Wagner's oneiric warning

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This week we are presenting an analysis of a dreamy passage known as "Brangäne's warning" from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, drawing harmonic material from his earlier 1857 lied "Träume."
/ @-momentsmusicaux-
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Tristan und Isolde, Act II, Scene 2: "Einsam wachend in der Nacht" (Brangäne)
Recording: Blanche Thebom, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and Philharmonia Orchestra.

[@noahholmes1448]

The Furtwängler recording, we have a man of taste here

[@mercedes932]

I prefer Böhm for acts 1 and 3 but the Furtwängler Act 2 is sublime.

[@mercedes932]

One of the most beautiful passages of music ever penned to paper. Has long been a favourite of mine and never fails to utterly move me on every hearing.

[@effigas]

Wow, Tristan und Isolde is so much more than a prelude and a Liebestod. Thank you!!

[@agustinroca5410]

Didn't know this passage. How beautiful! And gorgeus analysis. This channel rocks ... or OPERA!

[@FueganTV]

Such an immense harmonic genius. I've always loved this passage.

[@jorgenlundberg5289]

I was totally stunned when I for the first time heard Brangänes warning sung by Kerstin Meyer and I still am. Royal Opera in Stockholm. Birgit Nilson Isolde, Helge Brlioth Tristan.

[@matthewbbenton]

Brangäne struggles to keep those long, sustained F-sharps on pitch for the same reason most Isoldes do at the very end of the opera (same note). It’s just a really tricky spot in the voice. But as with most things, Wagner didn’t care!

[@luizcadu]

The first chord of the passage has a ninth on the flute (E-flat, which I think is not shown here, belongs to the previous measure), which makes it a Db7(9). That is pure Debussy, pure impressionism, later would become pure jazz... It's great to see how the great musical minds influenced each other throughout history. Thanks for the video, subscribed!

[@-MomentsMusicaux-]

Exactly! The slow use of extended dominants and pedals is undoubtedly of great influence on French composers of the early 20th century. We believe that because of the tonic pedal, directionality is heard between the first note and the second note of each pair of measures as appoggiatura and resolution, which makes us believe that the E flat you refer to is an appoggiatura of the D flat, as marked in the next measure. This is even more clear in the sus4 chords that follow. Thank you for your support and for looking at our analysis carefully!

[@thebigstink7472]

Please do more Wagner. No one ever does these

[@justintuccimusic]

So profound 😇 thank you for your analysis this is great. Subscribed!

[@-MomentsMusicaux-]

Awesome, thank you!

[@adlfm]

Channel looks promising! Subscribed

[@richardwang7772]

What a beautiful passage!

[@miro.georgiev97]

Blanche Thebom is such an underrated Brangäne. Sure, she was no Christa Ludwig or Brigitte Fassbaender, but she acquitted herself wonderfully in this role, and it must've been an incredible honor for her to work alongside possibly the greatest Isolde of all time.

[@Dylonely42]

Gorgeous.

[@kofiLjunggren]

This chanell is guaranteed to be big!

[@JanCarlComposer]

Nice analysis

[@biko45]

Wow, I've just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and I love your musical analysis that is easy to understand and accurate! Is "Chromatic Mediant Relationship" used mostly among musicians/theorists USA or being accepted all over the world? I usually analyse such passage as common note modulation.

[@-MomentsMusicaux-]

It's used everywhere! The common note relationship is also correct but less accurate. C-Em or C-Eb are both related chords with one or two common notes. On the other hand chromatic mediant refers specifically to chords which as Kostka says are of the same "quality" (major or minor) and whose root note is at a distance of a major or minor third (for example C-Eb or C-A) Even more accurate would be to analyse these bonds with Neo-Riemannian theory. In that case C major is related to E flat by PR transformation.

[@TomerII]

I would analyze the beginning up to 1:43 as being in F# with modal mixture and a bunch of deceptive cadences that never resolve to the tonic. The first chord clearly sounds like a dominant, and indeed, it is identical to the final chord of the section at 4:04 (this time resolving to the tonic, which has by now become rather stable). V7 to bVI is Wanger's favorite deceptive cadence. The move of G by a tritone to C#7 is then not a strange modulation---G is just the neapolitan chord.

[@Ckrishthofpher]

I would disagree, as the bass motion from a neopolitan to the V7 is usually 4->5, but here it is 6->5, which is why it doesn't sound like a neopolitan chord. Movement by a tritone is a common progression distinct from the neoplolitan, which is very common in late romantic music. An example is at the very beginning of dvoraks 9th symphony second movement.

[@Pyrobeats]

Has Liszt written all over it!

[@MiloMcCarthyMusic]

Where do you find these editions with the piano reduction and the little orchestration notes?

[@-MomentsMusicaux-]

You can download them in IMSLP, they are public domain.