12 Tremendous Composers 12 Composers    

Lesson 30: Ride of the Valkyries

by Richard Wagner

Performer: United States Marine Band

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the composer.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Richard Wagner's opera 'The Valkyrie' (Die Walküre, WWV 86B) premiered in Munich, Germany in 1870. The featured opera excerpt is the thundering and majestic 'Ride of the Valkyries.' Imagine the mythological Valkyrie women riding into battlefields to take fallen warriors to their heaven in Valhalla.

Vocabulary

Valkyrie: Any of the mythological female attendants of Odin, figures said to guide fallen Norse warriors from the battlefield to Valhalla.
Valhalla: The mythological home of half of all Norse warriors who died gloriously in battle.
Odin: The supreme mythological god of the Germanic and Norse pantheons - god of war and poetry.
Norse: Of or relating to the Nordic people, language and culture of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Composer

1. Of one composer's music Richard Wagner was very fond. This composer lived nearby and passed the Wagner house almost every day. Richard always ran to the window to watch him coming. This musician was the composer of 'Der Freischütz' and of 'Oberon.' This composer's name was Carl Maria von Weber.
2. Carl Maria von Weber's father was also a musician as well as a military man. See Carl Maria von Weber's picture.

3. Children will be glad to know that Wagner was very fond of animals. Here he is with a picture of one of his dogs. His favorite dogs are buried in the garden of his home at Bayreuth, where Wagner is also buried.

4. Wagner called his home at Bayreuth 'Wahnfried,' which is a combination of 'Wahn' (madness) and 'Fried(e)' (peace). It is beautifully located in the heart of the old town.

5. Later on the boy read about the contest of Die Meistersinger. He was then sixteen. And he read, too, a poem called Tannhäuser. He kept these stories in mind until he became a man and then he wrote an opera about each.
6. Thus we see that we carry childhood thoughts into adulthood.

7. Wagner also wrote symphonies and a few works for chorus and orchestra, but he is so much greater as a composer of music dramas that he is known mostly for his works for the stage.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite the Composition Information

• Recite the name of the composer and the composition.

Activity 2: Study the Music Timeline

Examine the music timeline to answer the following questions.

• What is the year of birth of the lesson composer?
• What is the year of death of the featured composer?
• How old was the composer upon death?
• Which composer (if any) directly precedes the studied composer by date of birth?
• Which composer (if any) directly succeeds the lesson composer by date of birth?
• Which other timeline composers were alive at the same time as the studied composer?

Activity 3: Map the Music

Richard Wagner's opera, 'The Valkyrie' involves Norse mythology. Zoom in to find the Nordic countries and associated territories.

• Denmark
• Finland
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden
• Greenland
• Faroe Islands (west of Norway)
• Aland Islands (between Sweden and Finland)

Richard Wagner died in Venice, Italy.

• Find Italy on the map of Europe.

• Have you ever seen before, in person or in pictures, the inhabitants, canals, bridges, and gondolas of Venice?

• Find Venice on the map of Italy.

Activity 4: Describe a Valkyrie

• Study the 1864 painting 'Valkyrie' by Norwegian painter Peter-Nicolai Arbo.
• Describe the artwork in your own words.

Activity 5: Read Aloud Your Paper About Richard Wagner

• Read your one-page story about Richard Wagner to your family.
• Make any corrections, as needed, after reading the paper aloud.

Review

Question 1

What is the name of the house in which Richard Wagner was born?

1 / 4

Answer 1

Richard Wagner's house was named 'Wahnfried,' which is a combination of 'Wahn' (madness) and 'Fried(e)' (peace).

1 / 4

Question 2

What is a Valkyrie?

2 / 4

Answer 2

Valkyries are mythological figures said to guide fallen Norse warriors from the battlefield to Valhalla.

2 / 4

Question 3

Name three Nordic countries or territories.

3 / 4

Answer 3

Answers might include any three of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Aland Island.

3 / 4

Question 4

What should we remember about childhood thoughts?

4 / 4

Answer 4

As with Richard Wagner and his operas, we often carry childhood thoughts into adulthood - our childhoods shape and form us in immeasurable ways.

4 / 4

❮ ❯

1. What is the name of the house in which Richard Wagner was born? Richard Wagner's house was named 'Wahnfried,' which is a combination of 'Wahn' (madness) and 'Fried(e)' (peace).
2. What is a Valkyrie? Valkyries are mythological figures said to guide fallen Norse warriors from the battlefield to Valhalla.
3. Name three Nordic countries or territories. Answers might include any three of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Aland Island.
4. What should we remember about childhood thoughts? As with Richard Wagner and his operas, we often carry childhood thoughts into adulthood - our childhoods shape and form us in immeasurable ways.

References

Tapper, Thomas. Richard Wagner - Wagner: The Story of the Boy Who Wrote Little Plays. Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Presser Co., 1918.