ughhhhhh i have to do double entries for like a week before i catch up.
ok, here is tannhäuser overture (pronounced TAN-hoy-sehr), the opera of which was written by wagner in 1842-43. it was significantly amended through 1846-47 after its initial lukewarm reception, and then again for a Paris performance in 1861. the "paris version" is closest, i think, to the one that gets performed today. by this point he had just done tristan and isolde and was looking to do a big coming out party in paris that would include tristan and lohengrin. unfortunately tannhauser caused the strongest reactions and didn't last long in paris.
i have to conduct this in a week and half OMG.
i will avoid going through too much of an opera synopsis since this is just the overture. but this being wagner, it's impossible to go through the components of the piece without telling you what they relate to in the opera's scheme, so briefly, the story is about tannhauser (heinrich), a man who disappears from his original life in favor of love from venus and her unearthly pleasures. after staying there for a long time he manages to escape the spell by declaring his salvation lies in mother mary, and he is allowed to return to his home. his love elisabeth has been living in seclusion, but once she hears that tannhauser has returned, looks forward to hearing the song contest of men seeking her love. during the contest tannhauser hotbloodedly reveals his belief in the sensual pleasures due to his journey to see venus, and is threatened by the other men. elisabeth protects him, but he has to make a pilgrimage to seek forgiveness. the third act starts some undefined stretch of time later, during which elisabeth has been seeking news of tannhauser in vain. he finally returns in rags having given up his quest for absolution, saying that the pope's staff would sooner sprout leaves than he be forgiven. tannhauser is about to give everything up and return to venus, but then notices a funeral procession which happens to be carrying elisabeth. he rushes to her and throws himself over her dead body just as he receives the news that the pope's staff has sprouted leaves.
the overture is written in a sort of mirror/sonata form.
we open with a chorale which includes bassoons, clarinets, and of course horns. this is the "pilgrim's chorus," which occurs in his journey with the pilgrims. wagner writes "nicht schleppend, gehended Bewegung" which means not dragging; continually flowing. this grows into a massive brassy triumphant song.
at 5:16 we hit a brisker tempo and duple meter, beginning with an ascending diminished motif that is introduced by the violas. this is music from the venusburg, venus's mountain (literally). it is the setting of the entire first act which tannhauser spends lounging in her embrace. this section is written in B major, the dominant key (original is in E major). the music is sprightly and suspenseful (literally as well... lots of suspensions :P) he indicates to hold off getting too energetic, because he wants a big build up into the next section.
6:45 is where a new motif comes in; this is the "ode to venus," which tannhauser sings in hotblooded passion after hearing what he feels is a load of crap about love being pure and undisturbed. march-like and triumphant. wagner writes "nicht eilen. breit" which just means unhurried and broad. this theme is woven back into venusburg motifs which dissipate into the next section.
at about 8:00 we hit a very slow middle section, the interlude which is actually more music from the venusburg; violins are divided into 8 parts, and there is a mysterious floating clarinet solo above the texture. here he indicates "ruhig," calm and quiet.
and now we start progressing backwards through the sections; we have the return of brisker venusburg music which leads us through several weird chromatic shifts until we get back to the ode to venus, which is now in the correct key of e major. from here it's basically a straight shot and accelerando towards the super brassy end.
as with basically all of wagner, super cheesy and still super fun.
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