of
Richard Wagner's
As its title states this web site's goal is to provide a comprehensive guide to the musical themes or so called "leitmotivs" of Wagner's Ring. It contains materials from a manuscript that I hope to eventually have published in book form. Since music is an auditory medium it also contains a very large number of MP3 files that accompany the text and musical graphics. Depending on your modem's speed, current web traffic, and your telephone line, down load times may be longer than you might be used to.
Persons just discovering Wagner's Ring, or those who may not be familiar with the numerous themes, might want to start with Chapter XXIV, which is a compilation of the major themes / leitmotivs along with various labels or names that several other authors use. However, I would encourage them and other visitors to this site to look through the other chapters, which discuss the music in much more detail. I hope that many of these chapters will provide the reader with some new insights into Wagner's music not found in the numerous excellent publications that are available on "Der Ring Des Nibelungen".
Allen B. Dunning, M.D.