Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:06 pm
It's the leitmotif that he is so fond of. It is specifically reminding us of what the theme is and how the scene fits into the larger body of the work.
On that note... after finishing the gap a few years back and unable to find a good audio version of the Ring Cycle to downl... err, purchase... I picked up a set of books on the cycle that explain everything (including the leifmotifs) incredibly well.
If anyone is interested, there's 5 books in the series and you can find the list here: www.phaidon.com/Default.aspx/Web/Music- ... Nibelungen
Keep in mind they're out of print there, but at least you know what you're looking for. If you want to understand the Ring Cycle, those are the books you need.
On that note... after finishing the gap a few years back and unable to find a good audio version of the Ring Cycle to downl... err, purchase... I picked up a set of books on the cycle that explain everything (including the leifmotifs) incredibly well.
If anyone is interested, there's 5 books in the series and you can find the list here: www.phaidon.com/Default.aspx/Web/Music- ... Nibelungen
Keep in mind they're out of print there, but at least you know what you're looking for. If you want to understand the Ring Cycle, those are the books you need.