The End of Die Feen and Wagner's Beginnings: Multiple Approaches to an Early Example of Double-Tonic Complex, Associative Theme and Wagnerian Form

Abstract

Examples of directional tonality, associative tonality, associative theme and motivic parallelism all appear in the Act III Finale to Die Feen, Wagner's first complete opera. The inter-relationships evident among these compositional principles foreshadow a level of sophistication usually attributed to the more mature music dramas, suggesting that the keys to unlocking das Geheimnis der Form can, in some senses, be found in an understanding of the earlier works. The present study adopts a range of theoretical paradigms in order to address the variety of Wagner's musical and dramatic techniques. Used in conjunction, Schenkerian generative views of tonality, Robert Bailey's dramatic-tonal concepts, neo-Riemannian transformations and an understanding of thematic association enable a series of analytical observations unattainable through any single interpretative approach.