My Favourite Leitmotif (And Why)

This video answers the question "What is your favourite leitmotif, and why" - the answer comes from Richard Wagner, and his final opera, Parsifal. Also features some themes from The Lord of the Rings films (music by Howard Shore).
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[@RobertOrgRobert]

Wagner’s ring & Howard Shore’s ring are both full of wonderful leitmotif’s ! They bow to no one.

[@chamone28]

I see what you did there ;)

[@kmk8284]

When inside the score uploaded a video Me: ahhh I can live another week of 2020😌

[@BigBrotherMateyka]

This lad does a true credit to the human spirit. He's given so many a real opportunity to enjoy classical music, and to me, a renewed appreciation for it.

[@kmk8284]

@@BigBrotherMateyka agreed and he taught me a lot of things too.

[@detectivehome3318]

So true

[@philipplagoda9685]

Listened to the orchestral prelude for the first time now and was a bit shocked by it's beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and education!

[@ftumschk]

I remember playing it to my university room-mate, who was heavily into rock music, and it blew him away!

[@lelemsays]

Exactly the same thing just happened to me

[@michaeldunlap2693]

Parsifal is my favorite opera. Having come from a symphonic background initially, coming rather late to opera, I was fortunate to come to know Parsifal when I started singing in an opera chorus (so, learning on the job, lol). Fell in love.

[@freshpressedify]

I always like to drop the word 'Leitmotif' in a conversation, even when it's inappropriate. I think I should buy more monocles, they always seem to run out for no reason.

[@DeflatingAtheism]

You have to be careful with that. Once I used the expression _“avant la lettre”_ at a cocktail party, and my audience got jettisoned backwards though a plate glass window.

[@usernotfound6475]

Is the term leitmotif really that odd of a concept? I’ve always thought of it sense I started listening to music

[@Tempusverum]

@@DeflatingAtheism “auh huah huah, wingardium leviosau” 🧐

[@CMI2017]

Pince-nez make the utterance of leitmotif more emphatic than a monocle.

[@robinlee28]

In this day and age I’m always dropping my monocle

[@ailishbethd4033]

Thank you. Parsifal is a masterpiece, in fact like all of Wagner's work. While watching this I suddenly realised that the first bar of music sounds like Parry's Jerusalem.

[@ftumschk]

Good catch! I'd never noticed that parallel with Jerusalem before. Surely it's not coincidental?

[@pega17pl]

Howard Shore, the composer of the film music for "Lord of the Rings", told in an interview to SZ, an important German daily newspaper, when he noted Tolkien and Wagner used the same Nordic templates for their "Rings" he got the idea to use Wagner's leitmotif technique. And because his tonal speech strongly influenced by Bruckner, he loves the brass. - Cheers, Heinz

[@rayviada5862]

Indeed, I hear phrases in Bruckner that were lifted and knitted into the Lord of the Rings score.

[@derek2365]

When it comes to Parsifal, I would strongly strongly strongly recommend Hans Knappertbusch!

[@ftumschk]

Oh, I dunno - I've only got 12 of his recordings of the opera ;)

[@Wotan123456789]

@@ftumschk Then Kna 1951! Sublime.

[@jj-bq5rp]

Also Kubelik's for an exellent studio quality and also great performances

[@ianng9915]

@@ftumschk is that the mythical Knappertsbusch box of Parsifal?😂

[@ftumschk]

@@ianng9915 No - I haven't got that set. I bought my 12 Kna Parsifals separately over many years, which may or may not have been more cost-effective! I no longer have the receipts, so I'll never know :)

[@viniciusvyller9458]

It's literally the Hero's Journey! It brought me to tears when you described the meaning of the leitmotiff, God bless Wagner, seriously.

[@Tempusverum]

Like Mozart, God’s divinity can be reflected in an impure vessel

[@bob_dubois]

Amazing to feel the passion in your explanation. As a long-term Wagnerian I will now dive instantly into Parsifal for the next 4hrs!

[@ulmerbrothers2076]

Wow... When he plays the music you can see his passion for it on his face. Respect my friend.

[@michaeltres]

Great video. I would be hard-pressed to pick one. I do think the interlocking leitmotifs of Wagner's Ring are the pinnacle of the concept. So many motifs, so many hours weaving them in and out of the aural landscape---amazing.

[@LongHairedFreakyDude]

Ooooh I love how you broke the theme into three chunks. It almost feels Hegelian. You got a thesis, an antithesis, and finally a synthesis of the two ideas.

[@steverlfs]

All of Wagner's post-Rienzi pieces are incredible- but when I listen to Parsifal I feel that I am being ushered through a doorway to another world.

[@lucenceparency7870]

What a beautiful motif! I was hoping you were going to pick Wagner when I saw the title. Great breakdown.

[@HoH]

This was, as always, fantastic and inspiring. I typed out an entire comment about all Mahler's symphonies and the Leitmotif's I love in each one of them. Maybe that is a bit too much. The central tenet that makes them 'my favourite' is that many (Mahler synf.2.IV, synf.3.II, synf.4.I, synf.6.III) provide a physical, out-of-body experience. It is not so much listening to the music as experiencing it. Trandescent, if you will.

[@markdavidsonjewell]

It doesn't get any better than this. Thanks for your passion.

[@suleimanalmustafa5044]

I really appreciate your amazing work on 14 pieces , It's such a great method of musical comprehension and I totally enjoy it ♥️

[@TheEternaut]

Thanks a lot for bringing light to a Leitmotiv that I thought I knew, and then I realized I didn't.

[@composernotes]

Thanks for your great videos on all things musical. I am a keen subscriber (and trying to establish my own KZbin channel on classical music). My favourite leitmotif (and as you said, it is almost impossible to have one favourite) is sometimes called the Redemption motif. It only occurs twice in Wagner's Ring Cycle: The first time it is sung by Sieglinde in Act 3 of Die Walkure, when she learns she is carrying the child Siegfried and affirms that she will not take her own life but live for the sake of the unborn child, and the second time at the end of Gotterdammerung, during the orchestral finale after Brunnhilde has sacrificed herself with Siegfried on the funeral pyre.

[@maan7715]

You made me being excited every time i see the word "leitmotif" !

[@Hojotoho.Yall504]

Barenboim is one of my absolute favorite Wagner interpreters. I recommend his Parsifal as well!

[@Wotan123456789]

Have you heard Knappertsbusch's Parsifal?

[@Hojotoho.Yall504]

@@Wotan123456789 Yes. I have his 1951 recording from Bayreuth with Windgassen and 1961 with Jess Thomas.

[@yesyesyes310]

I like your videos. To the point without any nonsense meme stuff. Thank you.

[@arzynzz]

Sir plzz make a video on Mozart's 40th symphony

[@InsidetheScore]

There'll be a quick guide. Gotta get through Brahms first

[@johannesbrahms3322]

@@InsidetheScore nice

[@frikkiejacobs8858]

I appreciate your videos so much. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@Entertainer114]

Man, this was just so good. You've earned a subscriber!

[@Tim_S_Lucas]

Thank you so much for the video, it was very interesting to discover this leitmotif and its deeper meaning. I'll definitely check out you site!

[@user-cc2ix1kg5k]

Thank you so much bro, learned lots of useful things!

[@pauldiffenderfer]

thank you for your work Sir!!! brilliant !!

[@danmitchell5470]

Excellent teaching, thank you.

[@jerrewilliams5555]

Leitmotif is an ear worm waiting in the weeds to catch your mind. Seriously though, thanks for the extra meaning a good explainer can add to listening to music. I still think that Wagner could do with some cutting though. Sat through Parsifal back in the '90s and I could have used your help.

[@Tempusverum]

“Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip” “Oi, who let you in?” 🧠 “Yip, yippity doo” 🐛 “Oh god...”

[@jmballestra7607]

Excellent exposé !!! Explications fort pertinentes !!! Rien d'étonnant dans le choix de son "Leitmotiv " préféré !!! Wagner est le maître absolu dans l'emploi des "Leitmotive " , bien qu''il ne soit pas " l'inventeur " du concept !!!!

[@Medietos]

Thanks f fine parsifal-talk, very useful and helpful, gratitude.

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

you present very well indeed,,,bravo!

[@Medietos]

Thank sfor your fine, sensitive, personal, knowing exposé on the Eucharist theme (Abendmahl). I see the speer as symbolizing our I7ego, that always keeps uprighht and wanting to be thri+ust forward, slightlu upwarss into our future, overcoming obstacles in reaching wanted goals( f ex that of healing)

[@judithconnolly2390]

A magnificent description

[@Paolo8772]

That Leitmotif is one of the longest in duration and can be split into three parts, just like the Valhalla motif form "Der Ring des Nibeluingen" which is even longer (int its entirety) and can be separated into three different "subjects"

[@pfjb9122]

OK Parsifal has the best leitmotif. I like many leitmotifs from Wagner, R Strauss, Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings... A favorite is the Commendatore from Don Giovanni (Mozart) whose theme returns in Once Upon A Time In The West (Morricone). To the same tune, stalking and killing: Commendatore drags Don Giovanni to hell Frank (Henry Fonda) kills Morton Harmonica (Charles Bronson) kills Frank

[@FLH3official]

A thumb ub for the don giovanni's commendator! Great great evocativ leitmotiv

[@alphabetearth]

:))) great video. The 'eucharistic theme' is a good title. The 2nd movement of the first act is mass music - it is a communion!

[@guynungagap4617]

Wagner never used the term "leitmotiv". He spoke of Grundthema (fundamental theme)

[@JeanPaul-Hol65]

It is true, it is. It was Hans von Wolzogen who first proposed in 1876, in the book "Thematischer Leitfaden durch die Musik zu Richard Wagner’s Festspiel Der Ring des Nibelungen". Since then, however, the term has been uniquely used to refer to the recurring motifs of Wagnerian dramas.

[@jaedanknickerbocker9596]

Hey man I love your videos! I was wondering when you will do your next episode of 'Discovering Classical Music?'

[@simaanhabib2638]

How lovely!

[@t3331157]

The final movement/scene of Parsifal is truly divine. It provides an apotheosis of the mind. Sad though that the whole superstition surrounding the holy grail is a waste of time. I guess that’s not the point though is it.

[@georgehenry8391]

That is certainly interesting. Thanks.

[@simondavidsmith]

Fantastic choice.

[@marsaeolus9248]

I was 100% sure that you would choose this theme, it's insanely effective to summarize and lay the atmosphere of the story!

[@mikezip9423]

I just recognized that this was used in the movie “Excalibur” by John Boorman! I knew it was extraordinary, now I know why.

[@sirbowman3158]

I love your in-depth analysis, but my favorite lietmotif is still entry of the guests from Tannhaüser

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

Parsifal is so beautiful. I've seen it first live in a semi-staged production, and it really worked well - just a few props and creatively used evening wear. I feel like simplicity is better for it than either a grand traditional production or some overcomplicated Regie. The currentish Met production is also good - while Regie, it doesn't try to rewrite the story and it looks elegant and not over-the-top. Plus really good singers.

[@AAYLV]

Good choice!

[@robr9170]

Love your videos!! Could you please do a video on Mendelssohn!!!???

[@robinblankenship9234]

Well done.

[@Wotan123456789]

Great upload. I got one question for you and for all those who want to answer. Why would you recommend Barenboim's recording? I prefer, by far, any of the Knappertsbusch live recording's from Bayreuth. What's your favorite recording and why?

[@JeremyRobson]

I've loved this motif ever since hearing it in the movie Excalibur (1981). While the movie itself was mediocre, the use of Wagner is what made it memorable.

[@hwelf11]

I think your interpretation of the significance of this "Eucharist" motive is apt and insightful. Since as you say, the 2nd Act seems to deal with the "descent into Sin", I think it's worth pointing out the climactic moment when the entire theme is heard in the tonic a-flat minor, where Parsifal sings the words "Erlose, rette mich aus schuldbefleckten handen" (redeem me, rescue me from hands defiled by sin). The first segment of this theme, which you identify as the "divine" portion, once again transformed into the minor is heard also in the last act of Verdi's Otello as he silently enters Desdemona's bedroom and takes a final anguished look at her before murdering her, and the same motif is heard once more toward the close of Otello's final despairing monologue. I couldn't say whether Verdi consciously appropriated this motif from Parsifal (1882) for his Otello (1887), but it is known that Verdi ordered copies of Meistersinger and Parsifal around the time he was composing this opera, according to Mary Jane Phillips-Matz's biography of Verdi.

[@ianng9915]

My favorite leitmotif is probably the Sword motif in the Ring, it is the most distinctive in character with a very specific use as oppose to the Tristan chord, the grail motif and the Meistersinger motif that occurs many times in different ways, but when you hear the sword motif, you know you are up to something big e.g Walkure act 1, Gotterdammerung act 3 funeral music. Honorable mention is the awaken motif or Siegfried's death

[@RuiVilar1]

Hi. Thank you for this interesting video. Parsifal is my favorite opera, but, since I am not really a religious person and I feel it so strongly that it brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it, despite having heard it more than one hundred times, I had to find a meaning that is different from the usual religious interpretation, not the cycle aspiration to the divine, sin and redemption, in the Christian sense, but the aspiration to individual freedom and personal fulfillment that is typical of youth, confrontation with the dark realities of the world, renunciation to this world in the political sense and fulfillment within a liberated society. Not being a Marxist this does not equates to a communist revolution, obviously but to an utopian society, which our societies would evolve to. I experience an extraordinary feeling of plenitude at the end of the opera, which is not religious for me, but social and political, the hope that a new world, free of war, violence, crime, corruption, individualism, oppression will appear some day, where the noble wishes of youth may be realized. Sorry for the bad English.

[@antikenoma3378]

Chiliastic philistines like you shouldn’t be allowed to listen to Wagner. “Parsifal” is obviously about Henosis, any kind of social interpretation of this work is clear profanity. Such vulgar thing as politics should be left to degenerate rock/punk songs. The only true liberation is the liberation from this world of spatiotemporal phenomena, from causality and impermanence, from filthy body filled with urine and excrements. War and oppression are unbreakable laws of nature, which can be transcended ONLY through renunciation of everything mundane.

[@TheMarcHicks]

My favourite leitmotif is the idee fixee from Symphonie Fantastique!

[@jimluebke3869]

"the Dark Lord forged in secret a master Ring, to control all others. And into this Ring he cruelty, and will to dominate all life." That's why they have overlapping leitmotifs. =) The overlap also sounds a lot like Dies Irae.

[@magdalene2229]

There's also a Mordor leitmotif which iirc is descending the natural minor in thirds (i.e. 8 6 7 5 6...) which, while not Dies Irae, certainly evokes a similar dread.

[@conforzo]

Being a classical lover can be lonely. Being a Wagner lover will make you even lonelier xD

[@derek2365]

I have joined a lot of Wagner groups on facebook and the majority of them are 50+ years old 😂 Been to some events associated with Wagner and couldn’t find anyone my age...

[@Tempusverum]

CS Lewis was absolutely enamored by Wagner in his youth. He felt a similar loneliness, as if his appreciation of fine music and classical literature made him in his words feel like a “cad, a fop, and a snob”. He eventually decided he may as well be cooked for the goose as the gander, and became something of an atheist edgelord

[@simon-davidcapusneanu7398]

Nice symbolism there

[@KIsaac-wp5dq]

Please help me brother . I'm going to learn piano and going to do grades on it . So my question is to buy a digital piano or keyboard . Can we learn piano by practicing on keyboard or definitely should have a piano ? Please help me bro . Which one should I go for "korg pa1000" or "roland RD88" digital piano. Thank you .

[@magdalene2229]

I'm not a good piano player at all, but I've done a reasonable amount of research on digital pianos for my home studio and I found this website very helpful: www.pianodreamers.com/piano-buying-guide/

[@santaclaus0815]

The "leitmotif" principle implies that there is a motif that is linked to a dramaturgical object and represents it. In filmmaking, this means writing music for every scene and interspersing the motifs to match the film scene. However, there is a far more ingenious counter-approach to this: FIRST write the music and THEN direct the scene. Sergio Leone (film director of many Italo-Westerns) and his favorite composer Ennio Morricone are famous for this. With their approach, the scene is accompanied much better by the music. Music and scene fit together even better. Here's an example where you can clearly see that the scene and cuts were made to match the music and not the other way around: (2:30 to 4:12) kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZWvkJKwqr-ppqM It's also known that the music was played over loudspeakers on the film set so that not only cuts but also the actions of the actors match the movement of the music.

[@Enrobdoolb]

If I'm honest, Bella's Lullaby is my favorite leitmotif. It hits different and that's big facts!!! Every time I hear it, I hear a human who wants to become a vampire with the man she loves and DAMN!!!! Anakin and Padme's leitmotif is my second favorite (across the stars) I tried to get into Wagner but the first piece I listened to was his Ring cycle and I gave up 7 hours in cuz it was too much like bro chill!!!! Lmao, I do vibe with his prelude of Tristan doe 😎🥵

[@magdalene2229]

Yeah, length of some of his operas makes it hard going. I haven't made it through the Ring Cycle yet, either.

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

Did Wagner ever comment on what different keys communicated to him? Why use A flat rather than F major, for example.

[@fernandamccormack]

It took me 2 minutes to subscribe to your channel.

[@AndreaSpolti]

When I heard "Ritchard Wagner" I immediately understood...

[@JWForce1059]

Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.

[@LazlosPlane]

Redemption (final theme of Gottedamerung)

[@tommot7755]

Wagner is the GOAT

[@Cancoillotteman]

There is actually a movie soon to come out on Arthurian Legends from French writer and composer Alexandre Astier (Kaamelott), and Parsifal is one of the major characters in it. I really hope they use AT LEAST a reference to this Leitmotiv ! But then again it is likely to be a comedy, so maybe they'll try to avoid tone dissonance :/

[@magdalene2229]

I would love a good film grounded in the Arthurian legends.

[@Cancoillotteman]

@@magdalene2229 Excalibur is already an "ok" one. It has some very good passages and some increadibly corny ones

[@happyMOO5]

Do you have a discord?

[@yannaischrire7327]

He does

[@yannaischrire7327]

discord.gg/xwAvMf

[@marcus9992]

We love ur face with ur voice do it more!!

[@juwonnnnn]

👌

[@toprak3479]

Haven't watched the video but guessing from the thumbnail: the Tarnhelm leitmotif Edit: Dangit

[@jsytac]

Great video but as ever with this channel the audio clips (including his piano) are really quiet. To be able to hear the music it has to be so loud that he sounds like he’s shouting.

[@emilemerten6535]

Are you a istj?

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

Anna Russell summed it up best when she said each character in the Ring has their own theme song. That helps us keep the hundreds of characters straight, except for the gay ones, of course.

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

...and seem to have immense knowledge for your age

[@Houndouur]

mine is the among us drip melody

[@nordri9542]

Tristan and Isolde or I riot

[@nordri9542]

riot it is...

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

Plays a couple leitmotifs, little commentary needed. Plays a Wagner leitmotif, apologizes for the unworthiness of his instrument 😂 Yep, Wagnerian spotted.

[@thethikboy]

I'm not particularly taken by the leitmotiv you are discussing. I can think of so many better ones by Wagner.

[@JeanPaul-Hol65]

Good for you. For my part, however, there is no doubt that I consider those of Wagner the best and most evocative ever written in the history of musical drama. And if you're thinking f.e. about John Williams and the themes he uses in Star Wars, well... his way of using them is typically the Wagnerian way. 😉

[@yewthegreenman]

'My favourite is parsifal' Jokes on you, Howard shore clearly -borrowed- was inspired by parsifal. So you're really saying lord of the rings is your favourite lei motif 😊

[@Alexagrigorieff]

Richard Wagner is not pronounced in English way..

[@Tempusverum]

Rickhard Vagner

[@yewthegreenman]

LotR is the greatest, end of.

[@devonk298]

your beard is seriously hot,

[@mkunz-3548]

I’m still not comfortable with spelling of "leitmotif"

[@philipplagoda9685]

It's actually a word of German origin and even for a German feller like me it's a trigger as it's an old and nowadays wrong spelling. I feel you.

[@felixdittrich5469]

Yeah it should be spelled Leitmotiv in my opinion.

[@ftumschk]

@@felixdittrich5469 The "f" is probably there to get English speakers to emulate the German pronunciation of "v", and to avoid confusion with the word "motive".

[@felixdittrich5469]

@@ftumschk Read Phillipp Lagodas comment above. Its not for the english speakers, its just the 200 years old spelling. But that spelling is wrong nowadays.

[@ftumschk]

@@felixdittrich5469 Be that as it may, at least "leitmotif" helps Anglophones to pronounce it correctly. Under the rules of English orthography, "Leitmotiv" would be pronounced to rhyme with "give", which would be incorrect.

[@TheBIGJotas]

I'm not a fan of pale slow placed notes for melodic lines, but I get the idea...

[@africanhistory]

your voice is loud, the playing is low.

[@CommanderGinyu]

Why not show/play the real pieces instead of recreating them awkwardly on a piano?

[@Wouter10123]

Probably copyright problems?

[@crispin5637]

yeah mr lazy

[@yannaischrire7327]

Also because he is talking about the motif. It’s like talking about the theme from liebestraum, but leaving in the right hand. He is only talking about the motif, so the rest will just distract you.

[@CommanderGinyu]

Yannai Schrire first: the motifs still have their own harmony/rhythm/orchestration/Color. They’re not a closed entity separated from all other musical values. This argumentation is flawed. Second: the beginning of Parsifal is literally just unison voices without harmony, yet the strings put life into the motif while on a piano it sounds bland and boring

[@lucenceparency7870]

But they CAN be separated. And that's fine. Teachers often need to do that when explaining a concept. In this case, of course the orchestration further fleshes out the music. So too would the action and the sets in a way. But it isn't necessary to have them all at once. The viewer can listen to a recording later. They can see the opera later. They can read Wagner's biography later for even more context. But none of that is necessary right now.

[@freshpressedify]

It's a good tune, but he didn't like Jews

[@philipplagoda9685]

Had the same thought in the same order. Isn't it difficult to deal with the fact that artist are just human beings with flaws like you and me? Best greetings from Germany.

[@ribhuhooja3137]

HP Lovecraft was racist (even for the 1940s), yet we still enjoy his work, and that doesn't make us racist. Many, many scientists were racist, misogynists, nazis, some even criminals, yet we use the science they discovered and which was named after them. Many musicians are addicts, but listening to them doesn't mean we support taking drugs. Artists are people with human flaws, and we can enjoy a piece of art without agreeing with the artist. Cancelling an artist due to their flaws may be acceptable, but certainly censoring/avoiding great art because the artist (who may even be dead, in which case this is even more relevant) is wrong. Of course, it might lead to one not considering it their favourite work of art (due to the context), but the artist's flaws shouldn't stop us from appreciating good art.

[@ribhuhooja3137]

@@philipplagoda9685 It is, because then we always end up thinking about the fact the artists were like this or that, whenever we listen to that music. But I think we still shouldn't feel ashamed about that, because art is separate from the artist and we do not support the artist's views

[@freshpressedify]

@@philipplagoda9685 I'm sorry, I meant juice, as in orange juice, stupid auto correct 😁

[@philipplagoda9685]

freshpressedify Haha! Realising that you might have triggered an unnecessary debate where everyone hates the other in the end and now trying to find a way out of it? Nice one!