Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra & Volker Hartung - Wagner: Opera Excerpts & Overtures (2023) [Digital Download 24/48]

'The Flying Dutchman', a romantic opera in three acts, was first performed in 1843. The story of the Dutch captain Bernard Fokke provided the material for the plot. Unlike many other sailors, he did not succeed in circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope. He tried to defy God and the forces of nature but did not wrestle them down because he cursed them and has since been doomed to cruise the world's oceans forever with his ghost ship. Anyone who encountered this ship with a black mast and blood-red sails was destined for misfortune.

The Overture to ‚The Flying Dutchman' belongs to the genre of the potpourri Overture, in which basic melodies from arias and scenes are juxtaposed and combined. This way, the opera-goer is familiarised with them and prepared for the follo- wing. Wagner mainly uses the storm music, the choir of Norwegian sailors ‘Steuermann, lass die Wacht!'), and above all, parts from Senta's ballad. In addition, he develops from the first four notes of the passage 'Ach, wann werden du…' from the Senta Ballade, a chromatic motif consisting of three falling notes. This motif stands for the longing for the redemption of the Dutchman (by Senta).

Die Meistersinger of Nuremberg is perhaps Wagner's most remarkable stroke of genius. The musical themes are stunning, the orchestration and compositional technique are masterful, the plot is original, and with Hans Sachs, the composer has created a unique role portrait.

Wagner's 'Lohengrin' is a romantic opera in three Acts. Brabant in the first half of the 10th century is set as historical background. The premiere took place on 28 August 1850 at the Grand Ducal Court Theatre in Weimar under the direction of Franz Liszt, with Karl Beck sin- ging the title role. The composer based his libretto on the legends of Lohengrin and Elsa, which have survived in various versions. Most similarities exist with the 536th German sagas of theBrothers Grimm (Lohengrin of Brabant) and the prose retelling in C.T.L. Lucas 'Ueber den Krieg von Wartburg (1838)'. The literary figure of ‘Loherangrin’ appears as a side figure in the last chapter of Wolfram von Eschenbach's medieval epic poem ‘Parzival’. The Grail Knight Lohengrin, son of the Grail King Parzival, is sent on a swan to the Duchess of Brabant as a helper and protector.

The Prelude to the 1st Act represents the aura of the Grail. The music begins with soft, high, spherical string sounds, swells to a powerful climax, and disappears again into spherical pianissimo. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: ‘There is a lot of blue music in Lohengrin. Wagner knows the opioid and narcotic effects and needs them against the nervous discord of his musical inventiveness, which he is well aware of.’

After the virtuoso, fiery Prelude to the 3rd Act, the newlywed couple moves into the bridal chamber with singing (bridal march ‘Treulich Führung’).

Parsifal is Wagner's last music-dramatic work. He described the three-act play as a ‘Bühnenweihfestspiel’ and decreed that it should be performed exclusively in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. The names of some of the main characters and some plot elements are borrowed from the verse epic Parzival written by the Middle High German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, but the work has nothing to do with its main plot. Parsifal contains religious elements such as consecrated music, monstrance wrapping (Grail), baptism, and Christian sacrament rituals.

Tracklist:
01. Der fliegende Holländer, WWV 63: Overture
02. Der fliegende Holländer, WWV 63: Summ und brumm, du gutes Rädchen
03. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96: Overture
04. Lohengrin, WWV 75: Overture
05. Lohengrin, WWV 75: Prelude to Act III
06. Parsifal, WWV 111: Finale


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