Tomlinson, Sir John - Wagner's Ring Motifs (in

Richard Wagner  (1813-1883)

An Audio Guide - Wagner's Ring Motifs (in engl.Sprache)

Dr.Gerhard K.Englert: Wagner's Ring Motifs (in engl.Sprache)

Auricula, 2 CDs, stereo, ADD 2006
included the twelve-page booklet

Autoren: Dr.Gerhard K.Englert und Dr.Sven Friedrich
Narrator: John Tomlinson

Inhalt:

CD 1: Content / Tracks

THE RHINEGOLD

01. Nature motif  (01:40)
02. Wave motif  (1:16)
03. The song of the rhinedaughters  (1:33)
04. The rhinegold  (1:35)
05. Renunciation of love  (1:03)
06. The curse on love  (1:28)
07. The ring (2:16)  
08. The speer or treaty   (1:27)
09. Valhalla  (2:13)
10. The giants   (:49)
11. Eternal youth  (:45)
12. Fasolt  (:45)
13. Loge  (:54)
14. The nibelungs  (1:40)
15. The tarnhelm  (:39)
16. The hoard  (:50)
17. The dragon   (1:17)
18. Alberich`s curse   (1:09)
19. Erda   (:48)
20. Twilight of the gods   (:37)
21. Donner  (1:11)
22. The rainbow bridge  (:54)
23. The sword   (:55)
24. The entry of gods into Valhalla  (1:30)

THE VALKYRIE

25. Storm motif   (1:41)
26. Sieglinde   (:36)
27. Siegmund  (1:41)
27a. The love of the Wälsungs
28. Ill fortune motif  (:37)
29. Hunding  (1:08)
30. The Wälsungs  (:27)
31. Siegmund`s spring song   (1:45)
32. Nothung  (1:23)
33. The Valkyries  (:51)
34. Fate  (:51)
35. Annunciation of death  (1:53)
36. The ride of the Valkyries, including the Valkyries´ battle cry  (3:30)
37. Siegfried and redemption through love  (2:24)
38. The love of the Wälsungs   (3:08)
39. The magic fire music  (:59)
40. Combination of motifs, including Wotan`s farewell  (4:25)

SIEGFRIED

41. Brooding   (1:33)
42. Siegfried`s horn call  (1:21)
43. Siegfried   (:36)
44. Longing for love  (:35)
45. Jubilation   (:52)
46. The Wanderer  (:29)
47. Combination of motifs, including Valhalla and the Spear or Treaty  (4:03)
48. "Nur wer das Fürchten nie erfuhr" (4:03)
49. Loge  (:39)
50. Nothung  (:39)
51. Siegfried`s smelting song  (:35)
52. Siegfried`s forging song  (1:36)

CD 2: Content / Tracks

01. Fafner - The Dragon   (1:37)
02. Delight in vengeance  (:54)
03. Combination of motifs, including the Wanderer, the spear or treaty, delight in vengeance, Alberichs curse  (1:23)
04. Forest Murmurs  (:52)
05. The Wälsungs` suffering  (:32)
06. Song of the Woodbirds  (:32)
07. Siegfried`s horn call and Siegfried  (1:25)
08. The voice of the woodbird  (2:10)
09. Prelude to act three of "Siegfried", including the Valkyries, Erda, the spear or treaty, the twilight of the Gods and restlessness  (2:39)
10. Orchestral interlude, including Siegfrieds horn call, Loge, Siegfried as hero, Brünnhilde`s magic sleep, the woodbird, and the Rhinegold  (4:17)
11. Yearning and love  (:34)
12. Self -abandonment  (:54)
13. Brünnhilde`s awakening  (1:44)
14. Rapture  (1:01)
15. Purity (the Siegfried Idyll)  (1:37)
16. Happiness in love  (:36)
17. Love duet  (2:35)

THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

18. Combination of motifs, including Brünnhilde`s awakening, the rhine and Erda (1:50)
19. Fate  (:18)
20. Annunciation of death  (1:08)
21. Alberich's curse 
22. Hero motif (:46)
23. Brünnhilde and hero motif  (2:00)
24. Love motif  (:32)
25. Siegfrieds rhine journey, including Woe - domionion of gold  (6:29)
26. Hagen  (1:07)
27. The Gibichungs  (:42)
28. Gutrune  (1:07)
29. Blood-brotherhood   (2:56)
30. Siegfried`s horn call  (2:00)
31. Orchestral interlude  (4:02)
32. Hagen`s wedding call  (4:02)
33. Chorus "Groß Glück und Heil"  (1:30)
34. "Chorus of Welcome"  (1:19)
35. Siegfried`s oath  (1:19)
36. Siegfried`s death  (2:27)
37. Siegfried`s funeral march  (8:08)
38. Brünnhildes`s peroration and ochestral conclusion, including redemption motif  (9:38)

‘Wagner’s Ring Motifs’ is the first of auricula’s audio guides to appear in English and is based on the company’s 2004 release of a German version of the same text.

The authors are Dr.Sven Friedrich, curator of the Richard Wagner Museum in Bayreuth, and Dr.Gerhard K. Englert, the editor of the previous audio guides that have been released in the same series and that explore the world of classical music. Together, the authors offer listeners a modern, convenient and quick introduction to Wagner’s cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung.

The motifs are presented in the order of their first appearance in the cycle and accompanied by an expert commentary. In this way, the listener is also introduced to the story of the Ring, an introduction that follows the narrative very closely by examining the development and meaning of the music.

‘Wagner’s Ring Motifs’ opens up the whole work in this way. It is aimed in the first instance at listeners new to the Ring and is intended to convey the fascination of Wagner’s music in a clear and simple manner and to decode the musical and dramatic language of the mythical world of the cycle. But even listeners already familiar with the work will find that this database provides them with a crash course in what Thomas Mann described as the ‘allusive magic’ of the Ring’s leitmotifs.

These leitmotifs are reproduced in the twelve-page booklet which, together with the two CDs, is an ideal preparation for any performance of the Ring.

The narrator is the distinguished British bass-baritone Sir John Tomlinson, who has appeared in countless performances at the Bayreuth Festival since making his début there as Wotan in 1988.