The Leitmotif Principle - Essay Example

THE LEITMOTIF PRINCIPLE by Richard Wagner introduced a new approach to dramatic music in his well-knownoperas. The term Leitmotif can be attributed to Richard Wagner who developed the concept opening new ways of using music in storytelling. Wagner’s leitmotif legacy is still present today and has influenced many artists and directors in terms of how they develop their music and films. Today many types of music that have dramatic narratives ranging from television, video games, movies and rock operas borrow a lot from the leitmotif approach (Gorbman, 1987:43). This paper will discuss the leitmotif principle in opera and film. It will also explain and illustrate the operation of the principle during the nineteenth century opera and the influence and legacy it had on the twentieth century art. The term leitmotif was first introduced to the operas by Richard Wagner describing a recurring melody related to a specific object, character, emotion, people or idea. A musical phrase occurs constantly and is associated with the above aspects (Dahlhaus, 1989:195). This principle has been used as a standard technique or method of how film music or dramatic music is used and was applied especially during the era of classical Hollywood films during the nineteenth century (Burt, 2000:34). Some of the notable composers who used the principle in their works include Max Steiner and Erich Korngold. It is important to ask what qualifies as a leitmotif in film. To answer this question, several factors characterise a work that can be considered to have used the leitmotif principle. First, a leitmotif is short in length. One of the requirements of identifying a leitmotif is the opening one or two bars. When one listens to the first few notes of a piece of work, he or she will be able to know whether it is a leitmotif or not (Cook, 1999:19). For example, the theme in Indiana Jones is a true depiction of leitmotif in the sense that it is presented in the first few notes of its melody. The statement that a leitmotif is short in length does not mean that it cannot be developed to something longer because many of the classical Hollywood leitmotifs have more than one or two bars of music. The second characteristic of a leitmotif is distinctiveness. A leitmotif is always distinctive and is set through a melodic string of notes to a given rhythm. The harmony that accompanies it is also essential because it provides the emotional quality that a leitmotif should have. This enables a listener to remember it whenever it is repeated. The third characteristic of a leitmotif is consistency. A leitmotif has consistency in its presentation and this ensures that it can be recognised with each statement or repetition (Kassabian, 2000:45). However, it is important that a leitmotif be not played exactly the same manner. The harmony, orchestration and accompaniment styles can all be changed but the changes will not affect the identity of the leitmotif because of the consistency present in the melody and rhythm. This quality of a leitmotif can clearly be seen in Once Upon a Time in the West by Ennio Morricone. The villain in the play is introduced using a threatening melody using an electric guitar. However, towards the end, the same theme is repeated in a low trumpet along with an accompaniment of a funeral march that shows Frank’s imminent death. However, the leitmotif can still be recognised despite the changes. Therefore, these characteristics identify a leitmotif. A leitmotif has different functions. One of the most important works of a leitmotif is to indicate something, an idea or a person that is present in a scene but cannot be seen in the frame. It can be used to suggest a place, idea or character that cannot be seen physically in a given scene but is important in terms of the effect on the scene (Chion & Gorbman, 1994:67). Another important work that leitmotifs perform is the expression of the emotional quality of the theme, topic of thing to which it refers. This function is clearly captured in films such as Star Wars and Dark Knight (2008) where composers use unusual sounds as leitmotifs. In the nineteenth century, Wagner revolutionalised music using leitmotif especially the operas. Before the introduction of the principle by Wagner, operas had music that accompanied them but this was only limited as accompaniments. The operas were formal and were conducted in short pieces often referred to as arias that had a unique beginning and ending. The purpose of the operas was augmentation of the vocals. The music ensembles were also small and included few instruments. Wagner brought about an innovation to the opera especially the form. Wagner used a full and grand orchestra that helped to provide subtleties and emotion within an opera. His operas immersed the listener into the context of the story. Wagner’s development influenced many films during the nineteenth century such that most of them used an immense and grand orchestra to provide a full sound (Mellers, 1987:21). Wagner also influenced the nineteenth century operas in the sense that he used a continuous stream of music, just like many films today that use music to accompany and provide mood to the entire story rather than on specific parts or scenes. He used the orchestra to create emotional atmosphere important for films rather than just the quality of music. He did this by introducing chromaticism and atonal harmonies to operas. These aspects are used in films today. Wagner considered opera as a whole entity and that music should accompany the visual aspects of the story when on stage rather than just singing the dialogue only. Wagner’s use of leitmotif was complex. For instance, in his masterpiece known as Der Ring des Nibelung, he used incredibly nuanced motifs to introduce the theme of love versus lust. Each character in the masterpiece has a motif (Goldmark & Leppert, 2007:67). The music used in this work helps to identify the motifs using similar intervals and rhythms. Some of the motifs that can be taken from the work include Rhinegold, sieglinde and rhinedaughters. As shown in von Wolzogen’s essays (1878-1897), a leitmotif appears to be a cluster of interrelated motifs and if conferred from the works of Wagner, this is a factual statement. The sword motif in the closing bars of The Rhinegold splits into two creating the sword itself and its use and possession. The second form is seen in Act II Scene 4 of The Valkyrie when the last note is remodelled to be heroic flourish (Bent, 2005:91). The leitmotif was widely used in the nineteenth century. For instance, the Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) had five different motifs that included the mountain motif, the high-sustained string texture motif, the tensions motif, the baroque action motif and the communication motif. Karlin’s prose also shows the use of many composers’ creative processes, which is an aspect of leitmotif. In this work, Karlin includes Rudolph Reti who describes the Brahsian ideal from his teacher and Arnold Schoenbern who provides the description of compositional process focussing on combination of thematic components that have clear identities (Bribitzer-Stul, 2015:36). These inclusions show the presentation of themes that are related to the central form of the work. This form of repetition is characteristic of nineteenth and twentieth century thematic practise, which characterises the leitmotif principle. Opera was a central part of musical composition in the nineteenth century especially in countries such as Germany, Italy and France. The subjects and settings that characterised these operas were varied including folktales and historical epics, which had different thematic structures ranging from politics to personal relationships. The major aspect in these operas was the importance of music. The use of leitmotif was clearly captured in the Tristan und Isolde (1857-1859). For instance, in Act 1 scene 5 where there is an intertwining of scenery, music and action. In this passage, a number of leitmotifs can be seen, for instance a rising chromatic motive, which shows longing and a melodic idea that, represents love potion. The work has endless melody (Bribitzer-Stull, 2015:72) In the 1940s and 1950s, films such as film noir, sci-fi and fantasy films were popular because of their emphasis on starker film music styles (Frith, 1984:78). The films included music with dissonance, jazz, electronic treatments, atonality to provide mysterious and ambiguous feel. The emphasis on film music styles was also seen in the film Forbidden Planet that used transistors to create electronic tonalities in the film. The leitmotif of the nineteenth century influenced the twentieth century art (Larsen & Irons, 2007:37). In the last forty years, film music an aspect of leitmotif has attracted many styles that combine original compositions with different forms of music including, popular, jazz and classical. Wagner’s leitmotif legacy has had an influence in the dramatic music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries especially in film scores (Macdonald, 1998:63). As already mention, John Williams’ Star Wars soundtracks borrowed from Wagner’s style. In Star Wars, Williams uses the Imperial March, which is loud and driving. The motif is performed at a slower tempo with the use of violins and flutes that end with gentle harp plucking. Another work from the twentieth century The Lord of the Rings trilogy also borrows a lot from the legacy of leitmotif. The motif of Gondor shows the shore variance and uses leitmotif. This is clearly seen in the introduction of Boromis in Fellowship of the Ring (fist trilogy of the Lord of the Rings).The Gondor motif s employed as the melody for an elegiac song. Leitmotif has also been used in modern rock by progressive bands in the twentieth century. An example of this is The Decemberists who sang The Hazards of Love. This concept album touches on the story of a man called William living with his adopted mother, the forest queen and another woman called Margaret who later becomes his lover. The relationship between William and his lover is not acceptable by the queen. This introduces the theme of the queen whose power and magic are brought to picture and the motif is repeated throughout the hard rock riff. Conventional theory observes that the tonal-dramatic musical language used in the nineteenth century is still alive in the today’s film score. Film music such as opera is a dramatic genre and has the ability of providing continuity to a disjunct medium (Bent, 2005:48). Today, film scenes show a quick movement between time and space, something that was common to the filmic narrative of the nineteenth century. Composers such as Erich Korngold, Jerry Goldsmith, Danny Elfman and Max Steiner among other composers trace their musical heritage to the nineteenth century when leitmotif was so popular. They compare the demands of Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk with the film (Bribitzer-Stull, 2015:141). For example, in John William’s score to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the professor recites to students the history of Hogwarts and the legend where the Tarnhelm progression functions as the harmonisation of repeated set-classes. This gives importance to the history that the professor is reciting to the students. The leitmotif principle functions as the dramatic moment and thematic focal point during the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, the leitmotif principle the motive importance for films and music (Bribitzer-Stul, 2015:146). The historical aspect of leitmotif is full of ambivalent reactions to Wagner. His leitmotif principle and practise has been celebrated and criticised in equal measure. However, it is essential to point out that it has influenced film music from the nineteenth century to the present day. It has affected the thematic structure and motives of modern art, music and film. In conclusion, Richard Wagner introduced a new approach to dramatic music in his operas using the leitmotif principle. The principle created opportunities for using music in storytelling and this has been used widely since the nineteenth century to the present where different types of music accompany dramatic narratives. The leitmotif principle is especially important in music today as it serves to identify motifs in music to give the listener insights into the music and create the emotional aspect required for the understanding of a particular theme or motif. Reference List Adorno T W & Eisler H 2005. Composing for the Films. New York: OUP. Bent I 2005. Music Analysis in the Nineteenth Century: Volume 2, Hermeneutic Approaches. London: Cambridge University Press. Bribitzer-Stull M 2015. Understanding the Leitmotif. London: Cambridge University Press Burt G 2000. The Art of Film Music. New York: NUP. Chion M & Gorbman C L 1994. Audio-Vision. Columbia: Columbia University Press. Cook N 1999. Analysing musical multimedia. New York: OUP. Dahlhaus C 1989. Nineteenth Century Music California: University of California Press. Frith S 1984. Mood Music: An Inquiry into Narrative Film Music, Screen 25(3).pp. 78-87 Goldmark D & Leppert (ed.s), 2007. Beyond the Soundtrack: representing music in cinema. London: California University Press. 66-85 Gorbman C 1987. Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music. Indiana: BFI Publishers. Kassabian A 2000. Hearing Film: Tracking Identification in Contemporary Hollywood Film Music. New York and London: Routledge. Larsen P & Irons J 2007. Film Music. New York: Routledge. Macdonald L E 1998. The Invisible Art of Film Music. New York: Ardsley House. Mellers E 1987. The Masks of Orpheus. Manchester: Manchester University Press Read More