arabic figures. I proceed, then, to follow up the motives in this way, act by act. FIRST ACT. Three principal motives, three love-motives, follow each other closely in the beginning of the first scene; they are three nuances, three gradations cor-- responding to three distinct phases in the history of the reciprocal passion of Walther and Eva; this. history is presented to us in them as it were in epitome, in one single picture. I. Motive of incipient, tender and restrained love,. as yet ignorant of itself and in doubt: It appears for the first time on page I; its cul-- minating point is on pages 14 and 15, in notes of doubled length; it figures for the last time, like a fugitive recollection, at the beginning of page 457. - 31 - II. Motive of impatient ardor, of youthful impetuosity; it is applicable exclusively to Walther: At the very first (page 12), it is almost timid; on pages 14, where it figures in values diminished by half, and 15, where it is reduced to the r8le of an intermediate part, it is still a mere outline; already, in the Trial-song (page I o), after having served as predominant accompaniment, it passes to the voice with a more expressive character (i i i), in doubled values. But its culminating point is in the 3 d scene of the 2 d act; it is by this very motive that Sachs is haunted (170); finally, when Sachs himself sings it (i74), in values still farther augmented ('/, measure), the motive has at once reached its greatest expansion and finished its term. III. Motive of declared passion, of enthusiastic avowal: This motive, still more important than the two others, is developed from page 13 to 453. In the first act, its culminating point is on pages 30, 31, 32; - 32 the values are doubled from the 2d measure onward; the motive assumes consistency, it passes to the voice, then the orchestra takes it up and amplifies it, but without distinct ending as yet. It is in the 3d act, in the melody of the dream which subsequently becomes the song of mastership, that the phrase, changed into triple measure, is completed, and that at last it shines ' with gentler lustre when the chorus takes it up (449), and brings it to its affecting termination (453). By an effect of contrast conformable however to the thought of the author, let us now pass on to the two principal motives which characterise "The Master-singers". - The meaning of the first one, the motive of the Masters properly speaking, is above all things a spiritual one: it characterises the spirit which presided over the institution and which animates its members, a noble and grave spirit, with a tendency to degenerate into heaviness, pedantry, and sterile repetitions. The meaning of the second motive (motive of the Guild) is, on the contrary, a material one: it has reference to the outward sign, the ermblem of the corporation, the banner on which is seen represented King David, old and bearded. IV. Motive of the Masters, strictly speaking: Sý:Jrj _JL - 33 - It appears on page 22, preceded on page 21 by two fragments borrowed from the complete phrase which it forms afterwards in the last act, when it presents itself in its Sunday best on page 401.Farther on, page 458, its simultaneous combination with motive III symbolises the alliance of plebeian art with high art, of tradition with inspiration. V. Motive of the Banner.After having made its appearance shortly after motive IV, page 24, it accompanies it always on great occasions: like it, 'it reaches its culminating point in the last act, page 402, and unites, on page 46 1, measure 9, with motives III and IV. After these five important 'Motives, we have still to cite, in this first act, as principal motives: VI. The St. John's motive, page 7 1: which figures in the frenetic prelude of the 2 d act, and makes its last appear'ance on pages 303 and 304, in the close of Sachs's grand monologue in the 3 d act, at the end of the first scene... (to this - 34 - St. John's motive is allied a secondary motive, the patronal motive of Nuremberg, which we shall find again in the 2d act). VII. Motive, of the presentation of Walther to the Masters, a knightly motive, applicable exclusively to the person of Walther: The knight has but to make his appearance (page 9o), his figure, his good looks bespeak his race, and arouse the jealousy of base souls; thus, when Beckmesser, dissimulating a wicked joy, rises to fulfil his office of mnarker (104), the above motive, distorted as to melody, as to harmony, and even as to rhythm, expresses the opposition of a surly and cunning countenance to a prepossessing and frank one. VIII. The motive of Sachs's goodnzess: T Here (page 124, measure 9), it is a growing goodwill towards Walther; in the 3d act, scene 2, this good-will will have grown into an affectionate friendship; the motive will be at its full. -35 - Let us now pass on to the secondary motives, and cite in the first place: I. Sachs's professional motive (page 46, measures i and 2, in the bass); it is Sachs in the exercise of his calling, Sachs not as poet; this motive accompanies the chorus of the companions of St. Crispin, page 385. 2. David's motive, page 24, measures 4, 5 and 6. 3. The folk-motive of the chaplet, page 56, measures 4, 5, etc., afterwards taken up in chorus by the apprentices. 4. The motive of the meeting for a reception, page 58, measure 5; it is more strictly a rhythm; it is sung farther on by Kothner (65 and 66). 5. Beckmesser's quarrelsome motive, page I 17, measure i; harsh and censorious; short rhythm with shrill harmony of the minor second. The predominance of the oboe in the instrumentation gives to the passage the additional seasoning of a dash of vinegar. Strife between this motive and motive VII. Before passing on to the following act, we must point out the great melodic, complete and independent phrases, conceived in a distinct and 3* - 36 - special form: the Song of Walther's master-song, pages 96 seqq., and especially the Hymn to Spring, page i o, etc.; in this Trial-song, motive II, relating to Walther's love for Eva (see above), plays a predominant part in the double respect of harmony and of melody, it expresses at once the fermentation, the gushing out of the spring-time of youth and of that of nature. - Let us in conclusion cite the baptismal choral, at the very beginning of the act. SECOND ACT. We find in this act five new principal motives. IX. Motive of Eva's appearance, page 176, i st line: X. Motive of the charm of the summer evening, page 204, 4th measure: XI. Motive of Sachs's profound emotion, page 249, last measure, orchestral score, for wind- instruments, and page 250; later on, pages 253-254; in the - 37 - arrangement for piano - forte this motive does not figure in the second act; it is found for the first time at the opening of the prelude to the 3d act, in which act it plays an important role throughout: XII. Rhythmical motive of the cudgelling, page 238, 12th measure: it is derived from the accompaniment of the lute; it steps in in a decisive manner at the outset of the 7th scene, with David, 259. XIII. 1Motive of the serenade, sung by Beckmesser, 241: The development and the ever closer combination of these last two motives form the grand choral scene which terminates this act, the scuffle, in which Beckmesser is beaten by his own motives; (and with justice, since they are the occasion of all the disturbance). - 38 - To be cited among the secondary motives: 6. The patronal motive of Nuremberg, previously pointed out because of its relationship to the St. John's motive (VI); it breathes the pride of burgherdom, robust contentment, is somewhat heavy (p. 164, 2d scene, between Pogner and Eva). As independent melodic phrases, to be noticed in this act: the night- watchman's song, which appears twice (205, 281); Sachs's scriptural ditty (213), with its three couplets. THIRD. ACT. We find here almost all the motives which have already been explained: at the beginning of the first scene the motive of Sachs's profound meditation (XI) is combined with David's motive (2); we meet with souvenirs of Eva, the motives of the cudgelling and of the serenade, that of the banner, etc. - On page 299, at measure 9, we find a new melodic motive of accompaniment, having a marchcharacter, and uniting itself with the rhythm of the patronal motive of Nuremberg (6): it is the city in its Sunday best (7). - In the first lines of scene 2 we must cite the harmony of the dream: - 39 - it figures at first on page 305, measures 4, 5, 6; it appears afterwards on pages 316, 322, 376, 439. A new theme (8), that of the souvenir of youth (sung by Sachs, i st line of page 31o), has somewhat,of a likeness to the song of Walther's master-song in the first act; (some have found in it a resemblance to a motive of Nicolai's "Merry Wives of Windsor"). - Let us not forget the sad and tender theme of Eva's anxiety (9), which begins at the tenth measure of page 353, and passes through all the alternations of fear and hope; at the close of the adorable development which begins at the last line of page 376, a wonderful transition leads insensibly from this theme into the phrase of the vocal quintet. The independent melodic phrases abound in this act, and are among the most beautiful in it: first of all, Hans Sachs's grand choral, which, with the motive of Sachs's profound meditation (XI), in great part forms the prelude to this 3d act; this choral bursts forth in its most radiant splendor at - 40 - the, en trance of Sachs, page 405. We have to cite also the little choral "St. J~ohn stood on the Jordan's strand", sung by David (291i, 3 d line), which, with the baptismal choral in the ist act, taken up again here on page 373, makes the work to contain three specimens of this special melodic form. -- The popular airs of the corporations, the wvaltz, form another category. - Finally, the admirable phrase of the vocal quintet of the baptism belongs to another order of ideas, and especially the famous recital ýof the dream (317), which becomes in the last picture the Song of M11astership. THE OVERTURE. In this large and brilliant prologue we, shall find again, grouped and placed over against each other, the most characteristic motives which we have just seen in action, with which we have made acquaintance in accordance with their entrance upon the scene; in fact, the overture turns altogether upon the motives of the Master- singers and the lovemotives. There are at first, in the form of a solemn and triumphal march, the two principal motives of the Masters (IV and V), in all their unfolding, separated or rather bound together by a short and charming - 41 - development of the motive of incipient love (I). After the pompous conclusion of this exposition in the principal key of C-major, page 4, a series of delicious modulations rapidly introduces, in E-major, the motive of declared passion (III), which is soon followed by that of impatient ardor (II), such as it takes on shape in the first act in the Hymn to Spring; the development of this latter motive leads us into the key of E-flat major, in which returns, scherzando, in a quicker and playful rhythm, the motive of the Masters (IV), written in diminished values, treated in fugue style, and alternating with the free melody of the motive of impatient ardor. This episodic page, a genuine scherzo, a ravishing prattling of wind-instruments, breaks into a dazzling explosion when the motive of the Masters (IV), thundered out by the powerful voice of the brasses, reappears in its full majesty, at first isolated, afterwards combined simultaneously with the motive of declared passion (III) and that of the banner (V), in a final apotheosis. There is, then, nothing simpler than the musical and poetical plan of this preliminary symphony: we are present at first at the opposition of the motives of the Masters to the motives of love, afterwards at their reconciliation, the symbol of the alliance between traditional art and the inspiration of genius... N -42 - in the preceding analysis of the typical motives I had prescribed to myself certain limits, I have but skimmed the surface of my subject; I desired to leave to the reader becoming interested in it the care of completing this cursory view by means of his personal investigations; I have aimed only to put a key into his hand: may I have succeeded in initiating him into a profounder labor, which -may enable him to establish the truth of the really new, really prodigious art displayed by Wagner in the application of his system. Appendix, Explanation of an ancient wood-out representing the poetical mission of Hlans Sachs. (Freely translated, without rhyme, from Goethe.) 4 n his workshop, early Sunday morn, Our well-beloved' Master stands: His leathern apron-laid aside, A festal doublet clean he wears, Lets pitched-thread, hammer, pot-house rest, The awl upon the work-bench lies; He, too, rests on the seventh day From many a stitch and many a blow. What time the vernal sun he feels, Repose new deeds of him *requires: He feels that he a little world Brooding within his brain includes, - 44 - That it begins to work and to live, That he would gladly show it forth. He had a faithful, prudent eye, And was, affectionate enough To contemplate purely many things, And again to make all things his own; Had, too, a tongue which into words With ease and nicety bverflowed; Wherefore the Muses, much rejoiced, Willed he should Master-singer be. A youthful woman now appears, With bosom plump and body round; Firmly she stands upon her feet, Erect, with noble step she treads, Not moving to and fro her train, Nor casting glances all around. She bears a mete-rod in her hand, Her girdle is a golden band, A crown of corn-ears on her head, Her eye shone as the light of day; Men call her strenuous honesty, Bounteousness too, and probity. She, kindly greeting, enters in, Nor does this take him by surprise, For, as she is, so good and fair, He's seen her, thinks he, long before. - 45 - She speaks: "I have elected thee From many men in life's turmoil, That all thy thinking may be clear, That thou no folly may'st commit. When others jostle in the throng, With steadfast look discern thou it; When others piteously complain, State thou thy case as if in jest; Thou shalt make much of honor and right, In all things plain and simple be, Goodness and virtue stoutly praise, And evil call by its own name. Naught softened down, naught subtilised, Naught beautified, and naught defaced; But let the world before thee stand As it to Albrecht Diirer seemed, Its stable life and manliness, Its inner strength and steadfastness. Thee nature's genius by the hand Shall safely guide through every land, Shall show thee all the ways of life, The wayward tanglements of men, Their muddles, strivings, thrusting and driving, Pushing, tearing, crowding and grinding, How topsy-turvy the turmoil rages, The ant-hill helter-skelter flounders; But may it in all things be to thee - 46 - Like peeping into a raree-show. Write this to all men upon earth, May it to them a warning.be." Here, opening wide a window, she Shows him outside a motley throng, All sorts of creatures 'neath the sky, As in his writings ye may read. (Here follows an apparition of numerous symbolical figures, the names and descriptions of which are taken from Sachs's own works.) As he looks round about him thus, 'Tis most enough to turn his head. What words for all this shall he find? Such turmoil how shall he connect? How shall he keep his courage up, To go on singing and inditing? - Upon the border of a cloud Now enters, through the window's space, The Muse, most gracious to behold, Like a picture of our Lady dear. Him with her splendor she surrounds, With truth that ever acts with power. She speaks: "I come to consecrate thee, My benison and Godspeed take! May the holy fire that in thee burns Break out into high and shining flame! Yet, that the life which thee impels May e'er retain its friendly powers, - 47 - I give thee, for thy inmost being, Viands, and healing remedies, That filled with joy thy soul may be, Like as a bud regaled with dew." Then shows she him, behind his house, To the back door pointing quietly, In the narrowly enclosed garden A blooming maiden seated, waiting By the streamlet, near the elder-bush; With head and eye bent to the ground She sits beneath an apple-tree, And the world about her scarcely heeds; Into her lap she's roses plucked, And with great skill a garland binds, Adding thereto bright buds and leaves: Whose shall the wreath of roses be? - Thus sits she, calm within herself, With teeming hope her bosom heaves; So full of presage is her soul, She knows not what she should desire, And in the course of many a whim At times perchance she heaves a sigh. Why is thy brow so overcast? That which disturbs thee, sweetest one, Is perfect joy and blessedness Prepared and waiting thee in one - 48 - Who, tossed by many a cruel fate, Sweet solace in thine eye shall find; Who must, by means of many a kiss Of transport, be made whole again. When he thy slender form inifolds, From every pain he finds relief; When into thy fond arms he sinks, New life and vigor he imbibes, And unto thee returns new joy Of youth, returns thy mirthfulness. With teasing and with many a prank Shalt thou now vex, now gladden him. Thus shall love never know old age, Nor shall the poet e'er grow cold! While thus he lives in quiet joy, See, floating in the sky above, An oaken wreath, forever green; With it posterity him crowns, And to the frog-pool banishes All who their Master have ignored. (Goethe,.Vermischte Gedichte.) Printed by C. G. Rider, Leipzig. DATE DUE MAY 02 APR 2 APR 2 ' EO UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 3I 9115lll 009 11111 3 9015 00961 1230 gn &A 11 gý A,* IN" 4-5 IM AWý 5A yit WR 7_14's", ý;jý I X NkU 'N rt 'k ýV, '_x YN AMA -ilk gee RUN&;........... 7i -K........... its PUN tit., 4 -AX F7.T ENV JimTowns Iloop ýh its. jai Amp "twig Hug, 1k............ F, lm ý Evil that;, ýýWk'z - vu -j toý