Wagner focused almost all his life on opera. Although he is not known for the richness of his musical forms, the symphonic and ideological nature of his music, as well as his breakthroughs and innovations in classical music creation, can be found in all of his highly concentrated opera overtures.
As a fan of Wagner, Yuanye believed that during the period of the prelude to “The Famous Singer of Nuremberg,” the prelude to “Tang Hauser,” and the prelude to the Death of Love, Wagner’s musical materials were more refined, but his musical expression and fusion were more profound. In the early stages of Wagner’s creation, works such as the prelude to “Renzi” were still expressed in the traditional French opera style. The work can be said to be very regular, and it is simply a disciplined college entrance examination composition expert. He seems to be adept at using rhetorical devices such as syllogism, contrast, and elaboration to cater to mainstream scoring standards, with everything from beginning to end. That is, in his music, the exploration of the richness and layering of vocal parts and the exploration of the independence of lines are not enough. Their melodies are basically simply juxtaposed with each other, acting individually, and walking together without fighting. Moreover, the musical passages are clearly separated from each other, somewhat like the structure of a quad dance or a Strauss waltz. At that time, Wagner’s personal logo was not so obvious. Looking back later, the grandeur of “Tang Haose” was completely different from Li Enji’s ambitions, and it was a scene of vast sea and starry sky. The calm and refreshing temperament of Tang Hauser’s overtures “Death of Love” and “The Twilight of the Gods” is evident in the ending. After carefully selecting three pieces of music, you can hear that the melody is not so complex, and there is no increase in the number compared to the previous Li Enji, and the number of orchestrations is basically the same. However, the dominant motivation and the tonal melodies of the characters in these three works can be constantly changing, but they do not annoy you, but instead generate curiosity, follow and think, making you increasingly unable to stop. The previous section of material and the previous section of material pave the way for each other, generating different chemical reactions, and never ending. They play and chase, then fuse and solve to produce new materials, which is infinitely interesting.
If the musical tone of Wagner’s works in the early stage is similar to that of flat characters, then in the later stage, it is completely impossible to distinguish between the good and the evil of round characters. If Wagner in the early stage wanted to prove something to the world and brush the sense of existence, then in the later stage, he (perhaps related to the selfless support of his super fan brother Ludwig II) has stabilized, completely free from the shackles of the inherent new style of music, and through those endless melodies, he detached himself from telling his musical philosophy.
