Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera by Richard Wagner that tells the story of Walther von Stolzing and his quest to win a singing contest. The Meistersingers were a guild of tradesmen who had strict rules governing the art of composing and singing songs. These rules determined whether notes in a melody were “right” or “wrong,” and compositions with “wrong” notes were looked down upon.
The Meistersingers are represented by two primary themes in the overture. The first theme is the procession of the Meistersingers, which opens the work. It is notable for both its stately nature as well as its lines of moving eighth notes. Following this is the second theme, the presentation of the Meistersingers’ banner. Led by the brass, this triumphant fanfare is again stately, using primarily quarter-note lines. The melody is based on a tune of the actual Meistersingers, known in German as langer Ton, meaning “long tone.”
Each year, the Meistersingers would host a contest among singers. In order to demonstrate a commitment to the art, Veit Pogner offers the hand of his daughter, Eva, in marriage. As a smitten lover, Walther decides that he must win this contest and win Eva’s hand. Unlike the Meistersingers, however, Walther believes in a much freer way of singing, claiming his teachers are birds and nature instead of rote rules.
Opposite Walther, representing the formality of Meistersinger composition, and also vying for Eva’s hand, is Sixtus Beckmesser. He and other Meistersingers ridicule Walther for his musical style, but one Hans Sachs becomes determined to guide Walther. Sachs helps Walther compose a song incorporating both Walther’s natural inspiration and the complex rules of the guild.
The “prize song” is the third major theme of the overture, being presented by the violins after a stretch of counterpoint based on the procession theme. It is notable for its much more varied rhythms and expression than the Meistersinger themes. Wagner’s notes over the theme in the manuscript indicate “very delicate and expressive.”
The prelude continues with development on the themes, including a variation where the Meistersinger theme is played humorously, fast and staccato, representing Beckmesser, until the culmination when all three themes are played concurrently, representing the merging of the traditional ideals of the Meistersingers with the more free expression of Walther.
The overture demonstrates mastery of several compositional techniques that Wagner employed throughout his career. The first is leitmotif, or the use of musical ideas to represent characters or other situations in a plot. Secondly, Wagner composed in what he refers to as “endless melody,” whereby instead of melodies and themes reaching a definite cadential conclusion, they simply move from one to the next. Lastly, Wagner makes use of counterpoint throughout. The melodies weave and answer one another, rhythms are passed from one instrument to another, and melodies are broken up, diminished (played twice as fast) and played against each other, in one of the great examples of counterpoint from the Romantic era. – Kevin Kauffman