An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen

Deryck Cooke (Artist), Georg Solti (Artist), Wiener Philharmoniker (Artist), Anita Valkki (Artist), Berit Lindholm (Artist), Birgit Nilsson (Artist), Brigitte Fassbaender (Artist), Christa Ludwig (Artist), Claire Watson (Artist), Claudia Hellmann (Artist), Dame Gwyneth Jones (Artist), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Artist), Eberhard Wächter (Artist), George London (Artist), Gerhard Stolze (Artist), Gottlob Frick (Artist), Grace Hoffmann (Artist), Gustav Neidlinger (Artist), Hans Hotter (Artist), Helen Watts (Artist), Helga Dernesch (Artist), Hetty Plumacher (Artist), Ira Malaniuk (Artist), James King (Artist), Jean Madeira (Artist), Joan Sutherland (Artist), Kirsten Flagstad (Artist), Kurt Böhme (Artist), Lucia Popp (Artist), Marga Höffgen (Artist), Marilyn Tyler (Artist), Maureen Guy (Artist), Oda Balsborg (Artist), Paul Kuen (Artist), Régine Crespin (Artist), Set Svanholm (Artist), Vera Little (Artist), Vera Schlosser (Artist), Waldemar Kmentt (Artist), Walter Kreppel (Artist), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2005)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00000424H
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,790 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #10 in

  Music > Opera & Vocal > Voices > Baritones

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Of all great musical compositions... [Examples 1-4]

2. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': The fundamental symbol... [Examples 5-11]

3. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Returning now to the Nature Motive... [Examples 6, 12-16]

4. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': A number of further motives... [Examples 5, 17-21]

5. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': A second, much smaller family... [Examples 22-25]

6. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': So much for nature. [Examples 26-38]

7. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': The cause of the deterioration... [Examples 39-44]

8. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': The other transformation... [Examples 45-48]

9. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Several other motives... [Examples 49-52]

10. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Two further motives... [Examples 41, 53-61]

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': The other new motive... [Examples 104-109]

2. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': There are several independent love-themes... [Examples 110-114]

3. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': The characters in whose lives... [Examples 115-120]

4. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': One further motive belongs... [Example 121]

5. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': The Sword Motive occurs... [Examples 122-130]

6. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Ironically, this phrase... [Examples 131-135]

7. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Closely associated with Gutrune's Motive... [Examples 136-140]

8. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Here we come to the end... [Examples 141-146]

9. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': Complementary to this symbol... [Examples 147-149]

10. An Introduction to Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen': One last central symbol... [Examples 150-157]

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When Wagner set the Ring to music, he intended the orchestra to act in the fashion of a chorus from a classic Greek tragedy--setting the mood and commenting on the action. In order to allow a nonverbal musical line to reflect on the plot, Wagner developed a psychologically and musically complex symbology to communicate his thoughts to the listener. From the beginning the Ring has spawned numerous written commentaries on the relationships of the motif structure, but by using examples from the Decca Ring recording, Deryck Cooke's thoughtful spoken commentary is by far the most accessible guide for either the fledgling Ring enthusiast or the seasoned veteran. --Christian C. Rix

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Exposition of the Music of Wagner's Ring, April 23, 2002

By	Dan Sherman (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a wonderful 2-CD set in which musicologist Deryck Cooke lays out the few basic musical themes of the Ring Cycle and gives a very clear exposition of how Wagner develops them over the course of the Cycle. This approach really added to my appreciation of the Ring Cycle and also Wagner's genius in developing and blending his themes. For me the highlight of the disk comes at the end when he presents 2 great orchestral passages from the Ring -- the Prelude to Act III of Siegfried and the very end of Gotterdammerung. After a quick review of the relevant themes, he uses these 2 excerpts to illustrate how multiple themes are brought together and really give us the ideal of "music-drama."

This is a great set that anyone interested in the Ring should have; it really adds to the appreciation of the music of the Ring. This is an item that needs six stars to rate!

A good companion to these CDs is the Ring Disc software which has a full recording of the Solti Ring on 1 CD (!) and has the feature of identifying musical themes as they are played, with a "click-here" approach to following them through the score. This really brings the sort of analysis Cooke gives to each single moment of the Ring.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction, March 22, 2004

By	R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Wagner's Ring Cycle is arguably the most complex musical work in existence. This CD set is a commentary on and explication of Wagner's basic method in constructing the Ring Cycle. This set was originally a BBC broadcast aimed at educating a broad audience. Cooke's explanations are lucid and organized well. This set is accessible to any interested individual of any level of musical sophistication.
Wagner's basic method was to develop an extensive set of musical themes, leitmotivs, associated with important characters, plot elements, objects, and motivations in the Ring Cycle, The leitmotivs are esthetically and psychologically appropriate to the things to which they are associated. The leitmotivs exist in families with many derived from a basic set of themes that reify the underlying intellectual and psychological themes of the plot. Cooke explicates a large number of leitmotivs and shows how they are related and transformed in the course of the action of the Ring cycle. He concludes with a number of examples demonstrating how Wagner combined leitmotivs in musical actions that parallel the action of the plot and reflect the underlying themes of the Ring Cycle. This gives a nice introduction to the remarkably complex architecture of the Ring cycle. Beyond its pedagogical intent, Cooke's presentation is also a nice introduction to Wagner's incredible achievement in matching the formal architecture of the music, the dramatic action, his presentation of the underlying themes, and all in powerful and often wonderful music.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very useful Musical-Thematic analysis., May 10, 1999

By A Customer

This set analyses the motifs used in the Ring and especially emphasizes their inter-relationships. It describes "families" of related motifs, and also shows how certain themes are altered as the work as a whole progresses. It is the most useful preparation for listening to or seeing the Ringthat I know, short of a study of the score itself, but it requires no technical musical knowledge or ability to read music.