wagner der ring des nibelungen an introduction by deryck cooke 3 returning now to the nature motive
deryck cooke sir georg solti wiener philharmoniker
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Returning now to the nature motive and it's further transformations
After Erda and her warning in Rheingold, we have to wait until Act
I of Siegfried for the next transformation, another simple one
This occurs when Wotan speaks to Mime of the all powerful spear that
He cut from the world's great ash tree, the tree of life, guarded
By Erda's daughters, the Norns. The orchestra accompanies his words
With a new rhythmic variant of the nature motive in the minor and
In 3/4 time. Here first, as a reminder, is the nature motive again
And here's the swaying motive of the world ash tree as it's introduced
To accompany Wotan in Act I of Siegfried. Listen to the orchestra
This world ash motive, which has a close kinship with Erda's
Motif, recurs in the Twilight of the Gods, in conjunction
With Wotan's cutting down of the tree of life to provide fuel
To burn Valhalla. It permeates the scene of the Norns, Erda's
Daughters, who are bewildered by this fatal act of Wotan's
After the introduction of this world ash motif in Act I of Siegfried
The next transformation of the nature motif occurs in the second act
Where Siegfried is in the forest. Wagner takes a very slow, dark
Minor version of it, akin to Erda's motif, and he superimposes on
This a slowly oscillating string figuration. The result is what may
Be called the embryonic version of the motif of the forest murmurs
This embryonic version of the forest murmurs motif
Soon begins developing the oscillating figure freely
Without regard to the original nature motif basis
Out of this development, by a process of increasing the speed
Of the oscillation in 6/8 time, Wagner eventually evolves
The definitive, shimmering, major form of the forest murmurs
Motif, the one that is to be used entirely from here onwards