In this paper I will discuss the third act of Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the conclusion of his cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. In particular, I shall focus on the musical organization of the prologue and first scene of Act III.

Wagner's final opera of the ring cycle, Götterdämmerung, was originally conceived as Siegfried's Death. In the sketches, Sigfried's first act after he has forged the sword is to avenge on Hunding the death of his father. The Rhinedaughters who accost him during the Gibichung hunt are in the First Sketch mermaids with swans' wings. Nothing is said in the Sketch about Alberich having forsworn love in order to possess himself of the gold. In the final episode the light from the burning pyre shows Brynhilde, once more the armed Valkyrie on her horse, leading Siegfried by

the hand to Wotan, to join the other heroes who guard the Gods; whereas in Götterdämmerung we

see no more of Siegfried and Brynhilde after the blazing up of the fire, which gradually engulfs not

1

The prologue to Act three opens with the horn calls of Siegfried answered by the cow horns ("Stierhörner) of the hunting Gibichungs in the further distance. I have provided a dramatic diagram to the whole of act III found as Figure 1. The Vorspiel recalls the motives of the gently flowing Rhine and the song of the Rhinedaughters .Two new motives associated with the Rhinedaughters are introduced.

During the prologue, the curtain rises on a valley by the Rhine. Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde, the three Rhinedaughters rise to the surface and swim around. They are slightly sad since the Rhine's luster no longer matches that of the sunlight playing on the waves as it did in the days when the Rhinegold was safely in their possession.

As Siegfried enters, The Rhinedaughters greet him singing his name, both syllables of which appear on minor triads, the first is F minor and the second A-flat minor--Vocal Score (VS) p. 245 . This is noteworthy in terms of the later proclamation of his name by the three Rhinedaughters. The Rhinedaughters tease him over his having lost track of his fellow hunters. When they ask for the ring and he refuses, they continue to chide him, asking if he fears his wife's discipline. They dive back into the waters as he descends the cliff in response to their chiding. When they surface again, they are very serious and admonish him to return the ring to the waters of the Rhine lest he meet his fate. This time they sing his name which is set on a much more intense G-B-flat- F triad resolving to E-G#-B--VS p. 254). They tell him of the Ring and the doom of death that lies ahead for anyone who acquires it . They swim around singing "Weiala la, leia" and eventually swim away, leaving Siegfried to reflect upon the fickle ways of women.

2

The music of the Rhinedaughters dies away in the distance, horn calls are heard in the distance to which Siegfried responds. Soon Hagen and Gunther, followed by the vassals, find Siegfried and all stop to rest and eat. When Hagen asks Siegfried about his luck with hunting, Siegfried replies that he has caught nothing and instead he relates his experiences with the Rhinedaughters. He tells of their foretelling of his doom, at which Gunther becomes agitated and looks darkly at Hagen. At this, the Covenant of Vengeance motive begins to stir in the orchestra. Hagen asks Siegfried if there is any truth to the tale that he can understand the song of the birds. Little by little Hagen gets Siegfried to tell of his boyhood. As he recalls each point of his life, Wagner employs the appropriate motives. As Siegfried nears the end of his story, he tells how he had broken through the fire and found the sleeping Brynhilde, wakened her with a kiss, and been folded in her arms. At this point, two ravens, Wotan's messengers of death are circling overhead. Hagen asks if Siegfried can understand their song and as Siegfried rises to his feet and gazes after them, Hagen drives his spear into his back delivering a fatal blow with the words, "Vengeance they cry to me!" The orchestra begins a motive that will soon become one of the elements of Siegfried's funeral march. In is remaining moments, Siegfried's memory is completely restored as he hails "Brynhilde, holiest bride!" to the accompaniment from her awakening in the final scene of Siegfried. He remembers every phase of that slow awakening and the orchestra plays each of the appropriate motives. Finally the death motive prevails and Siegfried is dead. The funeral march follows.

As the mourning procession passes out of sight, then begins Siegfried's Funeral March. It begins with the solemn theme of the mourning cortege and then passes through a number of motives associated with the hero--that of the Volsung race, those of Sieglinde's compassion and love for Siegfried, that of Siegfried and the horn call that had symbolized him in youth, and that of

3

Brynhilde as at the opening of Götterdämmerung. All through this march is the motive of the mourning cortege.

In the third scene of Act III, the curtain rises to reveal the hall of the Gibichungs as in the first act. Gutrune is having a sleepless night, sensing something is horribly wrong. Soon the procession reaches the hall and a crowd of men and women with lights and firebrands enter along with Siegfried's body. Hagen tells the crowd that he was killed by a wild boar, but Gunther soon tells the truth--that Hagen had killed him. A sword fight commences between Hagen and Gunther the latter of which is killed. As Hagen attempts to remove the ring from the dead Siegfried's finger the hand of Siegfried's body raises threateningly as all shriek in horror.

The clamor of the orchestra subsides to a pianissimo as Brynhilde comes forth slowly and solemnly. Disregarding the lamentations of Gutrune and the somber brooding of Hagen, she stands alone in the centre of the stage while the orchestra begins a paean to the dead hero. She reflects sorrowfully for a moment, and then turns to the vassals and women and instructs them to pile up logs by the river side for a pyre for the hero and kindle fire to consume him.

At her signal, the vassals lift Siegfried's body onto the pyre. She hurls firebrands onto the pile which breaks into bright flames. She then mounts her horse, Grane, and urges him with a single leap into the burning pile. The Rhine flows forth into Loge and the Rhinedaughters recover the ring. When Hagen jumps in after them, Woglinde and Wellgunde throw their arms around his neck while Flosshilde holds the recovered rings exultantly aloft. Flames seize Walhall and after all this turmoil, Wagner's great theme of redemption by love is heard.

4

The three-part construction of the prologue is similar to the construction of the opera as a whole. It comprises three main sections just as the opera is made up of three acts. The prologue is also interesting from the standpoint of the relationship of the interval of the fifth on the melodic and harmonic structural level. It is made up of three main sections, each comprising three key areas. A portrayal of the Vorspiel is outlined in figure 2, as well as here in the ensuing prose. The prologue opens in G major with the horncalls from horns on stage echoed by those from the orchestra, each sounding melodies based on the fifth (mm. 1-5). There is an immediate shift to F-sharp in which there is an echo fantasy between the horns (mm. 6-14), and then a return to the same material as the opening five measures (mm.-15-19), thus the third part of section one. This section can be viewed in terms of an ABA construction. We then move into the second section of the prologue which opens with ascending fifths in the key of F (mm. 20-34). I have labeled the elements of this section CBD. C is characterized by ascending fifths as well an orchestral crescendo followed by a decrescendo, all moving toward the key area of C in section. The B (mm. 35-40) of section II relates to the B of section I with identical melodic material comprised of horncalls based on the fifth. This time, however, it appears in C rather than F#. D, the third and final element of section II is essentially a transitory passage leading to section III of the Vorspiel. Section three serves as a direct introduction to the upcoming song of the Rhinedaughters. The rising sixth motive announces the musical material which they are about to sing.

The opening of scene one commences with the Rhinedaughters singing "Frau Sonne...". There is a subtle item to note with regard to Wagner's use of consonants in these opening passages. There two consistencies between his choice of consonants in the last line of the first verse of the opening song of the Rhinedaughters and that of the second verse, namely the use of h against f. The text is as follows:

5

Vs. 1.) Frau Sonne, sendet lichte Strahlen; Nacht liegt in der Tiefe:

Vs. 2.) Frau Sonne, sende uns den Helden, der das Gold uns wie der gäbe!

Vs. 1.) einst war sie hell, da heil und hehr des Vaters Gold noch in ihr gläntze!

Vs. 2.) Liess er uns, dein lichtes Auge neideten dann wir nicht länger!

Vs. 1.) Rheingold, klares Gold, wie hell du einstens strahltest, hehre Stern der Tiefe!

Vs. 2.) Rheingold, klares Gold, wie froh du dann strahltest, freier Stern der Tiefe!

On a smaller scale, this is similar to Act III of Die Walküre (Wotan's Farewell) in which there are consistencies between Wagner's choice of consonants at the beginnings of words between the two verses.

Act one is organized into a four part structure which centers mainly around the key areas of

6

F and it's two thirds above, A and A-flat*. The first section is the song of the Rhinedaughters and is in ABA form followed by a very short six measure orchestral passage containing horncalls announcing Siegfried's subsequent entrance. The Rhinedaughters open with their song to "Frau Sonne" in F. There is then a center section, also in F, in which Wagner employs the four stage harps mentioned above. This center section, during which the Rhinedaughters are singing "Wei-a-la", contains horncalls heralding the arrival of Siegfried. There is then a return to the A material followed by a transitory C which is followed by section 2 which is delineated by Siegfried's entrance. Section 3 is opened with the Rhinedaughter's calling Siegfried's name on an F chord going to an A-flat minor chord. This event is to reoccur throughout the section, but this text is subject to increasing harmonic tension as the Rhinedaughter's message becomes more and more intense, and less and less heeded by our hero. Section three is comprised of three sections, A, B and C. Running throughout each of these three sections are continual regular alternations in dialogue between the Rhinedaughters and Siegfried. Section four is achieved with a return to the B material from section 1, the "Wei-a-la's" of the Rhinedaughters.

The very complex harmonic and structural implications of Wagner's work manifest themselves nowhere more than in Götterdämmerung. Through my examination of this small portion of his composition, I hope to have demonstrated some of the methods by which Wagner so masterfully achieved coherence between his music and drama.

*Due to the complex harmonic nature of Richard Wagner's work, I refer here only the broader key structures in each section. i.e. in part A of section 1 there are many harmonic shifts, however, F is the prevailing key of the segment.

1.) Dahlhaus, Carl. Richard Wagner's Music Dramas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

1979.

2.) Deathridge, John. Wagner's Rienzi: A reappraisal based on a study of the sketches and drafts.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977.

3.) Deathridge, John and Carl Dahlhaus. The New Grove Wagner. New York and London: W.W.

Norton and Company, 1984.

4.) DiGaetani, John Louis, ed. Penetrating Wagner's Ring: An Anthology. London: Associated

University Presses, 1974

5.) Newman, Ernest. The Wagner Operas. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949.

6.) Turner, W.J. Wagner. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1979.

7.) Wagner, Richard. The Ring of the Nibelung. German text with English translation by Andrew

Porter. New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 1977.

8.) Wagner, Richard. The Twilight of the Gods (Götterdämmerung); English Translation by

Frederick Jameson, Complete Vocal Score in a Facilitated Arrangement by Karl

Klindworth. Kalmus Vocal Scores. New York: Belwin Mills.

9.) Wagner, Richard. Götterdämmerung; in Full Score. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1982.

1.) p. 252, system 3, measure 1: The translation of "er hat den Ring vom Finger gezogen und hält ihn in die höhe" should read "He has drawn...", and not "The has drawn...".

2.) p. 273, system 2, m. 2: The translation of "Er blickt..." should read "He looks..." and not "The looks...".