Understanding the LeitmotifThe musical leitmotif, having reached a point of particular forcefulness in the music of Richard Wagner, has remained a popular compositional device up to the present day. In this book, Matthew Bribitzer-Stull explores the background and development of the leitmotif, from Wagner to the Hollywood adaptations of The Lord of The Rings and the Harry Potter series. Analyzing both concert music and film music, Bribitzer-Stull explains what the leitmotif is and establishes it as the union of two aspects: the thematic and the associative. He goes on to show that Wagner's Ring cycle provides a leitmotivic paradigm, a model from which we can learn to better understand the leitmotif across style periods. Arguing for a renewed interest in the artistic merit of the leitmotif, Bribitzer-Stull reveals how uniting meaning, memory, and emotion in music can lead to a richer listening experience and a better understanding of dramatic music's enduring appeal. |
Contents
Motive phrase melody and theme 33 | 33 |
musical themes | 56 |
The phenomenon of musical association 79 | 79 |
Piece specifics cultural generics and associative layering 109 | 109 |
the associativity of harmonic | 131 |
The paradigm of Wagners Ring 159 | 159 |
Other editions - View all
Understanding the Leitmotif: From Wagner to Hollywood Film Music Matthew Bribitzer-Stull Limited preview - 2015 |
Understanding the Leitmotif: From Wagner to Hollywood Film Music Matthew Bribitzer-Stull No preview available - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
Abbate Alberich analysis appearance art music associative themes associative tonality audience Bribitzer-Stull Brünnhilde century Change of Mode chapter chord chromatic composition comprise cultural Dahlhaus Danny Elfman Darcy Das Rheingold Die Walküre earlier Edited emotional Example expressive extra-musical Fafner film music film score filmic Fragmentation function Gauldin genres Giants Götterdämmerung Harmonic Corruption Harry Potter hobbits Howard Shore Ibid instance John Williams's score later leitmotif listener Lohengrin Love major melody memory minor motive Music Theory Music unpublished manuscript musical materials musical meaning musico-dramatic narrative nature nineteenth-century occurs opera orchestral Parsifal Peircian phrase piece-specific progression prototype rehearsal relationship repetition Rheingold rhythm Richard scene Schoenberg semiotics sense Siegfried song sound soundtrack specific Star Wars structure suggests symbolic symphonic Tarnhelm thematic development Thematic Evolution Thematic Irony Thematic Mutation thematic technique Thematic Transformation tonal topic triad Tristan University Press Valhalla Valkyries visual Wagner Wagner's Ring Wagnerian Wagnerian leitmotif Walküre Wotan Wotan's