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diff --git a/old/51502-0.txt b/old/51502-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 48f93fc..0000000 --- a/old/51502-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1701 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mentor: The Ring of the Nibelung, Vol. -3, Num. 24, Serial No. 100, February 1, 19, by Henry T. Finck - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Mentor: The Ring of the Nibelung, Vol. 3, Num. 24, Serial No. 100, February 1, 1916 - -Author: Henry T. Finck - -Release Date: March 19, 2016 [EBook #51502] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MENTOR: RING OF NIBELUNG, FEB 1, 1916 *** - - - - -Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - THE MENTOR 1916.02.01, No. 100, - The Ring of the Nibelung - - - - - LEARN ONE THING - EVERY DAY - - FEBRUARY 1 1916 SERIAL NO. 100 - - THE - MENTOR - - [Illustration: Wagner’s Festival House at Bayreuth] - - THE RING OF THE - NIBELUNG - - By HENRY T. FINCK - - DEPARTMENT OF VOLUME 3 - FINE ARTS NUMBER 24 - - FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY - - - - -[Illustration] - -Do you stand for Richard Wagner or do you not? That question was enough -to sever friendships fifty years ago. It created a riot at the Paris -Opera in 1861. Wagner’s Art admitted of no compromise. It was either -Gospel or Apocrypha, and it had to be accepted as one or the other. It -commanded enthusiastic admiration or provoked strident resentment. Many -came to rail and remained to worship. Some came in curiosity and left -in dismay. For half a century Richard Wagner was the center of bitter -conflict. But the people listened to him and seemed to appreciate -and understand. In the blackest hours, the messages of Franz Liszt, -Wagner’s best friend, sustained him: “be of good cheer, the people are -with you.” So through half a century the Music Drama withstood the -assaults of criticism and ridicule--and the burden of proof now rests -with the opposition. - -[Illustration] - -The secret of Wagner’s success with the people and of his influence -on dramatic art lies in his naturalness of expression. His dramas are -epic poems of primitive elemental life, and they breathe the fresh, -vigorous spirit of the morning of time. His music commands our interest -even before we fully understand. It makes an irresistible appeal to -our feelings. His art is the art that conceals art. His music seems to -us _so natural_. As the dramatic situation rises in intensity, so his -music seems to lift us on an ever-swelling flood until we are moved -to our depths--though we may not know why. We are simply conscious -of having assisted at something which has swept us momentarily out -of ourselves into a world of throbbing emotion. And the proportions -of the drama before us are so well determined that it is hard to say -which of all the various scenes has touched us most. It is as though we -had walked in a great forest where the rich variety and completeness -of nature’s handiwork had been so absorbing that the memory could -not recall vividly the outlines of single objects. We get a certain -intellectual satisfaction from following the details of Wagner’s Art, -but the supreme enjoyment is in the effect of mass. - - - - -[Illustration: RICHARD WAGNER--PORTRAIT BY FRANZ VON LENBACH] - - - - -The Ring of the Nibelung - -THE MUSIC DRAMA - -Monograph Number One in The Mentor Reading Course - - -Music drama, as Mr. Finck says, is quite different from Opera. In -Wagner’s early years opera, for the most part, was a weak, vapid thing -dramatically, the plot foolish and flat, the music a string of songs, -duets, quartets, and choruses connected by dull recitative. The music -was showy, and of a kind to display the skill of the singer rather than -the composer. And prima donnas at times in their vanity would embellish -this most florid music with additional vocal flourishes. - -Richard Wagner composed operas before he perfected his Music Drama, -but in several of these operas--The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, -and Lohengrin--he gave plain intimations of the principles which -he developed later in what he called “The Art Work of the Future.” -Instinctively he reached out toward his ultimate object in art -before he had fully formulated his ideas; and the composers whom -he admired were those who had made music a means of true, dramatic -expression--Gluck, Mozart and Weber, in opera, and Schubert in song. -All of them made music the expression of the _composer’s_ intentions -as against the vanity of the singer. Mozart defeated the despotic -methods of prima donnas in some cases by making his arias so difficult -technically that the singers could not add any embellishments of their -own. But, while insisting on the claims of the composer, none of these -great musicians thought of allowing the drama to _determine_ the form -and style of the music. That is an essential principle in the Music -Drama. The music does not simply _accompany_ the drama--it is itself -the very expression of the drama. The Rhine music, 135 bars, opening -Rheingold, is not simply an appropriate accompaniment to the flow of -the river. It _is_ the river translated into musical form--so much so -that if played in a concert room apart from the scene of the murky -Rhine depths, in which the Rhine Maidens are circling, it would have no -meaning. And while a great deal of Wagner’s music lends itself readily -to concert production, and is popular as such, the interest in it is a -combined music and dramatic one. - -The Music Drama is not a single art. It is a manifold art, combining -the arts of poetry, painting, sculpture, and music. Wagner contended -that the arts strayed away and fell backward after the days of the -glory of Greek Drama, because each art tried to develop and perfect -itself separately in its own way. Wagner asserted that the way to -the true, full, perfected art work was to reunite these arts in the -Music Drama. This theory he set forth in many writings, and finally -expressed in his compositions. His Music Drama, therefore, gives full -expression for the poet in the text of the play, for the painter in the -scenic effects, for the sculptor in the statuesque groups on the stage, -and for the composer in the musical expression which completes the -combination. - -And none of these contributors, not even the composer, dominates or -controls the others--not even _accompanies_ them. The elements of the -Music Drama are more closely interwoven than that. The contributing -arts are amalgamated in one single complete art. - -And this is what Wagner called “The Art Work of the Future.” - - PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION - ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 24, SERIAL No. 100 - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. - - - - -[Illustration: RICHARD WAGNER’S DREAM--FROM THE PAINTING BY -SCHWENINGER] - - - - -The Ring of the Nibelung - -THE FESTIVAL HOUSE AT BAYREUTH - -Monograph Number Two in The Mentor Reading Course - - -It was in 1870 that Wagner’s dream of a theater of his own gave promise -of full realization. In 1864 King Ludwig of Bavaria, at the age of -nineteen, gave Wagner his patronage, and backed him financially. By -this means, in the years 1865-1870 Tristan, Meistersinger, Rheingold, -and Walküre were performed in Munich. The King wanted the festival -house there, but the court and the populace regarded this plan with -jealous resentment. Moreover, Wagner preferred a more remote place -better suited to fostering a new art undertaking. So the little town -of Bayreuth was chosen. Wagner obtained from the municipality a free -grant of land for a festival-theater and his own house. The architect -Gottfried Semper was commissioned to prepare definite plans. Everything -was settled but the money, and the estimated cost was 1,125,000 francs. -Wagnerian societies were formed all over Europe, and in the United -States, and the interest of financial men in Germany was secured. The -foundation stone of the Festival-Theater was laid with great ceremony -by Wagner himself on May 22, 1872, the 59th anniversary of his birth. -The work of construction proceeded rapidly, although the subscriptions -were short of the total sum required. Ludwig made up the amount lacking. - -Thus, after forty years of struggle, Wagner saw his colossal project -realized in 1876, when the Festival-Theater was opened for the -production of the Ring of the Nibelung. Three representations of the -Ring took place during the summer of that year. Then for six years it -was impossible to open the theater for want of money. In 1882 Parsifal -was produced there, and since then festival performances have taken -place there about every two years. Wagner, however, died in 1883, so he -saw only two of his own great music festivals. - -The theater was a model in its way--which means in Wagner’s way. It -was planned entirely with the thought of the performance and not at -all for the display of the audience. It contains 1344 seats, arranged -in a fan-shaped amphitheater. There are thirty rows of seats, and at -the very back of the hall there are nine boxes, reserved for royalty -and for Wagner’s invited guests. Above the boxes there is a large -gallery containing 200 seats. The orchestra is sunk, and invisible. -Musicians descend on steps a long way under the stage into a kind of -cave, which has received the name in Bayreuth of “the mystic abyss.” -The space reserved for the stage is even larger than the hall. The -curtain divides the building almost into two equal parts. There is no -foyer for the public. The audience steps out readily from any of the -rows in the auditorium directly into the outer air, and can find refuge -and refreshment in one of the many cafe restaurants in the vicinity. On -the same floor with the royal boxes an annex was built in 1882, which -affords entertainment rooms for privileged guests. - -The spirit that permeates the Festival-Theater is one of unselfish -devotion. The characteristic of everyone who takes part there is a -complete surrender of personal interests. Each one comes to Bayreuth -with a sole purpose of contributing the utmost to the festival play. -Therefore, no one, singer or members of the orchestra or chorus, -instructors or conductors, scene shifters or aides, receive any salary -or reward. Their travel expenses are paid and they are lodged in -Bayreuth at the expense of the administration--that is all. And in -return they are treated not as paid artists, but as honored guests. - - PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION - ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 24, SERIAL No. 100 - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. - - - - -[Illustration: THE VALKYR’S RIDE--FROM THE PAINTING BY K. DIELITZ] - - - - -The Ring of the Nibelung - -DAS RHEINGOLD - -Monograph Number Three in The Mentor Reading Course - - -In the beginning Gold, the symbol of human desire, lay in the bed -of the Rhine. It was worshipped and attended by the daughters of -the Rhine. Then it was stolen from them. In the end it was restored -to them, but between the beginning and the end it carried its curse -through many tragic chapters. - -This treasure was called the Rheingold, and, when wrought into a ring -it gave its owner universal power. One condition only went with the -Rheingold,--he who owned it must renounce love forever. - -Three beautiful Maidens of the Rhine guarded the gold, and Alberich, -the ugly King of the Nibelungs--the dwarfs who lived underground--tried -to make love to them. They rejected him scornfully, and so the dwarf, -seeing the gold in the river and knowing its power, forswore love -forever, and seizing the treasure, bore it off to his underground home. - -Just at this time Wotan and the other gods were building a marvellous -castle. They did not have the strength to build this palace by -themselves, so they had called the giants to their aid. For their pay -Wotan promised them the goddess of youth, Freia. As her loss would -bring old age and decay upon the gods, he never meant to keep his -promise--a habit of Wotan’s, by the way. He trusted to the cunning of -Loge (Ló-gee), the Fire god, to get him out of the predicament. - -When appealed to, however, Loge declared that after searching all -heaven and earth, he could find no way out of the difficulty. But he -also reported that he had heard of the stealing of the Rheingold, and -suggested that perhaps the giants would take the ring of the Nibelung -in place of Freia if the gods could get it away from Alberich. The -giants, between whom and the Nibelungs a feud had existed for a long -time, knew that if Alberich kept the ring he would have dominion over -them. So they agreed that if the gods would get them the Rhine treasure -they would give up their claim to Freia. - -Therefore Wotan and Loge descended to Nibelheim. There they found -Alberich gathering together a great hoard of treasure by the aid of -the magic ring. Furthermore, Mime, one of his lieutenants, had made -him a helmet by which he could change his shape or become invisible. -Loge suggested that, to prove the power of the helmet, Alberich change -himself into a toad. The dwarf did this, and the gods promptly seized -and bound him. They then forced him to give up the helmet and the ring. -Alberich had to agree, but he uttered a curse on the ring that brought -death and destruction to everyone who owned it. - -When the giants came for their reward, they placed their tall spears -upright in the ground before Freia, and demanded a pile of gold high -enough to conceal her. However, when all the gold was heaped together, -and even the magic helmet added to the pile, there was still a chink -through which the eye of the goddess could be seen. To fill this the -giants demanded the ring. Wotan did not want to part with this, but the -goddess Erda appeared and warned him against the curse, so he added it -to the heap. - -The curse immediately began its work. Fafner, one of the giants, -claimed the greater part of the hoard of gold for himself. When Fasolt, -the other giant, resented this, he slew him. This was but the first of -the many tragedies that followed the ring. - -A beautiful rainbow bridge now appeared, spanning the valley, and over -this the gods passed, and entered their new palace of Walhall. - - PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION - ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 24, SERIAL No. 100 - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. - - - - -[Illustration: WOTAN’S FAREWELL (DIE WALKÜRE)--FROM THE PAINTING BY K. -DIELITZ] - - - - -The Ring of the Nibelung - -DIE WALKÜRE - -Monograph Number Four in The Mentor Reading Course - - -Wotan and the rest of the gods were in a serious dilemma. They must not -get back the cursed ring, for its possession would bring ruin. And yet -if they left it with the giant Fafner, Alberich might recover it and -make the gods his slaves. There was only one way out of the dilemma. -The ring must go to someone whom the gods need not fear. As long as no -enemy had the ring, the gods were safe enough in their new citadel. -This was guarded by the Valkyr Maidens, nine of them, all daughters of -Wotan and Erda. Their mission was to follow mortals in combat and to -carry the fallen heroes on their horses to Walhall to form its guard. -Having provided for present safety, Wotan looked to the future. He -went to the earth and, uniting himself with a mortal woman, under the -name of Wälse, meaning “wolf,” he founded the formidable race of the -Wälsungs--Siegmund and Sieglinde--on whom he set his hopes. - -Sieglinde, grown to maturity, was carried off and married against her -will to the rough hunter, Hunding. One night to the hut where Hunding -and Sieglinde were living came Siegmund, a fugitive, wearied with -conflict, and battered by the storm. He had been fighting with Hunding, -and had entered the very home of his enemy. Sieglinde came in and found -him lying exhausted by the hearth. She gave him a refreshing draught. -Then came Hunding, to whom Siegmund told his story, thereby revealing -himself as his host’s foe. Hunding would not fight him in his own home, -but challenged him to combat the next day. - -That night Siegmund and Sieglinde discovered their identity, and -decided to fly together. At the wedding feast of Hunding and Sieglinde -a mysterious stranger, who was none other than the god Wotan himself, -had thrust up to its hilt in the trunk of the tree which supported -their dwelling, a sword which he said could only be withdrawn by the -bravest of men. Siegmund proved his right to the sword by drawing it -forth with ease. Then the two Wälsungs fled out into the night. - -Wotan knew of the inevitable conflict between Hunding and Siegmund, and -he summoned Brünnhilde, the Valkyr, and ordered her to give Siegmund -aid. But Fricka, the wife of Wotan, the ever jealous guardian of the -proprieties, demanded that Siegmund be killed. Against his will, Wotan -yielded and commanded Brünnhilde to see that Siegmund lost the combat. -Wotan also told Brünnhilde of the ring, and of the fatal spell. The -giant Fafner, in the form of a dragon, guarded this ring. It could only -be won by a hero unaided by the gods. Wotan thought that he had such a -hero in Siegmund, but Siegmund was not a free agent, since Wotan had -been the moving spirit in all his actions. - -Brünnhilde then appeared to Siegmund and told him of his fate, but her -heart melted at the despair of the lovers, and when the fight began she -protected the hero. Wotan thereupon appeared and interposed his spear, -causing Siegmund to be killed. The sword, “Nothung,” was shivered into -many pieces. Brünnhilde fled with Sieglinde. - -For her disobedience Wotan revoked the divinity of Brünnhilde. He -condemned her to wed the mortal who should rouse her from the slumber -into which he was about to cast her. The Valkyr besought him that none -but the bravest hero on earth should awaken her. Wotan granted her -wish, and promised that she should be guarded by magic fire. Wotan then -kissed Brünnhilde, and cast her into slumber. He struck his staff on -the rocks, and summoned Loge, the Fire God. In answer, flames sprang up -and surrounded the sleeping Valkyr maiden. - - PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION - ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 24, SERIAL No. 100 - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. - - - - -[Illustration: SIEGFRIED SLAYS THE DRAGON (SIEGFRIED)--FROM THE -PAINTING BY K. DIELITZ] - - - - -The Ring of the Nibelung - -SIEGFRIED - -Monograph Number Five in The Mentor Reading Course - - -In the depths of a mighty forest stood a hut, and there dwelt a brave, -strong, handsome youth in company with a mean little dwarf. Every day -the dwarf was busy forging a sword. - -The dwarf was Mime, brother of Alberich, the king of the Nibelungs; -and the youth was Siegfried, the son of Siegmund and Sieglinde. After -Brünnhilde had been cast into slumber by Wotan, Mime took upon himself -the care of Sieglinde. When she died, he brought her son up to manhood. -This was not kind heartedness on the part of Mime, but crafty wisdom. -He knew that Siegfried was destined to be a mighty hero, and he hoped -that the youth might slay Fafner, the dragon, and recover the ring for -the Nibelungs. - -Sieglinde had entrusted to Mime the pieces of the sword Nothung, and -although the dwarf knew that no other weapon would serve for the -slaying of Fafner, he also realized that he was unequal to the task of -forging the pieces together again. Therefore he kept trying to make -other swords for Siegfried to use, but the youth broke them all. - -One day Siegfried, angry at Mime’s continued failure to make him a -suitable sword, rushed out of the cabin in anger. Then a stranger, who -was none other than Wotan himself, in the guise of a Wanderer, appeared -to Mime, and in a contest of riddles, forced from Mime the confession -of his failure, and then revealed to him that Nothung could only be -forged anew by one to whom fear was unknown. When Siegfried returned, -Mime admitted his inability to forge the sword, and told the youth to -try it himself. As Siegfried knew no fear, he was successful. Then Mime -told Siegfried that he would lead him to the dragon Fafner. - -Siegfried, led by Mime, came to the dragon’s cave, and, in a wood-scene -of great beauty, sat listening to the song of birds, and replied to -them joyously with his horn. Fafner, the dragon, was finally roused by -Siegfried’s horn, and came out of his cave breathing threats and fiery -blasts. After a mighty battle, Siegfried slew him. - -Siegfried’s hand was scorched by the fiery blood of the dragon, and he -placed it to his lips to cool it. On tasting the blood, he was able to -understand the song of a bird that told him to take possession of both -the ring and the helmet, and to be on guard against Mime. Consequently, -when the dwarf attempted to give him a poisoned drink, Siegfried killed -him. - -Then the bird told Siegfried of Brünnhilde, who could only be wakened -from her slumber by one who knew no fear, and who could penetrate the -ring of magic fire. Siegfried said that he had never known what fear -was, and he followed the bird to where the Valkyr maiden slumbered. - -In the meantime, in his perplexity, Wotan summoned Erda and sought -counsel with her. Could she tell him how to stop the rolling wheel -of destruction? But Erda’s wisdom could avail him nothing now, and -Wotan resigned himself to the downfall of the gods. Then he confronted -Siegfried on his way to Brünnhilde and barred his way with a spear -to test his courage and strength. Without hesitation, Siegfried cut -the spear in two with his sword, and made his way through the flames -to the summit of the mountain, where he found Brünnhilde sleeping on -a rock under a fir tree. Siegfried gazed at the slumbering maiden in -amazement. Then, removing Brünnhilde’s helmet, he woke her with a -kiss. At first she shrank in terror from her fate. Then, recognizing -Siegfried as the son of Siegmund and as the bravest hero in the world, -whose coming she had herself foretold, she confessed her love for him, -and yielded in ecstasy to his embrace. - - PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION - ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 24, SERIAL No. 100 - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. - - - - -[Illustration: BRÜNNHILDE SLUMBERING, GUARDED BY MAGIC FIRE--FROM THE -PAINTING BY HERMANN HENDRICH] - - - - -The Ring of the Nibelung - -DIE GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG - -Monograph Number Six in The Mentor Reading Course - - -While Siegfried and Brünnhilde were happy together, Siegfried must -needs go forth to seek further adventures. He gave Brünnhilde the ring -as a pledge of fidelity, and she presented him with her shield and her -horse, Grane. - -Siegfried journeyed along the Rhine to the palace of the Gibichungs, -Gunther and his sister, Gutrune. Hagen, their half brother, the son of -Alberich, lived there with them. Alberich had imposed upon Hagen the -task of regaining the ring. Therefore, on seeing Siegfried, he began to -plot. Gutrune, at his suggestion, gave the hero a magic drink, which -made him love her, and forget Brünnhilde. So, when Gunther expressed -his desire for a wife, Siegfried promised him the Valkyr Brünnhilde, -claiming as a reward, the hand of Gutrune. - -In the meantime, Brünnhilde, awaiting the return of Siegfried, was -visited by another Valkyr, Waltraute, who begged her to give up the -fatal ring to the Rhine maidens, and so save the Gods from destruction. -But this Brünnhilde refused to do, counting Siegfried’s love a greater -treasure than her lost divinity. - -Siegfried then appeared to her in the form of Gunther, which he had -assumed by means of the magic helmet. He forced the ring from her, -and commanded her to accept Gunther as her husband. Brünnhilde was -taken by her new husband to the palace of the Gibichungs. When she -arrived there, and saw Siegfried with Gutrune, she at once accused him -of having betrayed both herself and Gunther. The crafty Hagen then -promised Brünnhilde and Gunther to avenge them on Siegfried. - -A hunting party was arranged, and during it Siegfried, who had become -separated from the others, was met by the three Rhine Maidens, who -entreated him to give back the Ring. He refused, even when they told -him that his refusal would mean that he should die that day. - -Then the others of the party came up, and during the meal Hagen gave -Siegfried a magic potion, under the influence of which memory returned -to him, and he told the story of Mime, the dragon, and the forest bird. -As he was in the midst of his tale, two ravens flew out of the thicket -behind him, and he turned to look at them. Hagen immediately speared -him in the back, the only vulnerable spot in his body. Brünnhilde had -made the hero invulnerable with this exception, for she knew that -in battle he would never turn his back to the enemy. Siegfried fell -dying, his last words a passionate greeting to Brünnhilde, whom now he -recalled with rapture as his beloved wife. His body was placed on his -shield, and slowly the funeral procession marched back to the castle. - -At the hall Hagen claimed the Ring, and when Gunther opposed him, Hagen -killed him. But when he attempted to snatch the Ring from Siegfried’s -finger, the hand of the dead hero rose in awful warning. - -Brünnhilde then appeared, knowing the truth at last, and proclaimed -Siegfried the victim of tragic fate. - -A funeral pyre was raised, on which the body of Siegfried was laid. -Brünnhilde tenderly drew the Ring from his finger, and cast it to the -Rhine. She threw a torch under the funeral pyre and, as the flames -rose, she grasped her faithful steed, Grane, by the mane, and charged -with him into the flames. The waters of the Rhine then rose and flooded -the castle of Gunther. Hagen was dragged beneath the waters. All was -submerged, and above the general catastrophe, Walhall was consumed. The -twilight of the gods had come. “The old order changeth, yielding place -to new.” - - PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION - ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 24, SERIAL No. 100 - COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. - - - - -THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG - -By HENRY T. FINCK - -_Music Editor of the New York Evening Post, Author of “Life of Richard -Wagner” and many other works_ - - _MENTOR GRAVURES_ - - RICHARD WAGNER _By Franz von Lenbach_ - - RICHARD WAGNER’S DREAM _By Schweninger_ - - SIEGFRIED SLAYS THE DRAGON _By K. Dielitz_ - - _MENTOR GRAVURES_ - - WOTAN’S FAREWELL _By K. Dielitz_ - - BRÜNNHILDE SLUMBERING GUARDED BY MAGIC FIRE _By Hermann Hendrich_ - - THE VALKYR’S RIDE _By K. Dielitz_ - -[Illustration: BRÜNNHILDE - -From a Painting by S. de Ivanowski, studied from Mdme. Olive Fremstad] - -THE MENTOR · DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC · FEBRUARY 1, 1916 - -Entered at the Postoffice at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter. -Copyright, 1916, by The Mentor Association, Inc. - - -In the leading operatic centers the four music dramas constituting -Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung are often performed separately; -but once a year--sometimes twice--they are all given within a week or -two, in proper order,--“Rheingold,” “Walküre” (vol-keer-a), “Siegfried” -(seeg-freed), and “Götterdämmerung” (get-ter-dem-mer-ung) as a special -“Nibelung cycle,”--and such a cycle is looked on by the highest class -of music lovers as a great festival, and is followed with concentrated -attention in all its wonderful details. - -Wagner himself gave his “Ring” (as it is often called for short) the -subtitle “Bühnenfestspiel” (bee-nen-fest-speel), or stage-festival -play. It was in the summer of 1876 that he first gave it to the world, -in a specially constructed theater in Bayreuth, Bavaria; and he did -this in accordance with a plan conceived by him as a necessity more -than a quarter of a century before. - -To understand why he regarded such a festival as a necessity we must -know something about the operatic situation at the time when he -composed this colossal and revolutionary work. The originators of -Italian opera, who lived at Florence three centuries ago, held that -the play (or libretto) in an opera was as important as the music. -In their eagerness to make it possible for the hearer to understand -every word of the text they banished all flowing melody in favor of a -dry recitative, halfway between speech and song, one of them actually -boasting of their “noble contempt for melody.” - -[Illustration: INTERIOR, BAYREUTH OPERA HOUSE] - -This, naturally, led to a reaction, which went so far to the side of -melody that finally nobody listened except when the prima donna or the -tenor sang a brilliant aria, the play being entirely ignored. - -[Illustration: FELIX MOTTL - -One of the leading conductors at the early festival performances at -Bayreuth] - -Efforts to curb the singers and restore the play to honor were made by -several composers, the most important of them being Gluck (1714-1787). -So thoroughly was he imbued with the importance of the play in an opera -that he once wrote, “Before I begin to work I try to forget above all -things that I am a musician.” Yet in his operas, too, the arias remain -the principal points of interest, as they do in the operas of his -successors, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Mozart, Weber. - -[Illustration: DR. HANS RICHTER - -The famous conductor, in charge of the orchestral forces at Bayreuth in -1876 and after] - -Moreover--and this is the most important point--in Gluck’s operas, as -Wagner himself pointed out in 1850, “aria, recitative, and ballet, -each complete in itself, stand as unconnected side by side as they did -before him, and still do, almost always, to the present day.” - -It was this defect of the opera--this _incoherence of its parts_--that -Wagner set himself the task of remedying. The result was the Music -Drama--the “Artwork of the Future,” as exemplified in the Ring of -the Nibelung as well as in “Tristan and Isolde,” “Die Meistersinger” -(mice-ter-singer), and “Parsifal.” - - -DIFFERENT FROM ORDINARY OPERAS - -These seven music dramas differ radically in their structure from what -had been known for centuries as operas. Operas are made up of “set -numbers”; that is, solo arias, duos, ensembles (ahnsahmbles) for three -or four voices, besides choruses, instrumental pieces, and dances. -Wagner also himself wrote some operas: “The Fairies,” “Rienzi,” “The -Flying Dutchman,” “Tannhäuser” (ton-hoi-ser), and “Lohengrin,” in all -of which there are set numbers which are played and sung once and _do -not recur_. - -Beginning with the “Flying Dutchman,” however, we have, besides the set -numbers which do not recur, others which do recur, and these are the -far-famed “motives” (German, _leitmotive_), usually called “leading -motives,” or guiding themes. - -[Illustration: LUDWIG II OF BAVARIA - -The young king who befriended Wagner and made his plans possible] - -[Illustration: COSIMA WAGNER - -Daughter of Franz Liszt, formerly wife of Hans von Bülow, who now as -Wagner’s widow manages the affairs at Bayreuth] - -[Illustration: RICHARD AND COSIMA WAGNER - -From a photograph taken about 1872] - -A leading motive may be defined as a characteristic melody, or -succession of chords like the majestic strains of the Walhall music, -the heavy clumsy musical tread of the giants, or the virile, heroic -motive of Siegfried, which is sounded by the orchestra whenever in the -course of the drama the personage or the dramatic idea with which it is -associated comes forward or is referred to in the text. - -Today Wagner’s early operas seem simple to all; but the German -audiences that first heard them, more than sixty years ago, found them -hard nuts to crack. His “Rienzi,” being in the flashy Meyerbeer style -much admired at that time, won great favor, although it is the poorest -of his works. His next work, “The Flying Dutchman,” was so novel in -style that the audiences did not know what to make of it. “Tannhäuser” -was still more Wagnerian; while his “Lohengrin” seemed so far beyond -the possibility of public approval that he could not get it accepted -for performance, even in Dresden, where he was conductor! - -This was only one illustration of the hard set conditions of the -operatic situation. Wagner had so many reasons for dissatisfaction that -he joined the revolutionary uprising in 1849. This uprising was soon -crushed, and Wagner, with the aid of Liszt, escaped to Switzerland, the -great asylum of political fugitives. Twelve years elapsed before he was -allowed to return to Germany. - -[Illustration: THE RHINE DAUGHTERS. FROM RHEINGOLD. Photographed from -the stage performance] - -For six years he did not compose another opera, devoting his time -instead to writing essays in which he tried to explain the aim of his -“Artwork of the Future.” Nobody paid any attention to these essays. -The consequence was that, as he wrote to Liszt, “I lead here entirely -a dream life: if I awake, it is to suffer.” He suffered because, -among other things, he heard from many sources that the performances -of his operas given in German cities were so bad that it was hard to -understand how anyone could possibly enjoy them. - - -A MUSICIAN’S DREAM - -If these comparatively simple operas were so badly sung and played, -what would happen to the more advanced and ultra-Wagnerian work which -now began to ripen in his brain,--the four music dramas constituting -the “Ring”? Their performance, he realized, would be impossible in the -opera houses of Berlin, Dresden, Leipsic, and other cities, as managed -and manned at that time. He had to fall back on his “dream-life.” And -he dreamt a wonderful dream,--a dream of Bayreuth, of a specially -built theater with singers and players selected by himself for their -correct performance of his next work. This dream was not realized till -twenty-six years later! - -This next work was at first intended to be a music drama complete in -itself, to be called “Siegfried’s Death.” On thinking the matter over, -however, Wagner concluded that the poem was too full of matter for -one play. Consequently he wrote a “Young Siegfried” to precede--and -prepare for--“Siegfried’s Death” (the name of which was changed to -“Götterdämmerung,” or “Dusk of the Gods”); then for the same reason he -wrote “Die Walküre,” to precede “Siegfried”; and finally “Rheingold,” -as a prelude to the other three. - -[Illustration: SIEGMUND AND SIEGLINDE. FROM DIE WALKÜRE. Photographed -from the stage performance] - -[Illustration: BRÜNNHILDE’S SUMMONS TO SIEGMUND - -From Die Walküre] - -While the poems were thus written in inverse order, the plot of the -whole cycle had been in his mind, and written down, before he wrote any -of the verses; and the music, of course, was composed in proper order, -beginning in 1853 with “Rheingold.” - -Wagner not only wrote the poems of all his stage works, but he was -a great dramatic poet. The full value of his poems, however, can be -appreciated only in connection with the music, just as the music makes -its deepest appeal in connection with the poem and the action. And yet -his music alone is compelling enough; for Wagner concerts, at which -the music is played without the words, are among the most popular of -concerts. - -[Illustration: ALBERT NIEMANN - -Noted tenor who created the role of Siegmund in the original -performances of Die Walküre at Bayreuth in 1876] - -What we should specially bear in mind is that the music in ordinary -operas is simply _associated_ with the dramatic poem, or libretto, -whereas in the Ring the two are _identified_; or, as Wagner once -expressed it, in the music drama the poem and the music are “like two -pairs of lips in a kiss, each giving to and taking from the other.” - -To practical persons Wagner’s life in Switzerland must seem deplorable. -He spent six years writing theoretical essays the sales of which -hardly paid for his paper and ink. Then he began to write and compose -his cycle of four Nibelung dramas, which he felt sure would never -bring him in a penny, even if he succeeded (which he doubted) in ever -getting them performed. But Wagner was not a practical man,--he was a -genius,--he could no more help creating the Ring of the Nibelung than a -volcano can help erupting when the time comes. - -He finished “Rheingold”; he finished “Die Walküre”; he began -“Siegfried,” and got as far as the middle of it when he was compelled -to stop because of lack of funds. The royalties from his operas (which -since his death have netted his heirs over a million dollars) were -at that time trifling. Liszt and other friends helped him; but all -his efforts to help himself failed. For rehearsing and conducting the -London Philharmonic concerts during the season of four _months_ he got -one thousand dollars, or half what in recent times Jean de Reszke used -to earn in four _hours_ by singing one of the Wagner roles! He finally -concluded that in order to finish the Ring he must write a separate -opera that might be performed at once and bring him in some money. The -result was “Tristan and Isolde”; but this was as far ahead of the times -as the Ring, and no opera house attempted it till six years after its -completion in 1859. - - -KING LUDWIG TO THE RESCUE - -In despair, he next composed “Die Meistersinger.” This, being a comic -opera and full of pleasing melody, would, he felt sure, turn the tide. -It did so; but before this occurred important things happened. - -Encouraged by the success of a series of concerts he had given in -Russia, he spent his money recklessly in Vienna, and borrowed more, at -usurious rates, because he had been invited for another tour in Russia. -Through no fault of his own, this came to naught, and he had to fly -from Vienna to escape a debtor’s prison. First he went to Switzerland, -then to Stuttgart. In a moment of despair he had bought a pistol to end -his life; but better counsel prevailed, and he decided to hide in the -Swabian Alps, there to complete the score of his comic opera. The wagon -had already been ordered, and he was packing his trunk, when a card -was brought up with the name of Baron Pfistenmeister, court secretary -of the king of Bavaria. - -[Illustration: SIEGFRIED AND FAFNER THE DRAGON. From the painting by -Hermann Hendrich] - -Ludwig II had but recently ascended the throne of Bavaria. He was very -young, and very enthusiastic over Wagner’s operas. He knew that the -great composer needed help, and one of his first actions was to send -his secretary to find him. He was promptly brought to Munich, where he -was enabled to live in luxury at the king’s expense. Not only were his -operas staged at once, but also two of his music-dramas,--“Tristan and -Isolde” and “Die Meistersinger.” - -He now returned to his “Siegfried,” which, with tears in his eyes, he -had abandoned in the middle of the second act. His plan was to complete -this and “Götterdämmerung,” and then have the whole “Ring” staged in a -new theater to be specially constructed in Munich. The king cordially -approved this plan; but the courtiers and the populace, jealous of the -great composer because of the influence he had on the king, made such a -row over it that Wagner left the city to complete his work elsewhere. - - -BAYREUTH AND THE FIRST FESTIVAL - -[Illustration: AMALIA MATERNA - -Famous dramatic soprano who created the role of Brünnhilde in the -original performance at Bayreuth] - -[Illustration: MAX ALVARY - -Popular tenor who created the role of Siegfried in America in 1887 and -sang it at the 100th American performance in New York, in 1895] - -The inhabitants of Munich have had reason to regret their action in -opposing the plans of their king and Wagner. Since Wagner’s death in -1883 a score or more of festivals have been held at Bayreuth, bringing -millions of profit to that Bavarian town, all of which the Munichers -might have had. Bayreuth was chosen partly because it was within the -realm of Wagner’s royal friend, partly because of its picturesque -surroundings, and partly because of its seclusion. Special inducements -had been offered him to build the Nibelung Theater at the famous -summer resort, Baden-Baden; but he did not wish to produce his great -and revolutionary work before audiences of mere pleasure-seekers. He -had spent a quarter of a century in creating an entirely new German -artwork, free from all foreign elements and operatic fripperies, and he -wanted to submit it to serious music lovers, who would be sufficiently -interested to take a trip to remote Bayreuth. - -Edison, the wizard inventor, who never spared himself in work, said not -long ago that genius was one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per -cent perspiration. - -Wagner’s “Ring” is certainly a miracle of inspiration; yet when one -reads of how much hard work he bestowed on its production after the -infinite pains he had taken in creating it, one feels tempted to -say that Edison did not exaggerate. Monumental proof of Wagner’s -indefatigable industry is afforded by two volumes, one containing his -business letters, the other his letters to the artists during the -preparations for the Bayreuth festivals of 1876 and 1882, over both -of which he presided personally. He spent a whole summer visiting all -the German opera houses and picking out the artists most suitable for -each of the forty-nine solo parts in the “Ring.” With most of these -he corresponded personally, and also went over their parts with them -before the rehearsals on the stage. The orchestra was made up with the -same attention to individual merit; while the scenic features were -genuine works of art. - -The Nibelung Festival of 1876 was a most important event in the history -of music. Among those who attended it were two emperors (William -I of Germany and Don Pedro of Brazil), King Ludwig II, the grand -dukes of Weimar, Baden, and Mecklenburg, together with many other -representatives of the European aristocracy; while among those who -represented the musical nobility were Liszt, Grieg, and Saint Saëns. -On all these, as on the ordinary mortals assembled, the “Ring” made an -indelible impression. - -[Illustration: THE PASSING OF SIEGFRIED. From the painting by Hermann -Hendrich] - - -CONQUEST OF EUROPE AND AMERICA - -That there were shortcomings it is needless to say; for everything was -so new and difficult to the artists. Nor were the funds sufficient -to enable Wagner to realize all his intentions. The cost of seats -($75 for the four performances--which were thrice repeated) kept many -enthusiasts from attending, and the result was a deficit of $37,500. - -[Illustration: GUSTAV SIEHR - -Who created the role of Hagen in Götterdämmerung, at Bayreuth, 1876] - -[Illustration: LILLI LEHMANN - -Celebrated dramatic soprano, who took part in original Bayreuth -performances and was the leading interpreter of Wagner roles in America -for years] - -[Illustration: SIEGFRIED IN GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG - -Photographed from Max Alvary] - -This deficit, while it was a cruel blow to Wagner, was for the world a -blessing in disguise; for it made it impossible for him to carry out -his plan of reserving the future performances of the Nibelung’s Ring -for Bayreuth alone. There were no available funds; so King Ludwig, who -had contributed $50,000 toward the expenses of the Nibelung scenery, -got the privilege of producing the whole “Ring” in Munich. Other cities -soon followed, and so great was the success that Wagner permitted -Angelo Neumann, manager of the Leipsic Opera, to organize a traveling -Wagner Theater for producing the “Ring” throughout the cities of -Germany, as well as in Italy and other countries. These performances -were, fortunately, given under the conductorship of Anton Seidl, who -had been Wagner’s secretary for several years, and concerning whom -Wagner wrote, “No other conductor knows as he does the proper tempi -[changes of pace] of my music or how the action on the stage must -be suited to the music. Seidl learned these things from me. He will -conduct the Nibelungen better for you than anyone else.” - - -AMERICAN PERFORMANCES - -Fortunately, also, it was this same Anton Seidl who conducted -the first performances of the “Ring” in America, beginning with -“Siegfried” in 1887. “Die Walküre” had previously been produced under -Leopold Damrosch. The success in these cases was immediate; for the -Metropolitan Opera House had imported the leading Wagnerian singers -from Germany. - -[Illustration: ANTON SEIDL - -For years the leading conductor of Wagner opera in America] - -[Illustration: THEODORE THOMAS - -Noted conductor who worked for years to make Wagner music known to the -American public] - -The ground had been well prepared. Theodore Thomas had labored many -years to educate the public up to Wagner; his activity culminating in -the great Wagner festival of 1884, for which he imported three of the -leading Bayreuth singers, Materna, Winkelmann, and Scaria. That same -season Wagner’s operas and music-dramas began to lead the others at the -Metropolitan, and among the singers who helped to popularize his works -were Lilli Lehmann, Marianne Brandt, Milka Ternina, Albert Niemann, -Heinrich Vogl (fo-gl), Max Alvary, Theodor Reichmann, Emil Fisher, most -of whom had studied with Wagner, besides, somewhat later, Jean and -Edouard de Reszke, Olive Fremstad, Johanna Gadski, and the Americans -Lillian Nordica, Emma Eames, Louise Homer, and Geraldine Farrar. - -The first of the Nibelung operas heard in New York was “Die Walküre.” -It was sung at the Academy of Music eight months after the festival at -Bayreuth, but the performance was in every way inadequate. In a way it -was fortunate for the Wagner cause that Abbey and Grau lost $250,000 -giving operas in Italian and French during the first season (1883-84) -of the Metropolitan Opera House, just built at a cost of $1,732,978. -That failure induced the directors to try German opera, and for seven -years it ruled supreme; but the German singers, great as they were -in their own sphere, could not, with a few exceptions (notably Lilli -Lehmann) do justice to Italian and French works. The eager desire to -hear those again, under more favorable conditions, led to a temporary -cessation of German opera; but it so happened that one of the famous -singers engaged for French and Italian opera was the great tenor, Jean -de Reszke, who gradually became an ardent Wagnerite, eager to appear in -the Nibelung operas. He induced the management to reengage Seidl and -some of the best German singers, and once more Wagner flourished, side -by side with Verdi and Meyerbeer, Gounod and Bizet. Wagner now leads -in the number of performances, followed by Puccini and Verdi. Singers -of every nationality now seek to appear in the Wagner operas, and an -ambition of the great conductors, including the Italian, Toscanini, is -to interpret the Nibelung’s Ring, of which Liszt wrote: “It overtops -and commands our whole art-epoch as Mont Blanc does our mountains.” - - -SUPPLEMENTARY READING - - THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG _By G. Kobbé_ - - GUIDE TO THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG _By H. von Wolrogen_ - - RICHARD WAGNER _By Adolphe Jullien_ - 2 Vols. Fully illustrated - - STUDIES IN THE WAGNERIAN DRAMA _By H. E. Krehbiel_ - - RICHARD WAGNER _By W. J. Henderson_ - - WAGNER AND HIS WORKS _By H. T. Finck_ - - A STUDY OF WAGNER _By Ernest Newman_ - - LIFE OF WAGNER _By Houston S. Chamberlain_ - Fully illustrated - - THE MUSIC DRAMAS OF R. WAGNER AND - HIS FESTIVAL THEATER IN BAYREUTH _By Albert Lavignac_ - - - - -THE OPEN LETTER - - -Dear Mrs. B--n: - -I know exactly how you feel about Wagner’s music. You write me that -your club is to devote several afternoons to Wagner and that the -preparatory study that you have to give to it is “too much like -hard work.” You ask, “Why must it be so? Cannot Wagner’s music be -appreciated without having to master a system of things as puzzling and -difficult as bezique?” - - * * * * * - -A very good question. It has been asked many times. It was answered -in a way some years ago when a very eminent New York music critic -found a young friend at a Wagner Music Drama poring over a commentary -and busily memorizing the leading motives instead of listening to the -music. “Go as far with that as your enthusiasm will carry you,” said -the critic. “Then forget it all--and let the music tell you its own -story.” “But,” was the answer, “I want to listen intelligently and not -miss any of the meaning of the music or the text.” - - * * * * * - -That, Mrs. B--n, is your attitude. You want to understand the -principles of Wagner’s Art. Good. But don’t make hard work of it. I -have been all through the experience and I know what it means. I was a -young worshipper at Wagner’s shrine in the years when Anton Seidl was -making the Music Drama known in America, and Max Alvary, Lilli Lehmann, -and Emil Fischer filled the leading roles. Night after night, libretto -and commentary in hand, I sat through hours of Music Drama until I knew -every measure intimately. I could tick off unerringly each individual -motive as it occurred. Sometimes four or five of them would be going at -once, but none of them ever escaped me. By and by I got tired of this -academic exercise and then I made a wonderful discovery. I found that -my labors had been unnecessary. The music was plain enough to anyone -who was sensitive to music and who followed the drama attentively. -I discovered this through a friend whom I took to the Ring of the -Nibelung for the first time. He had not studied as I had, but when he -heard the quick tapping sound of the hammers in Rhinegold he did not -have to be told that it was the Nibelung motive. The heavy tread of -the music of the giants was perfectly plain to him, and so was the -mad galop of the Valkyrs, while the solemn measures that accompanied -the gods across the rainbow bridge made clear to him the majesty of -Walhall. At one time he turned to me and said, “I don’t know what the -text books call that musical theme, but it means ‘Pleading’ to me.” The -“Magic Fire” and “Slumber” music were eloquently expressive to him, -and whenever he heard the ominous beat of the kettle-drum he exclaimed -without hesitation, “That means ‘Fate!’” - - * * * * * - -Of course this is easy in the case of the motives that are musically -descriptive of their subjects. But it is true also of those that are -merely arbitrary musical symbols, such, as the motives of the “Wälsung -Family,” or “The Compact.” Your attention is called to these motives -at the time when they are first played and instinctively you associate -them with their subjects when they are repeated. - - * * * * * - -“But,” you may say, “that is not the way to master the score. A -commentary is surely needed.” A commentary is indeed a material help. -But, after all, you will have to go to the music finally, so why not -_start_ with the music? It is simply a question of the best method of -learning. The handbook and commentary method is like the old grammar -and speller--didactic and dry. Wagner music is a great deal better -than Wagner explanations. So, go to the music at once and follow it -closely. A great deal that makes up Wagner’s Art will quickly become -apparent to you. Intelligent, appreciative commentaries written by -scholarly critical writers are valuable reading, _after_ you have heard -the music. A course of handbook study before you are familiar with the -music is indeed, as you say, very much “like hard work.” - -Sincerely yours, - -[Illustration: W. D. Moffat - -EDITOR] - - - - -THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION - - -ESTABLISHED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POPULAR INTEREST IN ART, -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, HISTORY, NATURE, AND TRAVEL - -THE ADVISORY BOARD - - JOHN G. HIBBEN, _President of Princeton University_ - HAMILTON W. MABIE, _Author and Editor_ - JOHN C. VAN DYKE, _Professor of the History of Art, Rutgers College_ - ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, _Professor of Government, Harvard University_ - WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, _Director, New York Zoological Park_ - DWIGHT L. 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THE GOLDEN AGE OF GREECE. - -_By George Willis Botsford, Professor Ancient History, Columbia -University._ - -The Golden Age of Greece was one of the high water marks of the world’s -history. It was a time interesting in every way. Professor Botsford’s -entertaining story will give an insight into the life of the period -that will hold the interest of everyone. - -Mar. 1. CHINESE RUGS - -_By John K. Mumford, Author and Expert on Oriental Rugs._ - -This will be one of the most interesting and beautiful numbers of The -Mentor ever published. Its authority is the highest, and the color -pictures of the rugs themselves are superb. - -THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC. - -52 EAST 19th STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y. - - - - -THE MENTOR - -The Mentor Service - - -This service covers the needs of those who want to gain knowledge by an -easy and agreeable method. - -Send for our booklet descriptive of The Mentor Club Service. 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