MUSI 4200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Singspiel, Middle Ages, Monomania
25 May 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Housekeeping
MUSI 4200 exam: April 14
Paper due April 3
-9-10 pages (35%)
March 24: presentations (15 minute)
-Handout visually engaging
-Quotes on handout
-Bold, underline, subheadings!
The Meistersinger of Nuremberg
Nuremberg:
-Trading and financial center during the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Mastersinger Guilds
-Shoemaker’s guild
-Master Singer’s guild
-Wagner was attracted to the idea of guild, so it is featured a lot in his Meistersinger
German Guilds
-“Guild”: association of craftspeople
-Economies of European towns controlled by guilds
oApprentice craftsman journeyman MASTER grandmaster
-1855-1865: End of guild economy
-Wagner is mourning the end of the idea of the guild
“Mastersinger” Tradition
-Meistersinger Appeal to Wagner?
oHomage?
oWagner composes this at time of guild’s disappearance (ca. 1855/1865)
oIdealized community
oFrom the people and for the people
Wagner’s Nostalgia for homeland
-Idea for opera while in Venice
-Wrote text in Paris in a hotel room overlooking the Louvre
-German nationalism how to unify song for mastersingers, etc
Tannhauser – Meistersinger
-1845: Wagner expresses idea to write comic opera (not a singspiel though, but pays homage to it)
-Opportunity to extend Wartburg singing contest
-Wanted to write ‘easy’, ‘stageable’, ‘popular’, ‘singable’ opera!
Letter to Schott, 1861
-“The New opera will be on a cheerful and a happy theme, and not difficult to perform. Each theatre,
even the smallest, will always have the means of producing it…”
Albrecht Durer (1471-1528): Famous person who lived in Nurembourg, famous artist
The Meistersinger
Love interest: Eva
-Everybody in town wants Eva
-The entire opera is about the singing competition
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Trading and financial center during the middle ages and renaissance. Wagner was attracted to the idea of guild, so it is featured a lot in his meistersinger. Economies of european towns controlled by guilds: apprentice craftsman journeyman master grandmaster. Wagner is mourning the end of the idea of the guild. Meistersinger appeal to wagner: homage, wagner composes this at time of guild"s disappearance (ca. 1855/1865: idealized community, from the people and for the people. Wrote text in paris in a hotel room overlooking the louvre. German nationalism how to unify song for mastersingers, etc. 1845: wagner expresses idea to write comic opera (not a singspiel though, but pays homage to it) Wanted to write easy", stageable", popular", singable" opera! The new opera will be on a cheerful and a happy theme, and not difficult to perform. Each theatre, even the smallest, will always have the means of producing it .
