Richard Wagner Nationalism

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Discuss how Wagner conveys his nationalistic concept of German virtues through Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Speech of Hans Sachs.

Nationalism constitutes a “belief which, in the course of the nineteenth century, became the governing idea without always being held by those in government…”(Miles, “Nationalism and it’s effect on the Romantic Era”). This was a majorly influential factor in the music of the romantic period, both conceptually and musically. Along with being a great factor in shaping romantic music as we know it today, it was also a powerful political tool, used to communicate ones political opinions and agendas. One such example of nationalistic composers was Richard Wagner. Through his music, Wagner portrayed the good and the
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This was largely influenced by his personal political, philosophical and nationalist ideologies. Wagner was, till his very last breath, “radically critical of the society he knew, and never from a right-wing point of view” (Magee, “Wagner and Philosophy: Excerpts”). He was stereotypically perceived to be “jingoistically nationalistic” i.e. an extremely aggressive patriotic nationalist, a racist and a propagator of anti-semitism and a quintessential right-winger. However, German nationalism was not always a right-wing propaganda. This implies that Wagner was deemed as and was always a radically left-wing thinker. Although, Wagner lived long before the birth of Nazism or the National Socialist movement he was a great influential factor on the movement, particularly on it’s leader. All his ideologies and the “ultranationalist character of his Operas”, such as “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” and ‘The Ring’, created a strong foundation for the emergence of Nazism and it’s societal conceptions. All these ideologies were a major and recurring topic in his music, acting as a reflection of both his own personal ultranationalist views and a reflection of his society as he know it. Thus, Wagner’s music was a clear example of the link between nationalism and music, being both revolutionary and greatly significant to the development of Romantic European Music, which is evident from his renowned opera, ‘Die …show more content…
Wagner’s political and ultranationalist ideologies are further evident in the phrase “deutschen Meister!”. Here, the word “Meister!” is given great importance in terms of musical traits. For instance, in the harmony, the chords progress along the C triad, with the progression, C-E-G-C. This is in order to create anticipation and to emphasise on the word, representing the importance of respect and obedience in German culture. Furthermore, this marks the inclusion of another layer of harmony, with the addition of the trumpet, which further adds to the stressing of the text. Also, the addition of the word ‘dolce’ or ‘sweet’ suggests that Wagner, attempts to centralise this phrase, by creating tension, anticipation and contrast, in terms of the melody, harmony, rhythm and instrumentation. Lastly, the chords in the harmony shift from a major 6th to a tonic chord. Altogether, Wagner tries to convey the German virtues of discipline, obedience and respect, through the musical characteristics used in Figure