The "Ride of the Valkyries" (German: Walkürenritt or Ritt der Walküren) refers to the beginning of act 3 of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas constituting Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.
As a separate piece, the "Ride" is often heard in a purely instrumental version, which may be as short as three minutes. Together with the "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin, the "Ride of the Valkyries" is one of Wagner's best-known pieces.
Video Ride of the Valkyries
Context
The main theme of the "Ride", the leitmotif labelled "Walkürenritt", was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851. The preliminary draft for the "Ride" was composed in 1854 as part of the composition of the entire opera, which was fully orchestrated by the end of the first quarter of 1856.
In the Walküre opera, the "Ride", which takes around eight minutes, begins in the prelude to the third act, building up successive layers of accompaniment until the curtain rises to reveal a mountain peak where four of the eight Valkyrie sisters of Brünnhilde have gathered in preparation for the transportation of fallen heroes to Valhalla. As they are joined by the other four, the familiar tune is carried by the orchestra, while, above it, the Valkyries greet each other and sing their battle-cry. Apart from the song of the Rhinemaidens in Das Rheingold, it is the only ensemble piece in the first three operas of Wagner's Ring cycle.
Maps Ride of the Valkyries
Performance history
The complete opera Die Walküre was first performed on 26 June 1870 in the National Theatre Munich against the composer's intent. By January of the next year, Wagner was receiving requests for the "Ride" to be performed separately, but wrote that such a performance should be considered "an utter indiscretion" and forbade "any such thing". However, the piece was still printed and sold in Leipzig, and Wagner subsequently wrote a complaint to the publisher Schott. In the period up to the first performance of the complete Ring cycle, Wagner continued to receive requests for separate performances, his second wife Cosima noting "Unsavoury letters arrive for R. - requests for the Ride of the Valkyries and I don't know what else." Once the Ring had been given in Bayreuth in 1876, Wagner lifted the embargo. He himself conducted it in London on 12 May 1877, repeating it as an encore.
Outside opera
In film
Uses in film include the original score for The Birth of a Nation (1915), and What's Opera, Doc? (1957).
The "Ride" is also associated with Apocalypse Now (1979), where the 1/9 Air Cavalry regiment plays it on helicopter-mounted loudspeakers during their assault on a North Vietnamese-controlled village as psychological warfare and to motivate their own troops.
In military
The "Ride" is the regimental quick march of the British Parachute Regiment.
In music
Within the concert repertoire, the "Ride of the Valkyries" remains a popular encore, especially when other Wagnerian extracts feature in the scheduled program. For example, at the BBC Proms it was performed as such by Klaus Tennstedt and the London Philharmonic Orchestra on 6 August 1992 and also by Valery Gergiev with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra on 28 August 2001.
Discography
Apart from where the "Ride" is included in the recordings of the Walküre opera, it is a very popular piece, included in various popular classics anthologies. For instance in Deutsche Grammophon's 1991 Classicmania two CD album (von Karajan version), and in Brilliant Classics' 2011 Best Film Classics CD box, there included in the fifth CD, Opera at the Movies, with a reference to Apocalypse Now on the sleeve.
References
Notes
Sources
- Wagner, Cosima. (1978). Diaries: Volume I 1869-1877. Edited and annotated by Martin Gregor-Dellin and Dietrich Mack, translated by Geoffrey Skelton. Collins, London.
External links
- "Ride of the Valkyries" (act 3): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Ride of the Valkyries at Project Gutenberg (in MP3 format)
- Fantasie from Die Walkure, WWV 86B on Musopen
Source of article : Wikipedia
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