Woe
The Woe Motive is deceptively simple. Its two note musical pattern consists of a longer note followed by a second note of shorter duration one half interval lower than the first. This chapter will try to demonstrate the prevalence of the theme throughout the Ring, and its influence on other motives that might otherwise appear unrelated. In the Rhine Daughters chapter, issue was taken with the thesis that the Woe Motive is derived by taking the last two notes of Woglinde’s opening song and then lowering the 6th (the next to the last note) by one half step. Many, if not most, authors begin their discussion of the Woe motive with Alberich’s expression of “Wehe” after he has been rejected by the last Rhine Daughter. Actually the motive is foreshadowed with the initiation of Alberich’s wooing of the maidens in Scene 1 of Das Rhinegold. The association of this theme with the Nibelung as he tries to flatter the maidens suggests some underlying pathos, and it is not surprising that some viewers of the Ring initially feel some sympathy for the dwarf. Beginning in the second measure of the example taken from the score the two note theme is played by the English horn and the second and third clarinets. The notes of these three instruments form two chords that fall from Cb to Bb, which is a half interval.
It is latter in the scene, when Alberich realizes that all three Rhine Daughters have been playing him false, that he sings the words “Wehe” to notes that parallel the falling chord pattern noted above. The woodwinds echo his lament. The harmony that Wagner uses for these two measures goes by quickly, but in the context of the Ring it has a subtle significance. The first measure is an Ebm6 chord over an F bass. It resolves to F. The second measure uses a Gbm6. The minor 6th chord is the key harmonic element of the Ring Motive (see Ring and Renunciation chapters) and Wagner’s musical use of it here supports the psychological analysis that the desire for power arises from the misery of being without love.
In Scene 2 of Das Rheingold Fricka sings the Woe Motive with only a slight variation in the music. In contrast to Alberich, in this example the violins, cellos and clarinet play the motive first, and Fricka echoes the orchestra. The harmony is a C chord that falls to a B major over an ‘A’ bass.
Returning now to Alberich, after he sings “Wehe!” twice, his shame and humiliation are expressed musically by the orchestra using a series of chords falling chromatically. These four chords can be considered as two pairs falling with the aforementioned half intervals. Unlike the Woe Motive these notes are written with an equal time value, but Alberich’s vocal stress on the word “Schmertz!” conveys an emphasis to the first dotted quarter note over the second, so that they sound in conformity to the Woe Motive’s rhythm pattern.
The Woe Motive has a prominent position during the musical interlude that follows Scene 2 of Das Rheingold. As Wotan and Loge descend into Nibelheim, the orchestra plays a new variation based again on Alberich’s cries of “Wehe!”. For this music Wagner creates an exchange back and forth between the cellos and the woodwinds. In the first measure the French horns fill in the harmony beneath the oboe to form an inverted Bbm6 chord which again is a musical reference to the harmony of the Ring Motive. The audience will learn that Nibelheim is a land where life has become miserable under the sway of Alberich and his ring. It is not surprising that Wagner uses several variations of the Woe Motive in Scene 2.
When the musical interlude ends Alberich enters dragging Mime by his ear. The music that we hear is primarily based on the Woe Motive, here played by the bassoons. On closer examination of this example notice that the violas and cellos are playing figurations that emphasize a falling half interval with their oscillating sextuplets. Also note that the first violins are playing descending scales suggestive of Alberich’s Motive.
In response to his brother’s abuse Mime cries out in a mirror like inversion of the Woe Motive, while the oboe plays a syncopated variation on the theme.
Later in that scene Mime narrates to Wotan and Loge the changes that Alberich has wrought in the Nibelungs’ lives. As Mime explains how Alberich, with the aid of his ring, continually finds new veins of gold and forces his fellow Nibelungs to work for him, the orchestra plays a vertical overlay of the Woe Motive (English horn) on top of a rhythmic variation of the Nibelung Motive by the cellos (see Nibelungs chapter). Many commentators treat this combination as a distinct motive and label it the Servitude Motive. This combination of motives recurs in Scene 4 of Das Rheingold as the Nibelungs haul Alberich’s Hoard up from Nibelheim for his ransom. It has another prominent recurrence in the Prelude to Siegfried Act I.
Another rhythmic variation of the two note Woe Motive occurs at the end of Scene 3 when Alberich is captured and tied up. The violins play the motive with accents on the beats while the cellos play a counter syncopation on the off beat.
At the end of a second orchestral interlude during which Alberich is dragged to the surface by Wotan and Loge, another variation of the Woe Motive is heard as a restatement of music previously associated with his humiliation by the Rhine Daughters.
Interestingly there is very similar restatement of a variation on this music at the end of the prelude to Act I of Die Walküre when Siegmund enters Hunding's house in a state of complete exhaustion. Note that the falling half step of the Woe Motive begins with an ‘F’ by the first violins and is passed to the second violins with as an ‘E’.
Returning to Das Rheingold, in Scene 4 the influence of the Woe Motive is heard again when Alberich tries to explain himself and the underlying emotions at work within him when he cursed love to in order to make the Ring. Note the emphasis on falling half interval at the end of each vocal phrase. In Götterdämmerung Act II – Scene 1 Alberich exhorts Hagen to hate, but wants him to be sympathetic to his father. Similar to the musical example from Das Rheingold we are reminded of what a miserable creature Alberich is by phrases built around a falling half steps in measures four and five of his vocal line. Note that the last descending scale of measure five is related to one of the renunciation themes (“weibes wonne und werth”-see Renunciation chapter).
Music-Alberich's Self Assesment
Music-Alberich's Affirmation to Hagen
Although it may appear from the examples given thus far that Alberich and the Nibelungs are those most afflicted with woe, as the drama of Das Rheingold nears its conclusion Wotan will learn of the woe that awaits the gods. When Erda makes her intervention at the height of conflict over the ring she implores Wotan that he must hearken to what she will tell him. Before she actually informs Wotan of the inevitable end of the gods, the falling chords of the Woe Motive inform the audience that what she will tell will not be good news for the immortals.
The falling half step of the Woe Motive occurs many times through out Die Walküre, but in that drama there is less of an emphasis on falling chords and more of an emphasis on the melody of the motive. Indeed the influence of the motive contributes to much of the sense of pathos that permeates Die Walküre. In the next example Siegmund sings it as a kind of cadence to round off his statement that he is pursued by misfortune wherever he goes. Note the falling half interval from ‘F’ to ‘E’ at the end of his vocal line. The music’s association with Siegmund is repeated once more in Act II – Scene 2 as Wotan tries to explain to Fricka the sorrow and hardship of his son’s life.
Similar to the examples given for Alberich and Siegmund, music from Act I – Scene 2 associated with Hunding also demonstrates the use of a falling half step to conclude a phrase. Hunding is immediately suspicious of the stranger that he finds awaiting him. In preparation for his declaration to Siegmund about the sanctity of his hearth and house the orchestra increases the dramatic tension with the music of the following example. This preparatory music recurs just before Hunding informs Siegmund that his house offers sanctuary only for the night.
A third example from Die Walküre Act I – Scene 2 in which the falling half step of the Woe Motive is used to round off and influence the melody of an otherwise independent theme is played by the violins and accompanies Siegmund’s narration of how he intervened to save a young maiden from a forced marriage to a man she did not love. The chromatic melody of this theme will be heard again in Die Walküre Act II – Scene 1 in combination with a variation of the basic Love Motive. There the music is associated with Fricka and her reproach of Wotan for his marital infidelities (see Love chapter).
The next several examples demonstrate quite a wide range of music that have the Woe Motive as a common thematic thread. They range from simple melodies in combination with other themes to long and complex passages of music. Here is an example of a simple melody from Act II – Scene 1 when Brunnhilde describes Fricka lashing the rams that pull her chariot. The music serves for an unsympathetic dramatic comparison between Fricka and Alberich, refering as it does back to Scene 3 of Das Rheingold and Alberich’s whipping of the Nibelungs. A rhythmic variation of the Woe Motive is played on the English horn while the cellos provide a driving accompaniment similar to the Nibelung Motive (see Nibelungs chapter).
Later in Act II – Scene 2, as Wotan expresses his shame and distress, the strings play figurations that are somewhat agitated and frenetic, while the oboes and English horn play a broaden version of the Woe Motive. This music expressing Wotan’s distress transforms into music expressing anger and rage at the end of Act II in response to Brunnhilde’s rebellion against his edict. Again, despite its complexity, the basic foundation for this musical passage is the Woe Motive which can be seen in the melody of the flute, oboe, and English horn, and the chords played by the clarinets, horns, and trombones.
As Die Walküre’s drama proceeds the next example demonstrates that Wagner’s music does not have to be complex to communicate an intense emotion. Here a simple grace note variation of the two note motive is played by the horns to express Sieglinde’s panic as she awakens from her nightmare with a premonition of Siegmund’s death.
As stated at its beginning, some of the motives in this chapter are included here not necessarily because of a melodic or harmonic similarity to the Woe Motive, but because of what is better described as the musical dramatic influence of the Woe Motive upon them. The next motive, in which a falling half interval is a feature, could arguably be described as one of the central musical dramatic themes of the Ring. As with some other central motives of the Ring the application of a name for the theme is not without some disagreement or controversy. It is labeled the Fate Motive by most commentators, but since one’s fate can be predestined positive or negative the author suggests it might alternatively be thought of as a motive of doom, as this music’s dramatic associations are on the whole negative. A totally different, and somewhat unique, interpretation of the dramatic meaning of this theme has been suggested by Millington. Placing emphasis on the motive’s first dramatic appearance in Die Walküre, in association with Brunnhilde’s vocal line, Millingtion argues that the music is more consistent with a ‘Hegelian’ concept of “mutual recognition”. Regrettably he does not develop his argument in more detail to explain the themes later appearances in Götterdämmerung. Here is the motive in question.
The Wagner tubas conveyed dramatic gravity
when they are first heard with the Renunciation Motive (see Renunciation
chapter). They impart similar
dramatic importance to this motive. Note
that the falling half step is not a diminish 6th.
Nor is it a diminished 2nd as in many of the previous examples
given. The harmony is a Dm
chord in which the 5th is lowered a half step to form a diminished
triad which then resolves to Db7 chord which in itself is a modulation one half
step down. Note the rhythm of the
tympani, especially beginning in measure six.
It will recur several times in the Ring, usually at moments of dramatic
importance. This tympani solo has
even been given the
name of the Crisis Motive by Sabor in his Ring commentary, although his
selected example uses a simpler form of the rhythm. This percussion theme is frequently associated with
someone’s death.
The Fate Motive’s modulating chords can be shown to be attached to the end of another motive associated with the concept of destiny. It is first played by the brass when Brunnhilde appears before Siegmund to inform him that his life will soon end. While the trumpet plays the melody of the motive the bass trumpet plays a counter harmony that incorporates the falling half step of the Woe Motive in the first and third measures. In the last two measures of the music note the similarity to the Fate Motive.
The association of this song with destiny is reinforced when it is sung by the three Norns in the Prelude to Götterdämmerung when they question each other about what will happen next.
Of course one can try to resist fate. There is an agitated phrase that is played by the strings when Siegmund answers in response to Brunnhilde announcement that he will not follow her to Valhalla. Labeled the motive of Siegmund’s Rebellion this agitated figuration moves up and down, but notice that the music metaphorically returns to the note on which it started. There is no escaping destiny in Die Walküre. Other authors have argued that this phrase might even be a progenitor of a figuration played by the cellos and contrabasses at the beginning of Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Music. That figuration will be discussed in the Combinations chapter.
Here are two more examples from Act II of Die Walküre of a use of the falling half interval for a negative dramatic association. When Siegmund accepts that his sword will not bring him victory in the pending fight with Hunding, he decides it would be better to use it to kill Sieglinde and his unborn child than let her be taken a second time. In the third measure note the falling half steps mixed in with a rhythm reminiscent of the Love Motive as he addresses his sword. The second example is from a little later in the scene. As Sieglinde talks in her sleep and is dreaming of the time when she was first carried off, the orchestra plays a series of slowly descending half steps from one measure to the next.
The final example from Act II of Die Walküre has Hunding singing Siegmund’s pseudonym “Wehwalt” to a variation on the Woe Motive as he issues his challenge.
The Woe Motive can function as a kind of dramatic musical adhesive to hold together other more complicated musical lines. A good example of this is from Act III – Scene 2 of Die Walküre when the eight Valkyries plead to Wotan on Brunnhilde’s behalf. Most commentators rarely discuss this beautiful polyphonic music. In the sense of having eight voices in layers it might seem to be related to the eight part cannon played by the horns in Das Rheingold’s prelude, or even the structure of the Nature in Motion Motive that interrupts Loge’s narrative in Scene 2 of that opera. However the Nature Motive is not the template for this music. Listen to the vocal lines. It is not too difficult to hear a musical emphasis on a prolonged note that falls a half step (see Helmwige’s music in measures twelve and thirteen). Note that the cello and contrabass begin the music with a progression from ‘C’ to ‘B’.
The final example in this chapter of variations on the Woe Motive is taken from Siegfried Act III – Scene 2, where the Wanderer call himself the ‘Lord of the Ravens’. This association of Wotan’s ravens with woe evolves and uses a different musical theme when the ravens have an actual role, although an offstage one, in Götterdämmerung . In the final opera they are the carriers of tidings of woe back to Valhalla, and the theme associated with them is based on a negative variation of the Rhine Daughters Joy in the Gold (see Rhine Daughters chapter). In the third and fourth measures the horns and trombones play falling chords that are very similar to those that supported another theme from Die Walküre labeled the motive of Brunnhilde’s Punishment. The motive is discussed in the Combinations chapter because the melody that Wotan sings in this example is different from that when the theme makes its first appearance.
