leitmotiv

leitmotiv
In music, a melodic idea associated with a character or an important dramatic element.

It is associated particularly with the operas of Richard Wagner, most of which rely on a dense web of associative leitmotifs. Most composers after Wagner (and some of his immediate predecessors) continued to use this musico-dramatic principle, but few as rigorously as he did.

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music
      (German: “leading motive”), recurring musical theme appearing usually in operas but also in symphonic poems. It is used to reinforce the dramatic action, to provide psychological insight into the characters, and to recall or suggest to the listener extramusical ideas relevant to the dramatic event. In a purely musical sense the repetition or transformation of the theme also gives cohesion to large-scale works.

      The term was first used by writers analyzing the music dramas of Richard Wagner (Wagner, Richard), with whom the leitmotiv technique is particularly associated. They applied it to the “representative themes” that characterize his works. The close thematic musical structure of his dramas, from Der Ring des Nibelungen onward, including Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger, demands skillful contrivance and keen intelligence in order to make the themes work satisfyingly in a symphonic way and at the same time enrich the dramatic events.

      The leitmotiv has two distinct dramatic functions, which may operate separately or together: one is allusion (to dramatic events), the other transformation, or continual modification of the theme. Both were used long before Wagner. W.A. Mozart's four-measure phrase “Così fan tutte” (“Thus do they all”), in his opera of the same name, is allusive, but it appears as a recurrent motto rather than as a true leitmotiv. Another early example of such allusive use is in Carl Maria von Weber's (Weber, Carl Maria von) opera Der Freischütz (The Freeshooter), when Max hesitates to descend into the wolves' glen and the orchestra echoes the mocking chorus that had teased him in the first act.

      Weber also used the leitmotiv in a purely instrumental fashion, as in his opera Euryanthe, where at least 13 motifs are transformed or developed in the orchestra. Also, in Hector Berlioz' (Berlioz, Hector) Symphonie fantastique, the idée fixe (“fixed idea,” or leitmotiv) appears in different forms, first as a poet's thought of his beloved as an ideal and last in a nightmarish vision of her taking part in the witches' sabbath. But Berlioz' idée fixe was not yet an organic part of the symphonic fabric.

      In the works of Wagner, allusion and transformation are used in rich abundance. Purely allusive is the three-note death theme in Tristan und Isolde. In contrast, the horn call in the second act of Siegfried is changed in The Twilight of the Gods from 6/8 to 4/4 time, becoming the theme for the matured and heroic Siegfried. Further modified in rhythm and texture, it forms the basis for the great orchestral threnody after his death. Similarly, in The Rhinegold, the Rhine maidens' joyful song about their treasure becomes transformed when the theme represents the evil power of the gold in the hands of the dwarf Alberich.

      Richard Strauss (Strauss, Richard) often used musical allusion with great subtlety, as in his opera Der Rosenkavalier. His thematic transformations, in contrast, are most often musical developments, rather than dramatic references. He used leitmotiv most dramatically in his symphonic poems, where there is no stage action to carry the plot. Other followers of Wagner have done little to extend his methods, partly because he left them little to do.

      Wagner's original contribution to the use of the leitmotiv is that of allusion. Transformation was not his invention, for it was already well advanced in the works of Berlioz and the symphonic poems of Franz Liszt. Claude Debussy used the principle in its most purely musical form, e.g., in his opera Pelléas et Mélisande.

      Georges Bizet and Giacomo Puccini employed representative themes effectively as reminiscences, as did Giuseppe Verdi, who frequently recalled a past happiness during a final tragic situation by means of a melody associated with the earlier happiness. Charles Gounod used it most effectively in Faust when Marguerite in prison recalls her meeting with Faust.

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  • LEITMOTIV — Terme allemand signifiant «motif conducteur», mais passé dans la langue française, parmi d’autres, en raison notamment de ses résonances wagnériennes. Inventé par Hans von Wolzogen (1848 1938), leitmotiv désigne un court motif mélodique,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • leitmotiv — (plural leitmotivs; del alemán; pronunciamos leidmotiv ) sustantivo masculino 1. Tema musical que se repite en una composición: Las canciones comerciales tienen un leitmotiv muy pegadizo. 2. Motivo o asunto central de una obra o de una reunión:… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • leitmotiv — s. m. 1.  [Música] Motivo musical condutor ou característico, tema repetido frequentemente numa partitura, associado a uma ideia, a uma personagem: Wagner usou muitas vezes o leitmotiv. 2. Frase, fórmula que surge com frequência numa obra… …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • Leitmotiv — Leitmotiv,das:⇨Leitgedanke Leitmotiv→Leitgedanke …   Das Wörterbuch der Synonyme

  • Leitmotiv — / laitmoti:f/ (o, all ital., leitmotiv) s. neutro, ted. [propr. motivo guida , comp. di leiten dirigere e Motiv motivo ], usato in ital. al masch. 1. (mus.) [nell opera sinfonica, giro di note ricorrente] ▶◀ motivo, tema. ‖ aria, melodia,… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • Leitmotiv — Leitmotiv, ein öfters wiederkehrendes prägnantes Motiv, das durch die Situation, in der es zuerst auftrat, oder durch die Worte, zu denen es zuerst gebracht wurde, eine bestimmte Bedeutung erhält und überall, wo es wieder auftritt, die Erinnerung …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • leitmotiv — Voz alemana, acuñada por el compositor Richard Wagner, que significa ‘tema musical recurrente en una composición’ y, por extensión, ‘motivo central recurrente de una obra literaria o cinematográfica’. Puede sustituirse por las voces españolas… …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • leitmotiv — /laitmoˈtiv, ted. ˈlaetmoˌtiːf/ [vc. ted. da leiten «guidare, dirigere» e Motiv «motivo»] s. m. inv. 1. (mus.) tema ricorrente, motivo conduttore 2. (est.) argomento ricorrente, tema, motivo, refrain (fr.), ritornello …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • leitmotiv — motive, motif, theme, *subject, matter, subject matter, argument, topic, text …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Leitmotiv — (Voz al.), der. de leiten, guiar, dirigir, y Motiv, motivo). 1. m. Tema musical dominante y recurrente en una composición. 2. Motivo central o asunto que se repite, especialmente de una obra literaria o cinematográfica …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Leitmotiv — Ein Leitmotiv ist ein künstlerisches Mittel, das, gekoppelt an einen zunächst außerkünstlerischen Inhalt, in der Gesamtheit des Werkes immer wieder zu finden ist. Je nach Kunstrichtung (Musik, Malerei, Architektur oder Literatur) werden… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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