QUOTE OF THE DAY: MAY 22, 2016 - C.S. LEWIS' FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON WAGNER; GERMAN MAESTRO TURNS 203

Today’s Quote of the Day comes to us from the diary of famed British novelist Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis, author of the extremely popular The Chronicles of Narnia, and is in reflection of the Irish-born writer’s first experience with the music of 19th century Romantic composer Richard Wagner.

Writer C.S. Lewis

“…the Ride^[1] came like a thunderbolt. From that moment Wagnerian records ... became the chief drain on my pocket money and the presents I invariably asked for… 'Music' was one thing, 'Wagnerian music' quite another, and there was no common measure between them; it was not a new pleasure but a new kind of pleasure, if indeed 'pleasure' is the right word, rather than trouble, ecstasy, astonishment,'a conflict of sensations without name.' "

The 22nd of May, 2016, marks the 203rd observance of the birth of the megalomanic German composer, who was born this very day in 1813 at Leipzig.

Herr Wagner is an unravelingmusicalmyths composer favorite, and as such, has been much featured on this blog. Subjects range from contemporary to pop culture perspective, the composer’s inadvertent ‘relation’ to the Third Reich (and his anti-Semitism); Wagner’s involvement with the King of Bavaria (including the funding and construction of his much coveted Festspielhaus at Bayreuth), his relationships with his second wife Cosima and her father (Wagner's father-in-law) Franz Liszt, and his various debts and time spent in exile, and, of course, the maestro’s majestic oeuvre. These articles (and more) can be found by perusing the posts found in the Wagner Archives or by clicking on the pertinent link below.

Listen below to the famous Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walkure’s third act:


Footnotes:

^[1] The event of which Lewis refers is to his first listening of a record of Wagner’s 1870 opera, Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) – in specific, the now famous 3rd act battle cry Ride of the Valkyries. Die Walküre is the second of four operas that together comprise Wagner’s famous Ring Cycle tetralogy.

Discover more:

• Internal link: Richard Wagner: Life, Works, Misconceptions & Truths, Influence - (unravelingmusicalmyths Wagner Archives (Posts) + 1 Article)
   
• External link: More about the Ride of the Valkyries: (at Wikipedia)

• External link: C.S. Lewis Life & Works: (at Wikipedia)

• External link: Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia heptalogy: (at Wikipedia)

-Rose.

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