" The closing words of the first scene:
"My salvation lies in Mary!" are the real turning point of the drama. As
abrupt as his desertion of Venus for Mary, is his return to her in the
third act. By the side of Mary is placed the more human, the more
earthly but yet idealised form of Elizabeth, a figure closely resembling
Beatrice and Margaret.
The music of _Tannhaeuser_ (more especially the overture) expresses the
contrast between the two erotic world-elements with striking
abruptness. The harmonious and musically perfect motive of religious
yearning (the chorus of the pilgrims) which forms the beginning and the
end of the overture, is assailed by the briefer motives of sensuous
seduction and ecstasy of the middle; the quivering, tickling passages of
the violins play round the sacred music of the chorale like so many
seductive elves. The Venusberg music is probably the most perfect
expression of pure sensuality which has ever been reached in the world
of music; it is the complete translation of sensual craving and sensual
rapture into the language of music.
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