Wotan, Siegfried, and Brünnhilde . rsto Waltraute are full of a deeper meaning than shecan understand. He tells her that when Brtinn-hilde shall return the Ring to the Rhine-Maidens,gods and men will be free from the weight of thecurse. She tries to obtain the Ring from hersister, but in vain. Fate wills that the Rhinedaughters shall receive their property from Briinn-hildes own hands, as a gift blessed by her wisdomand her suffering. And, indeed, we may knowmost surely that Wotan does not wish to avert thedestruction of the gods. His words are but proph-ecy, for he sees farther than the twili
Wotan, Siegfried, and Brünnhilde . rsto Waltraute are full of a deeper meaning than shecan understand. He tells her that when Brtinn-hilde shall return the Ring to the Rhine-Maidens,gods and men will be free from the weight of thecurse. She tries to obtain the Ring from hersister, but in vain. Fate wills that the Rhinedaughters shall receive their property from Briinn-hildes own hands, as a gift blessed by her wisdomand her suffering. And, indeed, we may knowmost surely that Wotan does not wish to avert thedestruction of the gods. His words are but proph-ecy, for he sees farther than the twilight; and thefreedom which he means is the annulment of thegods, as well as the cleansing of the gold-cursedearth. The music which describes the burning of Wal- Wotan 37 halla is based on the motif of the Gods Need, buthas a harmonic construction which produces athrilling and wonderful effect. Listening, onefinds oneself breathless from a strange, constrain-ing force—it seems to hold in it a magic aspotent as it is indescribable,. The phrase first enters in the Norn scene, again inWaltrautes narrative, and reaches its climax whenBriinnhilde commands the erection of the funeralpyre—that funeral pyre the rising flames fromwhich finally destroyed Walhalla. Loges revengeis expressed by his characteristic music, whichsweeps up in a veritable surge of crackling fire. Here let me draw your attention to a beautifulmusical touch. We remember the short but lovelyphrase so often used to bring the Walhalla motifto a close,—the melody which seems to character- 38 Wotan ize Wotan as supreme god of the Golden but the master would have dared to give thisfresh and simple melody to the broken and wearygod awaiting the end of his power and splendor?Yet, as Briinnhilde, raising her arms, sings solemn-ly, Ruhe ! ruhe ! du Gott! ( Rest! rest! thougod!), we hear first the Walhalla motif, full ofpeace and dignity, then the motif of the GodsNeed, subdued and lulled, and last the simple an
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectwagnerrichard1813188
