The History of Music as a Vertical Dimension and some Parallel Plots

Abstract

The relevance of the article is the appropriateness to study creative ways of famous masters in order to take into consideration minor details that make up a kind of parallel plots. It helps both to uncover the many layers of the historical process, which has not only horizontal but also vertical linkages, and to appreciate the uniqueness of the ingenious creators making the comparison with their contemporaries less gifted. The purpose of the article is to analyze the concrete plot, which concerns the appearance of opera by Pierre-Louis Dietsch (1808–1865) “The Phantom Ship, or The Accursed of the Sea” produced at the Paris Opera stage. It was created on the basis of a scenario script by R. Wagner that he sold to the Directorate of French Opera under the pressure of financial difficulty in that time when he tried in vain to establish himself on the Parisian stage. After the departure of R. Wagner from Paris the work by P.-L. Dietsch was produced in November 9, 1842, and it became a double version of “Der fliegende Hollȃnder”. Being forgotten for many years, Dietsch’s opera never attracted the attention of researchers. And only thanks to the audio recording recently carried out by a famous French conductor Marc Minkowsky this work became available for study.Different variants of the legend about the ghost ship are compared in the article on the basis of comparative and biographical methods. One of the options of this famous legend is described in the novel by British writer Frederick Joseph Marryat (1792–1848) “The Fantom Ship”, published in 1839. In the article, the author briefly describes the figure of P.-L. Dietsch as a composer and conductor and traces his intersection with the biography of R. Wagner initially in 1841–1842, and then during the preparation of the scandalously well-known Parisian premiere of “Tangoiser” in 1861.It is the historical-analytical method that was used in the analysis of plot construction and musical development the opera by P.-L. Dietsch. On the basis of that analysis, an opinion is that in style and typical contents of the work by P.-L. Dietsch we can found the typical traits of the French Opera School and among other things – the outlines of the opera of salvation. The latter will also inherit the lyric opera.In conclusion, the novel of the modern German writer Hans-Ulrich Treichel “Tristan-chord” is described, where is hidden the cultural references to this story.