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Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel

185911 min

This guide follows Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel (1859) in one part (ternary form).

Recording: hr-Sinfonieorchester, Andrés Orozco-Estrada

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AnalysisComments
Vorspiel (Prelude to Act I)Ternary form0:43–12:00

The cellos open with a short, yearning , and the Tristan chord answers it without resolving. This desire music is the first . Next a new rising idea in the cellos, the 'glance' , begins the second-. The combines the glance and desire ideas and builds to the one overwhelming , which falls on the Tristan chord itself. In the the desire music , then the glance, and the dies away still unresolved.

  1. :
  2. :

Section boundaries in music are not always sharp; a transition may be felt over a pause or a held chord.

At a glance

  1. Vorspiel (Prelude to Act I)Ternary form · 11 min · 111 bars · eighth note ≈ 63 bpm

Instruments: Flute, Oboe, English horn, Clarinet, Bass clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double bass

Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel: first page of the score
Full score

Questions

How long is Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel?
About 11 min in this recording.
What form is it in?
Ternary form.
Which instruments play in Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel?
Flute, Oboe, English horn, Clarinet, Bass clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello and Double bass.
How fast is it played?
In this recording, measured from the score: eighth note ≈ 63 bpm.
Is there a score of Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel?
Yes, of every movement.

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HandelMessiah: He was despised1741BachPrelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major (WTC II), BWV 8701727BachPrelude and Fugue No. 9 in E major (WTC II), BWV 8781740BachPrelude and Fugue No. 11 in F major (WTC II), BWV 8801740BachPrelude and Fugue No. 14 in F-sharp minor (WTC II), BWV 8831740BachPrelude and Fugue No. 16 in G minor (WTC II), BWV 8851740BachPrelude in D minor (WTC II No. 6), BWV 8751740BachPrelude in E♭ major (WTC II No. 7), BWV 8761740BachPrelude and Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major (WTC II), BWV 8721741BachPrelude and Fugue No. 13 in F-sharp major (WTC II), BWV 8821741

In the catalog

Richard WagnerOrchestral worksRomantic periodTernary form

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