Myth and Music

Myth and Music
Approaches to Semiotics
51
Editorial Committee
Thomas A. Sebeok
Roland Posner
Alain Rey
MOUTON PUBLISHERS THE HAGUE · PARIS · NEW YORK

Myth and Music
A Semiotic Approach to the
Aesthetics of Myth in Music, especially that of
Wagner, Sibelius and Stravinsky
Eero Tarasti
MOUTON PUBLISHERS · THE HAGUE · PARIS · NEW YORK

ISBN: 90-279-7918-9
Cover-design by Jun iaan Schroier
© 1979, Mouton Publishers, The Hauge, The Netherlands
Printed in the Netherlands
"Nous ne pretendons done pas montrer comment les hommes
pensent dans les mythes, mais comment les mythes se pensent
dans les hommes, et a leur insu ".
Claude Levi-Strauss
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is my pleasure to thank all those people and institutes, which in one way or
another have participated in this work.
First I should like to express my gratitude to my teacher, Prof. Erik Tawaststjerna
for the numerous inspiring stimuli which I have received from him in various phases
of my study. His advice and sympathetic guidance have given decisive impulses to
my work and made me aware of numerous new, important aspects of my subject.
Many thanks are due also to Dr. Erkki Salmenhaara, Acting Professor of Musicology,
for his lively interest and several useful comments concerning this study.
My sojourn in Paris in 1974 as an awardee of the French Government also in-
fluenced the progress of my work in many ways. I was then able to participate in
the seminar held by Prof. A. J. Greimas in the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes,
which deepened and widened my picture of the structuralist approach. The personal
conversations with Prof. Greimas also opened encouraging views for my study.
However, I would hardly err in considering the ideas of Claude LSvi-Strauss one
of the strongest challenges to this work, as well as to my research journey of eight
months to Brazil, which I was able to pursue on a fellowship granted by the Rotary
Foundation. I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Anthony Seeger, Associate
Professor of Anthropology at the University of Rio de Janeiro, who kindly placed
at my disposal his collection of the music of the Suya Indians. For his advice and
all help during my journey I am deeply indebted. 1 am also grateful to Mrs. Mercedes
Reis, Director of the Music Department at Biblioteca Nacional in Rio de Janeiro,
for her assistance concerning the research material, as well as to Prof. Luiz Heitor
Correa de Azevedo (Paris) for his kind participation in the preparations for my
journey.
I also wish to acknowledge the help I have received from all the officials in the
University of Helsinki who have contributed in the progress of my work. I am also
grateful for many stimulating conversations in the structuralist circle of Helsinki,
functioning since 1971.
Miss Lily Leino, former Cultural Affairs Specialist, U.S. Information Agency, read
and revised the English version of my study. To her I should like to express my
deepest gratitude for her assistance in the final stage of the work.
I am also grateful to Miss Pirkko Elina Hämäläinen for producing the final typescript
as well as to Miss Kristiina Räikkönen for her assistance in copying the music examples.
My sincere thanks for financial aid are also due to the Niilo Helander Foundation,
the Emil Aaltonen Foundation and the Foundation for the Promotion of Music in
Finland, from which I have twice received grants. I am also indebted to the Library
of the Sibelius Academy for its patient cooperation, as well as to the Finnish
Broadcasting Company and to the French Radio (Radiodiffusion-Television Franqaise)
for their help in supplying the music material.
Helsinki, December, 1977 Eero Tarasti

CONTENTS
Ackn owledgements
PART ONE
1. Introduction 11
2. The problematics of myth 16
2.1. General observations 16
2.2. Some anthropological theories 17
2.3. The psychological and literary point of view 20
2.4. The philosophical approach 22
2.5. The semiotic approach 26
3. From the aesthetics of myth to the aesthetics of music 29
3.1. Mythical figures as the content of a composition 29
3.2. Myth and music as a symbolic resolution of contradictions 32
4. Myth as a musical reconstruction 38
4.1. Primal mythical communication 38
4.2. An example: Indian music 40
4.3. The interaction between folk music and art music 52
5. The mythical and musical discourses (the narrative aspect) 55
5.1. The technique of narration: a model 55
5.2. Myth and music in the cultural context 61
5.2.1. Romanticism — the dialectics of the unconscious 61
5.2.2. Neoclassicism — the influence of scientific discourse 64
6. The mythical as seme and style in music 66
6.1. The structural category avant/apres produces the mythical 66
6.2. The mythical style 71
6.2.1. The aesthetic and semic categories (the aspect of signified) 71
6.2.2. The mythical in the parameters of music (melody, rhythm, timbre and
harmony — the aspect of the signifier) 75
6.3. The articulation of the mythical style 85
6.3.1. Defining the mythical semes 85
6.3.2. The nature-mythical 86
6.3.3. The hero-mythical 91
6.3.4. The magical 97
6.3.5. The fabulous 101
6.3.6. The balladic 104
6.3.7. The legendary 106
6.3.8. The sacred 108
6.3.9. The demonic Ill
8 Contents
6.3.10. The fantastic 112

6.3.11. The mystic 113
0.3.12. The exotic 115
6.3.13. The primitivistic 117
6.3.14. The national-musical 120
6.3.15. The pastoral 123
6.3.16. The gestural 125
6.3.17. The sublime 127
6.3.18. The tragic 128
PART TWO
7. Introduction: the mythical in Liszt and Slavonic music 131
7.1. The mythico-musical narration in Liszt's symphonic poems 131
7.1.1. The mythical background of program music in romanticism 131
7.1.2. Musical themes by Liszt 136
7.1.3. Tasso, Les Preludes and Die Ideale 140
7.2. A survey of the mythical style in Slavonic music 151
7.2.1. The mythical and musical thematics of Glinka's Russian 151
7.2.2. The Second (Bogatyr) symphony of Borodin 158
7.2.3. Czech music: Smetana and Dvorak 164
7.2.4. The nature-mythical in Slavonic music — Myths of Szymanowsky . . . . 170
8. Wagner's Siegfried 173
8.1. A paradigmatic survey 173
8.1.1. General observations 173
8.1.2. The mythical structure 175
8.1.2.1. The segmentation of The Ring of the Nibelungs 175
8.1.2.2. The isotopies of myth, saga and fairy tale 177
8.1.3. Modalities and their musical characterization 182
8.1.4. Wagner's leitmotif technique: definition of motifs 188
8.2. A syntagmatic survey 191
8.2.1. Wagner's tetralogy from the viewpoint of the Siegfried saga 191
8.2.2. Relations between the various parts of the tetralogy 193
8.2.3. Siegfried -Wagner's mythical hero 197
8.2.3.1. Prehistory (avant) 197
8.2.3.1.2. Three aspects of the leitmotif (the sword motif) 199
8.2.3.1.3. Siegmund and Sieglinde — the hero's origin 203
8.2.3.2. The hero's life 207
8.2.3.2.1. Siegfried, Act I — mythical questions and riddles 207
8.2.3.2.2. Siegfried, Act II - the encounter with the dragon 20?
Contents 9
8.2.3.2.3. Siegfried, Act III - Siegfried as a sun hero 211

8.2.3.2.4. Götterdämmerung: A turn to the tragic 214
8.2.3.2.5. Siegfried at the court of the Gibichungs 215
8.2.3.3. Posthistory (apres) 219
8.2.4. The epic element in Wagner 221
9. Sibelius's Kullervo 222
9.1. General observations 222
9.2. The Kullervo saga 224
9.3. The interaction between myth and music as an internal process of the
composer 225
9.4. The Karelianistic movement 228
9.5. The musical background of the symphony 231
9.6. The mythical background of the symphony 235
9.7. The structure of the Kullervo Symphony 236
9.7.1. 1st Movement: Introduction 236
9.7.2. 2nd Movement: Kullervo's Youth 246
9.7.3. 3rd Movement: Kullervo and His Sister 251
9.7.4. 4th Movement: Kullervo Goes to Battle (some parallelisms with the
paintings by Akseli Gallen-Kallela) 260
9.7.5. 5th Movement: Kullervo's Death 266
9.8. The structures of mythico-musical narration in the Kullervo Symphony 269
10. Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex 272
10.1. Myth in the aesthetics of modernism 272
10.2. Stravinsky and neoclassicism 274
10.3. The programs of Cocteau and Busoni 276
10.4. Stravinsky and the group of Les Six 278
10.4.1. The place of Oedipus Rex in neoclassicism 278
10.4.2. Milhaud: Choephores 279
10.4.3. Satie's Socrate 282
10.4.4. Honegger: Le Roi David and Antigone 283
10.5. Cocteau's part in Oedipus Rex 288
10.6. The relation between music and language in Oedipus Rex (the pro-
blematics of versification) 290
10.7. A stylistic survey of Oedipus Rex 294
10.8. The musical structure of Oedipus Rex 296
10.8.1. Act One 296
10.8.1.1. Oedipus contra the Thebans 296
10.8.1.2. Creon 303
10.8.1.3. Oedipus contra Tiresias 306
10.8.2. Act Two 312
10 Contents
10.8.2.1. Jocasta and Oedipus 312

10.8.2.2. The Shepherd and the Messenger — musical irony 315
10.8.2.3. The recognition of the hero — the catastrophe 321
10.9. The mythical structure of Oedipus Rex 323
11. Conclusion 327
Notes 337
Literature 355
Index of referred musical works 363
PART ONE
1. Introduction
The purpose of this investigation is to explore the relations between myth and
music. Although this research may be said to have a certain anthropological basis, we
would call attention that its emphasis is on the Western tradition of art music. Myth
is viewed herein as primarily an aesthetico-philosophical phenomenon. Therefore
reference to the complex problematics of myth will be made solely from the
standpoint of the place of myth and mythic thinking in Western thought and
especially their relation to music and musical discourse.1 One could naturally assert
that the interrelationship of myth and music should be regarded as a case apart from
the interaction between myth and art in general. Myth, after all, is usually compared
with poetry. One may then well ask why myth should now be likened to music.
Similarly, from the viewpoint of music, one may observe that it is perhaps related
rather to other artistic sign systems - poetry, painting, architecture - than specifically
to myth (if it is to be compared with anything else, at all).
The basic hypothesis of this investigation - myth and music - nevertheless, opens
new perspectives for musicological research in the development of purely musical
structures and the music-aesthetical and philosophical problems involved to this
development. Although our point of departure is intertextual in the sense that we
are interested in the convergence of myth and music in Western art music, this kind of
comparison may also deepen our understanding of purely musical forms.
On the other hand, it must be conceded that the very comparison between myth
and music, propounded as a problem, is made possible by the structuralist or semiotic
approach. We are examining myth and music as sign systems with the semiotic
approach functioning as a sort of Archimedean fulcrum from which we can reflect
on the complex and subtle relations between them. The semiotic method enables us
to examine myth and music as discourses with each revealing its specific character as
a sign system, on the one hand, and on the other to situate these discourses in the
"archaeology" of our Western civilization, to use this term in the structuralist sense
employed by Michel Foucault. 2 Myth and music constitute two forms of discourse
which are closely related. In following the history of Western culture we discover
how, during some periods, these two areas approach, touch or intersect each other,
while in other periods they diverge. It is in this connection that one may appropriately
talk about the "geology" of cultural deep structures 3 where various seams can be
observed and their development followed over long periods of time.
Taking into consideration that our methodological approach is structuralist or
semiotic, we shall naturally to a certain degree utilize the conceptual tools associated
12 Myth and Music
with this branch of research. On the other hand structuralism will appear in this
investigation above Jl as a synthetic method which, even when it cannot immediately
be discerned by reason of the semiotic method's mergence in musicological analysis,
for example, nevertheless, governs the orientation and progress of the research. Thus
it can be said that structures are constantly present in this investigation while the
structuralism often conceals itself and withdraws to its proper epistemological plane.
The actual structuralist method enters into this study in the application of Claude
Levi-Strauss's analysis of myth4 and his use of "mythical thinking"5 in order to
compare the various manifestations of myth in the field of Western art music. Certain
concepts of A. J. Greimas, developer of such structuralist theories and methods as the
so-called "semeanalysis"6 (not to mention the concept of "seme" itself), the isotopies7
of discourse and many others, will be used in analyzing the "mythical seme" as an
aesthetic category or aspect of music mainly from the romantic period and the early
part of this century - as well as in analyzing the mythic substratum of the three
compositions chosen by us for comparative study: Wagner's Siegfried, Sibelius's
Kullervo symphony and Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. While our main concern, in
accordance with semiotic epistemology, is with the structure, message and implicit
codes of a work, we shall also examine the above-mentioned compositions in the
appropriate cultural frame of reference: German romanticism, the Finnish so-called
Karelianistic movement at the end of the nineteenth century and neoclassicism during
the first decades of this century. These periods constitute cultural phases which are
characterized by their orientation towards mythicism and by the various attitudes
they adopt toward myths. The very idea of classifying cultures according to their
orientation has been obtained from the theory of culture developed by the school of
Tartu, especially by its leader Juri Lotmah.
Additionally, in examining the relation of mythic narration to musical narration,
we rely to a certain degree on the theories of logic in mythic narration developed by
Vladimir Propp8 and Claude Bremond.9
From the viewpoint of structuralist theory, this investigation thus endeavors to
supplement the semiotics of music,10 in which field there have not yet appeared
extensive and effective studies on musical works and their frames of reference.
Our study consists of two parts: in the first we try to present the theoretical
foundations for the comparison between myth and music while in the second we
provide examples of their actual interaction.
Ultimately, the entire study focuses on one definitive problem: how myth and
music are intertwined, in what different ways they are conjoined in Western art music
as discourses, in specific compositions and in different composers. How can the
structure of a myth simultaneously be also the structure of a composition? Is it
possible to distinguish a special mythical style or is mythicism akin to a musical idiom?
If it is, what are the components of this style or what is the technique by which a
Introduction 13
composer can refer to "myth" without referring to any particular myth? In consider-
ing musical forms, can we say that some form, for example, opera, symphony or
symphonic poem, is especially suitable for mythical references or portrayals?
Although our principal task consists of defining the intersection of myth and music
and the cultural and historical conditions for it, we are nevertheless obliged to explain
in a special chapter what in fact is meant by myth and how it should be defined. In
this connection it will become evident how many different disciplines are involved in
the problematics of myth: myth pertains not only to the fields of anthropology,
ethnology and study of folklore but also to those of psychology, philosophy and
aesthetics.
From this abundance of definitions and methods we shall choose the course which
will enable us most effectively to approach the manifestation of myth in the area of
art music.
With this in mind we have designated as our point of departure what we call "the
primal mythical communication" (see later p. 39) to which various composers and
compositions have alluded in different cultural periods. To sketch a hypothetical,
approximative and intuitive idea of what this "primal mythical communication"
means, we have chosen some examples from the Indian music and ritual of South
American tribes. Introducing examples from the music of Indians is justified method-
ologically and rationally inasmuch as the theories of LSvi-Strauss are to a great extent
based on the mythology of the very Indian tribes whose music we shall use as
illustrative material.
In our opinion it is precisely this primal mythical communication which has been
sought throughout the Western musical tradition in those compositions which more
or less explicitly allude to myths. But, on the other hand, geographically and his-
torically separate cultures have found their own interpretations of this mythical
communication and attributed various meanings to it. If the renascence of Greek
tragedy played a decisive role in the birth of opera, the reconstruction of a Russian
wedding ritual in Stravinsky's Les Noces, on the other hand, or the creation of the
world as interpreted by Sibelius in his Luonnotar or Scriabin's Prometheus Mystery
scarcely possess other common and unitive features than the very idea of mythical
communication which looms in their background. Many other "mythical" com-
positions also reveal the same search for some original form of musical and human
expression in general. It is this, perhaps often purely intuitively felt connection,
which provides these works with their continuous and indisputable emotional power
and effect upon the human mind. They touch that stratum of the human spirit
whose modes of expression are varied but which basically functions in the same way
in the savage mind of primitive man as in the tamed atmosphere of our civilization.
One can see the idea of reconstruction in those phenomena of Western art music
which more or less explicitly belong to the domain of mythicism. However, many
14 Myth and Music
cultural periods have had a precise idea of what constitutes this primal mythic com-
munication. The concept of myths and their forms of manifestation during the
romantic period, for example, naturally holds anthropological interest today pri-
marily as history, but from the viewpoint of cultural semiotics it is precisely culture's
impression of itself which is decisively important. German romanticism's interest
in myths was based on an aesthetic-philosophical interpretation of the relation be-
tween myths and the unconscious, while in Finnish Karelianism the ideal of primal
mythical communication was sought in a geographically distant region, Karelia, and
in neoclassicism myths were introduced to express the "scientific" attitude of modern
man and his world.
On the other hand, our investigation cannot be limited solely to this rather
relativistic situation wherein we change our definition of myth and mythical com-
munication every time we shift cultural frames of reference. We must insist on
some fixed criterion, on a definition with which we can correlate those various views
and attitudes of different cultural periods. One such criterion is provided by con-
sidering the primal mythical communication as an example of the general communi-
cation model initially presented by Roman Jakobson11 but nowadays also applied to
musicological research (I. Bengtsson, J. J. Nattiez).12 Jakobson's model is sufficiently
simple but at the same time analytical enough to be utilized in a study of musical as
well as mythical communication. Six different elements.are distinguished in it: sender,
receiver, message, code, channel and context. Jakobson also distinguishes various
"functions" of communication corresponding to the above aspects, i.e., constitutive
elements which are stressed during the process of communication.
In researching the return to myths in Western art music we can now articulate the
"mythical" music works according to Jakobson's model. There are compositions
wherein only the code of myth is reconstructed, as in Levi-Strauss's analysis of Ravel's
Bolero13 and in other compositions incorporating the mythical code. The recon-
struction may also involve the mythical message as in cases where music tells some
mythical story or describes some mythical occurrence or person. Mythicism may
then manifest itself as stylistic features of a composition which are arranged to reflect
the various nuances and aspects of the mythical message. The channel of a mythical
communication can be reconstructed, too, for example, when the timbre of some
archaic instrument is imitated in a composition. Furthermore the sender of a mythical
message may be represented by employing as a performing medium a chorus which
recounts the events in a myth. And finally the receiver may be reconstructed — let us
cite the concept of the "ideal observer" (der ideale Zuschauer)1* created by German
romantic aestheticians who applied it to Greek tragedy and which is realized, for
example, in the orchestral passages of a Wagnerian drama reflecting the action on the
stage and functioning as though they were both receiver and reflector of the mythical
message.15 The whole Wagnerian idea of Gesamtkunstwerk in its entirety can be
Introduction 15
regarded as a reconstruction of all the relevant aspects of the primal mythical com-
munication.
A fairly important place in our investigation is reserved for the interaction and
parallelism between mythical and musical narration. In this respect an analysis of
the technique of mythical narration in the symphonic poems by Liszt and of the
various forms of mythicism in Slavonic music has provided a wealth of illustrative
material. These observations serve as an indispensable introduction to the comparative
analysis of Wagner, Sibelius and Stravinsky which comprises the second part of the
study. The purpose of this comparison is ultimately to demonstrate how the same
mythical functions 16 ("function" here in the sense used by Propp) prove to be
essential factors dominating the musical structure of composition, notwithstanding
remarkable stylistic and cultural differences between these composers. As one result
of this comparison we could even point to a particular "mythical level", a stratum
the units of which - the my themes of LeVi-Strauss or the functions of Propp17 -
obtain their equivalents in musical expression.
At the same time we also see how certain musical idioms are filled with mythical
connotations of a certain culture, finally acquiring the status of a cultural unit in
the sense of Umberto Eco's term. 18 These mythical connotations belong to a
tradition and are transferred by means of stylistic influences from one composer to
another; thus one can speak of romanticism's special musical and simultaneously
mythical thematics which are manifested by Liszt, Berlioz and Wagner as well as by
Glinka, Borodin and Smetana. In this respect we also have to take into consideration
the Russian epic-mythical thematics which combines musical expression with ancient
Slavic mythology and heroic epics. And with equal justification we can say that
Sibelius's Kullervo symphony means the emergence of a particular musical style linked
to the Finnish Kalevala myths.
The influence of myth upon music is therefore ascertainable in the stylistic features
of musical discourse. In analyzing these mythical stylistic traits the influence of folk-
music elements must be considered an important factor, although a composer's use
of folk-music material in order to create mythical atmosphere obviously depends to
a great extent on his general orientation. In the framework of the present investi-
gation folk music concerns us only insofar as it constitutes a part of the hypothetical
primal mythical communication. In any case folk music can participate in the
formation of a mythical music style and consequently we shall collocate folk music
influences as a subgenre of the larger stylistic category das Mythische. Thus music
can be mythical even without any explicit connection with folk music proper.
For the comparison we have selected three large-scale works with an important
and significant place in the production of their composers, works to which our theory
about interaction between myth and music can be applied. It is reasonable to ask
why we have chosen specifically Wagner's Siegfried, Sibelius's Kullervo and Stra-
16 My th and Music
vinsky's Oedipus Rex. There are many reasons for this.

Firstly, we cannot deny that Lovi-Strauss's analysis of the Oedipus myth 19 has
opened up many inspiring perspectives not only for musicological and mythological
research, but also for the study of the Oedipus myth itself, the musico-poetical
interpretation of which in Stravinsky-Cocteau's Oedipus Rex seems to be, after Levi-
Strauss's structuralist analysis, as fascinating for modern man as it may have seemed
at the beginning of our century after the founding of Freudian and Jungian depth-
psychology. Levi-Strauss's idea of reducing the structure of a myth to a kind of
orchestral score has already echoed back to musicological studies in the form of
musico-semiotic analysis.20
On the other hand, Levi-Strauss's thesis, that the structure of a myth is revealed
only when it is parallelled with other myths of the same group and thus related to
the same paradigm,21 has not yet been tested in the musicological field. On the
musical level, L£vi-Strauss's idea means that, in order to see how musical thematics are
involved in the mythical, one must find several musical realizations of the same myth
or of sufficiently similar myths.
Therefore it is not by accident that we have placed alongside the Oedipus myth
the Finnish Kullervo-saga, which in certain respects resembles it, and for the third
point of comparison Siegfried, the mythical hero from the Nibelungenlied. These
three tragic and heroic legends with all their similarities and contrasts constitute the
mythical foundation of our study, the musical realization of which forms the focal
point of our investigation. This selection has, of course, also been guided by an
awareness of the fact that the musical interpreters of these three mythical tales are
all distinctively oriented towarls the myths and have utilized mythical sources in
their other musical works, as well. Thus, merely for one who intends to study the
mythical music style and its development, the parallelism Wagner-Sibelius-Stravinsky
surely means one essential clue in the history of our music.
2. The probJema tics of myth
2.1. General observations
The reality of myth and consequently the scope of the problems of myth is
extremely multi-faceted and complex. This is at least partly due to the fact that
myth belongs simultaneously to several different "isotopies",1 i.e., there are always
various possible interpretations and definitions of a myth. It will be necessary to
form some general idea about how the reality of myth is articulated by these
definitions in order to correlate it with other cultural spheres, as with music in the
The problematics of myth 17
present case. Although structural aspects will to a great extent be dominating in this
study, one must also consider the contents of myth in this respect, too.
As Karl Kerenyi has observed, mythology as art (Kunst) and mythology as sub-
stance (Stoff) present two aspects of one phenomenon just as do the composer's
creative work and the material of this creative process, a tonal world. 2 For the
semiotic approach, as well, these two aspects are inseparable: structure does not
mean "leblose Knochen eines Skeletts" of Hegel,3 but the content organized in a
given way, as Levi-Strauss points out.4 Nevertheless, these factors do not prevent
us from using this distinction as a sort of working hypothesis when classifying various
approaches to myth and panoramically surveying the reality of myth.
Theories about myth can be divided into two principal classes, according to whether
they emphasize the content of myth, the substance, or whether they are oriented
toward the distinctive form, structure or expression of myth.
Within the substantial approach three different aspects can further be distinguished:
anthropological, psychological and literary (the last mentioned as an example of
scrutinizing myths from the aesthetic viewpoint.)
The structural approaches to myth on the other hand are dealt with in two
groups, from the philosophical and the semiotic points of view. It goes without
saying that it has not been possible to include in this general survey all of even the
essential aspects of myth. The selection has been influenced by the fact that the
emphasis in this study (regarding the theory of myth) lies on the structural analysis
of myths and especially on their place in the thought of Levi-Strauss. In this sense
the distinctive features of a structuralist interpretation of myth will be determined
while the other theories about myth will serve as a background for the formation of
a specific "mythical" music style, as will be seen later.
2.2. Some anthropological theories
In most anthropological approaches to myth the importance of "living" mythology

is emphasized when defining myth. 5 For anthropology, myths are "lived-in-models"6
which function concretely not only in the life of a tribal society but also in the
primitive mentality and world view in general.
They are precisely those ties interweaving myths with the whole tribal life and
its social machinery which, according to Bronislaw Malinowski, are of prime im-
portance for anthropologists as well. In his opinion the first requirement for studying
mythology is to know how the natives experience their myths. In this sense there is
no doubt that the main cultural function of mytnology is the establishment of
precedent, the vindication of the truth of magic, of the binding forces of morality
and law, and of the real value of religious ritual by referring to events which have
18 My th and Music
occurred in a dim past, in the Golden age. In this sense myth is like a message from
the past as well as a prognosis of a better future by strengthening the society's moral
values and sustaining the mind of the individual in the crises and conflicts of life.7
Myths are not related merely for entertainment; they are associated with the
"sacred" sphere of culture. Therefore myths in archaic societies are surrounded by
a special Festivitätsgefühl, an air of solemnity which is intended to separate them
from the mundane sphere.8 Here one cannot refrain from remarking how important
a function music possesses in distinguishing between the sacred and the profane. In
primitive cultures singing, playing and dancing are an intrinsic part of the enactment
of myths; thus music has a fundamental part in the relations between man and the
sacred. In order to establish communication with transcendental truth, symbols are
needed to mediate the secular and the transcendental, and to create a connection
between the present and the mythical past.9 In primitive cultures myths considered
as sacred texts and music as a means of performing them function in precisely this
kind of mediatory capacity and are therefore closely bound together in mythical
communication.
For anthropologists myths thus signify a sacred, traditional knowledge, a primitive
belief, which naturally prompts one to ask the nature of this knowledge and belief.
Some scholars all but identify myth with cosmological etiology. Martti Haavio
considers myth to be a short or even extensive epic story, which provides primitive
man with a "scientific" answer to questions concerning the origins of existence, the
universe and its components.1 °
Mircea Eliade offers the same definition but regards it, however, as too limited to
be accepted as the sole definition of myth: myth tells a sacred story about how
supernatural beings have created some reality, whether it be the cosmos in its entirety
or a part of it, animal, plant, geographical place, human behavior etc. 1 1 In such
cases it would always be a "story of creation"; the protagonists in the myths would
then be supernatural beings, gods or spirits whose dramatically committed violations
of the sacred also may constitute the subject of certain myths.
According to Karl Kerenyi's classification, all these factors (the characterization
of gods, the portrayal of their deeds, the related cosmology and ultimately natural
philosophy as a whole) constitute only the first part of mythology. The second part,
declares Kerenyi, consists of fairy tales, where poetic imagination plays an essential
role.12 The true distinction between myth and fairy tale rests neither on the substance
nor the form, but on the approach to them.
If life is incorporated in the story in full measure and manifests itself in major
ceremonial forms, cult or ritual, we are dealing with a myth. Whereas if ceremonies
are limited to minor episodes, to narrating, listening and finally merely to reading
and life's contribution has dwindled to self-forgetting pleasure, we are confronted
with a fairy tale and in case of mere reading with a novel.
The third part of mythology is dominated by the historical aspect: the struggles of
some god in a myth may reflect the struggles experienced in spreading his cult. It is
this aspect of mythology which Kerenyi calls a heroic legend (Heldensage) frequently
manifesting itself as a genealogical system.13
Thus the domain of myth no longer appears like a chaotic phase of prescientific
understanding (Vorverständnis) since the substance of mythical stories already gives
it a certain form.
In his work Einfache Formen Andre Jolles divides this mythical substance into
many subgenres of which particularly the definitions of legend, saga and myth are
worth noticing in the context of the present study. 14
Jolles firstly contrasts the worlds of history and legend. What is significant in the
world of legend (miracles and identification with some exemplary person) is, from
the historical viewpoint, unreliable, suspect and finally untrue. 15 The same can be
said to apply to myth, saga and fairy tale, too.16
The Greeks already distinguished "mythos" - pure fiction - from "logos" - know-
ledge based on reason - and thus gradually deprived the concept of "mythos" of all
its religious and metaphysical connotation. Therefore "mythos" finally meant for
the Greeks "something" which cannot really "exist" and "illusion", which prevails
in modern language as one meaning of myth. 17
Sagas likewise differ from authentic history, being legends believed to be true
even though they have developed and expanded in the course of centuries. In sagas,
according to Jolles, the familial structure of society is manifested above all: consan-
guinity, bloodfeud, marriage, lineage, heritage etc. form the background of all action
in them. 18
In Jolles's opinion myth also reflects a certain view of the world: through myth
man wants to comprehend the world in all its variety and totality. Man is confronted
by the world and poses a question to it. In reply he receives his own words back
and thus creates a mythical being through its properties and qualities. Where this kind
of creation of the world occurs as questions and answers, there appears the form
called myth. 19 One need only to recall such mythical heroes as Gilgamesh, Oedipus
and Siegfried posing their mythical questions about life and human destiny.
Consequently, says Jolles, myths possess a solidity, force and authority not shared
by legends or sagas; the very essence of the world attains its true expression in the
linguistic form of myth. 20
In fact the differences pointed out by Jolles do not mean absolute disparity
between narrative genres: a story may at the same time contain several "forms".
It seems therefore quite natural to search for models which would bind them together
on a higher plane, as Jan de Vries, for example, has done in postulating a general
model of a heroic life 21 - a model which the author considers equally valid for
myth, fairy tale and saga. Regardless of the narrative ger.re in which the hero appears,
20 Myth and Music
the portrayal of the various phases of his life almost invariably progresses as a chain
of similar events consisting of the following: 1) The hero's origins, 2) His birth,
3) His threatened childhood, 4) The maturing of the hero, 5) The hero achieves
invulnerability, 6) The heroic deeds (such as the encounter with a dragon), 7) The
conquest of a maiden after having survived great dangers, 8) The journey to Hades,
9) The triumphant return, 10) Death.
It is perhaps not without interest to state that G. Baudouin interprets the details
of the heroic myth in almost the same manner. 22 According to him it is characterized
by certain fantasies about the birth and particularly the so-called second birth of the
hero: he is not a child of his presumed parents but a king or a god. He has been
banished immediately after his birth but still bears some mark which makes possible
his later recognition. Furthermore, his life includes distinguished and brilliant exploits
which serve as "trials" from which he must emerge victorious to qualify as a hero.
The most typical trial is a battle against a monster which guards a treasure or a
beautiful maiden. The hero rescues this precious object. It is the hero's attribute
of deliverer which Baudouin considers of major importance, because it appears even
in the most primitive heroic myths.2 3
Jan de Vries, however, observes more cautiously that the above model is not
realized in every heroic story. 24 On the other hand, Vries also ponders how it is
possible that the heroic life in myths almost always follows the same formula in
different parts of the world. Why have not the storytellers over thousands of years
adopted new motifs as embellishment or structural transformation of their stories?
Vries explains this by referring to the close connections between myths and rites in
the archaic societies, which find their solutions to the fundamental problems in the
form of ritual action. Rite represents the way these problems were resolved in
ancient times - myths, on the other hand, tell about it. Thus myth is not merely a
text commenting on the rite but conveys its original meaning.2 5
2.3. The psychological and literary point of view
The very fact that myths are so astoundingly similar in different cultures has
afforded an intellectually encouraging starting point for the psychological study of
myths. One of the best-known attempts to account for the similarity of myths is
provided by the theory of so-called "archetypes". According to Carl Jung, myths
are founded on archetypes which are certain kinds of mental organs common to all
humans. 26 They represent or personify certain instinctive processes in the elementary
depths of psyche, in the true but invisible roots of consciousness.
Innumerable and varied applications to the field of mythology have been subse-
quently developed on Jung's theoretical basis. One interesting variant among them
is the theory of Roger Caillois.27 He namely distinguishes between the mythical

situations, interpreted as reflections of psychological conflicts, and the mythical
heroes who are persons able to resolve the conflicts. The hero is now to be regarded
as a kind of idealized being who is capable of finding a solution because it is the
society which authorizes him to violate social rules established and enforced by
taboos. An individual is replaced by a hero because he is psychologically unable
to resolve these mythical situations.
Inasmuch as the hero is allowed to violate taboos, it is one task of myth to provide
this violation with a human grandeur and a stamp of conviction in order to compen-
sate for the guilt. 28 In this sense myth and rite are bound together; a taboo permits
transgression only in the mythical atmosphere where an individual is dramatized and
the very act of violation is rendered possible. Rite realizes myth and that is why they
are inseparable.29
Caillois thus reduces mythology essentially to a study of the psychological process,
which is properly described by the concept of "surdetermination".30 This term has
also been used in the field of literary researches, as by Charles Mauron in his psycho-
critical method 3 ' and by G. Baudouin in his comparative study of heroic myths.
Baudouin parallels the concepts of surdetermination and symbol, both being a
bundle of psychological processes32 which are integrated in myth consequently
allowing so many simultaneous interpretations. It is this projection of myth in
various directions which, according to Caillois, explains why the psychological
conflicts involved in mythical situations are not directly expressed in psychological
terms but choose the embellishment of storytelling.33 The very fact that myths
frequently adopt a poetical (or musical, as it may be added) mode of manifestation,
surely enables them to affect our sensibilities so strongly.
The relationship between myth and literature constitutes its own special field of
research to which only passing attention can be given in this context. In any case an
author is able to describe the subtle content of myths more convincingly from
the psychological point of view than can a specialist in mythology. One should,
however, consider the kind of psychology according to which myths are interpreted.
Can, for example, Greek or ancient Scandinavian myths be interpreted by the same
psychology as that underlying the psychic life of a hero in a nineteenth century
novel? In other words, to what kind of interpretative framework are the myths in
each case related? In the development of Thomas Mann as an author, his gradually
increasing interest in the mythical-religious-historical caused the replacing of "bour-
geois-individual" topics with "an orientation towards the typical and universally
human." 34
Northrop Frye describes this kind of transformation of mythical substance in
different social contexts: "Myths of gods merge into legends of heros; legends of
heroes into plots of tragedies and comedies; plots of tragedies and comedies merge
22 Myth and Music
into plots of more or less realistic fiction."35

Frye does not, however, believe that these transformations would after the
constructive principles of a mythical story, which remain invariant while naturally
adapting themselves to contextual changes.36 On the other hand, Frye speaks of
the concept of archetype by which he means a complex of symbols, a symphony
of manifold significations.3 7 Archetypes furthermore form whole thematic networks
defining an author's "personal myth", ie., characteristic mythical situations and their
symbols in his works.38 Thus while researching myths in the field of art one is
ultimately led to the hidden essence of the creative process and the psychological
recesses of the artist himself.
2.4. The philosophical approach
In the preceding chapters various approaches to myth have been sketched, mainly
from the viewpoint of content. Some reference has also been made to the mode of
expression characteristic of myth, which is manifested in the structural properties of
myth. One would hardly err in claiming that it is precisely these structural aspects
which reveal the connection between mythical and musical discourse in perhaps its
most profound form. In this sense, mythical discourse may be approached principally
in two ways: by a philosophical analysis of the essential features of the mythical
consciousness which can be studied on the basis of mythical texts manifesting them
and, on the other hand, by semiotic analysis while considering the mythical discourse
as a sign system. Initially some philosophical approaches to myth and the reality of
myth will be surveyed.
Karl Jaspers, in his extensive study Psychologie der Weltanschauungen, has
described the mythical world view, its various modalities and relations to other
possible outlooks.39 Jaspers assumes as his starting point the directly hie et nunc
experienced world view, from which a whole series of world views emerge: those of
the nature-mythical, nature-historical and nature-mechanical character. They are,
according to Jaspers, in a constant struggle against one another owing to the "abso-
lutization" of one at the cost of the others. 40
In this study it is the first in this chain which is of primary interest: namely the
nature-mythical world view which finds its truest expression in abstruse analogies,
symbols and myths. Even if all that is purely perceptible, psychic and unobjective
(which would be unreal for those other world views) prevails in it, yet it is not
founded on subjective arbitrariness. Man has discovered in this nature-mythical
world innumerable relations corresponding to his psychic structure ever since the
Babylonian doctrines about relations between the stars and human destiny. Ever-
ything is closely interrelated: human beings, animals, stars, plants, minerals etc.4!
It may be mentioned that this is just the kind of nature-mythical universe which
Wagner attempts to evoke in his Ring of the Nibelung.
The nature-mythical world view furthermore has its own counterparts on the
psychic level - particular psychic-mythical figures, which are idealized versions of
real, historical personalities. This psychic-mythical world is imaginary yet clear and
transparent in structure. The figures, the mythical heroes which populate it, often
are much freer of psychological problems than ordinary people, since they are
considered as types.42 Such types are born when we exclude particular aspects of
our character or presume deeds we are not capable of performing or finally imagine
certain characteristics expanded to ultimate and absolute proportions.43
Nevertheless, according to Jaspers, the psychic-mythical world is not a conscious
and artificial construction but a "living" reality taking place as it were in the internal
dimension of man, in the natural-mythical world-view which often functions as a
context for it.44 The mythology in the anthropological sense is placed by Jaspers
on the plane of mythological-demonic world view which characterizes the immediate
consciousness of all primitive nations in the world. In certain respects it is therefore
earlier and more genuine than the previously cited mythical attitudes. The existence
of metaphysical forces is there directly experienced and manifested as mythology.
The mythical stories and figures conveyed by it may serve as a source of profound
images for the modern world and they can be utilized as an "art".45
The applicability of Jaspers's theory to the interpretation of art, especially of
music, will be confirmed later when dealing with the mythical style in music. In all,
it is to the credit of Jaspers that he has attempted to bridge the gap between myth
and art while maintaining contact with the content side of myth.
In this connection it may be worth noting that another German philosopher, Ernst
Cassirer, emphasizes the autonomous nature of mythical consciousness and even
warns against comparing myth with other "symbolic forms" merely on the basis of
content. 46 Mythical and aesthetical fantasy are related in the sense that they are not
simple responses to external stimuli but rather genuine and independent spiritual
processes. Cassirer considers mythology to be a closed system which can beicompared
with other structures of consciousness only as a system in the aggregate.4 7
Cassirer could thus be associated with the "structuralist" orientation, anticipating
the great structural analyses of entire mythical systems by Claude Levi-Strauss. In
his approach myth seems to be a closed universe which one can evaluate solely by
observing the laws of its internal structure.
This epistemological viewpoint might probably be accepted even by such opposite
poles as Jean-Paul Sartre and Levi-Strauss. One need only recall what Sartre states
in his essay on imagination as a specific type of consciousness: "At times there
appears in the network of synthetic acts of consciousness certain structures which
we call imagining consciousnesses. They emerge, develop and disappear according
24 Myth and Music
to their own laws which we try to determine. It would be a great error to confuse
this life of the imagining consciousness that is enduring, organized and finally
dispersed, with the object of this consciousness which on the contrary remains
invariable."48
The imagining consciousness (conscience imageante) might without any greater
difficulty be identified with the mythical consciousness in the sense applied by
Cassirer and Levi-Strauss. In the first chapter of Le^vi-Strauss's The Raw and the
Cooked (Mythologiques I) the following passage is found: "Mythology has no
obvious practical function: unlike the phenomena previously studied, it is not directly
linked with a different kind of reality, which is endowed with a higher degree of
objectivity than its own and whose injunctions it might therefore transmit to minds
that seem perfectly free to indulge their creative spontaneity. And so ... when the
mind is left to commune with itself and no longer has to come to terms with objects,
it is in a sense reduced to imitating itself as object."49
As astounding as this reasoning might seem in the introduction to an anthro-
pological study, it is fully comprehensible from the viewpoint of the philosophy of
myth. In fact, Levi-Strauss only repeats the Cassirerian idea that even the most
elementary mythical utterance is always more than a simple reflection of being.50
Perhaps it is precisely in this way that music approaches myth as a mode of expression
which in the first instance does not refer to external reality but constitutes a message
reflecting itself. Therefore, according to Cassirer, myth can never be formulated in
terms of its object since any phenomenon may become the object of the mythical
consciousness and thus acquire a mythical significance. The mythical is not an
objective quality but is determined by an attitude (Bezogenheit) which may be called
a mythico-religious approach. 5 '
On the other hand, myth begins when distinctions are introduced into the diffuse
being, thus breaking the sameness and continuity of the states of consciousness.52
Cassirer then outlines a special morphology of the mythical consciousness the prime
characteristics of which are rather abstract attributes of space, time and number. 53
In mythical space every direction and position has its own mythical emotional quality
and coloring. 54 Ultimately they are reduced to an elementary mythical distinction
between the sacred and the profane, as was stated above (see page 18).55 The
mythical conception of time, on the other hand, is characterized by a given occurrence
which has taken place in a distant period. It is just this feature which distinguishes
mythical time from historical time: mythical time, unlike historical time, is not
characterized by a mere relationship of present, past and future moments constantly
thrusting one another aside. In mythical time a fixed boundary separates the empirical
present from the mythical origin and gives this segregation its irreversible character.
Taking this into consideration it seems understandable that the mythical con-
sciousness is frequently called timeless.56
The probte tatics of myth 25
In general the mythical conception of time, as well as of space, is wholly concrete

and qualitative. For myth no time or consecution exists as such but only certain
concrete figures and their comings and goings.57
From this viewpoint mythical time and musical time are closely related - musical
time, too, may be defined as qualitative "duration."58 A new function and meaning
is always attached to a musical motif according to its position in the course of a
musical work. Thus the so-called syntagmatic aspect must never be omitted, along
with the paradigmatic, when determining signification in music. On the other hand,
music may also include several different kinds of "time", from the myth- or dream-
like59 qualitative temporal network to the periodicity reminiscent of historical
time.60
When observing myth among other symbolic forms an essential role must be
ascribed to the concept of "surdetermination". The very fact that one and the same
word may be used in widely different contexts also provides a key to the inter-
pretation of myths. 61 Nevertheless, myth cannot be considered an example of
allegorical language, in other words an expression which holds some presumed
meaning. Just such a distinction between direct, concrete sign and indirect, abstract
meaning (speaking about "emic" and "ethic"6 2 units or "signifier" and "signified"
to use more general terms) is wholly foreign to the mythical consciousness. It is we,
the receivers of the mythical message, no longer living in the original, untouched
mythica' consciousness who imbue it with that ideal meaning. Where we see a relation
of representation, for the mythical consciousness there is a relation of identity. A
picture does not represent at thing, it is the thing.6 3
Nevertheless, taking for granted that myth and music in principle cannot be
translated into another "language" and that they both, considered as closed and
immanent systems, are only comprehensible from the inside, 64 how is it possible
to explain the undeniable importance of mythical texts to non-archaic cultures, which
are constrained to approach them from the outside as it were? Are we then in a
position to comprehend the mythical mode of expression at all?
Two leading scholars of the semiotic school of Tartu, Juri Lotman and B. A.
Uspensky, attempt to clarify precisely this situation wherein a non-mythological
consciousness deals with products of an original mythical consciousness.65 Lotman
and Uspensky - who, by the way, seem to be indebted to Cassirer for not a few
things — suppose that in the field of science this kind of contact results in logical
variants of mythical texts (as, for example, in the myth of Oedipus, according to
Levi-Strauss's structural analysis of it) and in the field of art in metaphorical
constructions (as in the interpretation of the myth of Oedipus by Stravinsky-
Cocteau). Thus, in some cases mythical text is considered a symbol. Such a symbol
is, however, the result only of interpreting a myth from the viewpoint of an external
consciousness. This kind of symbolism, which has become detached from the original
26 Myth and Music
mythological consciousness, will be exemplified later by those three cuLural frame-

works oriented towards myth, namely German romanticism, Finnish "Karelianism"
and neoclassicism.
The reinterpretation of myth, providing them with new contexts - described as
the "umfunktionieren"66 of myth by Thomas Mann in his correspondance with Karl
Kerenyi - should, however, be separated from the spontaneous emergence of mythical
patterns in an individual and social consciousness, as LotmanandUspensky also have
remarked.67 The musical form of the symphonic poem, particularly as it appears in
the work of Franz Liszt, is based on literary texts and figures, which can be regarded
as mythical from the viewpoint of romanticism and of their musical interpretation by
Liszt. Consequently it is a question of an individual (the composer) and a collective
(the cultural period) consciousness which considers these texts and figures (Dante,
Tasso, Faust etc.) to be myths and hence assumes a mythical attitude toward them.
In any case, this phenomenon should always be distinguished from "mythologism",
i.e., the imitation of myth outside the original mythical consciousness.68 The
possibility of the former kind of mythology (thus opposed to "mythologism") was
acknowledged already by Fr. Schelling in his Introduction to the Philosophy of
Mythology in which he declared that the task of any great poet is to create a
mythology of his own, just as Dante and Shakespeare created their own mythological
worlds from the customs and history of their own times and people.6 9
2.5. The semiotic approach
The modern semiotic approach agrees in principle with the view that myth is a
manifestation of a special kind of consciousness which is characterized by a certain
attitude toward phenomena and a manner of arranging and representing them which
transforms the phenomena into myths. One could consequently reason that myths
have existed as long as the mythical consciousness which produces them.
Roland Barthes has analyzed some modern myths and studied their specific
structure using the concepts and methods of semiotics.70 Myth is not determined,
in the opinion of Barthes, by the content of a message but by the manner in which
the myth gives something meaning and form. Barthes considers myth to be a semiotic
system, meaning that in myth what is involved is a sign-system which in a certain
sense is independent of any contents. 7 '
Myth may also be projected as a three-dimensional schema widely utilized by
structuralism: signifier, signified and sign. The substance of a myth (signifier) may
be any cultural fact whatsoever: speech, photograph, film, sport, theatre, adver-
tisement, music. Nevertheless, it is apparent that mythical expressions in all cases
are based on already completed material, in other words on material which already
has a certain meaning analyzable according to the same three-dimensional schema

as myth itself. At the stage when myth grasps this substance it is reduced to the
mere function of expression, losing its original content in favor of myth. Myth sees
in it only the original substance of its own sign-system. Whether it be literature,
painting or music, myth subordinates it to the position of signifier. 72 Thus any
term used by myth allows two approaches: from the standpoint of the first sign-
system it is full of meaning, as it is the terminal point in this system. But from
the viewpoint of mythical meaning it is exhausted when it becomes the first term,
signifier, of the mythical system. It is not, however, entirely deprived of its
significance but merely withdraws to the background in order to make way for a
new mythical meaning.73
In all its abstractness, Barthes's theory will prove to be very useful in studying
the connecting points between myth and music, especially the case in which myth
subordinates music, retaining it as a substance in its own sign system. This theory
is easily illustrated: one may think, for example, of the futurist adoration of machines
at the beginning of the twentieth century. 74 Examples can be found in almost any
futurist poetry, painting or music — such as Honegger's mythologization of a train in
Pacific 231, to cite only one. Alrrost any machine might serve as the substance, or
signifier, of the myth while the signified is "I'esprit nouveau", modernism, efficiency,
productivity etc. or ultimately the nature-mechanical world view described by Jaspers,
in which "even the machines may achieve a mythical life."75 The purpose of
Honegger's composition is not to depict the structure and functioning of Λ train but
to present it as a mythical symbol in the cultural context of his time. By varying this
same machine myth but giving it a negative value, Jean Cocteau was able to call his
interpretation of the myth of Oedipus La Machine infernale.16
On the other hand, what happens to music when myth seizes it and reduces it to
bare expression? Music also possesses a formal world, history and rules of its own,
but in the hands of myth it acquires a new function and its original properties are put
in "brackets", because its only task now is to support the mythical meaning and
content. Does not this explain the structural paucity and a certain syntactical
scarcity of musical discourse during those periods when music was closely allied
with myth?
The musical defects in Wagner's works have been pointed out frequently 77 but
without seeing them in relation to the underlying mythical system. On the other
hand, as will be shown later, the relations between myth and music have other modes
of manifestation, too, than the dominance of myth over the sign system serving as
its material, described by Barthes above.
As the last viewpoint en myth, the ideas of Claude Levi-Strauss about the structural
analysis of myths and the nature of mythical thinking will be discussed. Furthermore,
Levi-Strauss has pursued the theoretical comparison between myth and music the
28 Myth and Music
farthest by indicating parallels between them not only as regards the content of myth
but particularly their structural similarities and interaction.78 In a certain sense the
whole premise of this investigation alludes to Levi-Straussian structuralism. Myth
and music, two strata of Western culture, will be observed from the standpoint of the
anthropological consciousness, revealing connections which in an ordinary approach
to music history or style analysis might escape attention. Therefore Levi-Strauss's
concept of mythical thinking could prove to be of considerable interest when applied
to phenomena of Western civilization, as to music in the present study.
What Le'vi-Strauss understands by mythical thinking, as well as by the structural
analysis of myth in the broad sense, is revealed in his monumental series Myth-
ologiques. Yet his previously published analysis of the myth of Oedipus which
renders it as a kind of orchestral score, has been considered a model for the structural
analysis of a myth. 79 It would, however, be unreliable to take up an analysis of a
single myth to elucidate the procedures of Le'vi-Strauss, as the nucleus of his
structuralism is ;n the totality, the paiadigm to which a discrete myth is assigned
as only one instance of all possible variations.
Perhaps the most controversial passage in Le'vi-Strauss's work is the following
excerpt in which he ponders the relation of myths to the individual carrying them:
"In the particular example we are dealing with here, it is doubtful, to say the least,
whether the natives of Central Brazil, over and above the fact that they are fascinated
by mythological stories, have any understanding of the systems of interrelations to
which we reduce them... I therefore claim to show, not how men think in myths,
but how myths operate in men's minds without their being aware of the fact."80
At first sight Le'vi-Strauss might seem to be following Jung in transferring myth
to the unconscious sphere but a more careful observation will reveal, however, that
he is not concerned with the unconscious of the mytn-tellers in any psychological
or psycho-analytical sense.81 In Levi-Strauss's opinion, mythical thinking is
unconscious insofar as every discrete myth constitutes but a fragment of a whole
which a local myth teller and listener, bound as he is to a given society and history,
is unable to perceive. Thus in Mythologiques the Indian myths explain one another,
forming series like the interpretant chains of Peirce. The meaning of one myth
refers to another which further refers to yet another and so on. Myths constitute
a cyclical discourse continually changing its significance owing to the fact that new
myths may always be added to it. This manner of reasoning leads to truly astonishing
results: the person who is telling a myth does not know what he is saying. He is
repeating a fragment of a discourse the beginning, end and subject of which are
unknown to him. 82 This is illustrated by the analogy to an orchestra used by Le'vi-
Strauss, according to which myth-tellers are like musicians performing a symphony
but who are unable to communicate with one another because of temporal and
locational separation. Each plays his own part as if it were the entire work. None
From the aesthetics of myth to the aesthetics of music 29
of them is able, any more than are the myth-tellers, to listen to the whole performance
for this is possible only for those who are outside the orchestra.83
Levi-Strauss's idea about the essence of mythical thinking may also be applied to
other sign systems, such as music. Just as mythical thinking, despite considerable
differences due to time and place, is manifested in similar and contrary myths which
allow a return to a same paradigm, similarly certain structural equivalences in music
could be observed as it were across the boundaries of musical tradition and style.
The geography of musical thinking would then turn out to be, like that of the myths,
a more extensive system of the human mind, where a phenomenon of a given system
might fill a gap in some other local system.
Only when joined together are the various musical thematics capable of forming
a complete picture of the whole system of musical thinking behind them. It is
partly this idea which has prompted the present attempt at this kind of trans-
formational analysis in the field of Western art music while researching the emergence
of a special musico-mythical thematics in various musical contexts. 84
3. From the aesthetics of myth to the aesthetics of music
3.1. Mythical figures as the content of a composition
In the last chapter, "Finale", of Mythologiques, Levi-Strauss discusses the place

of music in the field of structural studies, which include four important spheres,
those of mathematics, language, music and mythology.1
When comparing these spheres one will notice that mathematical structures are
lacking all concreteness and in this respect are opposed to linguistic facts. Linguistic
structures on the contrary are, as is shown by Saussure, doubly concrete because
their fulfillment implies sounds as well as meanings. Musical structures are composed
of sounds but on the other hand they are detached from meanings, according to Levi-
Strauss. Mythical structures, on the other hand, consist of meanings, but their
phonetic manifestation is irrelevant; in other words the same myth could be told in
different ways with the mythical value remaining unchanged.2 The relations among
these cultural phenomena can be outlined with the following schema:
mathematics
( )
mythology music
(meaning) , (sound)
language
(meaning and sound)
30 Myth and Music
Accordingly, music and mythology are like two offshoots of language, each
branching off in its own direction. They both are languages lacking in something.
As Levi-Strauss says, music is language without meaning (La musique, c'estle langage
mains le sens)3 and therefore it is easy to explain why a listener to music feels an
irresistible need to fill this gap with meanings provided by himself. In an analogous
way myths, i.e., systems of meanings, can detach themselves from their verbal
foundation to which they are not as strictly bound as ordinary messages. Conse-
quently, it is valid to consider myth and music as closely related when observing their
specific sign structure.
However, Le*vi-Strauss overlooks one possible relation between myth and music:
he does not discuss a case in which music could acquire meaning or content from
mythology, just as mythology could in part acquire sound from music, as it does in
a ritual, for example, where myth may be performed with a song melody.
Although the tonal structures may be imbued with many different semantic
contents in the minds of listeners, this does not prevent the firm interweaving of
myth and music in a given cultural context. The listeners would then, with instinctive
sureness (which, of course, would nonetheless be conditioned by cultural conventions)
associate certain mythical figures with musical forms. This fact could hold true
especially for cultures in which a strong and coherent tradition prevails. Consequently
one might conclude that music in some cases could entirely replace a mythical text.
Charles Boiles has been able to show in his study about music in the ritual life of the
Tepehua Indians that this may occur at least in the so-called primitive musical
cultures.4 He has observed that the Tepehuas associate certain meanings with their
instrumental melodies so that there exist fully prescribed equivalences between
melodic phrases and semantic meanings. These meanings are mythical, because it is
the task of music to establish communication between man and the spirits. But what
is remarkable is thr.t the Indians even outside the ritual can explain precisely the
mythical meanings of any tune. Do such associations take place in the field of
Western art music, too?
This might well be the case if it happens in a cultural context sufficiently strong
and homogeneous. Since music "in the first place is an expression of man's spiritual,
psychical life",5 as Hugo Riemann has stated, one might presume that in such a
culture music and its aesthetic contents would reflect also the world view and
mythology characteristic of that culture. This would simply once again emphasize
the relationship between the mythical sphere and what in the Western civilization
is called an "aesthetic" imagination and fantasy.
Resting on this hypothesis, a model can be constructed in order to make the
nature of such musical communication more precise. Furthermore, this diagram
presupposes that a musical work is placed on two levels, technical and lesthetic, as
Rudolph Reti has proposed6 (or translated into a "structuralist" language on the
levels of "signifier" and "signified").7

(In this context it would be superfluous to discuss whether this kind of articulation
of a musical sign system is legitimate or not, which certainly constitutes an essential
problem for music aesthetics.)8
form substance
expression A musical work created by a The first articulation of
(composer) composer while setting a form culture whereby a culture
technical level upon the substance of music yields the musical substance
expression among other acoustics codes
i.e., scales, rhythms, dynam-
ics, timbres etc.
content The second articulation of The associative responses
(listener) culture whereby a culture aroused by the composition
aesthetic level determines the patterns and in a listener.
symbols which permit a listener
to interpret his responses to a
musical work
This model presents a musical communication where a composer functions as the
sender of the message and a listener as its receiver.
Besides the aspects of expression and content, the form and substance of the
composition aie involved.9 The intervention of culture is also displayed in the form
of double articulation. 10 The first articulation affects the substance of musical
expression and the second one the form of content. Consequently two different
structures determine a musical communication: the first is manifested in the form
which a composer sets upon the musical substance afforded by culture, while the
latter is in the form which a culture gives to the individual listener's musical
experience.
In addition to this the existence of a third structure or code can be assumed. It
is not shown in the model, but it would connect the two forms which are set apart
on different levels of expression and content. As will be later affirmed, the whole
present study will be focused on this code since it refers to the very problem of
interaction between myth and music.
One might thus ask whether this sort of code can be determined universally and
conclusively regarding the music of a given period or whether it varies according to
composer and audience. Later some variants of just this connecting code will be
discussed, particularly their regulation of the interaction between myth and music in
the history of Western music since romanticism, and their determination of its
modality during each era. In the second part of the study one will also see how
32 Myth and Music
this code varies according to different musical styles, as exemplified by Wagner,

Sibelius and Stravinsky.
Earlier, in dealing with Barthes's theory, one possible variant of this code was
touched upon, namely that in which myth subsumes other sign systems and forces
them to relinquish partially their meaningfulness.
The foregoing model approaches this situation from the opposite viewpoint,
namely that of music, where music in turn may profit from myth, deriving com-
plementary content from it. The influence of myth is then manifested within the
second articulation of culture.
As to the function of culture in the chart, one may observe that a given musical
culture provides a composer with substance for composition; in other words scales
(established by a tuning system), rhythms, dynamics, harmonic progressions etc.
which are given a form by a composer in his composition. Concerning the listener,
culture operates in the opposite direction establishing a form for his experiences, and
it is due to this form that the meaning discovered in a musical work by a listener is
the "logical expression" of his internal feelings and not merely an emotional stimulant,
as Susanne Langer has remarked. 11 These forms are in the nature of universal
patterns, "archetypes" which arise from the subconscious of the listener and thus
constitute a part of the stock of symbols common to every music listener of the
period. Sometimes these patterns even include entire myths, as does the Finnish
Kullervo-myth in the symphony of Sibelius, or a collection of myths as in Wagner's
Ring tetralogy. Occasionally a mythical pattern is reduced to a mere "nature-
mythical" or "psychic-mythical" element 12 (to use the termiology of Jaspers) as
it often is in the symphonic poems of Liszt and of other romantic composers.
On the other hand, it sould be obvious that, regarding the content of his own
composition, a compostr himself is not in any privileged position but is only one
of numerous listeners, who experience a musical work in various ways. One might
even claim that it is just this fact which renders some composition "immortal"
master works: they are no longer dependent on their composer's historical position
or era for they represent their content in such a general and universal manner that
even the listeners of highly disparate eras or cultures can provide their own "mythical"
interpretation of the contents and consequently experience them always as subjective
and timely. In such cases it would be difficult to assign any concrete mythical pattern
to music since one is now confronted with pure structures of musical, as well as
mythical thought.
3.2. Myth and music as a symbolic resolution of contradictions
In fact, this kind of structural identity and exchange between mythical and
musical thought is frequently met in the semiotics of culture. Such transfer of

structures from the area of one to that of the other is based on the fact that myth
and music as discourses have similar functions, as a result of which they can, in
certain cases, substitute for each other. This is especially true in Western civilization
according to Levi-Strauss, where scientifical thought has displaced the mythical one
due to the emergence of Cartesian rationalism.13 The heritage of myth was divided
between two domains: music adopted the structural principles of myth while
literature exploited mythical contents as a subject matter of narration. Therefore it
was in the Western culture in which music in a certain sense occupied the place
reserved for mythology in other societies.14 For us, listening to music assumes the
same function as does listening to mythical stories in primitive societies.
When a primitive man, while listening to or telling a myth, sinks into a fabled and
extrahistoric time, for us the need to escape mentally into "a strange universe and
time" 15 is fulfilled when hearing music.
Aside from this "withdrawal from time", myth and music have another common
function: they both strive for a resolution of contradictions.16 Myth grows like a
spiral until the intellectual impulse in its origin is finally exhausted. 17 Precisely
from this viewpoint Levi-Strauss, in his analysis of Ravel's Bolero, is able to consider
its orchestral crescendo as spiral-like growth which is parallel to the structure of
certain myths and caused by the contradictions and contrasts expressed in the com-
position.
Levi-Strauss has discovered several contrasts of this kind in Bolero as, for example,
contrasts between the ternary and binary rhythms placed one within the other,
between the meandering melody and relatively monotonous rhythm, between
tonalities involved in melody etc. In order to balance these contrasts the composer
has focused from the beginning on one particular musical dimension, namely that
of the orchestration. After having appeared as soloists, the various instruments are
then paired off, and finally come together as an ensemble resulting in a tutti effect
where all the resources of the orchestra are brought into play but which, nevertheless,
does not lead to any resolution of contrasts inherent in the work. Just at the moment
when the "orchestral fury" is at height the orchestra, as a kind of final expedient,
performs a modulation into E major, which accomplishes a mediation of the mythical
contrasts in the work. These observations allow Levi-Strauss to resume his analysis
with the following schema:
34 Myth and Music
fUJ.-WtP.: C. «UJ.-C BtF. :
Yet it can be asked, why, after all, does Levi-Stiauss insist that the structure of
fugue (which actually is manifested rather incompletely in Bolero) is a tie between
myth and music? As is known, he regards Ravel's Bolero as a ki,id of fugue
compressed on one plane. This can be explained by the results acquired in the
structural analysis of myths.
The myths of North and South American Indians form, from Levi-Strauss's
viewpoint, what could be called "fugues" with their subjects, responses, contrasubjects
and developments.18 This idea is illustrated by a drawing depicting the structure
of a myth analyzed by Levi-Strauss in L'Homme nu: the different parts of the
fugue are like various actors in the myth (the hero, the bear, the puma etc.).
Every part in the myth answers to the following and — in the case of this myth
quite literally — pursues the next one. Even a stretto of different parts and
"the ending cadence consisting of arpeggios with an axis high/low as a pedal"
may be discerned in the drawing: 19
Horos Ourse, Souris, Horos
Loutr· >
Souris
Puma > (Ourse) (Pjma) (Loutre)-
(chasse de Grizzly). V^ *>

Grizzly > (hires passe de main '*
en main):
I. L'ECHANGE DES DENTS II.POURSUITE ET TENTATIVE D'EVASION HL MORT DU HEROS

Fig. 15. — Composition fvgute du mythe M1(1.
Levi-Ctrauss now asserts that Western music subsequently rediscovered and

transposed to its own sphere the same structures which were utilized by mythical
thinking for thousands of years. 20 On the other hand, L£vi-Strauss tries to justify
the fugue's mediating position between myth and music by his theories on the
history of Western art. 21
One can with reason, however, ask whether the fugue is really needed to demon-
strate the relationship of myth and music. Would not the connection of mythical
and musical structures be possible through other types of "codes" and transformers
which could transfer us from the mythical to the musical domain? Could not
Ravel's Bolero, for example, be interpreted in some other v/ay which would perhaps
take greater cognizance of the special musical character of this work, yet maintain the
previously sketched connection between myth and music?
If we take as our starting point the "phenomer. Λ" description of this work, the
response evoked by Bolero in the listener, the "semantic gesture"22 of Bolero, the
integrating principle of its structure, can undoubtedly best be described just as an
orchestral crescendo and a state of increasing tension and exaltation. A method
widely used by Levi-Strauss himself could here be applied: a work is situated within
a larger paradigm or system as one of its transformations. If the orchestral crescendo
is chosen for a paradigmatic aspect, then Bolero can be paralleled with those com-
positions in which this same structure of musical thought is utilized, too.
While searching for counterparts to Bolero the mere idea of crescendo will prove
insufficient: the structure of Bolero is readily distinguishable from the well-known
crescendo in Scriabin's Vers la flamme, notwithstanding their common "mythical"
source of inspiration. On the other hand, the crescendo of Bolero differs from the
crescendo in the third movement of Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" symphony as to
36 Myth and Music
its end result. While the crescendo in Tchaikovsky's symphony is led into the
resignation of the fourth movement, in Bolero, on the contrary, the contradictions
and contrasts which aroused the crescendo, find their solution in the modulation.
Two kinds of substructures can be seen · functioning inside the structure of
crescendo. In the first place, it may be a question of superimposing the opposite
levels, when the crescendo may be regarded as resulting from the increasing tensions
between them. This is the case of the above-mentioned composition of Scriabin.
On the other hand, crescendo may be interpreted as the result of placing opposite
levels consecutively, when the crescendo on the former plane is caused by an intensive
expectation of the latter. This kind of use of crescendo is exemplified by a com-
position from the late period of Liszt, Schlaflos, Frage und Antwort, s well as by
a crescendo passage with rising octaves in the first movement of the second piano
sonata of Erkki Salmenhaara. (In this connection, those cases are not discussed in
which crescendo constitutes a smaller formal unit as, for example, in the orchestral
prelude to the third act of Alban Berg's Wozzeck or, to cite a still shorter example,
in the clarinet solo in the movement L'Abime des , iseaux of Quatuor pour la fin
du temps by Olivier Messiaen.)23
Both these principles of organization are included in the orchestral crescendo of
Ravel's Bolero. In the same way some compositions of Shostakovich can be joined
to this paradigm because of their orchestral crescendo as well as of their "Dos-
toyevskyan" opposition setting. The long crescendo-passage in the first movement
of the Leningrad symphony has considerable similarities to Bolero: a continuous,
monotonous rhythm and the opposite levels gradually compiling upon it:
fl/u·. 1 T^- . _. ι—ft 1

^JLJL J -Jr-=&\—* *
1 1
r>
i
-5*> - —^ ~P— r r-
i±E±3t 1 " ι ' r~
wp0p »*^»p ' Ί
»1»*»· ·····»* ··*
^^^J ! ^^^J '
, 1
f
~^*f i.—*t——J J
^ ι — ( ι ™ ι ' Ι ι ™ ι Ι ιΓ
· J— -Μ ±±Λ- —Λ —\-Γ * ·· ? ] ^^^ 9—
Ρ 'Ι
1
ΙμΉτ£-—1
'•yt.ti m—
—— C ϊ"
C \~Ρ
ίΓ — ! 4 _. 1r —Λγ 1
Γ
-Μ
.
»
*"
^
,
1 l· -M" —
ϊ ' τΠΓ=Η
r f f —j
Ρ
which finally lead to a dialectical "qualitative" change after the crescendo has
reached its culmination and no other solution is possible for this extremely intensified
polarity. By Shostakovich this change is not realized in a form of modulation as in
Bolero, but as a return to a theme appearing early in the symphony, but which now
recurs in an entirely new light (see score, passage no. 52).
An opposition passage comparable to those of Ravel and Shostakovich occurs also
in the finale of Sibelius's Second symphony, which consequently may be located in
the same paradigm as the abovementioned compositions.
With Sibelius a fixed, unchangeable level is formed by a monotonous and
irrevocably advancing figure of accompaniment:
Above this is set a melody which circulates among the various instruments, ever
strengthening:
Just as in Ravel's Bolero, here, too, a solution is reached after a long crescendo
with a modulation into D major since the theme and the accompaniment pattern
have been exhausted:24
The aforementioned three compositions of Ravel, Shostakovich and Sibelius can

well serve as examples of interaction between myth and music in the LeVi-Straussian
sense. They all apply the principle of semantic organization proper to myths in order
to arrange their own syntactical structures. Myth and music meet there in such a
manner that the structure of myth is, as it were, embedded in the sign system of
music. One must notice furthermore, how a given simple structure of musical thought
is rooted in various stylistic frameworks whithin the same musical culture (Western art
music) and there assumes various modes of manifestation according to the musical
38 Myth and Music
language of the composer and the local musical culture.

The following chapters will examine how "conscious" pursuit of the fountainheads
of the world of myths has appeared at times in Western art music, whereby
"mythicism" in its various forms of manifestation has been used intentionally as a
stylistic feature by composers. Thus myths have exercised and influence upon music
m-t only the level of deep structures in the form of connections between the
discourses, but also in creating several "mythical" musical styles in which composers
have taken into consideration not merely the structural aspect of myth but also the
content. Thus it can be seen that Western music has sought to return to myths many
times during these past two centuries and has realized this return utilizing all the
bridges connecting these two spheres.
4. Myth as a musical reconstruction
4.1. Primal mythical communication
The connections between myth and music have been observed in the foregoing
but from a fairly narrow, theoretical viewpoint. The presence of myth in the most
varied and even in very concrete forms cannot, however, escape us in reflecting upon
the history of Western music. The emergence of whole musical genres such as opera,
symphonic poem or Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk can be seen in one way or another
to bear upon myths. The history of music provides many instances of schools which
are oriented towards myths, as well as individual master works wherein myth plays
an essential role, as in Mozart's Magic Flute or Wagner's Tristan. In the same way,
while sometimes listening to an entirely abstract symphonic work, one may suddenly
experience in a variation on, or the recurrence of, a theme something which can only
be described as mythical. Similarly one may be surprised to notice that the music
is telling a story which is like a message from the dim world of myths. Myth thus
manifests itself in music in such varied forms of conscious and subconscious con-
struction that in many cases the composer maybe presumes to have attempted the
reconstruction of some ancient myth or an aspect of it with a musical sign system.
Occasionally, what is reconstructed is not merely the text of a myth: a musical
work can evoke a whole prehistoric ritual with its dances and magic incantations.
At times, again, one may feel in music an intrinsic relationship with the primal
mythical worldview whose atmosphere and mentality may emerge from the stream
of music.
And all that has been expressed with the refined psychology of the structures,
Myth as a musical reconstruction 39
timbres, melodies, rhythms and harmonies of Western art music! Without being
obliged to go beyond the area of aesthetics we may come in contact with the spheres
of the prehistoric world or mythical thought.
In proceeding to an analysis of what, after all, makes possible this kind of com-
munication with mythical reality through music and on which properties of music it
is based, we must, however, make more precise our view about the nature of that
mythical sphere.
We have already examined myth itself as a text as well as the consciousness
producing this text and presented several aspects of these factors. When the mythical
sphere is now newly approached specifically from the viewpoint of its reconstruction
with the musical sign-system, the examination of merely the mythical message and
its code proves insufficient. One has to take into consideration the whole situation
of primal communication transmitting mythical meanings. In order to obtain a sort
of general view of this communication we may articulate it into six parts according
to Roman Jakobson's model:1
context
sender message receiver
code
channel
How then can such a model be applied to mythical communication? One may
regard, for example a ritual of a primitive tribe or, in general, a situation wherein
myths are told or performed as the context of myth. The function of sender may
be assumed by members of a tribe or by a single member such as a sorcer or a shaman
who recites, sings, playes, dances or with some other gestural language conveys a
mythical meaning to the listener. Other members of the tribal society can then serve
as receivers, who have assembled to watch and to participate in mythical communi-
cation. In the absence of an audience, the receiver may be identified with the sender:
the performers of a myth are at the same time its only listeners. The channel must
be construed as that concrete medium which physically transmits a myth, namely
by singing or reciting, the channel then being the human voices, or by an instrument,
gestures or other means such as by ornamentation or face painting of the ritual's
participants. Finally, by code is meant the interpretative mechanism of the receiver
which enables him to comprehend the meaning of a message. The code of a myth
may often be identified with its structure and it is precisely this structure which the
various research disciplines concerned with myth attempt to unfold and elucidate
with their different methods.
Music in one form or another is very often involved in such mythical communi-
cation. Alain Danielou has remarked that sound structures are at the same time the
most effective means of approaching the transcendental and supernatural world and
of recognizing and communicating it. Sound structures, especially musical ones, are
40 Myth and Music
an integral part of all magical rites, initiations and immediate contacts with soirils
and their manifestations. Musical structures play a fundemental role in relations
between man and the "sacred".2 In another connection Danielou further no'ices
that, as far as one goes back in music history, music can be seen to b* directly
involved with religion, rites and magic.3 One might with good reason even hypothesize
that the very origins of music are based on mythical communication: either that
myth may be derived from "the spirit of music"4 or that music may be considered
as initially subsumed in myth. Reflecting upon the origins of music forms, however,
a task for music anthropology. In this connection it will not be necessary to present
any further speculations about it. On the other hand, in order to understand those
phenomena in the area of Western art music which refer to myth with the afore-
presented idea of reconstruction, we must examine how these concrete ties with
myth and subordination as its vehicle in ritual have influenced the structure of music.
It is in this sense that we cite the music of South American Indians wherein the
borderlines between myth and music are often indistinct.
4.2. An example: Indian music
The music of South American and particularly Brazilian Indians may be considered
a good example of primitive music with the proviso that "primitiveness* does not
preclude complexity: primitive music can be complex, but in a way different from
Western art music. In our tradition music is freed from immediate subordination
to myth and this liberation has favored the development of purely musical structures.
Thus Western art music is structurally complex and its criteria have prompted the
labelling of other musical cultures as "primitive" since they differ structurally from
Western music. Nevertheless, one must note that, even if "primitive" music were
sometimes structurally apparently poor or deficient music, it can be extremely
complicated in its relationships with mythical communication, as a part of which
it can be considered. Although Indian music is often poor in that its song melodies
may be composed of a scale ranging only from one to five tones5 - which meager
elements these "bricoleurs" admittedly treat with admirable ingenuity - and although
their instrumental music likewise is poor, the ensemble playing scarce and rudimentary
(even compared with other so-called "primitive" musical cultures),6 this undevel-
opment cannot be attributed solely to the generally low cultural level of Indians
living in a natural state. It is known that the Bororo Indians in Central Brazil,
researched already in the last century by Karl von den Steinen7 anu later by Levi-
Strauss, among others, have, despite the extreme poverty of their material culture,
succeeded in establishing a highly complicated social organization, which regulates
the culture and life of the tribe in almost every respect. On the other hand, many
cases can be cited of cultures that are primitive in a material respect, but are
nevertheless capable of creating structurally more advanced music than that of the
Brazilian Indians.8 Consequently nothing can be deduced from the level of material
culture as regards the nature of corresponding musical culture. In comparing the
music of the Brazilian Indians with that of the Indians in the Andes, namely on the
plateau of Bolivia, Peru and Equador, it must be noted that they have been aMe to
develop their musical language, in an exclusively musical sense, higher than the
Brazilian Indians.9
According to our hypothesis, this would be at least partly due to the fact that the
music has been able to maintain its contact with myth only by renouncing the
development of its structures in favor of the structures of myth. The more advanced
state of music cultivated by the Indians in the Andes might be explained by the fact
that throughout their history they have had more contact with the culture of
immigrant cultures and thus, through acculturation, partly lost their primal mythical
world, nostalgia for which their melancolically "romantic" and sorrowful music
often gives expression.10 In this case, anyway, music has been able to detach itself
from its mythical substratum and to develop as an autonomous discourse.
The relatively isolated Indians of Central Brazil, on the other hard, have conserved
their music as an integral part of myth, which has resulted in its remaining structurally
undeveloped. Their music has been made subservient to mythical communication
and its complexity is completely dependent on the structures of their mythological
universe. 1! How this is revealed by musical practice?
K. G. Izikowitz cites cases wherein music played on a certain instrument has
totally changed its function in mythical communication when natives have set about
making the instrument from new material after the tribe's resettlement in an area
where the previous raw material has not been available.12 Consider, for example,
the Pan flutes made from the hollow shafts of feathers. The music played on such
a flute acquires its special significance from the role of that particular bird in tribal
mythology. Hence the m ι sic performed on that flute in a rite refers to the function
of the bird in mythology.13 This function can be sometimes totemic, which means
that the bird serves as the symbol of a clan and is consequently in contradistinction
to the symbolic bird of another clan.14 Other Indian instruments include rattles,
which may be made from the seeds of a specific plant, and fruit shells — and again
the instrument is endowed with a mythical meaning arising from its material.
Nevertheless, musical structures themselves may also be directly dependent on
myth and mythical context. Some procedures of mythical thinking affect music, too
- even music detached from text. One may recall the two organizing principles
to which Levi-Strauss resorts in his myth analysis: variation or transformation,
and combination of elements, which might be called calculus of combinations
(combinatoire).1 s
42 Myth and Music
Let us suppose that one is investigating several variants of a given Indian song.
Inasmuch as there is only one singer performing these variants of the same melody,
one may ask what role a mythical text plays in these melodic transformations.
It is possible that the singer varies the melody when the text al:o changes by
accommodating the melody either to the semantic content of the text or to its
phonetic changes (as with magical incantations recited in an obscure or incom-
prehensible language). One might conclude in this case that it is the musical
variations which conform to the variation technique of myth. In other words,
music constitutes only a part of the technique in performing or telling a myth.
But if text and melody do not vary concomitantly in accordance with the same
principles then one must infer that musical transformations take place for the
sheer pleasure of musical invention. A Brazilian musicologist, Helza Cameu, has
made transcriptions of the songs of an Indian woman who belonged to the Kadiueu
tribe.16 In scrutinizing these songs one may raise precisely the aforementioned
question and ask: why is Vicenza making variations?
.. J=100 3 .1 etc.
t— t—ι Ι Γΐ= — θ- 1
*T4-
g * 4
Λ
ί-J J 1 ^ ' " .^z^brr^z
( Α > Kam-lu-a-te Kamiua te Kam iua
«cy ^j
te Kam iu a
J J JJJ3'J J
te DJ- a-ni-bi txo-de.
Μ"»«*: 4/77J ,TT7 -3 κ κ κ κ κ
J=132 ,1 I etc.
jpM —1— —f- 1— —1 f^ 1
•y —i y —1~ ^^ ' J. ^-^J J-^- * ' J JJ ι -rf 4^Ψ4- -^
3)
Na-go-do na-go - - do-o-do na-go-dodo do n a - g o - do-do-na, na

κ κ κ
Na-go do - nago-do - na na - nago-do - na go-da nago- do - na go-do_

•Π Π n \ κ Γ κ μ κ III—ι
J=152 etc.
_no-no-no - - Halla-do-a Djikenen a-la - a i-a Halja_ da DJikenin E

·/.
6)
Ha-la-na - a Djike-ninHala - na- a DjikeninHala da - a dji-ke nlnHala -da- a Djikenln..

x , κ , κ , κ
Ε - no- ί-ηο na - go - do. .. na - go-da... a . . . n i - g i - l i - on(nal (nlo
Na-go-do - nago - d o - n a g'i-do nago-do- na go-do., n a ^ g o - d o - n a go-do do

κ
8 nnn | - j - j
etc.
8)
44 Myth and Music
Another principle characteristic of both mythical and musical thought is that

which was referred to as calculus of combinations. According to this principle, myth
consists of distinct elements, "mythemes", which the narrator of a myth — like any
speaker of a language — rmy combine by obeying certain rules and thus create
mythical stories and utterances. This same principle can be found in the area of
music, as well. A comprehensive study on Inca music by Marguerite and Raoul
d'Harcourt includes in its music material interesting examples of the music of the
Peruvian Indians, which reveal how α people can, just oy combining various musical
elements, constantly renew its musical tradition. 1 7 The d'Harcourts have presented
the following melody notated by themselves from the streets of Lima:
WAYNO
Eatendu.dans la rue. Lima (Pirou
JWcrt a votontt ralentir
J«104
In the opinion of the d'Harcourts, this melody serves as an example of how folk-
melodies reshape and transform themselves everywhere. The aforecited melody is an
old Indian song, only fragments of which have survived in the memory of the people.
It is due to this fact that the melody includes numerous tonal irregularities which are
typical of many other similar melodies. The chords are often constructed according
to the Western tonal scale, while the melody itself retains the intervals of an Indian
scale. Similarly, in the rhythm of the accompaniment, one can note the staccato
quavers in every bar as well as the obvious Spanish influence in an occasional
accentuation of the semiquavers.
We may see how the same principle of combinations causes rhythmic and tonal
"irregularities" - which undoubtedly are just constant features of this kind of
music - like in the following Yaravi song, where the upper part, moving in parallel
thirds in the Creole manner, bases on an Indian scale and maintains the suppleness
of the 6/8 meter while the accompaniment follows the Spanish "habanera" rhythm. 18
The effect is that of an interesting poly rhythmics:
46 Myth and Music
YARAVI
Enteodu dans la rue.
I
PIANO
fct
âs£
7-
I ··' F ;· -J-
Similar combining of diverse elements (not conscious, of course) appears also in

the musical acculturation of certain Brazilian tribes to the European music traditions.
One may clearly notice the influence of Western music in the tonal cadences in the
following song melody of the Guajajaras (a tribe living in the area of Maranhab):19
J)J
etc.
These examples have been chosen to demonstrate how even in a purely musical
context diverse elements are combined on the one hand and varied or transformed
on the other, as in the formation of myths.
In some cases it is, however, possible to show definitely that a musical structure
is influenced by the structure of a myth or by mythical communication in a larger
sense. As an example one may cite the Suyas of the Xingu -river in Central Brazil.20
Anthony Seeger has researched one special genre of the Suya vocal music, the akias,
as they are called in this Indian language. He has been able to show that these
songs express certain espects of the tribe's social organization and cosmology as
well as of the circumstances surrounding the performance itself. * Consequently
akias can be regarded as a striking example of the part of music in the aforesaid
original mythical communication. Let us first examine the purely musical qualities
of akias, which are generally sung by men. When they are sung together everyone
sings his own akia as loudly as possible. The word "akia" actually means in another
context "shouting". During the ceremonies the men may sing their akias together
for as long as sixteen hours. This temporal length and the importance ascribed
to these songs by the Suyas reveal, according to Seeger, that this form of vocal
music constitutes the dominant aspect of their musical culture. 2! The following
are some examples of akias, which, when sung together, produce a rather cacophonous
sound — as one may conclude from the notation:22
the following comments the Suya music are mainly based on the excellent articles by Dr-
Anthony Seeger (sec the bibliography).
48 Myth and Music
J = 52
-g.. JiJ J) , l> 1 l> [> 1 () 1 i) ρ^=ή
Maracd: χ
PB
χ χ
Hh JU J>
Γ3
X
— X
X X X
l V,
J=52
Maracrt:
X X X X X
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t j'T>
X X
J.I6
2V-K-.
) > [ S
,Λ >.J h
—·-— · ' ' ·
;J ;V
'Maracrf: x χ χ
O*®*-2·-- X X X X X
S Sι S w N i *i ^r-i V-n
'
V-
X X
i
l L t
Si . S \
fj
t^:=i:
χ χ X X X
_
W"^
n P p"-*
Maracii: x
s ; JL,pj) ; ^
χ
^
_*
χ
i V s jg[—3 1
^ k
VJ [/
.P. M ~^! 3— -^— «I » fl — —*-—0 ·-—I-V—m- 1 —»i—· e^— —3
J—· ·-
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Λ j, . , ·) rî ί±ζΞ —j!

prr-r f= csfcS ^rq1 J I
^ — — ·— · *—
?— ?
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X X X X
Every akia is usually composed of two parts called kradi and sindaw, meaning
"the beginning" and "the end". This two-part division projects the duality of the
Suya social organization 23 and it is a feature common to all tribes speaking the Ge
language in Brazil. 24 It is perhaps just this dualism of the primitive outlook which
has prompted Levi-Strauss to assume that such dualism exists also in the symbolic
organizations of our own civilization, as the aforementioned analysis of Ravel's
Bolero sought to demonstrate. 25 A Suya village is divided into two moieties, the one
situated in the east being called kaikwa kradi (which means "the beginning of the
sky") and the other in the west kaikwa indaw ("the end of the sky"). 26 The first
part of an akia melody is also called kradi and in certain ceremonies it must be sung
in the eastern part of the so-called men's house, while the second part of the akia,
sindaw, is to be sung in its western part. As Anthony Seeger has remarked, the
two-part structure of an akia coincides with the dualism of the cosmos and social
groups.2 7
On the other hand, certain melodic features of akias result from their performing
situation and position in mythical communication. While the men are singing their
akias together, their audience is comprised of the women of the village. The Suyas
say that they are singing especially for their sisters: every singer wants his sister to
be able to distinguish his akia from those of the other singers. That is why everybody
tries to sing as loudly and as highly pitched as he possibly can. The musical
50 Myth and Music
individuality of every akia melody is also the consequence of this communicative

situation.28 Every single melody must be distinguishable from other melodies which
are sung simultaneously.2 9
Therefore it is no wonder that almost all of the akias begin with the highest tone
of their scale (or with its leading tone) and thereafter gradually descend. The
downward line thus remains as the only possible melodic contour. The basic scale
often consists of from four to six tones, which may be arranged according to a typical
pentatonic mode appearing elsewhere as well in Indian music.30 The pitch may vary
by a semitone or even less, which in Seeger's opinion is induced by the singer's age
or exhaustion.
At other times the framework of the melody is a scale reminiscent of Western
church modes, as in examples I and II (based on a G-Phrygian-like scale - without F,
anyway). Major scales also may be used although they acquire a modal character
because of the lack of a leading tone as in the example IV, which is based on a scale
resembling that of G flat major. In some akias slight chromatic variations may occur
in the upper third of the melody, as in the following akia: (which in other respects
obeys the pentatonic scale from G flat):
(repeated 4 times)
Q
ft
A
48
Ι, L ,.
1? '/L fr
Κ Κ Ν
J J-J J> j^h : 1
r 3 J- ,^J^
"J J
\\^
•
Marac : x X X X X X
,Ρ ο ^-/ J ^bv , I
t* -tf^-J9-o -·JuLjy>
—·—*—·—J> J*—·J> ——*— —s— | J !
χ X X χ χ X X
>jf U^l l?,

\Γ\ν α £
4
-&N
0^·—0— m
d1—dm1
m e
1 It 1
Jπ' « ft J'—*
k:—ι
i^d* h—\
—^4*- G 1l
Glissandos and microtones are also employed. In certain cases, however, the
melody does not contain any intervals smaller than whole tones as in example III,
whose ambitus covers only four tones. Melodies often terminate, not in the lowest
tone of the scale but in the second or third lowest, from which it is easier to repeat
the same melody many times successively. Helza Cameu, as well as Luiz Heitor
Correa de Azevedo find this feature very common and characteristic of the Brazilian
Indian music.31
Rhythmically also akias are individual. The basic rhythm in all akias is set by a
maraca, which determines the periodic rhythm pattern and the tempo. Even more
effective is syncopation which occurs in many tunes. The Indians also use respiration
to punctuate phrases in the melody, which also serves to further individualize the
different akias.
Even these examples indicate how the Suyas have succeeded in creating within
the framework of one simple musical form highly differentiated compositions wherein
that which Seeger calls "the intention of being heard" serves as the semantic gesture
of musical stylistic devices.32
These examples may suffice to illustrate what we mean by primal mythical
communication and the place of music therein. It is apparent that musical structures
are dominated in many respects there by various aspects of mythical communication:
the independence of music is still entirely conditional - it may be determined by the
"emotional tone" of a mythical text, as H. Manizer, a Russian researcher of Indian
music presumes,33 or again by the characteristics of the ceremony itself.34
In Western civilization myth and music were disunited to the benefit of the
development of music. But on the other hand, Western music has also undergone a
phenomenon which might be called a return to mythical communication, and it is
this convergence of two structurally different worlds of expression which forms the
actual subject matter of this investigation. Our purpose is to see how music, after
having developed for centuries independent of myth, returns to it and obtains from
this rediscovered unity new patterns and vigor of expression for its own structures.
Actually, while listening to certain passages of Western art music we find ourselves
assuming the position of primitive man and comprehending the connection between
myth and music basically in the same way as, for example, an Indian in Brazil's rain
forest. In many cases wherein Western art music is reunited with myth, the same
occurs as has already been seen in the area of primitive music and in connection with
the semiotic model developed by Barthes: music is obliged to relinquish the com-
plexity of its structures to allow for the emergence of mythical structure in musical
discourse. This has been stated by many musicologists - for example Theodor
Adorno in his Essay on Wagner, wherein he considers one of the highest forms of
Western art music, namely the symphony, inappropriate for mythical portrayals and
consequently an "unmythical" art form. 35 To what extent Adorno's contention
about the unmythical character of the symphony form can be considered valid,
constitutes an issue which we shall ponder many times in this investigation — not
the least while examining Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony. On the other hand, Adorno's
argument concerning Wagner's musical deficiences may be understandable in the
light of the aforementioned. But even here, as before, one must affirm that music
conjoined with myth may also be complicated - namely in its connections with
the mythical level which is manifested by it. Precisely from this viewpoint one must
perceive such nature-mythical passages in Wagner's tetralogy as the depiction of
52 Myth and Music
water in the prelude to Rheingold or the element of fire at the end of Valkyrie and
in the themes of Loge or finally of the element of air in the ride of the Valkyries.
There are also many mythical situations, which Wagner has portrayed with masterful
musical ingenuity — such as the communication between Siegfried and na f ure in the
second act of Siegfried - and which become comprehensible just as musical inter-
pretations. These passages, which in their musical structures may be the simplest
in the whole tetralogy, may actually reveal themselves there as the most mythical
of all.
<κ3. The interaction between folk music and art music
In the foregoing we have sketched some aspects of the original mythical communi-
cation and the place of music therein. Now we shall shift to the context of Western
music in order to examine the principal problem of our study, the interaction between
myth and music.
When a composer in our culture attempts to refer to myths, he often utilizes the
more archaic strata of the music itself. The folk music material is then exploited to
produce a mythical atmosphere in a composition. But what is involved is, in fact,
a certain attitude toward the adopted folk music material and it is this attitude
which creates "the mythical" — as we could see when surveying Ernst Cassirer's
theory ("the mythical is not a fixed object)/e quality, but a certain ideal attitude
(Bezogenheif)").36 Consequently it can be said that some composers have a certain
mythical orientation when they seek inspiration and substance for their compositions
from folk music, while others are occupied with folk music for entirely different
reasons. In any case, folk music is often observed from the viewpoint of "external
consciousness": it has been detached from its original ties with mythical communi-
cation and incorporated as a quotation in a completely different musical environment.
For the internal structure of a composition such a "quotation" may, however, have
a mythical function. Furthermore, it must be noted that, to be ;ible to fulfill this
"mythical" function, the element quoted from folk music must indeed appear
"strange" in the context of the composition. 37 One need only consider the epic-
mythical quality of Slavonic music - that of Smetana, Dvora'k, Glinka and Borodin
who incorpora.2 folk music elements in their romantic music style. In certain
instances, however, the folk music quotations blend into the general style of a
composition in such a manner that it is no longer possible to discern where quotation
begins or ends. Then that archaic stratum of music — which has been involved in
a composition in the form of folk music -- is an inseparable part of a composer's
personal idion to such an extent that one can only remark, as did Bartok, that the
composer now masters the folk music style as surely as his mother tongue. 38 In
such an interaction between myth and music, or more accurately between folk music
and art music, one must further notice on which level of art music the quotations
from folk music are placed.
Art music has been viewed in the foregoing in a highly simplified manner as a
sign system with two levels, namely those of content and expression, and semantics
and syntax - in other words, with the aesthetic and technical aspects which terms
occur both in traditional musicology (Reti) 39 and, denominated as "aisthesis" and
"poiesis", in music semiology (Nattiez). 40
But is it valid to make such a distinction also in folk music? The most perplexing
point would then be, what is to be considered the semantic or aesthetic aspect of
folk music? For our purpose it will, however, suffice to affirm that folk music as
a component of art music has had these two aspects throughout the history of
Western music. Otherwise one could not account for the variety of its use and
manifestation in Western art music.
There are composers who have been fascinated mostly by the spiritual aspect of
folk music and who have endeavoured to capture its living spirit or the original
milieu of folk melodies. 41 This attitude, which is illustrated by Sibelius and Villa-
Lobos in some of their compositions, can justifiably be called "mythical", 42 for the
objective there is precisely the reconstruction of the context and milieu of mythical
communication. 43 But some composers are interested primarily in the syntactic
aspects of folk music and analytically attempt to express this facet of it - an attitude
which might be called "realistic" as opposed to the mythical, and which is manifested
certain compositions by Bartok.
Finally there are those cases in which both the content and the expression of folk
music are the aim of the composer's reconstruction — one may think of such total
attempts at reconstruction as the wedding ritual in Stravinsky's Les Noces or the
Polovtsian scenes in Borodin's Prince Igor.
This situation wherein the interaction between folk and art music is considered as
a case apart from the general convergences of myth and music, can be viewed as a
communication process between the two cultural strata. It is illustrated by the
following diagram in which arrows between "boxes" falling on the same level indicate
the interaction: Fo ik music Art music
syntax-
syntax --» semantics
semantics
syntax syntax
semantics semantics
syntax
semantics syntax
I seinanti
54 Myth and Music
Another important thing emerges from this diagram: one must also consider on
what level of composition the folk music elements are placed. In the first case the
composer is concerned with the syntactic, technical and structural aspects of folk
music, but what is the meaning of his aim to situate these elements on the semantic
level of his composition?
Obviously a reconstruction of folk music wherein the composer's personal idiom
remains unchanged, but the incorporated folk music quotations — whose extension
may range from a small thematic germ to the whole syntagma of the work - provide
its content with a special flavour: as occurs, for instance, in Liszt's Hungarian
rhapsodies or in Chopin's polonaises and mazurkas.
In the second case one may distinguish three different alternatives: firstly, the
syntax of folk music may influence the syntax of art music while the semantic levels
remain untouched. Secondly, the levels of syntax and semantics coincide, leading
to a complete identification and assimilation between two strata. In the third
alternative the levels of semantics influence each other but those of syntax do not.
How could we exemplify these cases with music history? In fact, it is hard to
imagine a case in which such interaction woulc1 be merely "syntactic" for art music
or where the semantics, or content, would be detached from the expression sustaining
it. These alternatives may be regarded largely as theoretical possibilities, whose
equivalent manifestations are not easy to find in musical practice. In contrast, those
cases in which both syntax and semantics converge are realized, aside from the
aforementioned works of Borodin and Stravinsky, in such compositions as Milhaud's
ballet L'Homme et son desir which utilizes Afro-Brazilian folk music and the
atmosphere of the tropics as a point of departure, 44 or Mayuzumi's Nirvana sym-
phony, whose background is evidently Tibetan temple music.45
As the last case in our diagram, in which the semantics of folk music and the syntax
of art music have mutual influences, we may imagine a composer who endeavors to
attain the spirit of folk music wi f hout directly borrowing its melodies, rhythms or
structures for his own musical language. We have already referred to Sibelius as
well as to Yilla-Lobos, but other composers writing in a folksong-like style
(volksliedartig) might be joined to the same paradigm, such as Rimsky-Korsakow46
or Wagner in certain sections of The Ring of the Nibelung*'1 These cases are
interesting because the content level in art music remains an open, empty place for
the shaping of various meanings. One may then encounter the "mythical" as an
aesthetic category, which thus emerges fron, a folk musical basis. As will be shown
later, this is only one possible form of the "mythical": a composer may create
a mythical effect also with other stylistic devices and musico-aesthetic features.
These stylistic features which approximate those of "the mythical" ultimately take
shape as entire networks, whose organization will later be examined using the so-
called semeanalysis method.
The mythical and musical discourses (the narrative aspect) 55
5. The mythical and musical discourses (the narrative aspect)
5.1. The technique of narration: a model
In archaic societies myths find expression in tales which are often told with music,
as was seen in the foregoing examination of primal mythical communication.
It is therefore only natural that the narrative capacity of music began to be utilized
also in Western music as a technique of mythical narration. In reality myth may
manifest itself as well with other sign systems and discourses as with that of music.
Thus one may observe how the same myths preoccupy not only composers but also
authors and painters in different eras of our cultural history. In a certain sense when
viewing this panorama one may get the impression that the structure of a mythical
story is independent of those techniques which it utilizes. Referring to Claude
Bremond one may say that myth can be transposed from one technique to another
without losing any of its essential qualities:1 "The subject of a tale may serve as
the basis for a ballet, the subject of a novel may be presented on the stage, a film
can be related even to those who have not seen it." We are reading words, looking
at pictures and perceiving gestures — but through them we follow a story — and
perhaps the same story. Bremond distinguishes two different levels: just as one
can for a discrete sign speak about its "signifier" and "signified" one can also
distinguish in the logic of narration "the related" (le raconte) or the story which
is told, and "the relator" (le racontant} the special manner it is told.
The story to be narrated does not consist of words, pictures or tunes but events,
situations and conduct, which are expressed by words, pictures and tunes.2 This
viewpoint opens a new possibility to interpret what was said above concerning
mythical communication. Ultimately the whole analysis of the process of mythical
communication according to Jakobson's model concerns only the phenomenon on
the level of manifestation. In the background of the ceremonial performance of a
myth looms what is the most essential: the mythical message itself (raconte) which
is communicated with various sign systems.
How then can we examine this mythical message lurking in the background? The
Russian folklorists and particularly Vladimir Propp in his analysis of Russian folk
tales, have endeavored to develop a theory about how the mythical message itself
is articulated.3
Propp calls the minimal unit of such a message and narration a "function".
"Function" is to be conceived as an act of some protagonist in the narration, an
act which is defined in relation to the sequence of the whole story. In Propp's
opinion "functions" are fixed and constant elements of folktales. Propp hypothesizes
further that the number of functions in folktales is limited and that they always
56 Myth and Music
follow the same successive order. Furthermore, certain kinds of tales belong to one
and the same type.4 What are these "functions" of Propp like, concretely considered:
They are, in fact, similar to those phases discerned by Jan de Vries and G. Baudouin
as episodes in a mythical hero's life: Propp lists 31 such "functions" among them
"the hero's absence", "interdiction", "violation", "departure", "struggle", "return"
"pursuit", "recognition" etc.5 As was seen earlier, all heroic lives do not, necessarily
fulfill the ideal of Vries or Baudouin, and this holds true for Propp as well: his
functions are not realized in every story. The chains of functions can be formulated
only in comparing different stories, each realizing its own series of functions. Propp,
however, condenses them into one typical chain, which constitutes a paradigm of all
narrations of the same type. This paradigm is like a repository which is only partly
manifested by the individual narrations. Consequently, where at the outset there
are several parallel and defective chains of functions: 6
A C G
B D...E G
A...B E...F
Propp writes:
A...B...C...D...E...F...G
These theories dealing with the technique of narration have provided us with an
abundance of useful methodological observations which may also elucidate our
problematics concerning myth and music. As we observed at the beginning of this
chapter, the reconstruction of a myth is in many cases carried out in such a way
that either a mythical story is expressed through music alone (as in voci.1 scenes in
opera with a mythological subject) or the narration of the myth is at least intensified
and colored with the expressive qualities of music — as occurs, for example, in ballet
scenes of Italian or French opera seria. Let us now examine how, in some musical
works referring in one way or another to "the mythical", an immanent mythical
story is correlated to the music manifesting it. If we use as our starting point the
functions of myth (raconte), i.e., mythical events and situations, we may examine to
what extent these functions ("function" now in the Proppian sense) are distributed
on these two levels of narration, namely mythical text and music. Under ideal
circumstances one may hypothesize that these two levels of manifestation coincide,
which means that they are simultaneously projecting the functions of a related
mythical content:
]} Myth (as a text) A...B...C...D...E...F
Music A:..B:..C:..D:..E:..F'
We have not indicated above the actual content of the myth, which anyway must
be assumed to be a kind of immanent structure, an outline of a plot which also
organizes surface phenomena. Inasmuch as music is now the focal point of our
examination we have likewise not pointed out in the diagram that in the case of a
mythological ballet, for example, immanent mythical structure is not manifested as
music and text, but as music and gestures. One may also hypothesize an instance
wherein the mythical text and the music coincide only at certain points, as a result
of which the music possesses at times an independent, myth-sustaining function:
2) Myth (as a text) A...B D F
Music A:..B:..C: E:..F'
Now, the situation begins to resemble Propp's starting point wherein the various
tales form an intricate cord, the composition of which has to be unraveled. One
may also imagine a case realized in stage music, such as that of Beethoven, Men-
delssohn or Sibelius, in which the music exists exclusively to compensate for the
functions lacking in a mythical text:
3) Myth (as a text) A...B D F
Music C E
Let us pause here to ponder what concrete examples these paradigmatic variations
between myth and music might represent. The first and second case are readily
typified by Wagner's operas. Wagner's leitmotif technique yields just such a cor-
relation: when some protagonist in a mythical story does or does not do something,
enters or exits the stage, one may hear in musical narration a leitmotif corresponding
to the "function" in question.
But on the other hand, there are scenes in Wagner's operas in which musical
narration is independent to a certain extent, i.e., it is able by itself to represent some
mythical function. This happens also in works like Sibelius's Kullervo symphony
where the functions "the hero's youth", "the hero's attributes" or "departure" have
been scored solely for portrayal by the orchestra. Or one may also think of the
musical description of the battle of Pultava in Tchaikovsky's opera Mazzeppa.
Wagner's operas also utilize that technique - particularly in those sections depicting
the "function" of the hero's movements - for example m Parsifal the transition from
the forest to the castle of the Grail (the interlude between the third and fourth acts),
or in Rheingold the passage from the bottom of the Rhine to the peak of Valhalla,
or the visit of Wotan and Loge to Nibelheim, the description of Siegfried's Rhine
journey and finally the funeral march in Götterdämmerung. Later in examining more
closely Wagner's mythical universe we shall see what significance these musical
passages have for its whole.
From this type of correlation between myth and music must be excluded such
interludes, ritornellos in operas, oratorios or dramas which do not have the task of
advancing the plot, but which only comment or predict events or by merely creating
58 Myth and Music
an "atmosphere" intensify them. For example, the Good Friday music in Parsifal
serves as this kind of interlude, as ao such decorative scenes as Salome's dance in
Richard Strauss's opera or the Polish scenes in Glinka's Ivan Susanin.
On the other hand, Gluck's ballet music does occasionally relate to the mythical
tale being told as, for example, in the dance of the furies in Orpheus. Gluck's
reform of opera is more clearly seen in this context. In our paradigm of correlation
between myth and music it signified a transition to the case in the second chart
above. In other words, Gluck demanded that music had to participate more actively
in the development of the plot than it had in operas before him. The second chart
thus illustrates Gluck's operatic style while the following diagram depicts the Italian
operatic style before Cluck,7 at a time when music itself had in general no mythical
"functions" to be fulfilled (the role of music is indicated by completely different
letters than the functions manifested by a mythical text):
4) Myth (as a text) A...B...C...D...E...F
Music L...M...N...P...Q...R
In this instance music and myth are disconnected from each other. To cite the
words of Nietzsche: Music has lost its capacity for creating myth and "we find
ourselves in an atmosphere wherein the acceptance of the mythical is impossible."8
In Nietzsche's opinion mythical tragedy also perished when the spirit of music was
alienated from it. Deux ex machina was substituted for metaphysical comfort.9
Musically this phase, which is associated with the birth of the whole opera form,
was based to a great extent on the so-called stile rappresentativo and recitative.1 ° We
may interpret Nietzsche's position just with the fact that in Italian opera the unity
of myth and music was not accomplished as effectively as in Wagner's word-tone-
drama. 1 ] The inventor of recitative, as Nietzsche says in The Birth of Tragedy,
believed that he had solved the secret of ancient music, but in reality what was
expressed was an unmusical man's demand to understand the words of a mythical
text. 12 Nietzsche thus considered Italian opera to be an unsuccesful reconstruction
of primal — in this case antique — mythical communication. Nevertheless, as we
shall later see, Nietzsche's viewpoint takes into account merely one possible method
of coupling myth and music. In this case music could also express "the mythical"
but certainly in a different way than in the aesthetics of romanticism. Gluck's
reform, wherein a narrative function was ascribed to recitatives through orchestration,
as well as Mozart's idea to transform ensembles into scenes furthering action, 13 meant
an approach toward romanticism and its manner of articulating the relation between
myth and music.
Nevertheless, we could imagine the separation of music and myth in yet another
way, examples of which could be found by following the diachronic line of music
history. We mean the so-called symphonic poems which allow the content or
functions of the story to be expressed by music alone. Then the myth itself has
disappeared from alongside the music — only one remnant of it has survived, namely
the "program" written by the composer for his musical work, which allows the
listener to conceptualize the story expressed by a composition. This case might be
illustrated by the following diagram:
5) Myth (as a text) ( )
Music A...B...C...D...E....F
A good example of this type is provided by Liszt's symphonic poems, which will
be later viewed again in a special chapter (see page 131) where we can also give a
more accurate definition of "function" from the viewpoint of music. To this fifth
category belong also such works as Berlioz's Fantastic symphony — a model example
of program music - the symphonic poems by Richard Strauss, as well as those of
Sibelius. In dealing with Liszt we shall also see what role a literary program plays in
such musical narration.
This classification enables us to determine the interaction between myth and music
in five different cases from the viewpoint of musico-mythical narration. As the focal
point we may consider the one-to-one equivalence between the "functions" of myth
and music, from which two possible ways of detachment branch off: on the one
hand a case, wherein a mythical text alone carries the mythical narration and the
music is reduced to mere physical sonant support; on the other hand, a case wherein
the immanent mythical structure of narration is devoted exclusively to music and
only the "program" remains of the mythical text. This division places the Wagnerian
Gesamtkunstwerk concept as the focus of the convergence of myth and music, to
make it the most perfect and total realization of this relationship in the history of
Western music. As to the correlation of myth and music, such a composition as
Sibelius's Kullervo symphony is already a sign of development in another direction
toward a greater independence of music and therefore toward the detachment of
myth and music. The next stage in our typology after the Kullervo symphony or a
work like Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust is the genre of the symphonic poem.
If we consider Richard Strauss to be pre-eminent in this composition form, we
may say that there myth already is on the verge of disappearing from the side of
music. But in Liszt's symphonic poems, for example, the connection with myth
— namely with the immanent mythical structure of narration — is still obvious. The
case is more problematic, however. One may question how we could postulate any
"immanent mythical structure" in Liszt's case since we cannot consider it a habit of
music listening "internalized", as it were, from the practice of music history - as in
Strauss's relation to Wagner. In the case of Richard Strauss, namely, we may consider
'.he shadowy existence of myth alongside music as being based not only on the actual
iterary program, but on the fact that the one-to-one coupling of myth and music
60 Myth and Music
characteristic of Wagner continues to function as a kind of learned psychological

mechanism imprinted in the memory of a culture. Thus listeners instinctively begin
to apply the Wagnerian conventions of listening to music even in the area of abstract
symphonic music: they automatically endow the music with "mythical" functions
and assign it a task of manifesting myth even where this was not the composer's
intention or justified by the musical texture itself. Such a phenomenon of cultural
psychology has been called "cultural retardation": in other words, the decoding rules
of the receiver (listener) of musical message develop more slowly than the codes of
the sender (composer).
In the case of Liszt's symphonic poems, however, we cannot account for the unity
of myth and music by means of this same cultural-psychological mechanism, because
Liszt composed his symphonic poems simultaneously with and even before Wagner's
mythical operas, as we know from music history. 14 On what mechanism then can
the relation between myth and music be based in Liszt's works? What justifies the
assumption that 'êre, too, music alone manifests the functions of immanent mythical
narration (raconto)'? In this instance we cannot but postulate a "spontaneous"
functioning of mythic il consciousness examined above (see page 26). Liszt's
symphonic poems are founded upon a special mythology of romanticism which looms
in the background of the compositions and which provides the works with their true
meaning. In fact, this case was already considered in a model denoting the coupling
of composer and listener, or the levels of expression and content (see page 31).
This model was found to be valid primarily in cultures which are characterized by a
certain uniformity of the semantic field and this may be said to apply in Liszt's case
considering his universal and in a certain sense idealized romanticism, which transcends
the bounds of nationalism.
If Liszt's symphonic poem thus seems to be a true phenomenon of original
mythical consciousness, Strauss's symphonic poems in the other hand must be
regarded as a "faded" variant of the Wagnenan myth-music relationship and as one
phase of their severance in the history of music.
We see therefore how myth and irusic begin to part in the works of Richard
Strauss. How does this divergence continue in music history? Unlike Strauss's
works, Sibelius's symphonic poems or works with a syncretic form like Kullervo
symphony do not readily fit into the Wagnerian mold. Sibelius's starting point was
the symphonic poem developed by Liszt,15 as well as the Viennese-classical tradition
of symphony writing 16 (in his Kullervo). Wagner's manner of creating a total
correlation between myth and music did not serve as an ideal for him. 17
The famous "return to myths" of Stravinsky, Milhaud, Honegger and many other
composers, neoclassicism in general as a musical and literary as well as a cultural
historical phenomenon 18 did not mean a return to the unity of myth and music in a
Wagnerian-Nietzschean sense. On the contrary it reflects the aforedepicted process
of the gradual separation of myth and music. Whereas a mythical drama in the Italian
opera (opera seria) was often a mere pretext to flaunt musical and scenic virtuosity, 1 9
in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex both myth and music are subordinated to the principle
of the autonomy of art: the primary thing is to express a certain style, technique.
Myth and music are no longer manifestations of an immanent narrative structure, as
no mythical content (raconte) with its functions exists any longer. The artistic
discourse has abandoned the unambiguous relation "the related/the relator", "signi-
fier/signified", "content/expression." 2 °
In Oedipus Rex the mythical text,ie., the "free adaptation" of Sophocles written
by Jean Cocteau, 21 as well as Stravinsky's music have become loosened from their
common basis, namely - as our typology tried to show - from the mythical message
conveyed by poetry (mythical text) and music. The "message" (if one may still use
this naive term) of an artistic work with mythical title and subject (and such works
which are mythical only in this narrow sense are numerous in the context of neo-
classicism) is now placed on new levels of articulation and no longer on the correlation
between immanent narrative structures (myth) and discourses manifesting them
(music, poetry, gestural language). The music and the text narrating the myth are
no longer conjoined through any immanent structure - whose existence in itself
would be "a Ghost in the machine" — but on the level of manifestation through
associations and symbolisms.
Consequently the unity of myth and music is made possible only by various
"figurations" and plays on related meanings. In neoclassicism the correlation myth/
music has returned to the same point as that which dominated the Italian opera seria
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Myth and music are again apart from
each other — one cycle of the history of Western culture has ended.
5.2. Myth and music in the cultural context
5.2.1 Romanticism -- the dialectics of the unconscious
As a matter of fact we have, in the foregoing, examined that very internal cultural
process which lead to the aforementioned situation. First the mythical text dis-
appeared from the side of the musical discourse. Thereafter it was not hard to forget
the whole existence of an "immanent" or "unconscious" mythical message and its
"functions" since they were left to depend merely on abstract musical discourses. In
neoclassicism the mythical text is again taken alongside music, but now the task of
music is not to manifest any concealed mythical structure but to function as a
stylistic device. This development has been outlined from a strictly structural view-
point. Nevertheless, it is obvious that these pure structural relationships do not evolve
62 My th and Music
in any vacuum but, ι,η the contrary, that they reflect the development and changes
in other cultural areas as well. Perhaps the most fundamental change between the
discourses of myth and music was that scarcely perceivable, but for cultural memory 22
and consciousness even more significant, disappearance of immanent mythical message.
How is this phenomenon of cultural semiotics to be understood? And how is it
related to the clue of our study, i.e., the idea of reconstructing myth and mythical
communication, which undeniably characterizes Western aesthetics and artistic
practice in certain cultural phases.
Ernst Kurth interprets the "brightly shimmering mobility" (farbig leuchtende
Bewegtheit) of harmonies, which is characteristic of the whole romantic music, as
the radiation and reflections of psychic energies bursting forth from unconscious
depths. 23 As the basis of the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk Kurth considers the very
fact that all the means of expression - poetry, music and painting - reflect the
"primal unity of all arts" or "their dreaming collective life", (to use Kurth's rather
figurative language) wherein" the individual arts are still bound to the primal tension,
from which they attempt to free themselves."24 In Kurth's opinion it is irrelevant
whether there has sometimes historically existed a Gesamtkunswerk, as for example
in the form of Greek tragedy, which Wagner would then have tried to reconstruct. 25
On the contrary, Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk is a direct projection of that unconscious
sphere where all the arts are still leading a diffuse collective life 26 (and which Greek
tragedy reflected in its own time as does the ceremony of some primitive tribe). We
may conclude that Kurth considers as the most essential category of romanticism the
opposition conscious/unconscious, which in his view corresponds to l;.e distinction
individual arts/collaborative art work.2 7
These theories of Ernst Kurth prove to be interesting when they are related to the
aforepresented typology of correlation between myth and music. Kurth's contrasting
pairs can be paralleled to the very idea on which our typology is based, namely the
hypothesis of a mythical content (raconte) and its various manifestations. Conse-
quently the relation of music to this immanent mythical message may be interpreted
so that music represents the world of the conscious and concrete phenomenon (which
in the aesthetics of romanticism was mere Schein) manifesting the endeavor of the
unconscious mythical message to rise to the conscious level. 28
This conception of an "unconscious" Gesamtkunstwerk, which those singular art
works (such as Greek tragedy or Wagner's mythical opera) are capable of reflecting
only more or less completely, is after all akin to the theories presented at the
beginning of this study about "mythical thinking" and its archetypes, which* find
their expression in various sign systems, in other words, precisely through Le"vi-
Strauss's logic of the concrete .29
Insofar as romanticism is concerned, what does the talks about the reconstruction
of original mythical communication mean? To this one may answer: a romantic
artist does not reconstruct any form of prehistoric art, but rather the unconscious,
which in principle is the same for an artist of prehistoric times as for a romantic
artist. This fundamental conception formed the background for the ideas of the
Schlegel brothers among others about the renascence of "mythology" in Germany
at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Friedrich Schlegel says in his essay Rede
über die Mythologie that a new mythology must be composed of "the deepest depth
of the spirit" and must be based "on the eternal and primeval fountainhead of all
poetry."30 This idea meant liberation from the conception that in reconstructing
myth and the mythical one should necessarily maintain the ancient mythology
(although Liszt, for example, demonstrated with his symphonic poems Orfeus and
Prometheus that ancient mythology is acceptable as material for such reconstruction).
Gradually it was realized that this reconstruction could as well be performed on a
national basis, using material which was culturally and historically closer to the culture
in question. A. W. Schlegel said in his essay on the Nibelungenlied as a source for
modern poetry: 31 "The Greek tragedy adopted its substance from Homer: all
things considered, it is still possible to revive our national mythology, a wealth of
dramatic subjects may be developed from this epic tragedy. After having searched
long enough and wandered in all parts of world, we should finally avail ourselves
of our native poetry."
The very fact that in romanticism myth and everything associated with it, was
identified with something distant and far-away and thereafter it was realized that
one did not have to look for this distant and far-away in any historically remote
(for example in the ancient or medieval age) or geographically distant sphere (as was
often done anyway to mention only the Schlegels' interest in Indian poetry, Goethe's
toward the oriental (Hafiz), the exoticism of Hugo, Lamartine and Chateaubriand) 32
but that the "distant" and "far-away" might equally concern the internal dimension
of man's consciousness, was a decisive turn in the development and motion of the
mythical consciousness in Western culture. It was this dual position which constituted
a central factor in romanticism: on the one hand the conception of myth as an
expression of man's unconscious, obscure sphere and in this sense as a message from
a remote, strange area, and on the other the fact that these unconscious mythical
figures might appear as familiar, intimate beings in national mythology.
One may, for example, think as a contrast of the operas and ballets of seventeenth
century French neoclassicism, which were based on ancient mythology. There the
mythical imagery, the mythical heroes and figures themselves were remote, borrowed
from antiquity, but the substance of these figures, the activities and psychology of
the mythical heroes was "familiar" to the culture of that period and followed the
spirit and general concept of man in the baroque era. 33
This relation was reversed in romanticism: the mythical figures were familiar —
chosen from national mythology or even from literature — but the substance of those
64 Myth and Music
figures was "remote" in the very sense that it referred to the unconscious primal
forces of man. In the romantic era it was music which in the most impressive way
was capable of representing the structure of mythical consciousness. It is of interest
to notice how musical discourse changes and adap;s itself to this task by generating
completely new music genres - as the symphonic poem by L/szt and Gesumtkunst-
werk by Wagner.
In the romantic period the conception of the "mythical" was consequently
widened: a new universal meaning was ascribed to it since it referred to the
unconscious of man, and on the other hand, the field of the mythical itself was
extended to include also national mythology and to be utilized as a subject for art.
5.2.2 Neoclassicism — the influence of scientific discourse
The situation changed at the end of the nineteenth century after scientific dis-
course had focused its activity on the reality of myth. Finally the unconscious
became the object of scientific study in Freudian deep psychology. One may say
that after Freud and Jung the unconsciou, of man was "demythologized" and the
mythical imagery could no longer serve as a discourse of man's unconscious in the
same sense as in the romantic period. On the other hand, mythical consciousness
had already become the subject of anthropological and cultural-historical studies.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century and in the beginning of the twentieth
numerous scientifically founded researches on ancient mythology emerged. One
may recall the studies by E. Rohde, Karl Müller, J. J. Bachofen, Michel Breal and
James Frazer. 34 The scientific discourse definitely conquered the mythical sphere
and then endeavored to reconstruct mythical reality with scientific methods.
Naturally this could not fail to influence the conceptions of the mythical in the
various areas of artistic discourse. 35 One has only to recall the revival of mythical
subjects during the first decades of the twentieth century in musical and literary
areas where the effect of the scientific approach was clearly felt. Instead of directly
reconstructing or depicting mythical reality, the artistic discourse did it by simulating
the "scientific" approach, i.e., the analytical and critical (in Nietzsche's terms
"Socratic")36 attitude toward myth.
Jean Cocteau's Antigone is "an attempt to photograph Greece from above"37 and
Andre Gide's Oedipe belongs in the series of psychoanalytical interpretations of the
Oedipus myth. 38 The woiks of T. S. Eliot were influenced by Frazer's The Golden
Bough.39 The same orientation was clearly expressed in music. Composers
endeavored to reconstruct the mythical world "scientifically" in researching folk
music and utilizing its substance in order to produce mythical effects, as was
previously shown (see pages 52—54).
This was done already by Borodin in his reconstruction of the Polovtsian world in
Prince /go/·,40 as well as by Sibelius in his Kullervo,41 but it is true, in an uncon-
sciously intuitive manner and still leaning on romanticism. The essential point here
is that although musical works were not based on scientific studies, composers
nevertheless attempted to provide their works with a deliberately primitive label,
as if they really were a reconstruction of some historically or geographically remote
culture. This may be exemplified by Milhaud's Afro-Brazilian musical primitivem,
Carl Orffs primitivistic devices in his great cantatas, Georg Enescu's use of Romanian
folk music in his Oedipus or Stravinsky's "Russian" quality in Les Noces or
Pribaoutki.42
Another branch of neoclassicism in music, which is related to German late romantic
expressionism and is represented by such works as Strauss's Elektra or Honegger's
Antigone, is likewise not free from the influence of scientific discourse on myth.
Elektra may be characterized as a pre-Freudian view of the protagonist in Aeschylus's
play.4 3 On the other hand the librettist Hugo v. Hofmannsthal, was greatly influenced
by E. Rohde's studies of antiquity. 44 Furthermore Honegger's Antigone resembles
the heroine in Schoenberg's Erwartung and thus introduces a psychoanalytical aspect
to the character of this mythical personality.
One can also understand why this revival of myths at the beginning of the
twentieth century may with full reason be called "neoclassicism": this movement
was examined above as regards the correlation of myth and music. We may now
confirm the analogy between the opera seria of the seventeenth century and neo-
classicism and note that the same kind of articulation prevails regarding the structure
of mythical consciousness: in the "neoclassicism" of the seventeenth century and its
mythological opera, the mythical substance had been sought in remote antiquity,
but filled with the spirit of the times — just as the early twentieth century neo-
classicism was filled with a "scientific", "analytical" and "critical" spirit.
Nevertheless, we have not yet given enough attention to all those characteristic
features of the musical sign system, which ultimately justify the consideration of
some music as "mythical" even if it does not refer to any particular myth.
Levi-Sirauss's analysis of Ravel's Bolero already revealed the possibility of
realizing the unity between myth and music on a structural level and in a certain
sense apart from the narrative elements often involved in their interaction. However,
one may also perceive in music the functioning of other kinds of mechanisms and
semiotic processes which render it "mythical" by purely musical criteria. This
possibility is viewed in the following chapter.
66 Myth and Music
6. The mythical as seme and style in music
6.1 The structural category avant/apr$s produces the mythical
Is it then possible, in connection with Western art music, to speak of a special

"mythical" musical style, whose distinctive features a composer may assume and
thus, relying on exclusively musical criteria - in other words, without resorting to
any other parallel sign system - organize the mythical dimension of music? Is
"the mythical" an objective quality of musical texture or can it be defined solely
by referring to the consciousness of the music listener, as a sort of psychological
state evoked by music? As we may recall, in the aforepresented theories of myth
by Ernst Cassirer and Roland Barthes the emphasis was precisely on the "mythical
consciousness" whose attitude toward phenomena transformed them into myths —
and not the objective properties of these phenomena.
Could this conception be applied also to observing the mythical in music? The
mythical quality in music would, under these circumstances, not be any characteristic
of a musical element - rhythm, melody, harmony or timbre - so that we could,
with absolute objectivity, separate this quality from the musical discourse and
declare that this rhythmical pattern, theme or harmonic progression is mythical
in all cases. Or what if we should moderate our demand for universality and
presume that in some musical culture, in the context of some musical style or
a composer's musical idiom, a musical element would possess an objective, mythical
quality? Actually, on this level we may recognize musical symbolism which basically
functions according to the afore p re sen ted diagram. Consider, for example, a listener
who for the first time hears the opening bars of VySehrad, the first movement of
Smetana's orchestral suite Ma Vlast, a passage unanimously regarded as expressing
a certain aura of mythicism.1 Insofar as the listener is familiar with Czech musical
culture, he will recognize it as mythical also on the basis that a number of composers
after Smetana have incorporated this passage in their own compositions precisely
in mythical contexts as, for example, Dvorak in his Dumky piano trio op. 90,
Third Slavonic rhapsody and Serenade in E major (the fourth and fifth movement).
But here we can pose a counterquestion: if we imagine ourselves in the place of
the listeners in Smetana's time, can we suppose that they also have immediately
identified the opening bars of Vysehrad as mythical? Is there something especially
characteristic in the structure of the passage which enables not only the Czech
but listeners familiar with Western music culture in general consider it mythical?
One such mythical characteristic in any event is the timbre, which is reminiscent
of the sound of some archaic instrument, an association reinforced later by the
retaining voices on the harmonic level:
The mythical as seme and style in music 67
Aipal.
Arpall.
F«g. I.II.
AzpeI.II,
On the other hand, the very fact that the listener knows he is about to hear a
large orchestral suite, which, however, begins surprisingly with a longish harp solo,
may endow this passage with a certain sense of expectation and tenseness. It
functions, as it were, as an unfoldment of the mythical world, that which was called
in Propp's theory an "initial situation", serving to launch the story.2 Consequently,
what is involved here is a musical sign which acquires its mythical character from
its position in the composition's syntagma; on the other hand, the timbre and
harmonies make this sign refer to a sort of "mythical past", to an ancient prehistoric
time. But at the beginning of the work the sign also has the function of indicating
what will follow: the listener realizes that what he is about to hear is to be
understood in a special mythical, legendary light and aspect. Consequently the
musical sign experienced as mythical acquires its mythical quality from its objective
musical properties as well as from its special dual position in the composition as a
whole.
We have confirmed above that it is characteristic of myth that it always alludes
68 Myth and Music
to something earlier, in the distant past, to which the mythical message must be
related (see page 24).3 The mythical universe is based on the simple division:
before/after (avant/apres).4 We now detach this simple abstract relation from the
temporal dimension of myth and transfer it to that of music. Thus, using purely
morphological criteria, one could deem mythical any sign in musical discourse which
refers to some preceding sign. Consider a composition where, for example, after a
long development and many incidental passages a theme which is introduced at the
beginning of the work, reappears at the end. Now, however, its meaning is completely
different from what it was when it first occurred in the composition. What is
important is precisely the distance between the theme's first appearance and its
recapitulation. Everything that has happened meanwhile is in a certain sense present
and immersed in the memory of the listener when he hears the theme a second time.
It is this temporal distance which gives the recurrence of the theme a mythical
dimension. Consequently the temporal speciality of the mythical universe is, as it
were, "internalized" in the temporal context of the music. In this case "the mythical"
would be an entirely syntagmatic phenomenon: the sign itself has no concrete
characteristic, no special "mythical" quality in the harmony, melody, rhythm or
timbre which would render it mythical. The mythicism results from the fact that
we have heard it earlier and only now recall it. Then we might say that the same
kind of process or transformation occurs in the mind of the listener in hearing
mythical music as when he is listening to a mythical story about an event in the
history of a tribe or a society which is recalled for the purpose of showing the
present in a certain light. According to this hypothesis, the principal theme of a
sonata would be considered mythical only when it is repeated in the recapitulation.
Hence, would not the rondo form be especially mythical inasmuch as the same
theme recurs constantly? 5 If, in the opinion of Levi-Strauss, the structure of a
fugue imitates the structure of mythical thinking, 6 does not the simple ABA formula
express a still more elementary mythical structure, which, it is true, is entirely
syntagmatic? If this is so, then any kind of "re tu-η of the theme in its definitive
meaning" in music would represent the mythical. Consider from this viewpoint
Siegfried's funeral march in the last scene of Wagner's Ring tetralogy, which
summarizes all the principal events involving this mythical hero and their themes:
for example, the Siegfried theme then swells to its appropriate significance, to
mythical greatness, as does the Kullervo theme in the symphony by Sibelius when
it is repeated at the end. Or if we look at the symphonies of the romantics in general,
we see that the themes of the first movement return in the finale, thus making the
form of the composition cyclical. Further one may think of the return of the choral
theme in Cesar Franck's Prelude, Chorale and Fugue at the end of the work before
the stretto of the themes of the chorale and fugue. This theme trembles with the
sense of foreboding characteristic of romanticism when the listener recognizes it as
the one which already early in the chorale had established its significance.
On the other hand, these two musical signs between which the mythical allusion
occurs may also differ but in such a way that the latter is a transformation of the
former. For example, in Shostakovitsh's Ninth symphony, we hear in the finale
again the main theme of the first movement, but now in a strangely distorted,
transformed manner. Do we experience this transformation as "mythical"? Or one
may cite an equivalent case of Berlioz's Fantastic symphony where the idee fixe
theme recurs in an ironic form in the last movement of the symphony. And what
about Shostakovich's Seventh symphony (to which we have already referred in
connection with Ravel's Bolero) wherein the pastoral theme of the beginning rises
to mythical greatness and monumentally after a gigantic crescendo? Frequently
the transformation may be very skilfully concealed from the listener, so that the
mythical effect remains on the unconscious level - for example, the solemn, hymn-
like theme in. the finale of Brahms's Piano sonata in F minor seems to be familiar to
the listener: it has, in fact, appeared earlier in the composition, namely in the coda
of the adagio and in the trio of the scherzo and throughout the whole work as the
core motif variously modified, but now it appears in an inverse form. This case
might be called the mythical fulfilling itself through "the return of a modified theme."
A feature common to all these cases is the fact that the allusion between the two
music signs occurs in the context of one and the same work. Both musical signs
are heard inside of the same musical whole. No wider knowledge of the musical
frame of reference is presupposed of the listener, but the composition forms its own
paradigm and provides the elements for it.
Contrarily, in those cases where the mythicism results from the musical sign's
reference to something beyond the work — to some other composition or to an
entirely extramusical reality — a knowledge of this larger paradigm is presupposed.
This holds true particularly in a case in which the direct reconstruction of some
aspect of the original mythical communication is attempted. In the opening bars
of Smetana's Vysehrad the mythical air resulted partly from an association
with the timbre of an archaic instrument. In other words its purpose was to
reconstruct the channel of mythical communication. A musicologist or a music
historian can easily recognize even such cases, but are they alone in experiencing
the mythical while other music listeners who lack this knowledge are deprived of
this awareness of the mythical? The problem is the same as that of the relation
between the narrator of a myth and the myth itself. Is the narrator aware of the
fact he is telling a myth? If, for example, in Shostakovitch's Fifteenth symphony
the leitmotif of Hagen from Wagner's Götterdämmerung is employed as a musical
quotation, is the mythical character of this citation grasped only by the person who
is capable of recognizing the origin of that quotation or the sequence in question as
Wagner rather than Shostakovich? Or take a case in which a musical sign refers to
70 Myth and Music
some folk music element, i.e., the sign system of folk music forms the starting point
of the mythical system of art music and is subordinated to myth as in Barthes's model
but now within the framework of a musical sign system. If we, for example, interpret
the mythical quality of Borodin's Second symphony in B minor or of Sibelius's
Kullervo Symphony as being founded on the folk music material they utilize, how
can a modern listener realize this since the archaic music in question is no longer to
be heard anywhere? In these cases one has to presume, however, that a listener
recognizes the difference between the actual individual style of a composition and
the foreign style incorporated therein. He is confronted with two systems, one of
which is dominant and as such serves as the context while the other is subordinate,
"foreign" and therefore constitutes only raw material a starting point for the mythical
system manifested in the composition. Relying partly on this mechanism we may
now explain why, for example, a Japanese music listener can, in hearing such works
as symphonies by Sibelius or Borodin, experience them precisely as mythical music,
although he would certainly never have had the opportunity to hear the folk music
in the background of the composition. And inversely, by referring to this same
"structural" manner of listening, one can understand why a European music listener
for his part will experience Mayuzumi's Nirvana Symphony as similarly transmitting
some mythical meanings for him, even though he would not be acquainted with
Hindu philosophy or Tibetan temple music.
We may consequently see that within certain limits it is legitimate to interpret
the mythical quality in music as a purely structural phenomenon which is independent
of changes in cultural contexts. In the aforementioned cases the mythical effect
resulted from a composer's attempt to set apart in his composition a special area to
which a mythical meaning is then affixed and which has specific structural relations
with other elements in the work. The mythical is thus creating its own "isotopy"7
within the work. In this manner, for example, Schumann separates in his Fantasy
in C major a special section whose mythical function is already revealed by its title:
Im Legendenton:
Im Legendenton J r 7»
fe-ut-i
i
jr 11?, p
i
4
9 ® 9
Or Beethoven similarly proceeds in the first movement of his Eroica symphony

where, after a dramatic culmination of the development, there is a transferral, or
rather withdrawal, to the level of a mythical reflection, wherefrom a conciliatory
glance is thrown at the preceding struggle:
Ob.
pizz.
Nevertheless, in most cases these purely structural manifestations of the relation-

ship between myth and music constitute only a necessary condition for experiencing
mythical meaning, which in music forms as aesthetic phenomenon. Only the many
kinds of symbolisms and connections between music and other semantic fields of a
given culture are capable of generating the mythical in the area of music to the fullest
extent. A composer is therefore in many respects subordinated to the automatisms
of the codes entailed in his cultural context.8 An important variable intrudes in the
composer's approach to that which we have called original mythical communication:
the composer's own musical culture and the general cultural context in abroad sense.
The composer's orientation to myths is often determined by that of the culture even
though he is able, to a certain degree, to give them an individual interpretation.
6.2. The mythical style
6.2.1. The aesthetic and semic categories (the aspect of signified)
In the following pages our purpose will be to examine how the mythical functions
as a musico-aesthetic stylistic device. The mythical quality, or "the mythical sen-
sibility" as one might refer to a mythical style characterizing a whole composition,
may then be defined in relation to many other aesthetic categories which add to
it several subtle nuances in the context of Western music. In reality the term itself,
"the mythical",9 consists of many subgenres: firstly one can speak about qualities
which are akin to the mythical but which cannot, however, be identified with the
mythical in the true sense. The romantic tradition, wherein we have already been
able to observe various connections between myth and music, particularly has
exploited many such stylistic features resembling the mythical, as "the magical",
"the balladic", "the legendary", "the fantastic", "the demonic", "the primitivistic",
72 Myth and Music
"the national-musical", "the gestural" etc. One may also see how such traditional
aesthetic categories as "the tragic", "the sublime", "the pastoral" etc. fuse with the
mythical quality and produce their own subgenres of the mythical.
Is the mythical itself, after all, to be considered an unambigous phenomenon? In
this investigation we have found it useful to distinguish primarily two main classes
of the mythical in musical discourse (in the Western context). Our starting point has
been Karl Jaspers's previously cited theory of various mythical outlooks. This basically
philosophical articulation now proves in an astounding way to be a very practical
criterion for classification on the concrete level of musical manifestation. As we
remember, Jaspers distinguished two principal classes of the mythical: . the nature-
mythical (das Naturmythische) and the psychic-mythical (das Seelenmythische). If
the latter category is interpreted as corresponding to the hero-mythical which fre-
quently appears in music, this distinction can be directly applied to the mythical
quality of Western art music on the stylistic level. The third category of the mythical
discerned by Jaspers, "the primal demonic-mythical outlook", is moreover expressed
by that which above was called a "magical" or "primitivistic" feature.
Our purpose is to show how these stylistic features are arranged into a whole
network of mythical meanings and symbolisms, into a special sphere of the aesthetics
of myth in the tradition of Western art music. Furthermore, when all the afore-
mentioned modalities of interaction and convergence between myth and music are
appended to these stylistic features, we are in a position to outline rather effectively
the paradigm of those musical reconstructions which consist of musical works
depicting myths.
These features which are akin to the mythical quality and intertwine with it are,
in fact, articulated in almost the same manner as the minimal significant units of
linguistic communication, namely the semes. A. J. Greimas has developed a special
method of semic analysis where starting from these minimal semantic units, the
signification of whole texts and groups of texts is ultimately inferred. 1 ° According to
Greimas, the aesthetic symbols in principle do not function differently from these units
of linguistic communication 1 ' and therefore semic analysis can be applied even to the
mythical seme postulated herein. (The term "seme" comes from the French seme.)
What, then, are these "semes"? They are those relatively rare semantic categories
which manifest themselves in the concrete units of communication, lexemes.12
(Roland Barthes again uses the term "lexie" which can be constituted by some item
on the word level, or a whole phrase or a text, i.e., a collection of phrases.)13 The
semes are often organized in lexemes in the form of oppositions as, for example,
short/long, strong/weak, high/low, life/death, day/night etc. Such oppositions articu-
late the dimension of a seme as two extreme poles. (This articulation may also
result in terms which are situated between these poles).14 The lexemes, on the
other hand, are in a way points of convergence for the semes. It is thus the internal
organization of lexemes (their semic hierarchies) which forms the aim of analysis.
Lexemes, which may seem to be relatively static units of communication, are subject
to historic changes: in the course of history they can be both enriched with new
semes and deprived of other semes.15
The theory of semic analysis and the concept of "seme" in general have not yet
been utilized as a methodical tool in musicological research. What corresponds to a
lexeme or a lexie and what to a seme in the area of music? Just as in verbal texts
the size of a lexie may vary from a one-word unit (lexeme) to whole groups of
phrases, in a musical work we may consider as a "lexie" a short motif, the main
theme of a composition or a phrase or even the whole composition. Consequently,
for example, the aforementioned opening bars of Smetana's Vysehrad constitute a
musical lexeme but we could as well take the crescendo passage of Shostakovitch's
Leningrad symphony or the main theme in Strauss's symphonic poem Heldenleben
as a lexie. Musical semes again can be those relatively few dimensions with which we
articulate the musical universe. Hence, semes are such categories as size, length,
speed, intensity, density, continuity, tension etc. and they can characterize musical
lexemes by organizing themselves into oppositions like long/short, slow/fast, soft/
loud, thick/thin, continuous/discontinuous, tensed/relaxed etc. In music semiotics
such "semes" have been introduced and used with success in studies on modern
electronic music. 16 In this context, however, we are interested in the possibility of
utilizing the concept of seme as a tool of musical aesthetics and style analysis. In
fact we may note that even Guido Adler, the founder of style analysis in musicology,
characterized different music styles just with various "semic" oppositions, as when
he separated the instrumental/vocal melodies in the fugue themes of Bach or when
he described whole stylistic eras, as those of classicism and romanticism with many
concomitant semic oppositions.17 Consequently the concept of seme will attain
even more concrete dimensions in the musical area.18
How could we apply semic analysis to the topics of this study, the manifestation
of the mythical in music? One may observe that "the semes" composing the mythical
can be of a rather abstract nature in music as well. We examined above the mythical
effect emerging simply from the reference of a musical sign to another preceding sign.
This foregoing sign or lexeme might be situated either within the same work or even
outside of it, as in the case where a musical sign constitutes a "quotation" and
therefore alludes to some earlier work of the same composer or to a section in a
work of some other composer (which would make Stravinsky's "neoclassical" phase
with its musical quotations look like a particularly mythical musical style).
Nevertheless in this case one of the semes which produces the mythical is very
abstract: it can be characterized by the term "antecedence" or "previousness". Or
to cite a philosophical term used by Rudolf Carnap: "the recalling of similarity"
(Ähnlichkeitserinnerung) which Carnap considered as the most important relation
74 My th and Music
in the constitution of the perceptual world. 19 Again, if we remember Levi-Strauss's

analysis of Ravel's Bolero, the semes creating the mythical weald then be "con-
tinuit> ", "tension", "growth of intensity".
In music the semes might be considered more meaningful units, as has been stated,
endowing musical lexemes with a number of aesthetic categories. In the foregoing
we have suggested the partitioning of the mythical seme into three subsemes: the
nature-mythical, the hero-mythical and the magic-mythical. But on the other hand,
we have observed that sixteen other semes are joined in various combinations to these
three main classes of the musico-mythical semes. Consequently the mythical may
appear, for example, simultaneously as the nature-mythical, the pastoral and the
exotic: as in Borodin's Polovtsian music. Or the hero-mythical may occur together
with the sacred: the finale of Mendelssohn's Reformation symphony. Or the hero-
mythical may appear as the legendary + the sublime + the national-musical + the
primitivistic as it is in the case of Smetana's Vysehrad.
Thus we see that there are innumerable combinations but that the repertoire of
stylistic devices from which composers in the Western tradition choose the substance
for their compositions is restricted. Although a composer's fantasy may seem to
have inexhaustible potentialities, even he is not capable of creating "absolutely",
bound as he is to a certain ideal repertoire, whose elements he may nevertheless
combine and thus create works which appear new.2 ° This Levi-Straussian idea, if
transferred from the field of anthropology to that of musical aesthetics, may prove
to be highly productive. (We have already above (see page 44) noticed how this
principle of combination worked out in the case of Indian music).
On the other hand, one must consider the fact that no musical lexeme, theme,
motif, phrase or larger musical whole is merely a mechanical collection of various
stylistic devices, but that these features, semes, are situated on different levels in
relation to one another. Either they may be in a relation of conjunction or disjunction
while functioning on the same level, or they may form a hierarchic organization
consisting of subordinated relationships.2 J In that way the semic category of "the
mythical" may include several subgenres, such as the aforementioned nature-mythical,
hero-mythical and mugic-mythical semes and these semes in turn their own subordinate
classes, such as those of the fabulous, the fantastic, the primitivistic, the pastoral etc.
These two main classes of relationships, which may be called in the former case
antonymic and in the latter hyperonymic or hyponymic according to whether it is
viewed from the higher category to the lower or inversely, constitute the structure
of that semiological network in which thereafter more concrete mythical meanings
may be incorporated. Consequently our whole analysis of the supposed mythical
style is based on a Kantian view that the aforepresented few categories form a sort
of apriori relational network which is then manifested in concrete compositions as
we may see while examining Liszt, Slavonic music, Wagner, Sibelius and Stravinsky.
(The problem whether musical style analysis could also in general proceed on such
an epistemological hypothesis, does not belong, as fascinating as it would seem,
within the scope of this study.)
6.2.2. The mythical in the parameters of music (melody, rhythm, timbre and
harmony - the aspect of the signifier)
Before we enter into a moje careful definition of all these semic categories, which
duly articulate the area of the aesthetics of myth in Western art music - and which
is realized by indicating for a seme an equivalent musical lexeme where the seme
under question, for example, the nature-mythical, the magic-mythical etc. constitutes
a prevailing characteristic seme — we need, however, to view more closely those
musical "signifiers", the modes of expression wherein these semic contents are
inserted or which serve as their tonal support.
We shall scrutinize these musical "signifiers" simply from the viewpoint of the
various parameters in music keeping, nevertheless, in our minds that only an analysis
of concrete examples and allusions to their respective cultural framework will reveal
all possible manifestations of the mythical in musical discourse.
Jan La Rue distinguishes five different dimensions of music which must be
considered in style analysis: aside from the usual rhythm, melody, timbre and
harmony, he speaks about a particular dimension of "the growth" 22 which integrates
the aforementioned elements. How do these various dimensions of music adopt
themselves to the significant function myth gives them?
If we consider music as a means for reconstructing the above depicted "primal
mythical communication", it can be noticed that, in the area of melody and rhythm,
mythical references may be produced by a direct imitation of a song or dance
performed in a mythical ceremony. Melody may be built on an archaic scale ?nd in
that way acquire a "mythical" significance - which is, in fsct, the most usual way
that folk music influences art music. 23 The use of modal scales, in particular, along
with other devices, often expresses in the context of Western art music something
"mythical", but there are also cases where the chromaticism of exotic scales and
augmented intervals may assume this function. One need only think of Rimsky-
Korsakov's operas with their subjects from Russian mythology, where exotic scales
are more significant than a mere decorative or coloristic effect, as they are also in
Borodin's Prince Igor. In the sphere of rhythm again the mythical may appear as
an imitation of a dance involved in the original mythical communication. But, on
the other hand, rhythm accompanies not only dance but its opposite, works, as well,
as Karl Bücher presumes in considering the physical motions relating to work as an
origin of music and poetry. 24 This fact ascribes to the rhythmic dimension of music
76 My th and Music
in primitive life also another, non-mythical meaning. Wagner has perhaps best
realized the dual function of rhythm in its primitive manifestations when he uses
the same kind of dotted triplet figure in The Ring of ihe Nibelung in order to depict,
on the one hand, the work of the Nibelungs, forging gold:
and, as a contrast to work, the play of the Rhine maidens:
where the similar rhythmical motif receives a dance-like character. Certain archaically
elementary rhythmic forms do not in themselves convey a mythical reference when
transmitted to the context of Western art music. However, one may think of the
preponderantly dance-like character of Ravel's Bolero, where rhythm partly produces
the mythical. In some cases, indeed, it is precisely the overwhelming elemental
rhythm of a dance or march which provides the mythical effect - as ; t does, for
example, in the beginning of the third act of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden
Cockerel, where the composer has focused many mythical semes in the orchestral
music depicting the bridal party of King Dodon and combined them with dance and
march rhythms finally heightened to the point of grotesqueness. This elemental
rhythmical effect is reinforced by the fabulous and exotic brilliance of the orches-
tration and the oriental colorfulness of the scales:
/. carlift Λ* Ια rtin».
m. d.
f\
rr ppiprtcFfEr
bdzaz*
dl/J.^ ρ Λ U· I «—*-
j ' <?
lltTIiUHHU.
Grant»
This tradition of Russian march rhythms incorporated in art music was actually
initiated by Glinka and then carried on by Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev and Shosta-
kovitch in their grotesquely rhythmical marches, but nevertheless separated from
the fabulous and exotic seme associated with them in the first composers.
In addition to melody and rhythm it is timbre which may directly refer to the
primal mythical communication, especially to its "channel": for example to the
instruments which accompany song and dance. Many kinds of symbolisms are
associated with the expressive quality of different instruments in Western art music
and at least some may be attributed to the archaic moods awakened in the listener
by the timbre of certain instruments.
It is especially in the musical context of romanticism that one may notice how the
use of certain instruments is associated with mythical meanings.
One of the reforms of Liszt in orchestration was to employ the harp as a solo
instrument in orchestral compositions, thus giving them a uniquely limpid character. 25
In Greek mythology the lyre was the instrument of Apollo and Orpheus 26 — perhaps
this is one reason why in Liszt's symphonic poems the timbre of the harp achieves
a certain Apollonian and sublime connotation and on the musical level is given the
task of representing a mythical heroic poet or singer, as it does in Orfeus and Tasso.
In romantic music the timbre of a harp was also imitated by a piano, which
occasionally attained a similar mythical "Apollonian" connotation as when a harp
actually was used. This might be exemplified by the arpeggio chords at the beginning
of the second movement in Schumann's Fantasy C major for piano.
In Slavonic music the timbre of the harp frequently has a connotation referring
immediately to a mythical past. In many compositions, as in the beginning of
Smetana's Ma Vlast or in the song of the Bard in Glinka's Russian, the mere timbre
of the harp suffices to set the whole work in a certain mythical light and to
determine the hero-mythical isotopy of the composition. This connotation attached
to the timbre of the harp in Slavonic music tradition was altered by Rimsky-
Korsakov with the musical exoticism of his operas and symphonic poems - one has
to think only of Scheherazade or the sun hymn of The Golden Cockerel and the
orientally coloristic function of the harp there.
Paul Claudel's interpretation of the meaning assigned to the timbre of the French
78 My th and Music
horn in Wagner's music 27 provides an example not only of the mythical connotation
associated with a wind instrument but of the selective ear of the interpreter which
for certain reasons is susceptible just to a given musical "signifier". In Claudel's
opinion it is the French horn, or le timbre etrange du cor, which in Wagner
symbolizes the call of the lost paradise (as the fanfares in the Good Friday music
of Parsifal} and thus creates the mystical effect characteristic of Wagner.28 Never-
theless, the French horn does not have any exceptional position in Wagner's works;
rather its use only follows the tradition of the German romantic musical style.29 So
it is natural that Claudel attempts to support his view by references to German
literature, as to Achim v. Arnim's poem collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn and
especially to Weber's operas, such as Der Freischütz in the prelude of which French
horns lead the listener to the heart of a fabled Germanic forest, or Oberon, where
the magic horn of the King of the Fairies plays an essential role.30
But just why Claudel considered the timbre of the French horn so important in
Wagner may be explained not by its musical properties but rather by Claudel's
Catholic framework of interpretation into which he wanted to insert Wagner's music,
too. Claudel namely tried to show that Siegfried's situation at the end of Siegfried
was, in fact, the same as that of Parsifal and that both heroes were, after all,
"Christian" mythical heroes. According to this interpretation these Wagnerian heroes
were simply repeating the same pattern: Iftomme ä l'ecoute du Paradis perdu.31
And, on the other hand, in Claudel's opinion it was the timbre of the French horn
which suggested that central mage in French symbolism, "the paradise of sadness"
(Rimbaud).32 Consequently, the French horn became in Claudel's view an element
dominating the whole musico-mythical universe of Wagner.
This interpretation is a graphic example of how a musical element — timbre, for
example — may be attached to some interpretational semantic field and there acquire
the position of a true "cultural unit" in the sense of Umberto Eco.33
On the other hand, timbre may be identified with an even broader mythical
background than merely conventions determined by a cultural context. In the
prelude to Wagner's Rheingold the long and low tones of wind instruments (bass
clarinet) and the organ point on the tonic of E flat major may be conceived as
mythical also in the sense that they express a primeval conception of the creation of
the world, which is often associated with some primal, fundamental tone. According
to Gilbert Rouget, this fundamental tone is given in creation myths of the Oceanic
peoples by the Triton conch-shell trumpet which thus also refers to the sea or to
water in general.34 The impressive character of Wagner's Prelude to Rheingold
would then be partly due to this archaic stratum of the human mind, wherein a
certain wind instrument suggests the creation of the world by blowing the first tone
declaring the emergence of the cosmos.
In Western music almost every instrument and its timbre has its own characteristic
"nature" which a composer must appropriately incorporate into the musical-psy-

chological whole of the composition. In his guide to orchestration, Berlioz ascribes
to the English horn a special emotional quality which in this context might be
defined as "mythical": "Its tones are low-spirited, dreaming, noble, slightly hesitant,
coming from a distance; no other instrument is so apt to evoke images and feelings
of past times, when the composer wants to allow the concealed strings of sweet
memories to resound".35 In Marguerite's aria in Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust
the English horn is employed in this "mythical" connotation, just as the English
horn solo in Sibelius's Swan ofTuonela achieves a similar previously defined content:
Andante on poco lento. (J = 50)
Strings
con
Vc.l ^r=f=
Sibelius: Berlioz:
Thus it is understandable that timbre has an important function in music when

mythical references are to be made; timbre alone is capable of generating mythical
meanings and distinguishing its subgenres. Nevertheless, tone colors are further
combined with the other dimensions of music: rhythm and especially tonality and
harmony, which reinforce their effect.
As an example of a mythical effect resulting from a combination of rhythm and
timbre, one may mention Stravinsky's Les Noces where the orchestral setting of
percussion instruments and rhythmic ostinato figures together create the atmosphere
of an archaic wedding ritual. Heitor Villa-Lobos's Choros No. 3 also is restricted to
a single group of instruments, in tins case to winds which allude to Indian music. The
80 Myth and Music
Indians of Matto Grosso, for example, have ensembles of wind instruments in which
the lowest instruments sound like the low register of a bassoon or clarinet36
(taxonomically these Indian instruments are indeed classified as clarinets).3 7 In the
middle part of Chores No. 3 the staccato exclamations of the chorus (Pica-pao) and
the syncopated rhythm together with the staccato music of the accompanying wind
orchestra, immediately suggest the wind orchestras of the Indians of Matto Grosso
playing, as it were, out of time. Indian music - or its technical deficiency - has been
exploited as a stylistic device of art musin by a composer in order to reconstruct
the original mythical communication, an Indian ritual: 38
L
β> i—l» "r *— -3 J γ —-y^
— r~f~ -JLt ^J—*_
; pau pi
=h=
pau pi .p° pi-fo pi p&
Β_ =4=^= • ·
-H
1^=F±
J j ft -/
^-^-^j— *-tf- f r . 1 ·
^
Frequently it is a harmony together with a certain timbre which creates the
mythical; this occurs just in the aforementioned Prelude to Wagner's Rheingold,
but also in Lohengrin, where the tonic chord of A major alone is presented as a
symbol of the Giail. 39 In the same way one can regard the Tristan chord as a
signifier for the central mythical message of the whole opera. Scriabin's Prometheus
chord might also be considered an example of the mythical symbolic value of a single
chord, although this chord constructed by him could be reduced into smaller parts,
intervals of fourth conveying different meanings ("the soft mollity" of the diminished
fourth, "the sweet firmness" of the perfect fourth, "the splendid vitality" of the
augmented fourth) together form the content of the chord.40 At any rate, Scriabin's
late works represent that rare case, where a whole collection of musical works is
derived from a single chord, which, after all, perhaps expresses a mystical rather
than a mythical significance.
In the stylistic context of early and late romanticism several kinds of altered
chords and enharmonic modulations contribute to a mythical impression. Ernst
Kurth again remarks that alternations between parallel major and minor will some-
times yield a special effect of "mythical greatness" as, for example, in Briinnhilde's
greeting to the sun at the end of Siegfried:41
:!ΜΛ'. (koc/i „„/j.TicMil tiltrnd.)
On the other hand, such alternation may generate a particular tragic-mythical

content as it does in Siegfried's theme, where changes between major and minor
reflect the contrast between the mythical hero's life and his tragic death:
The simplest example of a mythical meaning of chords is, however, provided by

some group of chords which in the context of a composer's musical idiom or discrete
82 Myth and Music
composition assumes a mythical function: this happens in Mozart's Magic Flute

whose prelude already introduces the chords, which play a decisive role in the whole
structure of the work with their numerical symbolism:42
The mythical appears in Mozart's Magic Flute in highly varied forms enabling myth
to function there as a kind of "surdetermination''!^., a complex of many converging
significances. This principle is stored in the thematic process of the composition
placing, for example, the above presented passage always in new contexts.43 Never-
theless, it is perhaps in the music of the late romantic period where such a poly-
morphism of mythical reality is most obviously projected and revealed by the
harmonies, which this era developed into its own extremely subtle language. In
romantic music the aesthetics of myth thus appears mostly in harmonic progressions.
The harmonization of the second theme in Liszt's Prometheus constitutes an
illuminating example in this sense. The impression of ambiguity is created there
by altered mediant chords which give the melody itself an archaic flavor as if it
were detached from the ordinary stream and course of tones and chords:
a tempo (Allegro)
Vc. —=T
.
Here if anywhere the harmonies express the romantic view about man's un-
conscious dark spheres from which music as well as myth rise up as symbols of the
primal unity of the psyche. In this progression one may sense what Goethe called
the ominous (ahnungsvoll) and which was, according to the romantic view, wholly
characteristic of the mythical sphere - one might only recall Hugo's Legendes des
si^cles.
A similar pattern is used by Dvorak in his symphony From the New World where
the modulation through altered chords indicates at the same time a transference
from the world of dramatic and stormy struggles of the first movement to the world
of mythical contemplation in the Largo movement which is conveyed by an English
horn (see above for the mythical connotation of the timbre of an English horn)
with a melody alluding to a Negro spiritual style. A complicated series of altered
chords depicts a transition, as it were, to a mythical, prehistorically shadowy world:44
Nevertheless, the transition to a mythical isotopy is not always effectuated by

such modulations, although they were favored by the romantics. For example, in
Sibelius's First symphony in Ε minor, whose relationship to myths has proved to
be a problem for research,45 there occurs at the beginning of the Andante movement
a transition from Ε minor, which depicted the tragic struggles in the first movement,
to Ε flat major without any preceding modulation. This may be interpreted along
with Dvorak's symphony, as a transference or sinking into the timelessness of the
mythical world. The effect is even reinforced in Sibelius's composition by the
timbres of the orchestra: the organ point of harp and French horn along with the
tonality of Ε flat major - the tonality of heroism since Beethoven — together yield
an impression of a Finnish Valhalla, the primal home of mythical heroes.
Also the device of enharmonic modulation is in certain cases placed in the service
of mythical narration. In Sibelius's piano suite Kyllikki, the main theme of the first
movement in Allegro contains in its astounding alteration effect also a possibility
for enharmonic interpretation. When the theme first appears, the altered tones of
the melody and the chords based on them are set in Eff major andC flat major which
in recapitulation are interpreted as D major and B major. Therefore the work can,
84 My th and Music
without an actual modulation, end with C sharp major (= D flat major):

Allegro
Often harmonic effects like the above may be classified according to whether the
harmonic progressions involved therein are tensed or coloristic.46 This division can
frequently be seen to coincide with the division proposed by us in the field of the
mythical itself where we separated the nature-mythical from the psychic-mythical
as subgenres of the mythical in a broader sense. Insofar as harmony contains altered
chords, mediant and enharmonic modulations as tensed elements of harmonic
progression in order, for example, to emphasize or mediate contrasts among tonalities,
the harmonies in question are provided (as a substance for mythical narration) with
a psychic-mythical content expressing, for instance, internal conflicts of the hero or
disaccord among the various characters in the myth. But if, on the contrary,what is
involved is rather a coloristic treatment of harmonies, then this might correspond
on the mythical level to the nature-mythical category.
This kind of division is naturally only approximative — it is not hard to point
in musical practice to numerous cases whose belonging to this or that category
is already a source of controversy. One may think, for example, of the chorale-
like themes which are so frequently met in Liszt's works and which are placed
there in an obviously "nature-mythical" context - as it is a.o. in the musical
interpretation of nature in Vallee d Obermann or in the chorale-like themes of
the symphonic poem Ce qu On entend sur la montagne:
Ce qu On entend sur la montagne Andante reltgloso
dolente
Vallee d'Obermann
Piü lento.
Although the context of the harmonic progressions in these themes is on the

whole "nature-mythical", nevertheless one cannot consider them "coloristic" — thus
representing the nature-mythical - but on the contrary filled with a strong psychic-
mythical tension. How can we reconcile this contradiction?
In both cases what is essential is the relation of a musical element to the musico-
mythical narration which employs it. In Liszt's afore-mentioned works, "nature"
functions as one personified actor of mythical narration 4 7 which is opposed to the
actor "man". It is then readily comprehensible that the harmonic progression
portraying nature expresses a psychic-mythical tension: nature, as we saw, functions
in these compositions as one "force" which is conceived as anthropomorphic. We
shall later deal separately with Liszt's musico-mythical narration and see how
harmonic devices, for example, are used by the logic of narration. 48
We have in the foregoing paid greater attention to harmony than to the other
dimensions of music, but this was justified by the fact that in Western music it is
the harmonic dimension which has been developed to the greatest expressiveness
and meaningfulness. Based on this richness one may also distinguish several subgenres
and -semes of the mythical in Western art music (as for the fifth dimension of "the
Growth" discerned by Jan LaRue,see above pages 35—37).
6.3. The articulation of the mythical style
6.3.1. Defining the mythical semes
In the following we shall survey these musical "semes", the groundwork for which
was laid by the preceding observations about the musical "signifier" but which,
nevertheless, can be clarified only by a more concrete analysis.
An important methodological problem is presented by the question of how we
have come to choose just these semes and how we have recognized their musical
counterparts. In reality such a severing of mythical semes from musical discourse
86 Myth and Music
cannot be divided into two phases: as if we should first define the semes as "the
nature-mythical", "the hero-mythical", "the magical", "the fabulous", etc. and only
thereafter search for their equivalents in a musical context. Although Greimas in
his theory of semic analysis emphasizes the idealistic starting point (in a philosophic
sense) that the semes have existed before they are inserted in lexemes and sememes,49
one has to bear in mind that this is a question of epistemological precedence and not
antecedence in the creative process of an artist. Consequently our analysis of these
mythical semes will be based at least as much on their manifestation in musical usage
in the tradition of Western art music as on a conceptual definition of these categories.
As to the conceptual elucidation, it will lean on the survey of the reality of myth
which was given at the beginning of this study (see pages 16-29).
The extremely manysided and complex world of myth is now seen to be reflected
on the level of the musical sign system, which with all its expressive means attempts
to depict the various aspects and nuances of myth. The mythical semes and their
subclasses are, on the other hand, based on idioms and stylistic categories of music
itself and, in a wider sense, of Western aesthetics. Therefore the various mythical
semes will be defined on the musical level ostensively: for every seme we shall
indicate an equivalent musical "lexeme" where the mythical seme under question is
a dominant (marked) feature. Therefore, the fact that a musical section manifests
some particular mythical seme does not preclude the inclusion in this same musical
section of many other mythical semes as well (and even those which are not mythical
at all). In choosing examples for every seme we have aimed only at illustrating each
seme with a musical passage which would render it as explicit as possible.
We shall first introduce three mythical semes based to a great extent on Karl
Jaspers's aforecited theory of three mythical outlooks: nature-mythical, psychic-
mythical and magical attitude. When conjoined to music these semes acquire a certain
form referring primarily to the content of myth. Here we immediately face the
problem concerning the ability of music to depict any external reality. We may
reduce the question about the mythical in music to the question as to whether music
is, after all, in any sense capable of representing features of external reality 50 - in
this case various aspects of myth. However, we shall be satisfied with being able to
affirm that, in the context of a certain musical style and work, we ascribe to given
points of a musical texture meanings which on the level of verbal description can
best be called "mythical".
6.3.2. The nature-mythical
In Jaspers's view the nature-mythical attitude is directed toward all the phenomena
of nature which are observed with special attention to their mythical significance.5 *
We may recall that many of the actual mythical stories deal precisely with the
elements of nature and their origins. The mythical consciousness is preoccupied
with the problems of how the sun was born, the origins of fire, the creation of the
world, the metamorphoses of natural species etc. All these phenomena of the nature-
mythical sphere have been of interest also to composers in the Western tradition
and have been variously interpreted in their music. What are these compositions
expressing the nature-mythical like? There are many musical works which tell about
the creation of the world or the origin of some part of it. We might thus presume
that something peculiarly "nature-mythical" would be found even in the stylistic
level of such compositions. Jean Sibelius's work Luonnotar for soprano and
orchestra, tells an ancient story from the Kalevala myths about the birth of the
world. Kokko, the bird of the air, hovers over waters in the void of the universe and
the virgin of the air offers the bird a resting place on her knee, whereupon the bird
lays "six golden eggs."5 2 They roll into the water and are transformed into elements
of the universe: earth, sky, sun and stars. This primeval myth of creation, the
substance of which appears in the mythology of nearly every nation on earth, 53 has
been interpreted by Sibelius with stylistic devices which cannot be called primitivistic
in the true sense but which do, however, include tonal structures expressing the most
archaic strata of the human mind. Among them is a monotonous figuration of the
strings in F sharp minor depicting the primal chaos and the solitary narrative voice
of the soprano which enters thereafter:
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88 Myth and Music
A particularly archaic effect results from the placing of two fifhs at an interval
of one second to each other. Above them soars a sighing melodic passage of the
soprano with many augmented intervals. The soprano melody is, however, presented
already before the actual entrance of the vocal part, after the climax of an orchestral
storm, by the wind instruments, which play this ascending theme in octave unison:
^ I rr -.
Sibelius is using here a somewhat similar technique as Prokofiev and Stravinsky,

who have also exploited the idea of combining the low and the high register in
unison as an archaic effect (see for Prokofiev the opening of Alexander Nevsky (The
Mongols), and The Scythian Suite (score, section 67) and for Stravinsky Creon's aria
in Oedipus Rex (score, section 27).
One may find the nature-mythical "seme" in some of Heitor Villa-Lobos's com-
positions which portray myths of creation or various mythical elements and metamor-
phoses of nature (not to mention Darius Milhaud's Creation du monde). Just as in
Sibelius's Luonnotar, in which a nature-mythical atmosphere was created by the fifths
together with the minor seconds, Villa-Lobos likewise uses these elements in the
beginning of Amazonas, wherein the contemplation of the Amazon river is depicted

with parallel fifths:
Contemplaijao do Amazonas
Andante
ad lib.
ü
to the above, with the entrance of the god of the winds, are joined successive
chromatic triplets by the flutes and an oboe melody quoted from Indian music
and based mainly on an interval of a second:54
oboe
32 ? J J
Oute ? r T r r "r r r'r=m·
The nature-mythical quality holds a very central position in the works of Villa-
Lobos, as can be seen also in the symphonic poem Erosao composed in his late
period (1950). It tells about the emergence of the Amazon River, which in Indian
myths is associated with the struggle between the moon and the sun. In Erosäo the
nature-mythical finds its expression in a heavy chorale of wind instruments against a
thick background of strings and piano depicting the rush of water:
Violins
90 Myth and Music
The nature-mythical quality has its own traditions in Western art music - consider,
for example, the mythical image of sunrise which has inspired many composers to a
musical portrayal. The prelude to the first act of Wagner's Lohengrin, with its bright
static quality which gradually grows more concrete and for which Liszt and Baudelaire
invented a programmatic interpretation, 5 * has been considered a musical sunrise. The
sunrise in Ravel's orchestral suite Daphnis et Chloe is even more explicitly associated
with this same mythical image since it uses similar musical means, namely a glittering
upper register of the woodwind instruments, the most coloristic chord combinations
of the harp and the continuous cantilena of the strings. Moreover R. vel takes up the
effect of using the chorus as a purely instrumental-coloristic element which further
increases the continuity of the musical stream forming a common feature in the
realizations of Wagner and Ravel.
Further, one may include in this traditional mythical image of sunrise the ancient
Russian worship of the sun depicted at the end of Prokofiev's Scythian suite. The
cortege of the sun god Veles appears there in all its radiance as a contrast to the
preceding description of night. Prokofiev's sunrise is not, however, portrayed with
Wagnerian or Ravelian pastel colors as if it were a symbolistic painting by Fantin-
Latour; rather, Prokofiev's sun god reveals its dazzling bright self with an organ point
of the strings on a high, piercing and ornamented tone of B over which is a rising
scale played by the most luminous instruments of the orchestra — celesta, harp,
piano, piccolo, flutes and woodwind instruments — and composed of the first four
successive tones in B flat major and E minor:
Piano, Celesta, Fl.,

Picc.fL.Cl.
Violins,
Altos
In the continuation the brilliance of the orchestra increases to fff in the closing
bars: the harmony consists of the tonic triad of Β flat major, to which Gb is added
as a dissonant element. The whole tutti of the orchestra and the upper register of
the violins, piccolos, triangles and xylophones join in this great scene depicting ancient
Scythian sun worship.
These examples already reveal how the true nature-mythical quality in music
differs from mere pittoresque musical depiction of nature. We shall later come
across other manifestations of the nature-mythical in music as well as some other
semes attached or close to it, like those of the sacred and the pastoral. Nevertheless,
the penetration into the spirit of the details of nature as it occurs in the "pastoralism"
of music, does not represent the nature-mythical, but on the contrary reflects a
"later" kind of consciousness, which Jaspers labeled a nature-historical world view.56
6.3.3. The hero-mythical
We recognize as hero-mythical music which attempts with its stylistic features to

refer to the life and figure of a mythical hero. Even here one has to pose a question:
what, after all, separates this kind of musical representation of mythical heroes from
musical character portrayal in general? According to Jaspers, the psychology of
mythical heroes must be more clear-cut than that of ordinary mortals,5 7 although on
the other hand one may imagine that their character results from heightening and
idealizing some aspects of ourselves. A mythical hero is a person who by his courage,
wisdom, power or some other quality differs from other people and who, because of
this quality, is able to resolve a mythical problem. Similarly in music the theme
portraying him must be distinguishable from other themes and uplift the music
listener to the level of the greatness and clarity of the mythical action. Many
symbolisms and sign processes determined by the cultural and stylistic context of
the music are also associated with the hero-mythical. One must consider Beethoven
as one of the creators of the hero-mythical musical style, particularly in hisEroica
Symphony, where certain musical characteristic, such as those of E flat major, the
timbre of the French horn, the funeral march and the description of the mythical
hero's struggles by the relationships among various movements and their musico-
psychological development, perhaps for the first time acquire a true hero-mythical
meaning. Subsequently many other composers alluded to this tradition initiated by
Beethoven, not only in the framework of German musical culture but also beyond
this cultural sphere. As Ernst Kurth has observed, the first chord in the Eroica
Symphony, namely that of the tonic in E flat major, stands as a symbol of the
entire work's content 58 just as the rhythmical core motifs do of the Fifth symphony.
As to the hero-mythical thematics, it is the tragic end of the hero which is
perhaps primarily emphasized in the Eroica Symphony — while in the Fifth symphony
the struggle and triumph of the hero prevails — almost in the same way as in the coda
of the overture Egmont the hero's greatness is elevated to its definitive brilliance
92 Myth and Music
with the allegro-apotheosis of the orchestra, at the end of the work. Thereafter Liszt
and Wagner utilized the hero-mythical musical style created by Beethoven in their
compositions with hero-mythical topics.59 The principal theme in Liszt* s Prometheus
is, with its rhythmical sharpness and vigor, highly "Beethovenian":
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Furthermore, in the dialectics between C minor Lamento and C major Trionfo
in Liszt's Tasso, one may see a hint of the hero's struggle (C minor) and triumph (C
major) in Beethoven's Fifth symphony. The secondary theme of Tasso is endowed
with a certain sombre and solemn flavor when played by the cello along with the bass
clarinet and the C minor chords set for harp and French horn; Because the hero to
be portrayed is Tasso, the poet of the Siege of Jerusalem, the end of this heroic
theme is ornamented with an augmented interval which imparts an oriental tinge:
Adagio mesto
espress.
Bass cl.
The hero-mythical quality appears, however, detached from all concrete content in
the fanfare theme of Liszt's Les Preludes, which also moves in the Beethovenian
tonality of triumph, C major but whose dotted rhythmic figure, the unison sound of
heavy wind instruments, cellos and double basses as well as plagal harmonies give this
theme an ideal and sublime hero-mythical quality highly typical of Liszt:
Viol.
Tromb.,
Tuba,
Double bass
Thus Liszt's hero-mythical musical thematics may be seen to be basically related

to the Beethovenian tradition and one may even note that Liszt had less success
with those heroic themes whose starting point was not the idealized and abstract
heroism of Beethoven, but an operatic staginess (which is not necessarily attributed
to Wagner's influence) as, for example, in the trumpet theme of Mazeppa's nocturnal
ride.
Also in the hero-mythical style of Wagner one may recognize influences of the
heroic musical style created by Beethoven. Siegfried's funeral march and the figure
of a mythical tragic hero in general, which originally constituted the very first idea
of the whole tetralogy, would be incomprehensible without Beethoven's Eroica. But
Wagner also possesses a hero-mythical style of his own, whose first seed may already
be discerned in the theme of Rienzi's prayer, where the core of the melodic line is
formed by an ascending ornamented sixth followed by a descending scale. Also
noteworthy is the tonality of B flat major, which gives the hero-mythical quality of
the theme an Apollonian, less warlike flavor:
Andante molto sostenuto.
Wagner's Rienzi theme constitutes the nucleus for many heroic themes in Wagner's
later works, as a.o. in the following motifs which all contain Wagner's rising heroic
sixth as the core of the leitmotif:
I Siegfried ir.. Brünnhilde m.

a
94 Myth and Music
III Wälsungen IV Schicksal m. (augmentation of sixth)

a
VI Siegfrtedllebe m. (inversion of sixth)

V Entsagung m. b-
VII Walsungenleid m. Wälsungenliebe m.

a
It is not without interest to notice that this ascending sixth, so characteristic of

Wagner's thematics, is found even in the main theme of Richard Strauss's Heldenleben
which, moreover, includes a strong Beethovenian flavor or as the composer himself
has said: "a lot of horns and E flat major."60 On the other hand, Strauss's hero
theme has a tendency to broaden the scope of the musical motif, so that the great
extension of the theme itself would reflect the mythical proportions of the hero's
life — notwithstanding the fact that in Strauss's Heldenleben it is the composer
himself who is "mythologized".·61
Lebhaft bewegt
3—
In the context of Russian and in general Slavonic musical culture, we are a,"ain
confronted with a particular hero-mythical quality, which occurs in music in the
form of special stylistic features characteristic of these music traditions. In Russia
the emergence of this heroic-mythical musical style is linked with the birth of Russian
epic opera and such composers as Glinka and Borodin. We may see a special hero-
mythical quality already at the beginning of Glinka's opera Russian and Ludmila,
namely in the scene with the song of the Bard, in which the enactment of mythical
stories in the court of a Russian prince is reconstructed. The hero-mythical quality
of this music is, nevertheless, due partly to the content of the song, which tells of
"the deeds of the heroes in the past and their legendary reputation and memory".
This song of the Bard represents the hero-mythical elevated to the level of an epic-
sublime expression:
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Glinka's other great heroic opera with a national theme, Ivan Susanin or A Life for
the Czar also includes elements of a special Russian hero-mythical quality. The great
polyphonic ensemble scene in the first act of Ivan Susanin, which is one of the high
points of the whole opera, has provided a motif even for the main theme of
Tchaikovsky's Fifth symphony, wherein this quotation from Glinka produces an
obviously "heroic mythical" effect if only for the central position occupied by
the theme in the symphony:
Tchaikovsky:
Andante maestoso
96 Myth and Music
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On the other hand, Borodin's symphony in B minor (Bogatyr) which on the whole
must be taken as a hero-mythical symphony as we shall see later when examining
more closely the mythical in Slavonic music (see p. 158) contains many stylistic
features which have acquired a permanent hero-mythical connotation in the Russian
musical tradition. As one such feature may be mentioned the heavy unisonous
sound of the orchestra, which characterizes as well the most heroic passages in
Prokofiev's AlexanderNevsky or Fifth symphony:
Fifth Symphony
Alexander Nevsky
Crusaders in Pskov
Largo
or, for example, the return of the first theme in the first movement of Shostakovich's
Seventh symphony after a long crescendo, but now heightened to a true hero-
mythical absoluteness:
6.3.4. The magical
The magic-mythical musical style must be considered the third fundamental mode
of manifestation of the mythical seme. The magical here refers to that original
demonic-mythological outlook which Jaspers regarded as the most elementary
form of consciousness preceding those of the actual nature-mythical and psychic-
mythical attitude. 62 In magic the mythical knowledge is used to act and influence:
one endeavors to affect natural phenomena by means of an incantation or some
98 Myth and Music
fetish. From this tie between magic and myth one may also deduce the equivalent
musical seme. A similar structure and technique may be exploited in music, whereby
a sorcerer or shaman attempts to affect the external world. In this sense one may,
for example, consider Ravel's Bolero as "magic": there, too, a kind of shamanistic
technique is utilized, leading finally to an estatic state of mind. In contrast, the
great scene of the witches' Sabbath in Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust refers quite
explicitly to incantations. The whole colorful Berliozian orchestration and the
medieval Latin verses project a picture of primal magic communication. The magic-
mythical milieu is also alluded to in Honegger's oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bucher
whose bleak, dissonant harmonies built on fourths, along with chromaticism, medieval
melodies and neoclassical orchestration with dark and glowing yet at the same time
archaically clear-cut timbre, suggest the medieval world of superstition, persecution
and mysticism.
In romantic music one can especially in the area of harmonies distinguish certain
stylistic devices which had an obviously magic connotation in the musical context
of the time. One such element was the augmented triad and the particular tonal
potentials offerred by it. In the beginning of Liszt's Faust symphony the altos and
cellos immediately introduce a portrayal of a medieval prophet-magician with a
melody based on a broken augmented triad (this theme subsequently proved to be
"magical" also in the sense that, with its twelve tones it constitutes a series, which
has been interpreted as anticipating the coming dodecaphony):
Lento assai
Glinka has recognized the magic effect concealed in the whole tone scale while
representing in his Russian the capture of Ludmila and the creatures of Tsernomor's
magic realm just with a descending whole tone scale which intrudes as a tonally
foreign element upon the previously cited hero-epic atmosphere of the,wedding
scene:.63
Afterwards Rimsky-Korsakov exploited in his opera The Golden Cockerel various

enharmonic interpretations of just an augmented triad in order to express the
Cockerel's magical power. The highest tone B b of the triad D-F4F-B fr is interpreted
at times as a minor sixth added to the tonic chord of D major, and again as a third
A in F sharp major. The effect is not merely coloristic as in similar enharmonic
passages as, for example, in the coronation scene in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov,
but rather magical:
Trumpets
The third possibility for magic effects in romantic music has been the chromatic
alteration of chords, means which Wagner employs in Valkyrie and Siegfried when
depicting Bnmnhilde's falling asleep and Wotan's magical figure as the Wanderer:
100 Myth and Music
The same use of chromatically altered chords creates a magical effect also in the
Russian musical tradition as it does in the prologue to Rimsky-Korsakov's afore-
mentioned opera, wherein the astrologer, the magical seer, makes his entrance to
just such harmony. The selection of instruments in the orchestration, the strikes
of the bells against the chords of the French horns, further intensify the modulation
effect:
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t i ~~ i — i γ · y Ji^f f) V ~
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In light of all the examples cited in the foregoing, we can clearly distinguish three
relatively clear-cut types, or semes, of "the mythical" in the context of Western art
music from early romanticism to the beginning of the twentieth century. On the
other hand, the dependence of these mythical semes on the contexts of their
occurrence must be conceded. We dare not claim to have been able to separate
the universally significant units of musical discourse, even though we can observe
how the same mythical seme appears, after all, in surprisingly similar ways in the
musical styles of different composers and schools. Under no circumstances do we
insist that musical meaning would, generally speaking, always take shape in that way.
Jacques Chailley is quite right in reproaching such musical semantics wherein, for
example, the organa of the School of Notre Dame are said to reveal "Debussyan
traits" or Monteverdi is considered a forerunner of the serial school because chromatic
scales have been found in certain melodic phrases of Orfeus, or Liszt's melodic
phrases are directly paralleled with those of Schoenberg.6 4 Instead, we may affirm
that, whenever music is likened to myth in such a way that it begins to imitate and
reconstruct the mythical message with the stylistic procedures of music, the
permanence of certain mythical "figures" in the consciousness of Western culture also
causes a certain stability in the musical thematics manifesting them. Nevertheless, we do
not allege that these mythical semes appearing in musical lexemes would always he
the same, universal archetypes in man's unconscious. Some general model of heroic
life, i.e., the succession of functions in a mythical story can be taken as an invariable
archetype in a Jungian sense, but the semes observed in this chapter are completely
cultural entities and consequently dependent on the sign processes and symbolisms
of various cultural eras and their national-geographical manifestations. We may thus
notice how mythical semes and their combinations constantly vary in the course of
musical history. Yet in the following we are not going to present these mythical
semes in the order of their emergence in musical history, but only to propose their
paradigm. We shall see in the second part of the study, when examining the tonal
language of Liszt, Wagner, Slavonic music, Sibelius and Stravinsky, how these semes
are exploited and incorporated in the works of various composers.
We discerned in our survey of the reality of myth many "forms" of narration
akin to that of myth, as legend, saga and tale.6 5 Along with these genres we may also
distinguish musical stylistic traits which may fuse or join with the aforelisted mythical
features.
6.3.5. The fabulous
As the fourth mythical seme we introduce the fabulous (das Märchenhafte) style
in Western art music. As was observed in the preceding, the borderline between tale
and myth is hard to define absolutely. Very often the only difference is that in a
myth the life is presented in its full significance and measure and is related to
mythical communication like a ritual totally engaging man, while in a tale the
mythical grandeur is reduced to a mere miracle, the narration of a small-scale,
sentimental story.6 6
Thus in response to this demand for "the miraculous" and "the fabulous", musical
fabulousness, too, finds expression in small forms and sentimental effects which in
music create the atmosphere of a fairy tale. The fabulous quality has its own history
- as a fundamental work establishing the fabulous style one can cite Mozart's Magic
Flute, whose central position regarding the seme of the fabulous might be compared
with that of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony and the hero-mythical. Mozart's whole
opera, in fact, forms a repertory of fabulous effects beginning not the least with its
gallery of musical characters, from Papageno's amusing songs to the colorature
brilliance of the arias by the Queen of the Night and the exotic flavor brought by
Monostatos. The entrance of the dragon at the very beginning is in itself a fabulous
effect (as well as mythical),6 7 although the music is focused rather on the situation
of the persecuted hero. Musically one may consider fabulous also the scenes wherein
the animals of the forest assemble to listen to Tamino's flute playing or that in
which a magic Glockenspiel pacifies the attackers with its silvery sound. In fact,
ever since Mozart's Glockenspiel tunes, the timbre of the Glockenspiel or the bells
is one of the requisites of the fabulous style, which one may find in Tsernomor's
comical march in Glinka's Russian as well as in Strauss's Rosenkavalier. In Glinka's
102 Myth and Music
Tsernomor's march the fabulous impression is moreover strengthened by altered

mediant chords:
TT u 1Ty—D—t—D—·—IT—τ n—o—
.§_Jf\
χρ£^ f r *j —· V— n—K—B—]f— D ff— a
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One may draw a direct course from Glinka's musical fairyland to the oriental
variant of the fabulous in Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, to the fairy tale scenes
in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker and to Prokofiev's compositions with fairy tale subjects.
In the early period of romanticism in Germany the fabulous was an important
stylistic category not only in literature but also in music. In Mendelssohn's incidental
music to A Midsummer Night's Dream and in Weber's Oberon the fabulous quality
is conveyed by the light and airy orchestral figurations of the fairy music. In
Mendelssohn's Scherzo the flutes sketch with light parallel thirds in B flat major a
melody presenting the dance of the fairies; in the opening of the overture one has to
notice the woodwinds which harmonically prepare the "isotopy" of the tale for the
listener:
β £
η*
In Sibelius's symphonic poem En Saga we also find in some places that quality
which we call here the fabulous seme, although another mythical seme, that of the
balladic, actually prevails. Already the Swedish name En Saga refers particularly to
the Nordic Edda runes6 8 and therefore the dominant stylistic trait in the composition
is the balladic rather than the fabulous (Saga in another context even means a tale).
What then is specifically "fabulous" in Sibelius's En Saga? Fabulous features are
perhaps heard in the rising of the somber main theme played by the bassoon and
double bass from the whir of pizzicatos and arpeggios of the strings, as well as in the
archaic clumsiness of the main theme itself:
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m$&3£j M$
feiiprfff
^ϊ/ίΧ <*6ΧP:3if
One may also experience something fabulous in those parts of the development
where the same monotonous rhythmical pattern circulates in different instrumental
combinations with always new timbre as, for example, in the violas against the
organ point of the French horns and double basses and the pizzicatos of the cellos
and violins (partition, section F), or in the piccolos and woodwinds against the
pizzicatos of all of the strings (partition, section K). What also suggests the fabulous
is the fact that Sibelius's En Saga includes a scene of pursuit which, as we remarked
(see p. 56) formed one central function in the analysis of fairy tales by Vladimir
Propp 69 (see partition Q,9-T,13).
104 Myth and Music
6.3.6. Theballadic
In order to determine the balladic trait in music we must refer to the previously
quoted analysis of the narrative form called a saga or ballad (die Sage). The ballad,
dealing as it does with events in a prehistoric or early medieval familial society,
focuses on themes of succession to the throne, vengeance and struggles among the
clans.70 We may consequently assume that the balladic in the area of music also
would convey the rugged and somber atmosphere of some prehistoric event.
The composition form of the ballad, favored by the romanticists, is not necessarily
associated stylistically with the balladic quality which we are now scrutinizing. For
example, Chopin's Ballades for piano are mostly pure psychical dramas, stories about
dramatic events in the interior of man while Brahms in his Ballades op. 10 has
proceeded still further in this internal dimension, returning to those remote and
deep strata of the psyche which in fact already correspond to man's archaic, purely
psychic-mythical spheres. Actually, only Liszt provides his ballades with a content
and expression resembling those of the hero-mythical. We may therefore more
readily discover the balladic seme elsewhere than in the compositions which are
actually called ballades.
In Senta's ballad from Wagner's Flying Dutchman we find the balladic quality
in its genuine, musical expression. The balladic effect is created by open and bleak
figures of fifths and fourths in melodic line along with the simple strophic form:
Jo - ho · ho«! Jo . ho - ho . ho·! Ho - ho · hoe!
Traft ihr das Schiff im Me« - re an,

marcato
A balladic flavour is also contained in Siegfried's forging song from the first
act of Wagner's Siegfried with its austere monotony which is .expressed by the
downward moving contrapuntal sequence of the orchestra, the vocal exclamations
with fifths and fourths and the descending scale of natural G minor:
The my thical as seme and style in music 105
a l«'iii|»o(Animato.)
opriii . gen*? Zn Sprou mm schuf

ga^
Μι die »char .
1
. f<« Pracht.
Belebt. (Animate.) »«·· re».
^K
^
*+ *
^
The story of the Head in Glinka's Russian and Ludmila also has an undeniable
balladic character which is generated by the simple sequential and strophic structure
of the melody and by its tonal interrelations, as in a motion from G minor to D
minor, the minor variant of its dominant:
^ " ^ Ϊ* "v » -3
These illustrations already reveal the characteristic traits of the balladic: a rugged
narrative quality in the music as a whole, along with certain archaic features indicating
that the story alludes to the distant past. It is interesting to note that the balladic
seems in many cases to have been realized in G minor: one may think of Chopin's
Ballade in G minor, Brahms's Ballade in G minor op. 118, Senta's Ballad in Wagner's
opera (G minor), the scale of natural G minor in Siegfried's forging song and the
106 Myth and Music
story of the Head in Glinka's opera - that, too, in G minor! One might almost
infer that G minor would be a special tonality with a balladic connotation, if one
did not take into account a further example from symphonic music, namely the
main theme of the slow movement of Brahms's Fourth symphony, whose character
one has to consider balladic, hinting as it does of the legendary world of knights.
This is already revealed by the tonal ambiguity of the theme between C major and
E minor 71 and by the dynamic effect of the orchestration. The theme is first
heard "near" .in forte by French horn, bassoon, oboe and flute and tên "far",
played in pianissimo with the thirds by clarinets and pizzicato strings:
6.3.7. The legendary
Defining a musical style corresponding to the world of legend is already con-

siderably more difficult than in the aforementioned semes. It is characteristic of a
legend as narrative that it relates the life story of a saint, which often includes some
miracle.72 Even this definition would allow us to conclude that as a musical idiom
"the legendary" would, on the one hand, be akin to the fabulous, where "the
miraculous" also plays an essential role and, on the other, to the s?:;red, which
again would allude to a religious, sublime, intimate and naive quality on a musical
level. In Rimsky-Korsakov's opera A Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and
the Maiden Fewronia we find all the nuances of this legendary style beginning
with the melody of the maiden Fewronia, who extols loneliness amidst a forest:
Larghetto
The forest murmurs at the beginning of the opera do not, however, belong to the
same fabulous or nature-mythical isotopy as the forest scene and the birdsong in
Wagner's Siegfried. Rimsky-Korsakov's musical evocation of nature entails just that
much more chromatics and minor turns that the listener experiences this "forest"
from the viewpoint of a legend, Christian pantheism. A legendary quality manifests
itself in this opera on the one hand in a certain fabulous flavor when coloristic
harmonies and orchestration effects generating the atmosphere of a miracle are
exploited, as in the scene of Fewronia's death with triplet figures of woodwinds and
harps — or, on the other hand, in a sacred flavor in an orchestral interlude which
depicts the pilgrimage to the invisible city and where finally the motif of immortality
reflecting a "miracle" in a religious sense sounds in E major and B flat major with
fortissimo chords of the heavy wind instruments:
Moderate
σ ·
I*
Liszt's piano legends, whose programmatic content involves two scenes from the
life of St. Francis of Assisi, namely, Sermon for the Birds and Walking on Waters,
have, aside from musical impressionism and nature description, only a few stylistic
traits referring actually to legend, if one does not consider legendary the contrast
between an objective, depictive and pianistic virtuoso element and subjective,
recitative-like passages — which contrast, however, characterizes Liszt's piano com-
positions in general and not only his piano legends. Similarly, in Schumann's Fantasy,
in which are chrystallized some essential aspects of the aesthetics, not only of
Schumann, but romanticism as a whole, the section im Legendenton means a
transition from present to past, or a general reference to the past tense in musical
narration, rather than an actual manifestation of the legendary in the afore-estab-
108 Myth and Music
lished sense. Later, in the survey of the mythical in Slavonic music (see p. 166)
we shall further examine Dvorak's legends.
6.3.8. The sacred
The legendary seme is already very close to the sacred quality in music. The
sacred is one of the variations of the mythical in the area of music, whose importance
results from the intrinsic relationship of myths to religion — all myths namely include
as one fundamental contrast the distinction between the sacred and the profane, even
though in the manifold reality of myth these extremes, "the shameful and the holy,
the graceful and the raw, the fleshly and the spiritual, the tragic and the clownish"
as Bronislaw Malinowsky has said,73 constantly interwine and thus make myth a
phenomenon which exerts a singular attraction upon the human mind, be it civilized
and sophisticated or simple and untutored.
In music the sacred seme concerns just that sphere of the sacred which we have
already noticed in some examples joining with a.o. the nature-mythical and legendary
quality. As early as in Mozart's Magic Flute, the sacred sections are readily distin-
guishable from the fabulous ones in SarastroV arias and the priests' choruses. In
symphonic music the sacred "seme" actually dominates Bruckner's style, and his
great adagios are to be heard as dirges heightened to a sacred level - which we might
further interpret in the context of the mythical as perhaps a continuation and
idealized form of the hero-mythical and tragic musical thematics of Beethoven and
Wagner. The sacred quality appears in Bruckner's works as so all-pervading a
characteristic that it might equally well be exemplified by the theme of the adagio
of the Seventh symphony, which was intended to honor the memory of Wagner, or
by the main theme wavering in the spheres of eternity, played by the violas in the
opening of the same symphony, or in the solemnly sacred atmosphere of open fifths
in the Third symphony, no to mention several other examples. The main theme of
the Third symphony can, in fact, be regarded as a typical expression of the sacred
element in Bruckner's style. In this case the theme, based on a triad of the tonic in D
minor and played by a lonely trumpet against the strings' mystically rippling D minor
tonal field convey a particularly sacred effect which is further strengthened by its
execution in pianissimo and sostenuto:
Massig bewegt 1 _ -_.j

Λ
-TVH E=
gehalten
-r L J
.?
::
~"—i— =f= -n-—|y-4 —
—*»— =r=
In Liszt's works likewise the sacred seme appears in numerous forms and in
combination with many other elements, such as the pastoral (Harmonies poetiques
et rSligieuses) or even its opposite, the demonic seme.
In Liszt's Dante Symphony the contrast between the demonic and the sacred
element occurs in the transition from the demonic tone whirls at the end of
the first movement to the more sacred level of the second movement's Purgatorio.
These levels are bound together with a sound of austere and open fifths, free
of all coloristic overtones, which terminate the first movement of the Dante
Symphony, while the whole orchestral tutti proclaims the main theme: Lasciate
ogni speranza. At the beginning of the next movement the same empty sound
of fifths, but now a still and distant murmur, establishes the setting also in this
movement as sacred. Nevertheless, here the major third, F^ff played by the cellos,
sheds — along with a theme introduced by the oboe and thereafter by the English
horn — a gleam of hope to this passage between hell and paradise:
110 Myth and Music
• *
•J°-=?=:— T =
-—. Λ ik_. — A y. . ·. _y κ
Wagner's development ultimately encompassed a shift from the hero-mythical and

nature-mythical categories to the Christian sacred sphere in the musical mystery play,
Parsifal The pure and sublim? style of Wagner's Parsifal signifies one of the most
important expressions of the sacred seme in the Western music tradition and its
influence is readily perceivable on those composers who, after Parsifal, have ulilized
the sacred quality in their works.
6.3.9. The demonic
In Wagner's Parsifal the opposite pole of the sacred is the demonic, but in a
particular form blended with the magic and the virtually mystic. In Wagner the
demonic is manifested in a style based on the elements of chromaticism, chords of
diminished seventh and augmented triads — this is revealed, for example, in the music
of Klingsor's magic castle at the beginning of the second act of Parsifal:
The demonic is a stylistic category especially favored by the romanticists - it

is already discernible in the overemphasis on the idea of personality which romanticism
favored as its concept of genius. Goethe defined the demonic ultimately as
everything which is individual and separates one from the others;74 hence the
demonic was seen as opposed to all order and reason. Even in Kierkegaard's
philosophy, wherein the demonic was manifested by Mozart's Don Giovanni, the
demonic was one of the characteristics of an aesthetic personality, in contrast to
a religious type.75 Thus even Kierkegaard viewed the demonic as being opposed
to the sacred.
In the romantic era Mozart's works were recognized above all for their demonic
quality:76 Don Giovanni was performed without its concluding morality 77 and
of the piano concertos only the demonic D minor concerto was deemed worthy
of inclusion in the repertory of the great romantic piano virtuoso. The syncopated
rhythm and the D minor tonality which also was dominant in Don Giovanni, give
the entrance of the piano in the first movement a certain ominous (ahnungsvoll)
feeling which might well be considered a manifestation of the demonic (it is
symptomatic that even Charles Rosen speaks about the mythical quality of this
concerto, although in another sense than here):78
112 My th and Music
Allegro
!·*·*·*
In the musical idiom of the early romanticists, on the other hand, the atmosphere
created by the diminished seventh chords was associated with the demonic, as one
may hear in Weber's Freischütz, where this stylistic trait plays a central role.79
6.3.10. The fantastic
Very close to the demonic and also the fabulous quality is that musical stylistic
trait, which manifests itself as the fantastic. This feature refers to the miraculous
and in this sense to an unreal world as in a fairy tale, but the seme of the fantastic
moreover presupposes another subordinated seme, namely that ofetrange,*0 strange-
ness, which in its extreme form hints at the grotesque.
The fantastic seme is not easy to associate with any particular stylistic trait of
music, as with some theme or motif which might be characterized as "fantastic".
The reason is that, as in a literary narration, so also in music the fantastic results
often just from a succession of different elements opposed to each other in the
syntagma of the work. In fantastic narration one may be directly transferred
from, let us say, a sacred isotopy, to a grotesque one and further to a tragic,
fabulous, ironic etc. It is this sudden and astonishing transition from one mood
or atmosphere to another, frequently oscillating from one opposition to another,
which also in musical discourse generates the fantastic, adventurous, strange and
unreal mood characteristic of the fantastic category.
It is just in this respect that Berlioz's Fantastic symphony must be included in
this genre which approximates the mythical. Although the work is supported by
a single theme, idee fixe, its transformations are, however, so unexpected and varied
as they reflect the adventures of the artist hero in the symphony that their totality
is truly "fantastic" in the previously established sense. The demonic quality
approaches the fantastic in that, as the antithesis of the commonplace and the usual,
the fantastic style requires its strongest contrasts and finally a transition to an
irrational sphere.
. t -, . _ ,,.—-j. , %·—p T
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P Q A
espr. */
n-H»u ff t |Γ[ί i' r r J K d i r e r (i

One may consider Richard Strauss's 7177 Eulenspiegel as a pure example of the
fantastic quality. Nevertheless, where Berlioz fuses the pastoral and the fantastic
in the second movement of the symphony, Strauss combines the fantastic with the
fabulous towards the end of his symphonic poem. We may also regard the fantastic
quality as an intrinsic part of Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman, a view justified by the
literary basis of the composition. E. T. A. Hoffmann must, after all, be considered
one of the most important interpreters of the fantastic in romantic literature (as is
evidenced by such novels as Kater Mur, where the above presented structural device
of the fantastic, namely the succession of contrasting sections is exploited to a large
extent).8'
6.3.11. The mystic
It is not hard to proceed from the fantastic and the demonic to the mystic seme
which is akin to the magic and the sacred. Myths and mysticism seem apparently to
be closely related but at least from the viewpoint of the philosophy of myth they
must be separated from each other. Both Karl Jaspers and Nietzsche assume the
same standpoint: that mysticism means a decline of the genuine and original mythical
quality, lapsing from a direct connection with various aspects of life into mere secret
ceremonies and occultism.82 In this sense Jaspers considers for instance the
theosophic worldview as a derivative of a nature-mythical outlook and not as a
modernized form of an original nature-mythical attitude. 83 In Scriabin's music this
114 My th and Music
mystical quality assumes the position of the dominating seme on a musical level. In
the compositions of Scriabin's middle period this mysticism is still fused with the
artistic movements of the era, mostly with symbolism, but in the last piano sonatas
and the short fragments of the great mystery this mystical style has already grown
into so individual a form of expression, or "idiolect" as it is linguistically called,
that even the communicability of music becomes questionable.84 In Scriabin's
Fifth piano sonata this mystic-symbolistic quality prevails stylistically throughout
the whole work. At the very beginning the succession of extreme contrasts produces
a mystic effect. The low trills and rushing scales depict an evocation of mystic forces
according to the program written by the composer himself,8 5 while the "languido"
passage which follows immediately expresses a timeless. state of mind in mystic
contemplation:
Allegro. Impetuoso. Con stravaganza

fr""
Languido
dolcissimo poch.
con sordino
Janacek's opera The Makropoulos Case moves — with regard to its plot — on
the level of the mystic, inasmuch as the story involves a supernatural being, the
ageless Emilia Marty, who lives among the ordinary people. Also on the musical
level the mystical nature of this personage is depicted in an impressive manner,
perhaps most effectively in Emilia Marty's death, which is the climax of the whole
opera:.86
Adagio
doice
m& ^ ^ ί ^G-1
The category of mysticism can be taken as a rather recent phenomenon - in fact

it is only in the late romantic period in which we may distinguish this seme along
with the symbolistic movement in the musical area. The mystic was then used to
supplement the types created by romanticism, such as the magic and the demonic.
6.3.12. The exotic
In Scriabin's case and those of many other symbolists, mysticism was accompanied
by an interest in exotic topics, especially in oriental philosophy. Yet the category
of exoticism is considerably earlier in Western thought. One may notice as early as
in the eighteenth century a certain interest in the exotic when Rousseau, Montesqieu
and other philosophers of the Enlightenment utilized knowledge about distant and
foreign cultures in order to shape a sort of anthropological consciousness. One may
regard as manifestations of this spirit Rameaifs opera Les Indes galantes or Mozart's
imitations of the Janizary music in The Abduction from the Seraglio. However,
we are now more concerned with the problem of how the seme of the exotic is
related to that of the mythical than with musical exoticism as a mere compositional
effect. The Russian school associated the exotic music style mostly with the fabulous
or hero-mythical. The Polovtsian scenes reconstructed by Borodin determine the
musical exoticism as a contrast to the hero-mythical style. With these two musical
semes Borodin depicts a conflict between two peoples which, moreover, establishes
the modality of the action of the mythical hero. In Glinka's works the exotic is
combined with the fabulous as in Rimsky-Korsakov's operas, as was already noted
above (see p. 102). Consider in this sense, for example, the great scene with chorus
in the last act of The Golden Cockerel and the gradually accelerating oriental dance
of KingDodon.
116 Myth and Music
In the music of the twentieth century many composers have experimented with
exotic devices in their music. Thus, for example, in the fourth movement of Bartok's
Im Freien, primarily in its dense second intervals placed in the middle register of the
piano, one may note a reference to an articulation of tonal continuum according to
some exotic musical culture which uses a tuning system and scales different from
the Western ones. Similar effects might be observed elsewhere in Bartok's works
also, as in the "Mandarin motif from the orchestral suite The Miraculous Mandarin:
Im Freien (IV):
. Lento, J.n-tt
The Miraculous Mandarin (the entrance of the mandarin):

Maestoso
Perhaps one of the most distinguished exponents of the exotic style in modern
music is Olivier Messiaen, who builds whole symphonies, such as Turangalila Sym-
phony, or series of piano pieces, among them Oiseaux exotiques, on musical
exoticism. Messiaen is also a noteworthy case in that he connects this exotic
quality closely to a certain mythical outlook: 87 the exotic exists there to express
the mythical. Messiaen has especially examined the coloristic potentials of the scales
— in Turangalila symphony he utilizes a modal technique of Indian music, which,
however, is combined with a Western, primarily Wagnerian aesthetics of myth in
that more precise meaning that these Messiaen's modes may also be considered in
the nature of leitmotifs, 88 as the following "Mode of Joy" from Turangalila
Symphony:
Viol.
Consequently in Messiaen's works two musical cultures converge in a context of

mythical communication with the exotic character of the elements of a foreign
culture acquiring a mythical connotation in the framework of Western tradition.
6.3.13. The primitivistic
Musical primitivism constitutes a special stylistic device, wherein the traits of

so-called primitive music are imitated with the stylistic procedures of Western
art music. A melody may thus be constructed upon a narrow range of tones
or upon a special scale typical of a given primitive music culture or a ceaseless
repetition of a simple motif. Rhythm again may refer to a dance in a primitive
ritual, its syncopations, additive rhythms or monotonous ostinato patterns. On
just such rhythmical effects is based the dance of the Evil Spirits depicting an
inimical god in Prokofiev's Scythian Suite which, on the other hand, represents the
typical return to the elementary, primitive and aggressive, which was in vogue in the
Russia of the early twentieth century as a reaction from overrefined symbolism:89
118 Myth and Music
A similar primitivistic seme in the sense of rhythmic roughness and barbaric

aggressiveness may be seen in Bartok's Allegro barbaro and even earlier in the scherzo
movement of Sibelius's First symphony, which could be interpreted as a primitivistic
variant of a robust Viennese-classical scherzo as in the symphonies of Beethoven or
Bruckner: ^ VI.
^ i^ Ϊ
Vcl.
pizz.
The primitivistic style occurs as the basic musical language in Stravinsky's fauvistic
ballets. In Sacre du Printemps as well as in the aforecited examples, the primitivistic
manifests itself above all on the rhythmic level as a special technique of rhythmic
"cells", as Pierre Boulez has shown in his analysis.90 In Stravinsky's Les Noces,
which serves as a reconstruction of an ancient Russian wedding ritual, this prim-
itivism on a rhythmical level is further strengthened by the archaic character of
the melodic elements. In the following example from the second scene in Les
Noces, "chez le marie"", the melody keeps strictly to the same pitch, around the
tonal center of D, while the pianos repeat the same rhythmic ostinato figure:
Ten.
Already in Les Noces Stravinsky uses that technique of tonal organization which
affords possibilities especially for primitivistic melodic construction: any tone of
the scale may function as the tonal center according to which the other tones
are arranged. This technique is exploited for example by the Mexican composer
Carlos Chavez in his Sinfonia India wherein the elements of ancient Aztec music
are used as a primitivistic device. Likewise in this work we note the idea of
reconstruction as the principal purpose of a composition; this example also
reveals Stravinsky's importance for the composers of the "new world", Affording
them models how to incorporate the original elements of primitive music of this
continent into the Western tonal language:91
Vivo J -176(^-352)
gEjFJ^rJär.—„| .!=
Horn
Strings
f tenuto
^
-XJ-
g^/^3
Timp.^ Indian drum
120 Myth and Music
Allegretto cantabile
J -80
• dS
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3 j
Λ -—9 1 M1
r 1' ι 3i I — .J 1_^
r r—
Cl· cantando
\
L/ ι >, ο
XL FJΡ Ρl-i Τ
p*\ t P
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V\7 ·4 ϊ • 1
' J
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Tenor drum (snares off)
* J \ πJ ΓΊ J J J
6.3.14. The national-musical

Musical primitivism has often been one aspect of the influence of original folk
music on the area of art music, a relationship which we examined above. However,
we are using the name "national-musical" here in order to distinguish this seme from
the preceding seme of primitivism. Both the national-musical and the primitivistic
refer to the use of folk music in art music but from different viewpoints. In
primitivism the aim is to utilize folk music as a reference to some archaic, prehistoric
atmosphere, while the national-musical, on the other hand, approximates the quality
of the hero-mythical, as when the life of a national hero is mythologized and put in
a mythical light. Primitivism also is akin to the mythical but perhaps more related
to the nature-mythical and the magic-mythical or the seme reflecting the primal
mythological worldview. The seme of the national-musical is met in its most obvious
form in the romantic music as a product of the emergence of the national-musical
consciousness.92 Some features of the original folk music are then, as it were,
"idealized" and constituted to serve as a national style of art music. Such idealization
is exemplified by the special music genre, "dumka", utilized i.a. by Dvorak.
The origins of Dvorak's dumka may perhaps be seen in the Ukrainian "dumka"
which means an assembly of peasants where heroic deeds of the past are remembered
with stories, verses and songs.93 In Dvorak's imagination different dumka melodies
were gradually chrystallized into a musical form in which the national-musical, the
Slavonic character, found expression in the alteration of pensive and melancholy
with rapid, dance-like and effervescent passages. Such variations in mood revealed
the contrasts in the Slavonic character between expressions of gloom and over-
whelming joy. 94 Dvor"ak wrote dumkas for a variety of instrumental settings. The
six dumkas of Pianotrio op. 90 indicate that perhaps their musical models were
Moniuszko's dumka or the tempo changes between adagio and allegretto in the
Serbian folk songs,95 but no thematic or tonal ties exists between them. Rather,
the connecting thread is the seme of the national-musical, in this case the reflection
of the Slavonic spirit in an idealized form. In the first dumka the maestoso passages
in E minor and the light dance-like rhythms in E major alternate:
Lento maestoso J: se
Violine
Violoncell =1=
Lento ^maestoso J: 5β
Pianoforte
Allegro quasi doppio movimento

l-t-t^r i 0 L ,i
Allegro quasi doppio movimento
ΐώι
Owing to Dvorak's manner of idealizing and stylizing the folk music elements
especially those of dances (which procedures allow Dvorak to give them a monumental
or heroic character, as Antonin Sychra has remarked), 96 it is the national-musical
seme which becomes the prevailing styKotic device in many of his compositions. In
a somewhat similar way one may also characterize Sibelius's attitude to folk music
a.o. in his Kullervo Symphony. In the opening of the third movement a dance-like
tune is heard depicting Kullervo, the protagonist of the heroic myth, on a journey
to pay taxes. Its actual folk musical origin is as difficult to discover as for Dvorak's
dances. In both cases the purpose of the composer is to stylize a folk-dance and to
convey the basic atmosphere characteristic of it. 97 As far as Sibelius is concerned,
the five-part trepak rhythms, the assigning of the melody solely to the violins as if it
were a real dance tune played by a folk musician, and further the triangle depicting
perhaps sleigh bells together create a musical atmosphere expressing the "Karelian"
122 Myth and Music
local color:
Allegro vivace
hfr-fr=
n
\ * r. £1 ·
In the same category of idealization and stylization of folk music must be included
the "Russian" color of Glinka's opera Ivan Susanin, where characteristics of folk
music and folk song also are used to produce a certain national-patriotic effect in the
context of art music.98 The very subject of this work, which originated Russian epic-
romantic opera, is hero-mythical: a war between two nations and the sacrificing of
the hero for his people also demands from music a certain epic-heroic style, one
element of which appropriately is the transformation of a folk song into a national-
musical stylistic feature. When examining the hero-mythical seme reference was
made to the farewell scene of the first act in this opera, whose polyphonic texture
reflects the polyphonic traditions of Russian folk music. Also in the opening chorus
of the peasants the melody and song technique of an original folk song are
reconstructed in a form of a pastoral idyll. It is this national-musical feature which
makes it the natural opening of this national heroic-tragic opera:
Allegro. J=e« Xop

1^». PyccKM BOH M
χ.ρ .a<ni«i-ll ^ AM uo . «r Pyc

φ« Μ (CD««!«·· Β 1CU
. Λ Bj . t» »<ι»τ .
i
iO^
6.3.15. The pastoral
The recollection of stormy struggles in the calm and quiet of pastoral life was
considered one essential episode of heroic life by Liszt in his program d'apres
Lamartine to the symphonic poem Les Preludes. According to this program, a hero-
mythical musical narration had to contain also pastoral moods, which Liszt created
by using primarily the elements of a similar pastoral style as in Beethoven's sym-
phonies. In reality, already in Beethoven's Fifth symphony the pastoral is situated
in a hero-mythical context if one recalls some variants of the main theme in the
slow movement, namely those wherein the theme shows itself in an early romantic
pastoral milieu, as in the following section:
in the Allegretto pastorale section of Liszt's Les Preludes the use of wind
instruments, i.e., horn, oboe and clarinet along with a smooth 6/8 rhythm, employ
the same musical devices already found in Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth (pastoral)
symphony in order to express rustic and idyllic atmosphere:
124 My th and Music
French horn Clarinet
unpoco marcato
On the other hand, the pastoral quality is not necessarily associated only with
hero-mythical narration in music, but is also used as a stylistic trait subordinated
to the seme of the nature-mythical. For example, in Wagner's Nibelungen tetralogy
the pastoral merges into a nature-mythical isotopy, as at the beginning of Rheingold
in the song of the Rhine maidens, the melodic structure of which contains features
similar to those in Mendelssohn's early romantic style. The descending pentatonic
scale might, moreover, be interpreted as a primitivistic effect combined with the
pastoral. This song of the Rhine maidens and later also that of the bird in Siegfried's
scene in the murmuring forest is, namely, based on a similar pentatonic scale which
is common, for example, in Indian music, as Raoul d'Harcourt has observed." In
Wagner's Rheingold the song of the Rhine maidens at any rate soon acquires a more
narrative character while the melody modulates to C minor — the first minor
harmony in the whole tetralogy:
gjg^
In all these cases the common features of the musical interpretation of the pastoral
appear to be a flexible, three-part, preferably 6/8 rhythm as well as the pastoral
connotation of the timbre produced by the wind instruments used as soloists. In
these forms the pastoral seme seems consequently to be relatively independent of
the development of tonal language. These same means are also utilized by Milhaud
(for ex. in Suite provencale and Piano sonata, composed in 1916) and by Stravinsky
in his Oedipus Rex to realize the pastoral atmosphere.
6.3.16. The gestural
In his Essay on Wagner, Theodor Adorno considers the gestural as one of the most
original forms of expressions in all music. 100 However, in Western art music this
primal gestural character is spiritualized to an expression which nevertheless does
not prevent the gestural from functioning as a counterbalance to the actual musical
logic, somewhat as agitators let gestures replace the discursive progression of thoughts.
According to Adorno, great music always strives to separate these two elements,
but just the opposite is true in the Wagnerian leitmotif technique. 101 While observing
Wagner's leitmotifs one notes that many of them are associated with concrete action
and characters on the stage and are musically shaped by this gestural reality. One
need only recall such motifs as the clumsy and heavy motif of the giants, the horn-
call motif of Siegfried, or Siegmund's theme in the beginning of Valkyrie, derived
from Wotan's motif.
But on the other hand does the transfer of such a gestural quality to the area
of abstract music, for example to the thematics of a symphonic poem or even of a
symphony, necessarily result in the weakening of the musical logic? Would not, on
the contrary, a certain gestural quality internalized in the structures of symphonic
thought add new expressive power and content provided, of course, that the gestural
element is held within the limits of the musical form? The thematic substance in
Liszt's many compositions may be interpreted as a form of refined gestural quality,
even if we consider only one kind of theme, the descending, syncopated scale
passages so typical of Liszt, which have in common a certain lamento flavor as it is
revealed by the following themes:
Piano Sonata in B minor
Lento assai
t
P sotto voce
Vattee d'Obermann
Lento assai
25 * π ff ^—Λ ^
Τη ι ——> ^— r^-s --^,
ί Λ
9
* J t fl
^Ρ
IΓ
Λ * 1
" ft Λ
V* Λ
*· ·
quasi Cello ="

espr.
126 My th and Music
Dante Symphony
Nes - sun mag-gior do - lo - re

J
J tJ. J
Engl.horn <*press. molto
Die Ideale
Fr. horn
Ρ
μμ
dolente •ί
The symphonic form also is capable of incorporating certain gestural elements
which only intensify and emphasize the internal coherence of a symphony. This
happens, for example, in the First symphony by Sibelius, which opens with a
descending melody on the clarinet, likened by Ilmari Krohn to the lament of a rune-
singer.102 The descending profile of the melody - a typical pattern even in the
most primitive folk music 103 — along with certain tonal interrelations such as the
Dorian sixth near the end of the melody, really alludes to an archaic context.
Although one might, on the other hand, see Tchaikovsky's influence in this elegiac
melody, it does not affect its fundamentally gestural nature, but only places it on a
musically more "spiritual" and abstract level:
nnei _^-
0 <| ι -· *=i*— E
$J —p—Γ—
t —ιΙ-ί
—^~~f1 Γ 1^t^^l
· ^—
—r~l·-« ΤΙJ Jι Jι =3=r— 1
*=H^ "!/
ί · L—^
—^ —
,— __
: —^—
^, _4T —K-
ft J. J. " K -r. " N ^--J— fc E _
Thus in art music "the gestural" quality means a transition from the concrete,
physiologically perceivable elements to the purely spiritual structures of muaical
thought, an intermediate stage between the structural-anthropological poles of nature
and culture, but now realized on a musical level.1 ° 4
6.3.17. The sublime
Next we shall observe a seme which, in a certain sense, is the antithesis of the
gestural illustrated by the aforementioned examples, which have lamentation or
distress as their musical gesture, namely a seme of the sublime, das Erhabene. It is
experienced as a feeling of exaltation and amazement tinged with respect. 105 The
sublime is introduced to the aesthetics of myth by the mythical consciousness when
it allows sublime phenomena, such as actions, characters or events in nature to be
elevated to mythical grandeur. We have cited this elevation in speaking about the
sacred aspect of myths and the particular feeling of solemnity which are expressed
in the area of art just by the category of the sublime.
How does this seme manifest itself as a stylistic trait in music? The sublime may
be a general seme characterizing the whole musical texture, but it may also occur as
a clearly restricted stylistic device, placed at some point in a composition. Such a
sublime effect is undeniably produced when the Freude theme in Beethoven's Ninth
symphony is heard for the first time, played pianissimo by the strings after the
declamatory recitative of the bass voice. One cannot discover in this manifestation
of the sublime any trace of the gestural in the Adornian, concrete sense, but the
sublime is due to just the unexpected abatement of the orchestra and the feeling of
humble yet sublime astonishment caused by it. In a somewhat similar way the
sublime seme is realized, for example, in the finale of Brahms's First symphony with
the outpouiing of the singing cantilena theme. The sublime may also result from
some special harmonic or melodic element. In Liszt's symphonic poem Die Ideale,
whose program, a poem written by Schiller, connects it with German neoclassicism,
the ideals are elevated at the end of the work to a definitive apotheosis with a
surprising new harmonization using the major mediant of F major, an A major tonic
chord which gives the theme a certain decisive and absolute quality:
128 Myth and Music
On the other hand, the main theme in Liszt's Die Ideale may be considered on the
whole as evidence of how the effect of the sublime may emerge on a rhythmical
level. This theme acquires special breadth from the fact that the measure is
surprisingly broadened in the middle of the phrase from a 4/4 measure to that of 3/2
which intrudes into the smooth motion of the double measure causing a momentary
state of rhythmical unbalance, and it is just this breaking of the regular progression
which results in the effect of the sublime:
MM^
»ί-J l '
The convergence of sublimity with mythicism — both nature- anu hero-mythical

will be abundantly illustrated by later examples from Wagner.
6.3.18. The tragic
The tragic style is historically related to the birth of the art form of tragedy, but
we may nevertheless ask, as did A. Lesky in his study of Greek tragedy, whether the
tragic emerges only connected with the tragedy or whether we can observe man-
ifestations of the tragic even earlier than and beyond the tragedy. 106 Then one may
naturally recall the tragic elements already contained in heroic legends - the contrast
between the hero's splendid deeds and the tragic destruction and death looming
beyond them. 1 ° 7 In this internal tension of the heroic epics one may see the tragic
growing from the hero's existential situation, which might be defined as "being for
death" (Sein zum Tod).108
On the other hand, one must keep in mind how Goethe defined the tragic as an
irreconcilable conflict, from which the tragic disappears as soon as a reconciliation
is effected or has become possible.1 ° 9 In this case it would seem that the tragic and
the mythical are incompatible. If we accept the Le'vi-Straussian definition of a myth
and regard myth as a solution and mediation of a contradiction engaging man'"
thoughts, this already would seem to preclude the possibility of speaking about a
tragic myth. Myth, after all, is a reconstruction of a conflict destroying the tragic.
Obviously this incompatibility is due to the fact that one does not realize on what
level the mediation of the contradiction is placed. 11 ° The mediation effectuated by

myth can be explained as a psychological state of catharsis experienced by the
receiver, or the listener to the myth, and which results from the destruction of the
hero in myth. The mediation is not necessarily included in the narration of the
mythical story but must be discovered in the process of receiving and "decoding"
the myth.
In some cases the tragic appears in music - as do the other aesthetic categories,
like the sublime - as an atmosphere dominating the basic character of the com-
position, which might be illustrated by the tonal language of Schubert's Unfinished
Symphony as well as whole parts of Mahler's symphonies. 111 However, closer to
the mythical are those expressions of the tragic in music wherein the contrasting
elements of a tragic heroic legend - the splendor and destruction and the twists of
fate between them - are worked into the music as its structural properties. In this
sense one has to conceive the famous "turn to the tragic" in Wagner's Nibelungen
tetralogy in shifting from the second act of Siegfried to the third or from the end of
Siegfried with Briinnhilde's awakening to the Norn scene at the beginning of
Götterdämmerung. These tragic phenomena become apparent when the motif of
Siegfried is compared with the same motif in the brief prelude to Götterdämmerung.
The dissimilarity consists of, besides the tonal change from E minor to E flat minor
— consequently to a tonality with many flats, which in itself generates a darkening
effect in timbre — above all the difference in orchestration. As we know, the opening
of Götterdämmerung utilizes that düstere Abblendung112 of the orchestra, which
imparts a tragic flavor to this concluding part of the tetralogy. This change in timbre
is clearly evident when the motifs of the end of Siegfried and of the opening of the
Götterdämmerung are placed side by side.
The tragic may thus be conveyed musically as a contrast between two timbres and
harmonies, but it may also be expressed in the context of a sonata form in the tonal
and thematic relations among its various sections. This happens, for example, in
Beethoven's Piano sonata in C minor op. I l l , when the closing theme of the first
movement's exposition returns in recapitulation in minor tonality (C minor) imparting
to this theme a tragic quality, which is further stressed by the fact that the same
theme concluded the exposition in a triumphant and optimistic mood:
Allegro con brio ed appassionata
PP!
(,.3!
PART TWO
7. Introduction: the mythical in Liszt and Slavonic music
7.1. The mythico-musical narration in Liszt's symphonic poems
7.1.1. The mythical background of program music in romanticism
In the foregoing we have established Liszt's symphonic poem and Wagner's Ge-
somtkunstwerk as two important "models" by which to gauge the interrelationship
of myth and music in romantic culture. On a concrete musico-historical level one may
recognize the very close interaction between these two composers, particularly during
Liszt's years in Weimar 1848-1861 when they frequently met each other and
developed their "speciality" to its definitive form:1 Wagner a mythical opera based
on leitmotif technique and Liszt again a symphonic poem wherein the musical
narration itself was articulated according to that of myth. As to the structural
relations between myth and music, there are considerable differences between these
composers, but on the level of musical manifestation mutual influences are readily
found. Jacques Chailley2 and Humphrey Searle,3 among others, have sought
prototypes of the Tristan chord just in Liszt's works and found several traces of
a perhaps direct influence. While thinking of the afore-presented mythical semes
we might in a generalizing fashion observe that Liszt influenced Wagner particularly
in connection with the stylistic categories of the magical and the demonic,
i.e., traces of the Liszt style emerge in those sections of Wagner's works with these
semes prevailing. The descending figure of the broken augmented triads in the main
theme of Liszt's Faust Symphony may have served as model for Wagner in Valkyrie
and Siegfried insofar as the musical portrayal of Wotan's magic properties is concerned
- one may think, for example, of the motif of sleep at the end of Valkyrie4 or that
of Wo tan as the magic prophet, Wanderer, in Siegfried or finally of the motifs of
the Norn s in the prologue to Götterdämmerung. In all these cases the mediant
chord progressions, augmented triads and chromaticism typical of Liszt, as well,
mainly create the magic-mythical flavor - like in the Tristan chord wherein Liszt's
"demonic" quality is transformed, as one might imagine, to project the supernatural
force of the love of Tristan and Isolde. Furthermore, Wagner may have quoted the
following bars from Liszt's Orpheus in order to give a musical depiction of Wanderer's
132 Myth and Music
dignity:
Liszt:
Horn, Strings
Wagner :Siegfried, Act I, second scene:
Moderate ed un poco maestoso
3ΞΞί
Harp
F
F
^
The similarities between these two passages are obvious in orchestration as well
as in musical thematics. Here, however, we are more concerned with the problem of
how Liszt found his own solution to the problematics of myth and the mythical
engaging so many romantic artists. In the context of this study we might place
most of Liszt's symphonic poems primarily into the hero-mythical category — most
often their plot deals with some romantic mythical hero and his fortunes.5 Never-
theless, it is typical of Liszt that he elevates these mythical figures, the Prometheuses,
the Tassos, the Fausts and the Hamlets, to a sort of higher degree of abstraction and
spirituality and allows these personalities to symbolize some universally human idea.
Prometheus embodied the idea of defiant endeavors and developments of humanity,
Tasso the conflicts in an artist's destiny, Faust the contradiction between magic-
demonical knowledge and redeeming love etc. From this it was but a short step to
the phase wherein the mythical hero disappears completely and the mere idea remains
as it does in Liszt's last symphonic poem Die Ideale. These heroic figures emerging
and acting in Liszt's music do not fade, however, into simple abstract allegories - he
manages to avoid this with his technique of musical narration, which we shall now
scrutinize more closely.
Previously, Liszt's symphonic poem was inserted in our paradigm of trans-
formations of interaction between myth and music, when Liszt represented the case
wherein mythical text had disappeared from the side of music and music alone was
assigned the task of manifesting an immanent mythical structure. Thus we hy-
pothesized that music would be articulated according to the functions of myth,
leaving the musical counterpart of these functions without a more precise definition.
In considering the afore-presented model as a whole (see page 31) one might say
that a mythical function could correspond to a musical lexeme, whose length could
In induction: the mythical in Liszt and Slavonic Music 133
vary from an entire part of a composition to a single musical phrase or motif. In

Liszt's symphonic poem the mythical functions, like the hero's birth, youth, difficult
task, lack, means, struggle, pursuit, victory, return etc., all are closely related to the
concept of musical theme.
Nevertheless, musical themes as such would not yet serve as sufficient counterparts
for mythical functions because for this purpose his symphonic poems contain all too
few themes, ordinarily from one to five. Instead, the transformations of these few
and distinctly discernible themes along a composition, their appearances in always hew
orchestral colors and harmonic modulations depict extraordinarily well the mythical
functions on the musical level. True, one might remark that this alone would not
be enough to distinguish Liszt's specific character compared with Wagner: in Wagner,
too, mythical functions are not represented by individual themes but rather by
musical lexemes composed of theme complexes which sometimes achieve the
dimensions of symphonic development. On the other hand, it was Liszt's idea - or
actually Berlioz's - to identify the theme with a mythical hero. Then the variations
on a single theme reflected the vicissitudes of life and moods of the hero in the
various sections of the composition.6 True, Wagner uses almost the same kind of
technique when relating different leitmotifs with one another: many of the leit-
motifs can be shown to be related or even direct derivations, but in most cases a
variant of some leitmotif is already another leitmotif, which has a different semantic
function than the motif from which it is derived. Generally speaking, however,
a leitmotif always preserves the same basic denotation: Siegfried's leitmotif is the
same one when he is anticipated in Briinnhilde's declaration in the second act of
Valkyrie or in Siegfried's story about his reflection in the waters of the brook at
the beginning of Siegfried or finally in Siegfried's funeral march in Götterdämmerung.
One may say that in Wagner a leitmotif can refer to a function of myth when it
emerges in various contexts as a reminiscence or a prediction, but that on very rare
occasions is it able to serve alone as a counterpart of functions in the course of the
composition (being moreover supported by other sign systems). In Liszt, on the
contrary, it is precisely the various transformations, modulations and orchestrations
of the same themes and their succession which express the chain of mythical
functions on a musical level.
In his essay on Berlioz's Harold Symphony,7 written in 1855 - consequently
during the period of composing his symphonic poems - Liszt establishes also from a
theoretical viewpoint his conception about the musical form of a symphonic,
programmatic poem. In this essay Liszt starts from a comparison between the
ancient epic — which means Homer — and the modern epic8 alluding to that which
we already above called a special "mythology" of romanticism, whose heroes are
personages taken from literature, such as Faust, Dante, Tasso etc.
The ancient epic was characterized, according to Liszt, by a hero functioning in
134 My th and Music
the foreground, whose character manifests itself in actions and speech while a certain
kind of internalization is, in Liszt's opinion, peculiar to the modern epic: action
and external events lose their importance, the secondary personages or the number
of characters in general melt into one. The miraculous is replaced by the fantastic:
"Entirely detached from the laws of probability and transformed, the action acquires
a symbolic shimmer, a mythical basis."9
In practice, this view meant that the subject of a poem should not so much be the
hero's deeds but rather the inner feelings of his mind. 10 This task, according to
Liszt was fulfilled in a particularly effective manner by music, but not just any music.
In Liszt's view the music drama was incapable of portraying these inner states of
mind, as was true also of the symphony which was too abstract for such a purpose.11
Instead, Liszt found the solution in a musical form wherein the hero was portrayed
— as he was by Berlioz — by a music theme which appears in the various sections of
a composition with different colorations expressing in that way the atmosphere
dominating each passage. Thus music would depict not only the absence or presence
of a hero, but also with modulations, rhythmic changes and harmonies express all
his emotions.12 These ideas make it rather obvious that Liszt himself considered
the specific purpose of the symphonic poem to manifest just the functions of a given
subject,13 "a poetic idea", or, as we might interpret here, the functions of myth.
To be able to realize this representative relation Liszt felt that he needed "programs"
to connect the levels of myth and music. On the other hand, there may be reason
to emphasize that these programs, or hermeneu tics,14 which became so common
in later romanticism, cannot be regarded in a strict sense as descriptions of a musical
structure, but rather as verbalizations of the mythical content employing the musical
sign system as its "signifier".
Thus such "classical" programs as the one by Liszt for Les Eludes or that by
Baudelaire for the prelude to Wagner's Lohengrin1* are not literary descriptions of
musical discourse in the true sense but depictions of a mythical system - in this case
the mythology of romanticism. The task of a program was only to reinforce this
relationship between a mythical system and its various manifestations: music, litera-
ture or painting. This explains why later neoclassical aesthetics which tried to
eliminate all content from music and to reduce it to the status of mere "signifier",
held as its primary preoccupation the destruction of the mythology of romanticism.16
The programs created by romanticism were shown to be ridiculous by having them
describe musical discourse without taking into account the mythical structure in the
background.
In fact there was conflict between the two ways of listening to music: if a
romanticist listened to music relating it to that which Liszt called "a poetical idea"17
then a neoclassicist on the other hand heard music according to the theory of
Tönend bewegte Formen, as a simple play of tonal figures incapable of expressing
Introduction: the mythical in Liszt and Slavonic music 135
anything. From the viewpoint of this latter way of listening it was evident that no
meaningful poetic program was needed, because meaning no longer existed in the
sense of romanticism.
In Liszt's symphonic poems a text or "program" depicting mythical content is
not, however, completely unambiguous in its relation to music. A literary program
is connected with music in four principal ways:
1) The program is placed at the beginning of the work, outside the composition itself,
to be read before it. This happens in most cases, as in Les Preludes but also with
compositions whose titles refer to some mythical figure, which Liszt felt represented
a sort of "cultural unit" in the consciousness of music listeners. Such is the case, for
example, when a symphonic poem deals with such personages as Orpheus, Prometheus,
Hamlet or Tasso.
2) The program is divided into parts which emerge in the score between sections or
simultaneously with the music in the course of the musical narration. This type is
illustrated by Liszt's last symphonic poem Die Ideale whose program is formed by
Schiller's poem of the same title. The poetic text divides the music itself into
segments by indicating changes of "functions" therein. Sometimes the intervening
fragments of the poem have their own titles, which may be said to characterize the
musical passages following them, as Aufschwung (Aspirations), Enttäuschung
(Disillusion), Beschäftigung (Employment), Apotheose (Apotheosis).
3) The program and music are placed one upon the other in such a way that musical
phrases quite literally or rather tone by tone correspond to the phrases (sentences)
in the program. Such use of programmatic text is well elucidated by the themes of
Dante Symphony, as for example, its main theme, above which Liszt has written a
famous verse from Dante:
La- sciate og - ni spe - ran - za, voi ch'en tra - te!
4) From this stage it is only a short step to a composition with text where vocal
parts enter into the musical work — as in the finales of Dante and Faust Symphony.
Next we shall examine how the actual mythic-musical narration is realized in
certain of Liszt's symphonic poems in their programmatic contexts. However, we
shall not support the outline of musical structures with any program, but rather
attempt to show how purely formal factors of music alone are enough to convey
the mythical structure and the chain of functions explicated by the program.
136 Myth and Music
7.1.2. Musical themes by Liszt
The central position of the musical theme in Liszt's symphonic poems was
affirmed above. Themes appear in them "ready-made" from the beginning in all
their musical characteristics and cogency — unlike a classical symphony where only
the thematic development reveals the inner properties of the themes and their true
nature. 18 Consequently one might undertake a study of the paradigm of Liszt's
themes, their "ideal repertory" which is only partly manifested in various symphonic
poems, before one proceeds to a more detailed analysis of individual compositions.
The concept of a theme has a certain interest for us also in that in Wagner's musico-
mythical universe the characteristics of themes likewise play an essential role.
Among Liszt's themes we may distinguish some principal patterns which recur in
many compositions in a relatively consistent manner. To such patterns belong a.o.
the following melodic types;
— descending, syncopated themes with a certain lamenting flavor; they have been
observed already above in connection with the gestural seme (see page 125);
— the "storm" themes, based on chromaticism or diminished chord of seventh and
depicting, for example, battle or pursuit (as in Tasso, Dante andFousi Symphony,
LesPreludes, Hunnenschlacht and in many other poems):
Allegro streptitoso
3
Tasso:
Dante Symphony:
Allegro frenetico
Violins
Faust Symphony:
agitato app.
rinf. mo/to
Introduction: the mythical in Liszt and Slavonic Music 137
Les Preludes:
Tromb.,
-Tuba ;
i;
Violins
rrrn: jT>rTc fntttt^-

Hunnenschlacht:
Violins
volante
the "chorale" themes which are often comprised of harmonies with several
sustained tones and which frequently point to a sacred or nature-mythical quality,
as the theme of nature in Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne, the second theme of
Vattee d'Obermann (see above p. 85), certain themes in Sonata in B minor, the
organ theme at the end of Hunnenschlacht etc.:
Sonata in B minor:
Andante sostenuto
^£ i
«
r
-RZ
sie
Hunnenschlacht:
*J
Organ
L isizzia;—g 7ih
lT~
T 1 f1 —
—\T—
j-j.
Γ r
f—a P 4 ΙP ιr
4.
—rl f1
p do/ce
~^
religi se
- } *L"I—t;
^^~
p f r
s— 1ι 1 τ
-!
r1Γ •g" f"
Γ
E+— P p
B
4
•v·
r»
A b*^~
^^
J^"
P ? P
Γ-- —1
the "fanfare" themes, often built upon a repeated tone or a broken triad and
played by the brass in forte (Tasso, Les Preludes, Hunnenschlacht, Mazeppa and
Dante Symphony (see above p. 92)):
138 Myth and Music
Tasso:
con grendezza
Les Preludes :
m
Hunnen Schlacht:
Ξ£
Mazeppa:
Tromb.
— the themes based on a broken chord of the seventh or ninth depicting a transference
from one level to another in plot, development or provisional state in general (The
Aufschwung theme in Die Ideale, the fugato theme in Prometheus):
Die Ideale:
Violins
Prometheus:
the wide and epic cantilena themes with diatonic scales (the main theme of Die
Ideale (see above page 127), the main theme of Orpheus):
. J^
If-
r u
the themes with a certain magic-mythical connotation and constructed upon an
augmented triad (the theme of Faust in Faust symphony (see above page 98),
themes in Liszt's late piano works, as in the last Hungarian rhapsodies):
Seven tee t h Rhapsody:

Lento patetlco.
=^4^
/»if
- the pastorale themes, often moving in parallel thirds, frequently played by wood-
winds or flutes (DieIdeale, LesPreludes):
Die Ideale:
F1..CI. & : ^ ο · -·<Γ~ <. ~--v.
Les Preludes:
Ob.
In addition one may naturally find many other less important types of themes.
The criteria for such classification are provided by the inner musical properties of
a theme, but one may imagine as well that themes could be classified according to
140 My th and Music
what is their respective position in the course or syntagma of a composition. For each
theme, therefore, we must take into account two aspects, which even generally
speaking characterize so-called semic analysis: on the one hand one must extract
the actual musical germ of a theme, its substance (which would correspond in
semeanalysisto a semic nucleus, noyau semique)19 and on the other the position
of this theme in a given work and its participation and function in mythic-musical
narration (or that which is called a contextual sem, seme contextuet)20 And again
the fact that we can call this context, in the case of Liszt's symphonic poem, mythic-
musical narration is justified by Liszt's own statement identifying the theme and the
hero, 2 ' the transformations of the theme thus expressing the mythical hero's deeds.
7.1.3. Tasso, Les Preludes and Die Ideale
How are the afore-sketched Lisztian thematics realized in the narrative, "functional"
context of some composition? And can we in general claim that all the symphonic
poems by Liszt are narrating something? Does not Orpheus, for example, in reality
consist of a rather fresco-like apotheosis of a mythical hero, wherein the hero appears
only as a sublime allegory of art?
Although the action in some symphonic poems seems to be scanty, we may,
however, presume that they are telling something, be it only the manifestation of
one "function" of the mythical level, "the hero's glorification" - as in Orpheus -
or two, "the struggle" and "the victory" - as in Hunnenschlacht. On the other
hand, in those cases where several phases or functions are conveyed, we may perhaps
apply the general patterns of narrative logics, one of the most abstract among them
being the model presented by Claude Bremond. It is based simply on a series of
binary selections: 1) the situation which opens the eventuality for an event or action,
2) the passage into action from this eventuality, 3) the result of this action which
terminates the process either in success or failure. These phases could be outlined
with the following scheme:22
achievement
<
passage into action^"^
^\ non-achievement
non-passage into action
The model presented by Bremond can, in its generality, be applied to all sign systems
whose purpose is to tell something, consequently even to music.
We shall now examine how it works in Liszt's symphonic poem Tasso. What are
the minimal units of narration in Tasso upon which the whole composition is built?
In Tasso one may find four theme groups including, it is true, various transformations
of the same theme but which can still be recognized as derivations of the theme in
question.
One hears first in the strings a melancholy lamento theme expressing the mythical
function of "the appearance of a lack" (see above the Proppian functions, on page
56). We shall indicate this theme with a letter A and its "negation", major variant
and condensation with -A:
The second theme occurs as a violent strepitoso theme emerging in a similar form
twice in the work; we may mark it with a letter B (see above p. 136).
The third theme is the Tasso theme proper, in fact, the central one in the whole
composition, from which all the other themes can be traced. The Tasso theme occurs
in two contrasting forms: first with a dark mesto flavor played by a bassclarinet
(see above p. 92) then as an expressive theme developed more fully by the violins,
and finally as a con grandeza variant played by trombones and trumpets (see above
p. 138).
The fourth theme, emerging only once in the course of the work, is the graceful
menuetto theme with a pastoral quality:
Allegretto
ι I
pizz.
Basing on these clearly discernible themes, Tasso may be divided intc narrative
units which on the musical level correspond to "functions" on the mythical level.
We may then project the content of the composition into the following chart which,
like the orchestral "scores" used by Levi-Strauss in his analysis of myths, can be
read in two ways; either by following the vertical columns and observing the different
variants and occurrences of a single theme, or by following the succession of themes
horizontally from up to down, the musical structure then being observed in its
142 My th and Music
diachronic, temporal order, i.e., in the same order as we hear it. The tonality is
written (in parentheses) after each letter representing a theme occurrence:
Lamento Strepitoso Tasso Pastorale

A (C minor).
•B (C minor)
A' (F minor) ί
C (C minor)
(E major)
A" (F minor)
D (F sharp major)
. C (F sharp major)
(B minor)
*B' (C minor)
A"' (F minor)
4·
-A (C major)
C (C major)
In Tasso the tonal relations between various theme occurrences have an important
structural and narrative function. In this sense the most effective point is the
transition from the C minor at the beginning of the work to such a distant tonality
as F sharp major in the pastoral section in the middle of the work, resulting in a
tritonic tension. It is highly interesting to notice how the musical narration returns
from this point where it is farthest from its starting point. If we maintain Schoen-
berg's view that every new tone disturbs the balance of a work and demands to be
solved in its own way, 23 how is this balance of musical narration restored in Liszt's
Tasso after the point forming the peak of "entropy" in the work?
If we examine each theme complex as a whole, we see that the greatest modulations
occur in the Tasso theme. The lamento theme appears in C minor and F minor and
ultimately in C major, while the strepitoso section is always based on a diminished
chord of the seventh. The Tasso theme on the other hand is at first in C minor, then
as an astounding coloristic effect in mediant E major, thereafter in F sharp major or
in the same ton&ity as the pastorale menuetto preceding it, but soon modulating,
however, to the tonal field of B minor, the minor variant of subdominant of F sharp
major. The Tasso theme is heard for the final time in its definitive brilliance in C
major. The most interesting passage in Tasso tonally must therefore be considered
the midpoint wherein the tenseness or "directionality" of narration is maintained
with a modulation rising by half steps.

The Tasso theme having occurred in its triumphal form in E major, the return of
the lamento theme leads to a tonality half step higher, namely to that of F minor
(i.e., E sharp minor) and furthermore, increasing the tension, to F sharp major in
the menuetto passage. When the Tasso theme recurs thereafter as though unnoticed
in the same tonality, it does not bring any resolution to this tense situation - we are
still at the farthest point from the tonality of the beginning, C minor. Nevertheless,
the Tasso theme modulates to B.minor, from which the tension dissolves through
the return of the strepitoso passage finally back into the heavy melancholy and
contemplative lamento theme in F minor. Thus we are, after a fairly long develop-
ment, back again at the starting point. How can the musical narration continue
after all these dramatic turns? A return to the Tasso theme would hardly be possible
without exhausting the expressive potentialities of this main theme. Liszt now
carries out a radical change of atmosphere: he goes directly from the lamento theme
and its gloomy lento assai without any further developments (which are no longer
expected by the listener) to C major, wherein the same lamento theme is heard
rhythmically condensed and with an inverse content, as an energically progressing
major variant. The end of the whole work culminates victoriously in C major.
Thus, Tasso contains only one more dramatic development section wherein the
scheme "eventuality - passage into action - achievement" is gone through, setting
in motion the musical action as well. What are the themes of Tasso like, insofar
as their mythico-musical significance is concerned? How do they articulate the
mythical content of the work?
When observing the structural context of the themes one notes that what is sought
in the composition is a mediating factor between the opposition of lamento and
trionfo (tonally between C minor and C major): only when this "mediator" is
found can the definitive triumph and resolution, "the liquidation of a lack" or
passage from action to its achievement be accomplished. If the occurrences of the
lamento theme are considered a possibility for action or an opening situation revealing
the force which catalyzes the whole narration, a lack which must be redressed or
ultimately a general striving for something, we may observe that all attempts on the
musical level to proceed into action and results, are failures: first there is the
endeavor to attain the aim with the violent strepitoso theme but without success
— the outburst leads back to the opening situation. The second attempt, the
immediate transition into the Tasso theme and its modulation — a brilliant one, to be
sure — to a mediant tonality likewise leads back to the lamento theme, which, how-
ever, has not remained entirely unchanged: it is now in the tonality of F minor from
which a third attempt is made in the form of the pastorale section in F sharp major.
The return from this wandering lasts longer, but as surely as above it leads through
some episodes back to the initial situation.
144 My th and Music
Thereafter these endeavors are relinquished and a change takes place in the hero's
mind - as if he would now realize Goethe's maxim: Wende sofort nach innen, ein
Zentrum findest du darinnen, den kein Edel zweifeln mag! The problem situation
of the beginning is namely resolved by the theme itself, which is now presented as if
it were the result of all the searching and striving in the form of a clear and luminous
variant in parallel major. Only this device can make the transition from the opening
situation, the eventuality - which might here be interpreted as the obligation of
Tasso's artistic calling - to the action and finally to the poet-hero's glorification
and triumph with the major variant of the Tasso theme itself. The musical structure
of Liszt's Tasso thus looks similar to that of some old tale about a hero who, after
three successively difficult attempts, finally realizes the impossibility of the task and
finds the solution elsewhere, outside the problematic situation.
In Liszt's symphonic poem Les Preludes the musical action is not based so much
on contrasting musical motifs as in Die Ideale, Faust and Dante symphony but, in
somewhat the same way as in Tasso, on transformations undergone by a single theme.
Such a procedure gives us even more reason to presume a correlation between a
romantic hero and the phases and nature of his musical sign, the theme. Inasmuch as
the thematic material is closely interrelated, the contrasts in the course of the music
are realized by other means than thematic transformations alone. The orchestration
and timbres then become important factors in projecting the mythico-musical action.
Liszt's orchestration anticipates that of Stravinsky in the sense that he does justice
to the individual timbre of every instrumental group,24 which in itself is a pre-
condition for timbre alone to serve as a distinctive feature and consequently as a
significant unit. This holds true for Liszt to a greater extent than for Wagner, who,
it is true, also utilizes the mythical symbol value of single instruments but who more
frequently than Liszt allows the individuality of instrumental groups to melt into
a broader symphonic orchestral texture.
The programmatic content of Les Preludes is perhaps closer to Berlioz than any
other symphonic poem by Liszt. Allusions to Berlioz are especially the use of the
same theme as material for the whole work and the succession of the hero's actions,
the alternation of struggle, storm and pastorale - while the Berliozian Gothic scenes
are transformed in Liszt into more ideal Sturm und Drang thematics. In general,
Liszt's attitude to romantic culture must be considered the most universal: he
chooses poetic programs for his symphonic poems without discrimination from
French, English, German and Italian literature and exploits them as the mythical
basis and context for his compositions. At the same time, however, these texts lose
their "local color" and only their structure, essential from the viewpoint of mythico-
musical communication, remains. With sure instinct Liszt sifts from them precisely
their immanent narrative structure, reducing these poetical texts into phases under-
gone by one, two or more "actors", i.e., by themes on the musical level.
A description of the structure of Les Preludes with the same kind of diagram as
that used in examining Tasso would be more difficult, because the themes are so
closely related to each other that they can hardly be separated as discrete groups.
One may primarily discern four isotopies in the composition: the main theme, or
the prelude theme, has three different forms at the beginning of the works it occurs
as an introductory, sublime theme on the strings (A), as a fanfare-like theme (A')
and as an espressivo theme on the cellos (A"):
espr.
In addition to the exposition containing these three variants of the prelude theme,
one may distinguish three other passages, each possessing its own characteristic
thematics derived from the prelude theme: the dawn of love is depicted by a radiant
motif (B) moving in parallel thirds of E major, a mediant tonality of C major. This
motif is derived from the descending second of the prelude theme and appears at
the end of the work as a march-variant
do'ce
The motifs of the storm passage also have their origin in various elements of the
prelude theme (see above p. 136).
Likewise the theme on the oboe and clarinet in the pastorale section (see above p.
139) is a variation on the prelude theme A" while the second "pastorale" theme
plays with the central intervals of second and fourth in the prelude motif (see above
p. 124).
Les Preludes can thus be interpreted as a monothematic composition despite its
146 Myth and Music
distinctive passages which correspond precisely to those "functions" which are

depicted also by the work's program. In fact this monothematicism has its benefits:
because of it the work forms a coherent whole avoiding the Berliozian fantastic
features and picturesque tone painting.
Stylistically the dominant feature of Les Preludes is that which we have called
the seme of the hero-mythical. In a manner typical of Liszt also in this symphonic
poem, the harmonies in the last bars give the whole work a particularly sublime
climax (compare herewith the ends of Die Ideale and Orpheus). Les Preludes does
not end, as one might expect, with dominant-tonic fanfares, but on the contrary
one hears a simple common chord progression I-III-VI-V-I-VI-I, which un-
deniably create precisely the impression of that "sympolic shimmer and mythical
basis" which Liszt regarded as an intrinsic element of a romantic epic.
A contrast to a symphonic poem with a coherent structure built upon one theme
like Les Preludes is provided by Die Ideale which, because of its scope, almost
belongs in the symphonic category as well as Dante and Faust Symphony.
Die Ideale consists of five distinct and independent theme complexes so that we
might once again attempt the same kind of structural reading as that which we
experienced on Tasso. On the other hand, it is particularly characteristic of Die
Ideale that there is not a single theme which would portray any hero but the whole
programmatic content as well the as musical action is realized on a fairly abstract
level.
As in all mythical narration one may separate subject and object, sender and
receiver, helper and opposer,2 s so also in music one may speak about themes which
in the course of the work, assume functions and attitudes toward each other which
are comparable to the factors of mythical narration listed above. Die Ideale opens
with the Enttäuschung theme (A) which represents the recitative, rhetorical style
typical of Liszt (see above the gestural seme, page 126). This theme depicts the
initial situation, the lack of an object. The second theme may be considered to be
the Aufschwung theme (see above p. 138), which appears only twice in the course
of the work and consists of a defiantly bouncing motif of a broken minor chord of
the ninth. It is the function of this theme to express a passage to action which,
nevertheless, does not lead, as one soon realizes, to the attainment of the object.
Only after these themes does one hear the main theme Ideale representing the
object of mythical narration, the aim and purpose of the action in the context of
the work. There are several versions of this theme according to the context in which
it appears, how far or near achievement the objective, the ideals, are placed. Thus
it has three principal forms: first it occurs already at the beginning of the work as
a wide and majestic main theme, which we have already examined in connection
with the sublime stylistic feature (page 128). Secondly it appears as a distant and
longing one, played as a cello solo expressing the mere potentiality of action:
pizz. pizz.
Thirdly, the theme occurs in a so-called Beschäftigung form or transformed into a
theme which is highly reminiscent of Wagner's work motif of the Nibelungs and
depicts the struggles and attempts to achieve the ideals ("Beschäftigung die nie
ermattet, die langsam schafft, doch nie zerstört"). This theme would correspond
to the phase "passage into action" in mythical narration:
Allegretto mosso
Violins
i
In this connection we can already see that it is just these three successive variations
on the Ideale theme (C) which finally realize the scheme eventuality - passage into
action - achievement in the composition, but it must be noted that this scheme is
not fulfilled as a succession of the themes A, B, C. This is due to the musical
characteristic of these themes — which is always a significant factor in Liszt's works,
as has been seen. Theme A thus expresses sheer lack but does not yet denominate
this lack and consequently cannot form that eventuality which ultimately leads to
the achievement. Theme B likewise cannot constitute the phase "passage into
action": the first time it is too defiant and excited to be able to accomplish the
ideals and the second time again its dance-like expression is somehow too playful
to be taken even as a serious new attempt. The pastorale theme forms the fourth
theme in the work (see above p. 139); it conveys the unfulfillment and relinquishment
of the action. It is of a somewhat static nature and seems in fact to be outside the
whole direction and tenseness of narration in the composition. By its musical
character this pastorale section is, however, the most associative to mythical contents
in the whole work (perhaps as compensation for its position in the narrative plot).
In the first place the listener cannot help noticing the kinship between the descending
thirds of the theme and Wagner's Ring motif. Also the bright yet dreamy calmness
of the orchestration suggests Wagner's prelude to the first act of Lohengrin' The
third interesting factor in this pastorale section is that the Enttäuschung (A) and
Ideale (C) themes, repressed in the subconscious, also are interwined therein;
detached now from their proper context they become objects of pure contemplation
148 Myth and Music
free from all willing and wanting.

The Freundschaft theme occurs only once, but in a decisive position forming an
important "peripety" in the course of the work. Its role might be characterized
by the afore-mentioned term "helper", whose intervention in the action ultimately
brings a resolution to the problematic situation. The Freundschaft theme is the
only one which is capable of forming the right starting point for the achievement
of the object. The pastorale theme which is heard thereafter obtains a new content
reflecting already beforehand the definitive relinquishment of the struggle after and
because of the achievement of the ideals:
The observations concerning tonal relationships might be crystallized in the

following remarks: first one has to notice that each theme maintains its original
tonality in the course of the work. The Enttäuschung theme is heard twice in its
main form in C sharp minor and finally transformed into a chromatic, modulative
sequence passage. Theme B, Aufschwung, is in both its occurrences of modal
character — first time it is based on a G dorian scale, the second time on a G
Mixolydian one. This modal character of the theme renders its nature weaker and
less determined — which equals its function in narration: an unsuccesful passage
into action.
Theme C, Ideale, is repeated in full extension three times: first in F major, then
in E major and at the end in F major again. These emergences of the main theme
divide the form of the work into an expanded rondo form.
The pastorale theme seems firstly to have also two tonalities: D major and then C
sharp minor (in the score sections 11 and 14) moving in its dominant and thereafter
again in D majoi. However, the pastorale theme recurs a fourth time, but then it is
already dominated by the F major of the main theme, Ideale, and its task is only to
contribute to the ultimate apotheosis.
We noticed that the main theme appears three times in its full measure in sections
3, 9 and 17. How then is the task of maintaining the communication or the so-
called "phatic" function (according to Jakobson)26 realized after these appearacnes
of the main theme?
In the first two cases (after sections 3 and 9) the narration is continued by
questioning the absolute character of the main theme and thus indicating that the
definitive ideal has not yet been achieved. This happens the first time by repeating
immediately thereafter the Sehnsucht variant of the main theme, from which we
can without any interruption transfer to the atmosphere of renunciation and inactivity
of the pastorale passage. The second time the narration is continued by presenting as
a recurrence the Enttäuschung theme the beginning, which also places the ideals
at an inaccessible distance. The third time, after the return of the Ideale theme,
the resolution has already occurred and the direction of the narration is now
quite clear: the elevation of the main theme to a still greater splendor and triumph.
We might consequently delineate the content of Liszt's symphonic poem Die
Ideale with a scheme similar to that of Tasso — taking into account, however,
that in this case it is more complicated because of the greater number of themes
and the larger dimensions of the whole work. On the other hand, we might
represent the content diachronically as well, enumerating all the occurrences of
the themes in the order of their appearance and then denominating the respective
functions on the level of mythical narration:
150 Myth and Music
Die Ideale
Enttäuschung Aufschwung Ideale Pastorale Freundschaft
1 A (C sharp minor)
2 B (G Phrygian)
3 "^ C (F major)
4 C (F major, D minor)
5 D (D major)
6 A (sequence)
7 C(G:I 9 )
8
9 C (B major, Es major, E major)
10 A(C sharp m in or)·
11 .D(C sharp minor: V)
12 C (C sharp minor)
13 ~~~^ E (E major)
14 D(C sharp minor: V)
15 C (C sharp minor)
16 C (E major)
17 C (F major)
18 l D (D major, B major, E flat
major)
19 A (F major)
.
20 C (F major)
21 ^*^D (F major)
22 C (F major)
The various sections might be described in their diachronic order as follows:
1. the appearance of a lack; 2. passage into action in order to redress the lack;
3. determining the object of the lack: the ideals; 4. longing for the object at a
distance: 5. the renunciation, the warding off the lack (the lack — the Enttäuschung
theme — and its object — the Ideale theme — in the background); 6. the lack is
recognized again; 7. the object of the lack is presented again; 8. a new attempt at
passing into action; 9. the inaccessible character of the object: the ideals shimmer
in the distance; 10. the lack is recognized; 11. the renunciation; 12. the longing
for the object, the ideals (dolente); 13. the emergence of a helper: the Freundschaft
theme; 14. the renunciation, but not definitively; 15. the longing but not without
hope; 16. the struggle or passage into action (the Beschäftigung theme); 17. the
victory or achievement; 18. the renunciation but now because the aim is attained;
19. the mere reminiscence of the lack; 20. the action for the achievement of the
ideals; 21. the renunciation after the achievement; 22. the definitive apotheosis
of the ideals.
Such a verbal description of a musico-mythical narrative structure and its functions
proceeds on the one hand on a level which Liszt himself considered pertinent to
his symphonic poems,27 namely not so much the reflection of the hero's external
action but rather of his inner states of mind and feelings.
On the other hand we notice that Die Ideale, for example, does not exclusively
pertain to this "internal" dimension but that in it objective actions and subjective
introspection along with reflection upon the events converge into one musical whole
- perhaps in somewhat the same manner as Liszt's admiration for the ability of the
ancient epics to combine the objective and subjective element.2 8
From the viewpoint of structural analysis of narration such a description — as
naive as it may seem — would prove to be evidently useful: the musical discourse
is here shown to follow the same kind of narrative technique as, for example, the
Russian fairy tales analyzed by Propp.29 We have come into this conclusion through
a simple structural survey without resorting to the content or "program" in an
ordinary sense. On the other hand, such an analysis shows that the content — the
semantic aspect which is so hard to attain in music — can be described by relying
exclusively on musical structures and remarks concerning their organization. This
again would seem to refer to the possibility of special structural semantics of music30
- even though in Liszt's symphonic poems the musical structures are articulated
according to and guided also by an immanent mythical structure.
7.2. A survey of the mythical style in Slavonic music
7.2.1. The mythical and musical thematics of Glinka's Russian
The Slavonic peoples have a rich epical tradition yet it must be noted that they
have never shaped it into an extensive literary epic. Such large-scale creations as
the Song of the Nibelungs, the Song of Roland, Homer's epic or the Kalevala have
not emerged from their midst.3 1 Among the most notable genres of Russian folklore
are the bylinas and starinas, i.e., ancient epical ballads created in the tenth and
eleventh centuries. Their content is varied but they often tell about the conquests
152 Myth and Music
of the bogatyrs, ancient heroes. Many bylinas deal with the young Russian state
and its adversaries, such nomadic peoples as the Polovtsians and Tatars.3 2 Similarly,
most compositions expressing the hero-mythical in Russian musical culture focus on
a struggle between two peoples, which is to be considered an essential background
for the heroic action depicted therein. We may recognize here a parallelism also
with Wagner: in his Siegfried the heroism appears in a struggle between two forces or
groups: between the gods, Wotan as their leader, and the Gibichungs under the
direction of Hagen. In this sense one may understand why, for example, Siegmund's
personage does not rise to a definitive greatness: his fight does not represent a battle
between two greater forces but an individual struggle against the community of the
gods and the norms established by them.
Likewise, in Russian music Borodin's Prince Igor and Glinka's Ivan Susanin, to
mention only two, are heroes in a genuine hero-mythical sense, while Mussorgsky's
Boris Godunov on the contrary portrays a relationship between an individual — a
ruler — and a people. Similarly, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex manifests a relation
between a leader and a people, the Thebans, resulting in the ultimate downfall of
the king because of his inability to fulfill his duties toward his people. Thus the
simple relation leader/people does not inevitably result in the hero-mythical, but
also in its opposite the destruction of heroism itself. On the other hand, we may
discern in Slavonic music also compositions referring to a nature-mythical element
or a "primal mythologic-demonic" world view, whose reconstruction is attempted
in many Slavonic compositions. The fact that whole ancient Slavonic mythical
outlooks and rituals are reconstructed in them enables us to affirm that the artistic
sign system has anticipated recent efforts to reproduce these mythological strata
with scientific procedures.3 3
In Slavonic music since the beginning of the last century we see how the various
aspects of the reality of myth are projected with all the available musical means,
on which we already tried to throw some light in the preceding chapter on the
mythical style of music, and in which we also exploited the abundant material
afforded by the Slavonic musical culture.
Mikhail Glinka's operas A Life for the Czar (1836) and Russian and Ludmila
(1842) are cornerstones of Russian music owing to the central position they have
been able to maintain in this music tradition. When Tshaikovsky wrote that everything
which is essential in the Russian national musical style is already included in Glinka,34
he surely thought as much of Glinka's orchestral fantasy on Russian folk melodies
Kamarinskaya as of his opera A Life for the Czar. Just in this opera Glinka showed
that Russian melody could be elevated into a tragic style. Thus if in Tchaikovsky's
opinion all the Russian composers after Glinka had to imitate him, Glinka in turn
considered himself merely a composer who arranged and imitated folk music. In
reality, however, Glinka's music fuses together the Russian and Western substance
in such a way that we are justified in adding him to the paradigm of rnythicism in
Western art music, which we have already attempted to outline in studying Liszt
and which will be expanded later by further analysis. It is astounding, in fact, that
both the afore-mentioned operas by Glinka, which are closely related to this mythical-
musical context, were composed already before Liszt had crystallized his symphonic
poem in its definitive form and Wagner had created his tetralogy. Glinka's opera
A Life for the Czar manifested, in reality, considerably earlier the very principle
which Liszt had formulated in his essay on the nature of symphonic poem (1855):
it was namely Liszt's idea that "epic" might be revived in music by a combination
of two endeavors: the objective clarity with which man was portrayed in ancient
epics and the exceptional and superhuman character of romantic personages.35 The
idea of this combination occurred already as an implicit ideology and basis for the
Neo-Russian school in the works of this group and especially in the birth of the
Russian-national mythical opera style.36
In dealing with the national-musical seme we already pointed out the use of folk
music in Glinka's opera A Life for the Czar to create a musical context for hero-
mythical action. The subject of this opera is the war between the Russians and the
Poles, wherein the hero, Ivan Susanin, has the duty of sacrificing himself for his
country.
Glinka's second opera Russian andLudmila differs stylistically as well as in content
from Ivan Susanin. Even Berlioz thought in his essay of 1845 that these two operas
could have been written by entirely different composers.37 The musical style of
Russian andLudmila, whose libretto was based on Pushkin's drama, may be considered
fabulous (märchenhaft) and often even fantastic in a Berliozian sense, thus corre-
sponding to the more fabulous than mythical character of the story narrated in the
opera. On the other hand, it was already Berlioz who instinctively sensed the
connection of Russian and Ludmila specifically with the German cultural tradition, 38
although he could not yet know that a few years later Wagner would compose his
tetralogy, whose fairy tale hero Siegfried would be remarkably similar to Russian in
Glinka's opera. In fact, if one were to attempt to isolate in Wagner's Siegfried the
fabulous elements from the mythical and legendary ones39 (in the sense of these
terms determined above) one could not find better means than juxtaposing Wagner's
Siegfried with Glinka's Russian: the latter fairy tale opera namely contains all the
same phases which belong to the isotopy of fairy tale in the musical-scenic description
of Siegfried's life. On the other hand, Glinka's Russian might be paralleled with
Mozart's Magic Flute. These operas with their obviously fabulous character'include
certain typical functions which link them to each other. How have these composers
managed to find a musical solution for these fairy tale elements which they have in
common? It is namely just on the musical level that these three composers let the
fabulous and the mythical intertwine. One might thus compare Magic Flute and
154 Myth and Music
Russian: common points are the trials endured by the hero and heroine and the
fairies in the background: in Russian the evil fairy Naina and Tsernomor and in
Magic Flute the Queen of the Night and Sarastro. In Glinka's opera the Finnish
sorcerer has as exotic features as Mozart's Monostatos: they both seem at first to
have similar musical characterizations until the Finn in Glinka's opera is revealed to
be the hero's helper and not opposer as is Monostatos in his relation to Prince
Tamino. Mozart, like Glinka, uses musical symbolism in order to characterize the
various isotopies of narration: Mozart employs a series of simple triads as the musical
sign for Sarastro's fraternity and Glinka the "magical" descending whole tone scale
to depict Tsernomor's realm (see above p. 82 and 99).
From the musical viewpoint Glinka's devices to create the fabulous atmosphere
are akin to those of Mozart: Glinka also uses sound effects exploiting the tone color
of the bells or harmonium along with the piano's and harp's particular timbre. The
fabulous quality is heightened in Glinka by two ballet scenes — especially by the
exotic dances of Tsernomor's courtiers. Both composers utilize - like Wagner in
his Ring in portraying the giants and Mime — a consciously simplified musical style.
One may only think of the clumsy ruggedness of the Head's ballad or of the entrance
march of Tsernomor's courtiers in Glinka's opera, or of the naivete of Papageno's
songs in Mozart's Magic Flute or Mime's parodic ballad at the beginning of Wagner's
Siegfried. This consciously simplified style in all three composers has a certain
relation to folk music — it can be interpreted as an imitation of folk music, but in
a more or less parodying sense. On the other hand, with these composers the gay and
the serious blend into a single musical expression. Thus, in the songs of the Bard in
the wedding scene at the beginning of Russian, the epic, narrative flavor combines
with the fabulous one achieved through timbre: the arpeggio chords of the piano and
harp convey not only the atmosphere of epic songs but the shimmer of the fabulous
as well with their ornamentation:
\nri:i!iU· in.'U'stosij. M M . t-.no.

The epic-mythical style of the Bard's songs whose purpose at the beginning of the
opera is naturally to anticipate the forthcoming events in the drama and thus to
create an atmosphere of expectation, recurs again at the end of the opera, when it
has an inverse function: now it is alluding to past events in the opera, which in turn
may provide subjects for new songs and ballads. (See particularly Russian's song in
awakening Ludmila with a magic ring). The situation is thus, in fact, similar to that
in Wagner: the epic musical style is used in order to establish a mythical framework
for the opera's actual events and the hero's action, which are characterized by a
certain fabulous quality. From the standpoint of musical style the seme of simplicity
appears at the beginning and at the end of the opera as mythical sublimity and in the
middle of opera as parody, creating a humorous, fabulous effect.
Insofar as mythical narration is concerned, Glinka's Russian moreover incorporates
the same kind of heroic thematics as Wagner's Siegfried. These parallelisms may
easily be illustrated by the following scheme:
Russian Siegfried
The Finn as the sender of Russian Wotan as the sender of Siegfried
Russian searches for the sword Siegfried forges the sword
Russian kills the Head (a monster) Siegfried kills the dragon (Fafner)
Russian obtains the sword (a magic Siegfried obtains the ring (a magic object)
object) from the monster from Fafner
Russian is bewitched by Gorislawa Siegfried drinks a magic potion and
and forgets Ludmila forgets Brunnhilde
Ludmila falls into a sleep from Brünnhilde falls asleep amidst a circle
which only the possessor of the of fire which can be penetrated only by
magic ring can awaken her the person who has the ring (der freieste
Held}
Russian awakens Ludmila Siegfried awaken s Brunnhilde
Glinka's Russian thus contains, as one may notice, almost exactly the same events
as those of Siegfried's youth, i.e., those presented in Siegfried. However, only a brief
section in Glinka's opera corresponds to the succeeding phases of Siegfried's life which
Wagner portrays in Götterdämmerung: in it Russian nearly forgets Ludmila due to
Gorislawa's magic power, until he is rescued by the Finn. Consequently the
comparison between Glinka's Russian and Wagner's Siegfried is possible only insofar
as the fairy tale elements in Wagner's hero are concerned, at the same time separating
fairy tale from myth. (Later we shall see how such works as Sibelius's Kullervo
Symphony and Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex constitute a more favorable point of
comparison since the myths of Kullervo and Oedipus contain parallels with that of
155 My th and Music
Siegfried which pertain to the hero's entire life, his origin and youth as well as his
tragic end.)
The separation of fairy tale and mythical elements can be pursued on the musical
level as well. One has only to examine how the "functions" in the chart above are
manifested in the musical discourses of Glinka and Wagner. The methodical problem
would consist of studying whether a similar mythical function gives rise to corre-
sponding musical functions or whether there exists in general between a certain
mythical figure or situation and its musical manifestation any bond producing
equivalent mythical-musical interpretations in different composers and in completely
different national musical traditions — as in the Russian and German culture. Insofar
as this is true, we may say that we have progressed one step in the study of musical
aesthetics of these cultures and confirm that in the background of the different
musical styles, schools and traditions exists a common foundation: the level of the
mythical, to which we may relate even the most diverse musical phenomena and
thus find in them a common factor.
Siegfried yearns for Briinnhilde and Russian for Ludmila — both heroes have as
their helper and sender a person who endeavors, however, to use the hero for
another purpose: Wotan wants Siegfried to restore the powe. to the gods and the
Finn again hopes to subjugate Naina and Tsernornor with the aid of Russian. The
appearance of the Finn is characterized by a maestoso flavour — he is thus presented
in the opera as a sort of all-knowing deus ex machina, who three times intervenes in
the action: frst while telling Russian Ludmila's whereabouts and the name of his
adversary; second, in saving Russian from the spell of Naina's magic castle, and
third, by delivering a magic ring, which awakens Ludmila.
The figure of Wotan likewise is characterized by music which expresses his
authority as the leader of the community of the gods. Like Wagner, Glinka also
needs epic narrative sections in order to clarify the background of the events on the
stage - just this task is given to the story of the Finn at the beginning of the opera.
Glinka, too, uses orchestral interludes, primarily preludes, to indicate the changes
of the levels in the plot.
The thematics of killing a monster and acquiring a sword, a magical instrument,
forms one of the most essential parallelisms between Siegfried and Russian. In the
second act Russian searches for the sword on a battlefield but all the swords found
there are too weak for him. Then he sings an aria which immediately suggests a
theme already heard in the prelude — it serves in the opera as a sort of germ motif,
even if not a leitmotif. The same theme from the prelude recurs at the end of the
opera as a choral paean to Russian and Ludmila. This theme occupies a central
position also in relation to the other motifs in Russian.40 Most of the major
themes in the opera seem to be transformed from this germ motif, which in turn
comes back to Russian folk music. This is an example of how what is originally a
folk tune can gradually grow in the composer's imagination and initiate the musical
process dominating the whole composition. Utilizing the same kind of the technique,
Sibelius later developed small, folk-musically influenced or related elements into
whole extensive symphonic sections as in his Kullervo Symphony (see later p. 243).
Folksong: The snows are not white Overture (transposed)

ι r~) ι ^- ι IP—- Λ
Q *tJ/t
t. ι 1 1*
*· Γ If J J J /HJ J J J j -ffi'tj J-J
Russian's aria Act I: Introduction (transposed)
- ' . , ,_) , Λ Λ i. .
Russian's "sword" aria Act I: Introduction (transposed)

Q iJit k^ ·. , ^-1 ! , 1-^ , ι n* t.
jL Β > F
^
Consequently in Glinka's opera the sword theme is one of-the most important
thematic ideas contributing to the coherence of the musical texture; in the same
way Wagner's sword theme forms a central leitmotif which both anticipates the hero
and occurs in the epilogue to his life, as well (the funeral march).
In Glinka's opera likewise the sword theme begins and ends it although here we
cannot yet speak about leitmotif technique in the true sense, but rather about a
technique of monothematic variation which can be found in Liszt's symphonic poems.
The next to enter in Glinka's opera is the Head, a monster sent by Tsernomor,
whose mere breath is capable of raising a storm — it is musically depicted as
realistically as Alberich's metamorphosis in Wagner's Rheingold or Fafner's awakening
in his hole in Siegfried. In a musico-dramatic sense both Glinka and Wagner depict
the encounter with a monster in the framework of a romantic fairy tale opera.
Russian's bewitchment by Gorislawa is presented in music with a sudden
modulation from C major (or A minor) to A flat major and A flat minor — in a
similar way as Siegfried, under the influence of an amnesic potion behaves as a
"false" hero, mit verstellter rauherer Stimme for Briinnhilde, the music of this
scene moving in a tonally ambiguous field.
In searching for similarities in musical thematics in Glinka and Wagner, one must
start just with the paradigm of mythical functions which is common to them both
and is manifested in different musical techniques of narration according to their
personal idioms. The appearance of a lack or the initial situation is one possible
point of comparison: in Wagner's Rheingold we have to notice the musically very
158 Myth and Music
impressive description of the turn of the "optimistic" situation (the Rhine maidens
with their gold) into a tragic one (after the robbery of the gold) with the Entsagung
motif rising forth from the orchestral mist (see later p. 198). In Glinka's opera,
on the other hand, the appearance of a lack, i.e., the abduction of Ludmila from
the wedding ceremonies at the beginning of the opera and its effect is presented
with a sudden emergence of a whole tone scale and an enharmonic modulation
between the tonic chords of A flat major and B major (E b = D#) thereafter.
7.2.2. The Second (Bogatyr) symphony of Borodin
The tradition of Russian romantic opera created by Glinka has radiated its
influence on later Russian opera and also symphonic music wherein the foundations
laid by Glinka flourish especially in the fields of the hero-mythical and fabulous
musical styles.
In Borodin's opera Prince Igor this hero-mythical quality reaches its purest
expression and the work is also dominated by the idea of reconstruction 41 - the
very idea we have considered almost basic in examining various approaches to the
mythical sphere in Western art music. In Borodin's production the semantic intention
of reconstructing a mythical past has lead to at least two significant works: the epic-
heroic opera Prince Igor and the so-called Bogatyr symphony in B minor which,
while not a programmatic symphony with a true mythological text, has, nevertheless,
been frequently interpreted as hero-mythical.
In Prince Igor the focal point is occupied by the Oriental, Polovtsian music in the
middle part of the work. It is known that, after careful preliminary works and
studies in Hungarian and Arabic folk music the composer attempted to reconstruct
a credible picture of the ancient city and people of Polovts.4 2 On the other hand,
the opera's basic situation is the same as in Glinka's Ivan Sussanin: what is concerned
is again a struggle between two peoples which conflict forms the context for all action
in Prince Igor. Borodin establishes both these opposed "isotopies" with their own
music: the Russians are depicted with a modal melody reminiscent of church music
and sung by the people in greeting the boyars:
The Polovtsians, in contrast, are represented a.o. by an orientally chromatic and

ornamented melody, accompanying the dance of the Polovtsian girls with undulating
movements (not to mention the famous orientally-barbaric musical style in the
adoration of the khan, which fascinated also Rimsky-Korsakov, as one may infer,
for example, from the oriental dance of King Dodon in The Golden Cockerel):
Borodin's Second symphony, composed in 1871, likewise is associated with

Russian history, but on the other hand its national musical style has been preeminently
influenced by Liszt, who has, with full reason, been considered the awakener of
musical national consciousness in Europe in the last century. 43 Music critic Stassov
has transmitted the program made by the composer himself, in which the musical
pictures of this symphony are arranged to express the ancient Russian knights and
heroic figures.44 Consequently the first movement would depict an assembly of
noblemen and the second perhaps a pursuit. The third movement would again
suggest the camp scene of Prince Igor, to which the appearance of a Bay an, a
legendary bard, refers in the very first bars of this movement. The bard's instrument,
a zither-like gusli would thus also have been reconstructed therein. The finale would
again be intended to portray the knights' victory celebration, pagan ceremonies under
an open sky. We may thus presume that Borodin's contemporaries experienced this
symphony as a mythical one, and even according to the detailed chart which we
used to illustrate how mythical figures are combined with music in certain cultural
contexts (see page 31). Here, however, we are primarily concerned with the problem
of which features in Borodin's symphony specifically render it "mythical" and thus
which musical traits can be regarded as the intrinsic elements forming its particular
epic-mythical symphonic style (which moreover find their parallelisms in certain
sections of Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony, as we shall later see). At least nine of
these mythical traits can be enumerated:
1) The main theme of the first movement in the symphony, which directly opens
the work, already contains many of these traits of a mythical style. We have
already above (when dealing with the hero-mythical seme) mentioned the heavy
unison sound of the orchestra, which characterizes this main theme, as well
(especially its repetition):
160 Myth and Music
2) In the tonal structure of this melody, and even elsewhere in the symphony, an
essential role is played by the dialectics between major and minor third, major and
minor tonalities in general - which is here manifested by a vacillation between B
major and B minor. Thus, like a reflection of this archaic undetermined tonality
of the main theme we hear the following motif by the wood winds in the development
section of the slow movement:
Ob. , Engl.hcrn.Cl.
until at the end of this movement the French horn solo gives to this motif its
definitive figure of major third (score, section 0).
3) As a primitivistic device one may also consider the motifs moving in a narrow
scope and with srrrJl intervals. Already the main theme is a good example with
its beginning like a B Phrygian scale, but turning back then to its basic tone. One
may also see the same principle of melodic construction in the following section
from the finale of the symphony, where the motif intertwines plagally around its
principal tone C and in repetition around B j? :
Allegro
Lento Horns
Trorab. + Tuba
J f JJi.J J
ff marc, e pesanle dim.
Lento
J J i.j«iJ U J Ji.j j j u
4) In the afore-cited example the unison sound of low wind instruments, trombone
and tuba likewise contribute to the archaic atmosphere, the mythical effect. This
section is in its sound effects and its narrative function of a similar nature as the
primitivistic device exploited by Liszt in his Prometheus: in Liszt the instruments
are also the trombone and tuba and the whole passage forms a sort of recitative
musical gesture:
For Liszt the most "primitivistic" effect which he knew was the placing of an
augmented second to the gradually descending end part of the motif. In Liszt such
musical primitivism, however, possesses a certain mythical symbolic content: the
augmented, "forbidden" interval progressions symbolize the defiance and rebel-
liousness of Prometheus, the mythical hero. On the other hand, the equivalent
section in Borodin's symphony cannot be said to include this kind of psychic-
mythical symbolism. The mythical isotopy in Borodin's symphony is entirely
different: the content of Bogatyr symphony belongs in the domain of objectively
depicted epics.
The possible adoption of stylistic devices from Liszt4 5 or German romantic music
in general means in this case - as it did earlier in Glinka's - only the adoption of
the mythico-musical narrative technique, not of the narrated content, raconte. The
tonal expression developed by Liszt and Wagner is filled with a new, fresh content
of Russian national epics. In this respect Borodin's procedure is analogous to that
of Sibelius, who was also able to incorporate the Western romantic tonal expression
(not only that of the symphonic poem but also the technique of the Viennese-
classical, Brucknerian symphony) to a new Finnish national mythical content in
his Kullervo symphony.
The afore-cited section from the finale of Borodin's symphony is interesting also
regarding its melodic structure: in the first phrase we hear a four-tone motif composed
of whole tones around C; in the second phrase the scale is widened with a G
downwards the scale growing then a G Phrygian one, the same church tonality, by
the way, used by Stravinsky in the closing chorus of his Oedipus Rex, especially in
the messenger's declaration.
5) The third movement of the symphony begins with the song of a Bard, wherein
harp and French horn - those two "mythical" instruments par excellence in romantic
culture — together perform a balladic melody referring to ancient heroic deeds. Also
this motif and its harmonization has a surprising resemblance to Liszt's Prometheus,
whose melodic second theme even moves in a tonality with many flats as the theme
of the bard's song:
162 My th and Music
Andante
Horn (solo)
B
apr. cantabät
Harp. I w m
Vi», f'
^
'g > I
The harmonic progression at the beginning of both themes is entirely alike:
I-II7-V in G flat major, which in Borodin constitutes a transition into the principal
part of the melody and in Liszt into the motifs latter part entailing modulative and
surprising turns into altered mediant harmonies.
6) The slow movement ends with the elevation of the theme to sublimity which on
a musico-semantic level is like a last view of the past from which history's oblivion
separates us, but whose mythical figures and events are still alive in the memory.
Harmonically the procedure is similar to that in the reconciliation theme at the end
of Wagner's Götterdämmerung: against the sinking basso line rises in a contrary
motion a melody compiled from the elements of the bard's song, glorifying the
subject of the song, the ancient heroes. .Thus an effect of mythical grandeur results:
Poco pli animate
Altos
7) The enharmonic modulations have, in the context of this symphony, their own
task of creating continuity in mythico-musical narration. For example, the transition
from the slow movement to the finale means at the same time a change in the
atmosphere: it is a transference from mythical reflexion to mythical action, to a
festival. This happens with an organpoint-like fifth of the strings: D l· - A b is
interpreted as a fifth C # - G #, a germ for the ninth chord of the dominant in
B major, the principal tonality of the finale.
8) It is the long organpoints which create also the atmosphere of primitive music
and ritual, a sort of archaic monotony. This is illustrated by the very beginning
of the finale, where an organpoint on Fjtf for 17 bars occurs, serving as a tensed
dominant effect as well and producing in that way expectation and an air of
solemnity (Festivitätsgefühf),
9) The main theme of the finale is an example of the use of a modal scale in order
to reconstruct primal mythical communication by musical means. The modality
is produced by avoiding the leading tone A #:
Allegro
As a particular national musical trait this theme utilizes the alternation of rhythms
of 3/4 and 2/4 which gives its dance-like liveliness a special flexibility as well as
capaciousness (a similar rhythmical device is used by Sibelius at the beginning of
third movement of Kullervo symphony (see p. 122), but he, however, writes the
rhythm 5/4 (= 3/4 + 2/4).
Borodin's Second symphony affords an example of how the principally discon-
tinuous and paradigmatic mythical thinking can manifest itself in the context of
symphonic form, where the different parts of the symphony correspond to different
isotopies or levels of mythical narration and single themes and their contrasts, as
it were, to the actors of myth. The question whether the symphonic form can be
mythical is then reduced to a question as to what extent the mythical thematics,
the functions of myth and their succession corresponds to the development and
thematics in symphonic thought. One may even ask whether myth is obliged to
change its own logic in favor of that of music when it is confronted, for example,
in the development section of sonata form with a formal world of different or-
ganization. Adorno considered that Wagner was right in abandoning the Beethovenian
symphony form, since "... generally speaking the symphonic form, the principle
called a 'developing variation' by Schoenberg is completely anti-mythological."46
This might already lead to the very conclusion that symphonic and mythical thought
are incompatible, if we did not have an example of an epic-mythical symphony style
in Borodin's afore-mentioned symphony. Such a comparison between structures
of symphonic and mythical thought might be illustrated in a most appropriate manner
by a comparative research of such symphonies without any program in a proper
sense, as Borodin's Second symphony, Prokofiev's Fifth symphony and also Sibelius's
First symphony. These three works contain according to their investigators,
specialists of the styles of each composer and respective music culture, a certain,
even if hardly definable connection with the world of epic-mythical narration.4 7
But on the other hand they all are far enough from this mythical world to enable
164 Myth and Music
one to indicate any particular hero- or nature-mythical content in them. Consequently

the connection between mythical-narration, heroic epics and these symphonies must
lie in their formal structures, i.e., we can reveal their supposed mythical content
only as far as we are able to "decode" it from the musical message itself. Thus we
must elucidate the interaction of myth and music on a purely structural level and
presume that these three works are simultaneously organized by musical and mythical
thought and that their structures are then isomorphic with one another. We have
acknowledged the paradigmatic and static nature of mythical thinking: the elements
of myth are constant but their combinations new. In symphony, on the other hand,
the principle of development dominates and the themes undergo processes where
they are transformed and reveal new aspects of themselves. In Prokofiev's Fifth
symphony one has to admit that the principle of development is reduced to its
minimum: the four themes in the first movement of the symphony follow one
another hardly experiencing any changes.48 Notwithstanding the thickening and
condensation of timbre, the principal themes remain invariant. In this respect
Prokofiev's symphony seems to be in accordance with the afore-mentioned principles
of mythical discourse. Prokofiev's symphony also includes the genuinely mythical
effect produced by the repetition or recurrence of a theme — the main theme of
the first movement namely returns in the slow introduction to the finale.
No significant recurrence or recall of a theme appears in Borodin's symphony but
on the other hand in Sibelius's First symphony we again meet this mythico-musical
device in all its effectiveness at the beginning of the finale, where the "gestural"
lamento theme (see above page 126) recurs in a bread unison cantilena of the
strings (in a somewhat same manner as in Tshaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony,
where this device is used, however, to produce a tragic and resigned effect, which
thus constitutes a refusal of mythical mediation).
On the other hand, one may state - regardless of whether the symphonic form is
basically unsuited to expressing mythical atmosphere and narration or not — that in
certain cases it is the stylistic elements above all which link a composition with the
mythical sphere and that it is in this sense we may speak about a particular epic-
mythical symphonic style, manifested in the afore-mentioned symphonies.
7.2.3. Czech music: Sme tan a and Dvorak
At the same time as Glinka developed in Russia a special epic opera style evolved
from the spirit of folk music, Smetana laid the foundations for the Czech national
musical style of art music. We have already above many times scrutinized the opening
bars of the first part, Vylehrad, of Smetana's symphonic suite Ma Vlast and
considered them just as an example of the hero-mythical seme in the music of

romanticism. This suite could be grosso modo classified as national patriotic music,
but as a whole it also touches the musico-thematic network of the hero-mythical
in Western art music in the middle of the nineteenth century.
In this suite, the various parts of which are outlined according to the model
of a Lisztian symphonic poem (even though Liszt did not form series of his
symphonic poems) we may regard as hero-mythical primarily the first one, Vysehrad,
whose very title has a mythical connotation in referring to the castle of the legendary
queen Libuse near Prague,49 the fifth movement, Tabor, and the sixth one.Blanik.
The third movement, Sarka, based on a story from Czech mythology about a Valkyrie
who defeated the knight Ctirad, would nowadays look like a faded version of Wagner's
musical portrayals of warlike woman figures; this movement is most akin to academic
descriptive historical music. One of the most important musical motifs in this suite
is undoubtedly the aforementioned theme of VySehrad on the harps, the character
of which inevitably suggests the mythical prehistoric world. A second important
theme is the vigorous motif of the Hussite song placed in a heavy unisonous sound,
giving this brief motif specifically the flavor of a heroic battle song (in the same
way as, above, in the main theme of Borodin's B minor symphony):
Str. . > > > >
? ff
Γ,
r f» -Θ-Θ-
ww • -ι Γ <
These two themes, the elegiac and noble one of Vysehrad and that of the Hussite
song in the Tabor movement, reaffirming the faith and readiness for battle (compare
the finale of Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony), are ultimately combined in
the depiction of the historic battle of the "white mountain" in the last movement,
Blanik, and brought to their definitive triumph by setting them to a powerful
tutti of the whole orchestra. The result is a veritable apotheosis of a nation:
the mythical appears here in the form of the elevation of a memorable event from
national history into mythical greatness:
166 Myth and Music
H., Tromb., Trump
ι ·» Ί° I I
ψ
yg ^P
Str
•σ
sf
Ό >
ί/
u ΤΤΓ
The two nature depictions in the suite do not, however, represent musical mani-
festations of the nature-mythical, but rather the basic atmosphere in these com-
positions is the same kind of absolutization and patriotization of national nature
and landscape as was noted above.
If one compares Smetana's suite of symphonic poems with Liszt's symphonic
poem the similarities are immediately apparent: they both use short and concentrated
themes which do not change in the course of the work but which are placed in an
ever new light through orchestration and harmonization. One may, for example,
regard as a point of comparison Liszt's Hunnenschlacht where the organ's chorale
theme depicting the triumph of Christianity is finally allowed to grow into a solemn
hymn of victory. On the other hand, Smetana's nature pastorals already exceed
the limits of the pastorale episodes contained in Liszt's symphonic poem.
In DvoFak's production one may find elements alluding to the mythical, as well,
even if their definition a.o. in his symphonies is already a good deal more difficult
than in the Russian symphonic tradition. In Dvorak, on the other hand, influences
and even direct quotations from Smetana occur. At any rate, Dvorak's interpretation
of the mythical is well elucidated by his orchestral series Legends op. 59. On the
whole, Dvorak's Legends belong in the same category as the epic-balladic style
typical of Brahms. Thus, in Dvorak's suite Legends it is hard to distinguish a
legendary seme in the sense that it would be composed of subordinated semes:
the sacred (a legend is, in fact, the lifestory of a saint) + the balladic (which we
have previously paralleled with saga in the Jollesian sense) + the fantastic or fabulous
(legend often entails something which is "miraculous" or is seen as a "miracle").
One may discern some of these traits, it is true, in the tonal language of Dvorak's
Legends and we are, therefore, going to examine these compositions just from the
viewpoint of this "mythical" or "legendary" style.
There are ten legends, altogether, small-scale compositions most frequently based
on two opposing themes, but in which the contrasts between themes are not sharpened
or developed further. Consequently, all Dvorak's Legends have a static, quiet and
affective quality. There is no concern about any mythical greatness or heroism,
since the dimensions of myth have been diminished into a "self-forgetting pleasure"
typical rather of a fairy tale. Thus Dvorak's Legends form a series of expressive
pictures, tableaux vivants representing scenes from a nation's prehistory. They often
move in softened and darkened subdominant fields which endow them with a tenderly
melancholy, nostalgic flavor. In this respect one may think of the singing secondary
theme in the first legend or the turn of the main theme with soft parallel thirds to the
minor subdominant in the sixth legend as well as its end with a motif suggesting
Beethoven's Les adieux motif. The first two mentioned theme occurrences are at the
same time sections typical of the general atmosphere of th*s whole genre:
First Legend:
Sixth Legend:
poco a poco dim. e rit.

ufc
3 3 3 3 ^
168 Myth and Music
True, some legends have a tendency to "dramatize" the situation with rapid tempo
changes and to produce in that way somewhat the same kind of dialectics between
Rausch and Traum elements50 as in Dvorak's Dumkas (see above p. 121). This
holds true for the second and sixth legends. Some of the more robust melodic types,
such as the main themes in the first and fourth legends are evidently related to
Brahms's balladic themes as they appear in Brahms's many piano compositions or
the previously mentioned main theme of the slow movement in the Fourth symphony,
which might even be directly paralleled with the principal theme of the fourth legend.
In some cases enharmonic modulations create an air of the fabulous, as in the
sixth legend with its modulation from C sharp minor to D flat major in the middle
section and through a highly skilful modulation back again to C sharp minor. A
further example is provided by the modulation to the dominant of the main tonality,
D major in the ninth legend, before its recapitulation of the principal theme (9-11
bars before the beginning of the recapitulation):
Λ ff
4
r
ι. r j-f
% i j η, l' ^ i
jy
te;
In the ninth legend the long organ point on D imparts archaic solemnity to the
French horn fanfares (in the orchestral version), combining in that way the seme
of the sublime with that of the legendary. The impression of sublimity is further
emphasized by a rising dotted rhythmical figure:
In troduction: the my th ical in Lisz t and Slavonic Music 169
Andante con moto
The F# which is heard after an "empty" tonal field with fifths does not, however,
mean the establishing of D major but an anticipated leading tone: the listener waits
for G major but the outcome is a false cadence and furthermore in the form of a
flattened sixth grade, E flat major. The modulation from E flat major to the main
tonality is realized enharmonically through D flat minor (see the example above):
Ob = C * — C sharp minor — F sharp minor — A major — D major (= D major:
(for continuation see the example on p. 168)
In many legends a certain static impression is also created by plagal cadence types
which are common to all of them: see, for example, the cadence before the beginning
of the side passage in the first legend (bars 48-49), the end of the fourth legend,
the ends of the main section and recapitulation in the ninth legend. Some legends
again are characterized by a dance-like flavor — as is the third legend, to cite a typical
example. The dance-like character of these legends is, however, far from the
picturesque dance scenes in Dvorak's Rusalka, Smetana's Bartered Bride or Russian
epic-romantic opera or even from the dance-like scherzos of the Viennese-classical
symphony.
170 Myth and Music
They represent precisely that idealization of the dance-like character to which we

have already referred in a previous chapter (see above p. 121). Ultimately we must
ask, What, then, is particularly "legendary" about Dvorak's Legends? One feature
which might be considered legendary in these small musical pictures is just the hazy,
consciously distanced expression of all the aforementioned elements. The legendary
atmosphere in all these compositions is based above all on the nuances in their
harmonic progressions, on the art of conveying with unexpected modulations and
tonal relations the "miraculous" atmospnere proper to legend as well as to fairy
tale. Especially the deviations to altered subdominant tonalities furnish these legends
with the archaizing stylistic context which places the aforementioned "miraculous"
quality at a certain temporal distance and attaches a mythical shimmer to it.
7.2.4. The nature-mythical in Slavonic music - Myths of Szymanowsky
In this survey of the mythical in Slavonic music we have observed primarily the
subgenres of the hero-mythical, fabulous and legendary - taking into consideration,
however, that the selected examples only throw some light upon these musical
manifestations of mythical reality, but do not comprise any exhaustive list of them —
in this sense the area of the Slavonic music tradition is all too broad and rich to be
discussed in its entirety within the confines of the present study. Nevertheless, we
have only incidentally examined the manifestations of the nature-mythical in Slav-
onic music, although one might illustrate just this genre of the mythical with many
highly interesting compositions. Particularly in the Russian tradition one may notice
that the nature-mythical is closely related to the symbolistic view of nature - one
could only mention the great musical fresco painting of the realm of death in the
prelude to the third act of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mlada, Liadow's Enchanted Lake or
Rachmaninov's The Isle of De"th, and it is partly this ground to which Karol Szyma-
nowsky also refers in his Myths for violin and piano op. 30. This series consists of
three parts, whose names in themselves reveal that they deal with myths of metamor-
phosis, wherein some mythological being turns into a part of nature: The Fountain of
Arethusa is based on the romantic story of a nymph who is transformed into a
fountain. This is depicted in the first part, while the second tells about Narcissus,
who fell in love with his own reflection in the water, and the subject of the third
movement is Pan, likewise from ancient mythology.
In Szymanowsky's suite Myths an important structural factor is the use of the
violin's various registers and manners of playing it - and of course of the tone
colors of the piano. The Scriabin influences are evident especially in the second
movement and its rich exploitat:on of fourths - evincing Szymanowsky's admirable
ability to make rugged fourths sound softly. Insofar as one can presume that this
work tells a myth, this narration occurs to a great extent through the contrast of
tone colors. This is apparent particularly in the first movement of the suite, The
Fountain of Arethusa — one has only to think, for example, of the statements
of the main theme on violin right at the beginning of the work (score, section 1)
on a high and incorporal upper register and later of the same theme muted, low
and, as it were, more concrete (score, section 8). The same kind of contrast is
to be perceived in the last movement between the flageolet section depicting Pan
playing flute (score, section 5) and its repetition (section 14), but now with an
accompaniment of the tremolando of piano, when also the response section, heard
from piano, has in this repetition a different harmonization:
^—1 l~'lj
^m^^™*"^""·*··"· Ι γ titn-tt ntttt l-ff.
atrcl. /«r«
t jtPi'J{*nili).\i P
Θ
172 My th and Music
tasten.inolla rspr«ΪΙ —r"
If one examines the violin's part more carefully, one notes that it plays first a
broken G major tonic chord and thereafter a section composed of a scale of overtones
which, on the other hand, can be analyzed as being constructed of the initial thirds
of C, G and D major. Then appears a broken D major tonic chord. This passage has
a surprising effect due both to its tone color and its tonality: it occurs amidst an
otherwise so complicated, Scriabin-like tonal texture that the listener experiences
this passage really as a return to some elementary nature-mythical, not yet differ-
entiated, sphere.
In Slavonic music it is, however, of all the categories of the mythical, the nature-
mythical which has undergone the greatest changes: we have already hinted at the
nature-mythical quality in Rimsky-Korsakov, Liadow and Rachmaninov who interpret
it with late romantic and blended orchestral colors which seem to convey some
hidden esoteric meaning. Then this genre acquires a still more symbolistic and at the
same time more impressionistic interpretation in Scriabin and Szymanowsky. And
finally, in the early decades of this century, a reaction sets in against this musical
aestheticism which has developed from the late romantic Tristan world: there
emerges a return to primal primitive mythicism and to prehistoric man's rude and
savage joy of living. As symbols of this elementary nature the futurist poets used
the Huns and the Scythians. The nature-mythical was now interpreted as primitive
worshipping of natural forces, whose elementary power was depicted in music with
biting dissonances and pagan rhythms.5 ί The Scythian quality appeared in music
Wagner 's Siegfried 173
primarily in Prokofiev's Scythian Suite (1915) (see above p. 118) and before that in
Stravinsky's Sacre du printemps (1913). In these works the nature-mythical is
conclusively detached from late romantic and symbolistic musical thematics and
established as the model for a new modernistic outlook.
8. Wagner's Siegfried
8.1. A paradigmatic survey
8.1.1. General observations
Wagner's Nibelung tetralogy must undeniably be considered one of the pre-

eminent musical and artistic phenomena, in general, of the late nineteenth century.
On the other hand, the fact that it was myth which served as the central idea for the
Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk also places it in the focus of this study of interaction
between myth and music. In this context we shall approach it primarily as an artistic
sign system having its own autonomous structure which can be articulated on many
levels: through musical, poetic-mythological, gestural and scenic discourses. It is
not our purpose, therefore, to add any new symbolism to this semiotic structure
of Wagner's Nibelung tetralogy and consequently this study cannot be regarded as
an "interpretation" in the same sense as Nietzsche interprets Wagner from the
viewpoint of his aesthetic metaphysics,1 Adolph Appia interprets Wagner as a
director,2 Bernard Shaw according to the principles of common sense,3 Paul Claudel
from a Christian-Catholic standpoint,4 Donnington with a Jungian psychological5
approach or Francesco Orlando in a Marxist context6 — to mention only a few
examples from the apparently inexhaustible literature on Wagner.
But on the other hand it must be conceded that the very attempt to describe the
musico-mythical structure of the Nibelung tetralogy, especially from the viewpoint
of the Siegfried myth, can be regarded as only one new way among others of
interpreting Wagner, which might be called a structural or semiotic interpretation.
Such an approach might, moreover, be supported by the fact that only the structure
of a work remains immutable through history and therefore analysis and inter-
pretation should be based primarily on that. Nevertheless, the "structure" includes
also the content which in Wagner's case extends from the surface level of music and
dramatic text to their immanent mythical narrative structure - as was evident in the
survey of various connections between myth and music in the history of Western art
music (see pages 55—61).
174 Myth and Music
Furthermore, it must be stressed that our primary concern is the story of Siegfried
in Wagner's Nibelung tetralogy and for this we have valid reasons. In the first place,
the main purpose on the latter part of this study is to research different musical
interpretations of an identical or similar myth. For the mythical substance we have
thus chosen a tragic heroic myth as it is manifested by the German Siegfried, the
Greek Oedipus and the Finnish Kullervo legends. However, if we situate ourselves
on the level of the sender of a mythic-musical message, i.e., that of the composer,
we must confirm in Wagner's case that the personage of Siegfried was central in the
whole series of The Ring of the Nibelungs. As is known, Siegfried's death constituted
Wagner's first idea for a great mythological opera, the substance of which he created
by collecting numerous intrinsic themes from ancient Scandinavian and German
mythology. After a poem about Siegfried's death he wrote the part dealing with
Siegfried's youth, and finally the whole prehistory of this mythical hero, wherein
different mythical subjects intertwine.7 Thus the genetic aspects of the work justify
the particular viewpoint from which we shall examine the entire Nibelung tetralogy
(this viewpoint is moreover justified mythologically8 as well as musico-psy-
chologically).9
Consequently the mythological background of the Nibelung tetralogy, the texts
and studies which Wagner utilized seem to be fairly well elucidated. In this
connection, however, what is more important is the problem of how Wagner exploited
this material, what his attitude was toward this diffuse collection of myths at his
disposal. Although Wagner's attitude toward primal myths must be regarded as an
"external consciousness" reflecting on the mythical world transmitted through these
texts, this by no means precludes the possibility that this ancient mythical material
would undergo a new process of mythical elaboration in Wagner's consciousness.
Thus one may see in Wagner's own approach to the Edda sagas the functioning
of mythical thought, in somewhat the same sense as LeVi-Strauss dares ro regard
his own studies on mythology as one "myth" among others,11 or as Roland Barthes
presupposes that myth may utilize some ready-made sign system12 — the Nibelung
sagas in Wagner's case. We may thus observe that Wagner's Nibelung tetralogy
contains mythical meanings in two senses: first, due to its original mythical
substance and second, because of Wagner's method of reconstructing these original
myths.
Wagner himself has depicted this process in his Oper und Drama which he wrote
during intervals of composing the tetralogy:13 "Myth which had become incapable
of creating anything new was dissolved into discrete elements; its unity was broken
into thousands of pieces and the focus of its action into the infinitude of actions.
... The dissolution and death of the German epic ... makes it appear to us as a huge
multitude of actions, the more diverse, the more it is lacking of all proper sub-
stance."14
Wagner's Siegfried 175
The task posed by Wagner for himself is clearly revealed by this declaration:
Wagner strove above all to reconstruct from myth what may be called its mythical
deep structure, i.e., the religious basis, as Wagner himself calls it, 15 in relation to
which the narration of myth realized on a surface level may adopt various techniques.
Wagner thus attempted to reconstruct the true message of myth and to arrange
the diffuse activities of the heroes in German and Scandinavian mythology as
manifestations of that mythical deep structure. For Wagner the central mythical
message in German mythology was undoubtedly the life and death of Siegfried.
This idea of portraying a mythical hero's life was connected to another idea in
Wagner's mind: namely that of uniting the nature-mythical and hero-mythical
substances. Thus the hero's tragedy was paralleled with the cosmological fall of
Valhalla and the whole universe, which already in Nibelungenlied closes - as A. W.
Schlegel has remarked 16 - the circle of mythical narration. The very fact that the
nature-mythical and hero-mythical elements intertwine in Wagner'sNibelung tetralogy
has obviously contributed to its symmetrical structure. The nature-mythical element
in Wagner's tetralogy actually constitutes a sort of field and framework for the
activities of its heroes (see above Jaspers, p. 23).
8.1.2. The mythical structure
8.1.2.1. The segmentation of The Ring of the Nibelungs
We shall first try to clarify the mythical structure of Wagner's Ring, after which
we shall examine how this structure is manifested on a musical level. If we scrutinize
these four operas in their diachronic order and each opera individually from the
syntagmatic viewpoint, we can see that there are similar sections which recur both
as to mythical content as well as musical realization. We might first try to obtain
some clues from these similar sections also for the elucidation of the Ring's immanent
mythical structure. In the prelude to Rheingold we hear a purely nature-mythical
description in the musical representation of the element of water and the primal
chaos which it symbolizes. Many other musical-scenic portrayals of the nature-
mythical occur later in the tetralogy, as well: the thunder raised by Donner, Froh's
rainbow, the winter storm at the beginning of Valkyrie (which perhaps is too realistic
a musical storm painting to be included in the nature-mythical category in the sense
that we have defined it), the ride of the Valkyries, the murmur of the forest in
Siegfried, the prologue to Götterdämmerung.
After the prelude to Rheingold, the next clearly distinguishable passage in the
course of mythical narration is the Rhine maidens' story to Alberich about the magic
176 My th and Music
power of the gold and the ring and the curse associated with them. Nevertheless,
this story does not remain as the only one in the Ring tetralogy in which epic and
extensive narrations play an important part in recalling events which have occurred
either in the previous operas or in the prehistory of the whole tetralogy. Their task
is to transmit information in this mythical universe. From the viewpoint of mythical
struct are these epic narrations thus have an important integrating function, although
they may seem to be "holes" in the musico-dramatic network of the play. Other
narrations in the Ring are Löge's recounting of the theft of the gold in Rheingold,
Siegmund's narration and Wotan's long monologue in Valkyrie, Mime's narration in
the first act of Siegfried, the story of the Norns in the prologue to Götterdämmerung.
In a musical sense these narrative sections follow their own Spechgesang style in
which verbal meanings prevail and music withdraws into the background. 17 The
narrating vocal part dominates while the orchestra articulates and supports the text.
As the third type of repeated sections one may consider those passages which deal
with making or violating contracts, i.e., the contractual syntagmas. Typical sections
wherein contracts are made are, for example, the bargaining between the gods and
the giants about the exchange of Freia for the gold or Siegfried's contract with the
Gibichungs in Götterdämmerung. The restoration of a contract is demanded of
Wotan by Fricka in the second act of Valkyrie and the breaking of a contract occurs
in scenes such as that in which Alberich robs the Rhine gold at the beginning of the
tetralogy thus creating an irreconcilable conflict in the whole mythical universe of
the Ring, or in which Briinnhilde turns into Siegmund's helper in Valkyrie and breaks
her contract with Wotan or in the wedding scene in Götterdämmerung wherein
Siegfried's fraud is revealed by Briinnhilde.
As a fourth type we may distinguish the sections involving trials, musically and
dramatically often filled with action, where the hero accomplishes some task important
to the story — like Siegmund who pulls the sword out of the tree at the end of the
first act of Valkyrie or Siegfried who breaks Wotan's spear in the last act of
Siegfried.
Forming their own special group are the prophecy sections, such as Erda's
appearance amidst the quarrel between the gods and the giants in Rheingold or
Briinnhilde's prediction of Siegfried to Sieglinde in Valkyrie or the Rhine maidens'
warning to Siegfried in the last act of Götterdämmerung. The riddles also can be
considered a distinctive group, although it remains scanty: riddles are, in fact, found
only in Siegfried, above all in the scene between Mimo and Wanderer.
Finally we have those connective sections which serve merely as conjunctions or
disjunctions between other sections. This class consists of those events which depict,
for example, the movement of mythical personages from place to place or in general
the changes of isotopy, the level of action. It is in this latter sense that one must
understand such orchestral passages as the prelude to the second act of Valkyrie,
describing the transition from the human world to the isotopy of the gods. On the
other hand, Wotan's and Löge's journey to and return from Nibelheim, along with
Siegfried's Rhine journey, belong to this group representing departures and returns
- as well as perhaps also the end of Götterdämmerung.
Thus we may discern in the Ring at least seven different categories of sections,
according to which the course of the whole tetralogy is arranged following certain
kinds of "mythical situations". These sections - the nature-mythical, the connective,
and those involving narrations, trials, contracts, prophecies and riddles - enable one
to compare the similarities and dissimiliarities in the musical realization of these
"functions". This, however, would mean that we were proceeding only on the level
of narrative technique, i.e., manifestation in relation to the deep structure of myth,
whose various "figurations" we are attempting to classify. Nevertheless, we have
not yet found the basic oppositions of mythical structure in Wagner's tetralogy and
thus the keys to the technique of the /frwg's musical realization. Naturally the
diachronic aspect of the work is of primary importance in its reception but the
paradigmatic element plays a decisive role in its decoding as well. We should,
therefore, be able to articulate the content of the work according to a few isotopies,
levels to which we may relate all action in the work, the semantic universe of Wagner's
tetralogy.
8.1.2.2. The isotopies of myth, saga and fairy tale
What are the main isotopies in the Ring? As was noted in the foregoing, the
nature-mythical sections are in a central position in the whole work — we might
even distinguish a particular level of nature, represented by such figures as Erda,
the Rhine maidens, Valkyries, the Forest Bird, the Norns — in general, all the nature-
mythical elements in the Ring. The gods, too, belong on this level insofar as they —
true to their mythological origins — represent some element of nature, for example,
Loge as the god of fire, Donner, the god of thunder etc. Nevertheless, the gods
appear in the Ring not only as personifications of the elements of nature but also
as a society, whose leader is Wotan. We may thus call this second important isotopy
social and not cultural (although structural anthropology might incline us to choose
such a denomination of the isotopy). The isotopy of society consists, it is true,
of actors representing the human culture in the true sense, such as the mernbers of
the Wälsunga clan Siegmund and Sieglinde, as well as Siegfried himself among others,
but they are in any case presented as having strayed on to the level of society or as
having been expelled therefrom rather than as actual representatives of it. On the
other hand, the Gibichung clan, Alberich, Hagen, Günther and Gutrune, form the
opposite pole for the society of the gods. If we now recall our recent division of
178 Myth and Music
the Ring into different "sections" we will recognize that most of the sections dealing
with establishing, maintaining or violating contracts are situated on this level of
society. As we remember, in the definition of "saga" by Andre Jolles, the essential
point in saga was a certain familial structure and events related to it, as marriages,
antagonisms between different clans, alliances, inheritances, vengeance etc. We may
thus notice that it is precisely on this level that the heroic action in the Ring is
mostly performed — in the same way as nature-mythical symbolism is related to the
afore-mentioned isotopy of nature and its actors.
But are these two isotopies sufficient to cover the entire action and content of the
tetralogy? On which level should the protagonists of the drama, Siegfried himself,
be placed, he who forms the central aspect of this study? Siegfried is a being beyond
nature as well as society: he is born of the incest between Siegmund and Sieglinde,
and he does not know fear. He has grown up outside society, in a savage state,
raised by Mime. In addition to Siegfried there are also other beings in the Ring who
belong neither to nature nor to society: in this category we may include such
fantastic fairy tale creatures as the giants, the dragon and the dwarfs.· This isotopy
might be called the fairy tale isotopy. That Siegfried belongs to this particular
isotopy is indicated by his very inability to act on the levels of nature or society. In
both cases the hero's deficiency concerns communication: first, Siegfried is unable
without magical aid to understand the message of a representative of nature, the
Forest Bird — this is possible only after Siegfried has acquired magical properties by
touching his lips to the blood of the dragon Fafner which he has slain. Second,
Siegfried is incapable of communicating with the two principal groups on the isotopy
of society: with the gods Siegfried has too weak a bond of communication because
he breaks Wotan's spear (compare an equivalent function in the Oedipus myth where
Levi-Strauss regards the lexeme wherein Oedipus kills Laius as representing too weak
a communication)18 and with the Gibichungs Siegfried has an excessively strong
bond of communication which makes him fall into the intrigue of Hagen and
Günther. Thus we may determine the tetralogy to consist of three main isotopies
according to which the reading of this great four-part mythic-music-drama can be
made and call them the levels of nature — or myth, as we may also say, considering
the original mythological meaning of this isotopy - society or saga - saga com-
prehended as events related to a familial structure - and fairy tale, or beings and
events occurring outside nature and society. After this we may examine the
interrelationships of these three isotopies, whether they are contrary and if so in
what way they maintain communication with one another, how actors belonging to
different isotopies can communicate, how the transfers from one isotopy to another
occur (to which we already referred in distinguishing the special connective sections
depicting departures and returns) and how these isotopies are manifested on the
musical and scenic level. First there is cause to recapitulate the various isotopies and
and the actors involved therein:

The isotopy of nature or myth:
Erda, the Rhine maidens, Valkyries, Norns, the Forest Bird, Loge, Donner and other
gods as representatives of the elements of nature.
The isotopy of society or saga:
1. The society of the gods: Wotan, Fricka, Freia, Froh, Loge (as an adviser), Donner.
2. The society of the Gibichungs: Alberich, Hagen, Günther, Gutrune.
3. The Wälsungas: Siegmund and Sieglinde, (Siegfried) (personages expelled from the
society).
The isotopy of fairy tale or beings outside nature and society
Siegfried, giants, Mime, dwarfs (the Nibelungs).
In observing the bonds of communication on each level separately, it is apparent
first that, on the level of nature, harmony prevails among its various members. On the
level of society, however, conflict exists, a continuous cold war between different
parties, groups or families. The third level, which we have called that of fairy tale,
is dominated by war between individuals, a struggle against each other: Fasolt contra
Fafner, Siegfried contra Mime, Siegfried contra Fafner - here we meet a savage,
presocial state, a world where the right of the stronger, braver and more cunning
prevails, marked by a continuous struggle for existence.
How, then, are the various isotopies related to one another? One may say that
the most important mythical contradiction in the whole Ring is based precisely on
the relations among these three levels. The basic opposition in this great mythical
drama is the conflict between nature and society, which arises when Alberich carries
off the gold of the Rhine maidens at the beginning of Rheingold. This robbery
constitutes the real initial situation, the appearance of a lack, for the whole tetralogy.
That this lack, or basic contradiction, is not yet resolved in the apotheosis of Valhalla
at the end of Rheingold is revealed by the Rhine maiden's wistful song which carries
from the depths of the water to the ears of the gods. After this primal crime the
Rhine gold and the magic ring forged from it become the object of a struggle for
power on the level of society. Both Wotan and Alberich want the ring and the power
it brings. When Wotan is obliged to give up his fight he exploits other people in order
to attain the power associated with the ring. Wotan therefore contrives his grand
idea of a hero who would save him and the gods from the danger presented by the
Gibichungs and the Nibelungs. However, Wotan is forced to abandon even this
dream and it is at this point where the Schopenhauerian philosophy of renunciation
enters.
In fact, the whole Ring must be characterized as a narrative genre in which the
hero's task is to restore the order violated at the beginning. The narration thus
represents the type where the existing order is considered deficient, alienated, and
the situation incomplete and unbearable.19 Siegfried's task is to restore the original
180 Myth and Music
order. The element which at the beginning of the myth penetrates the world of
natural order and breaks it down might be called according to the philosophical
concept, Wille zur Macht2 ° which is symbolized by a magical ring. Siegfried must
assume the responsibility for the fate of the world. In this task he must reconcile
not only the conflict between the isotopies of nature and society, but the internal
contradiction on the level of society between the gods and the Gibichungs, as a result
of which he himself is ultimately destroyed.
How do these isotopies manifest themselves in the musical discourse in Wagner's
Ring? In the first place, each isotopy, together with its actors has its own motif: first,
in the prelude to Rheingold, we hear the motif of the nature-isotopy rising up wave-
like on the tones of a broken triad and their passing tones, from which most of the
motifs of the actors belonging to the nature-isotopy are derived:
On the level of society every important grouping has its own motif: the clan of the
gods is represented by the Valhalla motif (although the deities' front is not entirely
solid, since Loge does not at heart believe in Wotan's Valhalla program) and the
Gibichungs and the Wälsungas have their own motifs as well, all of which are
thematically interrelated:
Walhalla motif
Wälsungen motif
- -
Gibichungen motif
The fairy tale isotopy, on the other hand, is characterized not only by the tonally
static, impressionistic and pastoral music of forest murmurs but also by other stylistic
features denoting the fabulous which also transform the motifs of actors belonging
to other isotopies into fabulous. Thus Wotan, for example, has two motifs: when
he is considered a member and leader of the society of the gods, he is portrayed by
the so-called contract or spear motif, but when he moves in the fairy tale isotopy in
Siegfried he is given another motif depicting the seer Wanderer (which is derived
from the scene at the end of Valkyrie, wherein Wotan puts Brunnhilde to sleep):
«
Similarly, Siegfried has a different motif on each level: as a fairy tale hero he is
characterized by a simple horn call, as a saga hero he is described by a heavier and
more heroic motif derived from the theme of the young Siegfried, and as a mythical
hero he is given a special Siegfried motif whose hero-mythical quality effectuated
by alternations between major and minor has already been mentioned (see p. 81):
Horn call motif
Hero motif
182 Myth and Music
8.1.3. Modalities and their musical characterization
Next we have to examine the relations among the various actors. These relational
networks may be expressed by music in many forms. They may appear in musico-
thematic kinships among diverse motifs; for example Siegmund's motif is derived
from Wotan's contract motif, the motif of the Rhine maidens forms a core for
the Forest Bird motif, Briinnhilde's love motif is a fusion of Siegmund's Wälsungen-
leid (a), Schwesterliebe (b) and Siegfried's motifs (c):
0
=? ·Lg
—d LJ-J -«
On the other hand, the relations among the various actors may be expressed by
their own musical motifs - as the motif of Goldherrschaft, manifesting the power
of the gold upon various personages or that of Schwesterliebe, depicting the relation
of Siegmund and Sieglinde, or the motif of Nibelungenhass, which portrays the
antagonism between two groups on the level of society (the gods contra the
Nibelungs and Gibichungs):
Yet one may ask with reason whether music is not capable of defining these
relations even more precisely. If the interrelationships of actors in mythical discourse
(in general) are manifested in various modalities which can be divided into at least
four principal categories: the will (vouloir), the knowing (savoir), the power
(pouvoif) and the doing (faire),21 should not music also be able to transmit and
express these modalities?
We may first observe how these different modalities are related to the mythical
structure - the isotopies - of the Ring. In the Ring Wotan represents above all the
modality of the will (vouloir) which is disclosed by his attitude to other actors whose
modalities he wants to subordinate to his will. Wotan's will to realize his plans
(vouloir faire) is consequently expressed in Siegmund's motif, which is, as has been
pointed out, an extension of Wotan's will, but on the other hand it is manifested
also in tba. opposition to this will, namely in Siegfried's sword motif, which is
musically contrary to Wotan's contract or so-called spear motif: 22
"J , Λ Ι
Although Wotan is characterized by the modality of the will (vouloir) he is,

nevertheless, obliged to resort to the knowing (savoir) of the mythical level, which
he finds, above all, in the figure of Erda who twice intervenes in the action. Nature
thus represents in the Ring the highest authority of knowledge but, on the other
hand, the modality of knowing itself appears also in a modified form, for example,
in the isotopy of society as the wiliness of Loge, Wotan's adviser, or in the fairy tale
isotopy as the magical knovledge revealed in the riddle scene between Wanderer and
Mime in Siegfried. Wotan's will, however, needs in addition to knowledge, proper
executive resources, which he acquires primarily from the power (pouvoir) of the
fairy tale hero, Siegfried.
When we turn our attention to Siegfried we see that he is characterized by power
without knowledge. His situation at the beginning of Siegfried might be described
by the existential term Geworfenheit (Thrownness):23 he is quite literally thrown
into the world, he does not know who he is, whence he has come, what his origin is.
Nor does he comprehend the message of the Forest Bird without magic. Siegfried's
will, on the other hand, is previous^ programmed - he does not know his own
destiny as a mythical hero whose task is to reconcile the conflicts between the
isotopies of nature and society. Siegfried does not know his "inner code" which
guides his actions and powers. Just so we might interpret the Goethean concept
of Genius. The hero is a self-directing being whose "Genius" is the inner code
system determining the conduct of this being. "Genius" never abandons the hero
conclusively and the hero need not even be aware of this mechanism guiding him
from the inside.
On the other hand, the actors of nature, the Rhine maidens, Erda and the Norns
represent knowing, but they lack power and will.
We may thus infer that each isotopy of the Ring is characterized by one of these
modalities: the level of nature is distinguished by knowing, the level of society by
will, which means that everybody wants power and strives to possess the magical
means to it, the ring. Its acquisition is difficult, however, and not all the actors know
the curse associated with it. And finally the level of fairy tale expresses the power
184 My th and Music
to which the actors in nature as well in society resort. But even this modality,
power, requires knowing of the isotopy of nature (as, for example, Siegfried needing
the guidance of the Forest Bird) or the will of the level of society (as in the case of
the Nibelungs, enslaved by Alberich, forging the gold in the bowels of the earth).
Consequently it can be said that the isotopies have need of one another and that all
three are interdependent. If an actor belonging to some isotopy tries to act apart
from this triple structure of modalities and isotopies, his doing (faire) is condemned
to failure. All action in the Ring depends on this three-part cooperation and
reciprocity. There is, as it were, a sort of harmonia praestabilita among the different
isotopies and a silent covenant on interaction whose violation, the robbery of the
gold at the beginning of Rheingold, will inevitably lead to serious consequences on
other planes as well.
This will also explain why every actor must have a "helper" in some other isotopy:
Alberich employs Mime in order to forge the magic helmet Tamhelm, Wotan consults
Erda, Siegfried is guided by the Forest Bird and Günther uses Siegfried to conquer
Briinnhilde. Wotan requires a helper in order to realize his great project of restoring
the power to the gods, i.e., somebody who does not represent another will beside
his own, but a simple power. That is why Siegmund no longer can play the role of a
helper in Valkyrie after breaking the will of the gods, especially that of Fricka, and
the norms established by them, by committing incest. Nor can Briinnhilde be used
as a helper after emancipating herself from Wotan's will.
In this study our problem is not, however, exclusively the mythical structure of
Wagner's Ring, but how it is related to its respective musical manifestation - in other
words, to what extent and in what way music expresses myth. Is it possible to infer
from the mythical structure of the Ring the phenomena on the surface level - in this
case the manifestations of musical, poetic and scenic discourses? If this were possible,
we might inversely find an explanation for the problem of why the music is just
such as it is in any given scene of the tetralogy. To a certain degree we may perhaps
recognize such subordination of music to serve some modality. We note, for example,
that the motifs expressing physical activity are in most cases situated on the level
of power or fairy tale. These include the work motif of the Nibelungs, the motif of
the giants, Siegfried's horn motif and the music depicting the forging. But there is
also another kind of power than the physical one, namely that of magic. One can
distinguish here motifs based on whole tone scales and augmented triads having a
magic connotation, as in the themes of Wanderer and sleep (see above the magical
seme, p. 99). The action on the fairy tale isotopy is thus articulated as a contrasting
pair: physical power contra magical power and as musical motifs expressing them.
What about other modalities, for example, the knowing represented by nature? The
definitive authority and oracular fatefulness, properties of nature's knowing which
are clearly conveyed by Wanderer's words in the third act of Siegfried when he calls
Erda "allwissende" and "urweltweise", are manifested also musically not only in the
majestic timelesness of the nature motif (see above p. 180), but in the tragic,
resigned sublimity of the Entsagung motif (see p. 94) and in the harmonies fairly
radiating hidden knowledge in the Schicksal motif connected most frequently with
Briinnhilde and the Norns:
A. 1 xH · i 1 jj
ΡΤ\ " Λ r: · j
vjJ α ·. li if ~
*
ΡΡ
f
*T r r L?_-
no
P
U «k o uB c
.ί- S.p,Ι S Λ
^ D
Λ K — "E
Ρ
fl K
\ff
TJ m*—*,
X"t
""r. r
u
β.
The modality of the will, on the other hand, is manifested in the concentrated
leitmotifs of the isotopy of saga or society, as in Wotan's contract motif, in themes
indicating the diverse societies and in Hunding's angular triad motif.
Musical motifs are also capable of reflecting relations among- actors. Taking as a
starting point the simple relation sender-receiver, its musical counterpart would be a
motif derived from the motif of sender thus revealing the direction of the relation
even when the motif indicates receiver. So, for example, Erda's relation to Wotan
as a transmitter of the knowledge of nature, an oracle, is expressed by a variation
on nature's own motif. On the other hand, Siegfried's relation to nature is expressed
in the horn call, which is a variation on the motif of the Rhine maidens and the Forest
Bird, indicating that Siegfried's sender is as much nature as society. Further, the
relation of the giants to the gods is represented by a variation on Wotan's contract
motif, which in turn reveals that the contract itself has been made on the level of
society, i.e., Wotan is the sender, the giants the receiver:
Giant s'motif
E r da motif
Pf j: / ' f f i r
186 My th and Music
Thus the leitmotifs of the Ring, for which there exists innumerable interpretations
and elucidations, may, after all, be classified according to which actor or relation
between actors they represent. From the leitmotifs themselves one may on many
occasions infer the nature of this relation or the modality of communication which
is involved.
In order to illustrate this idea we might chart some leitmotifs which are central
to the Ring, indicating to which isotopy they belong and to which actor they refer:
not nature,
mod:ility knowing (savolr) will fvouloir) not society (fairy tale)
power {poavoir)
"* Wanderer motif
Siegfried ιη-mf y f f i p JJ J IJ J
Siegfried motif
wakening motif aleep motif
S legmund
Slegmund motif
SieglLnrie
Sieglinde motif
—u 1—ι -f—ι m j ^-ψ t e

V,ei u ! tt'a-gii' Wo-jc.du Wei - Ir, W:ill* xur\Vlc-(f
Rhine m.iidcn motif
fht> Forest »irxl

Forest Bird mctlf
,_ _ . J. dι ΐ
*Ι;|Γ {Hi, \&
Loje
Loge motif
f
Gold1 ne Xp-fel wachsen tn Ih-ren Gnr-tei
.i I j P r r i f ·'-<»- ·+· Λ m f·*^_|» A
youth motif
-^ Lr U» Lj"
(fiant motif
Valkyrie motif
Hmvlln?
Hunding motif
Λ Jj J f *
Hagen motif
ij l Γ
He - d a ! He-di' Ke-doi
thuiw)«r motif
rnlnbo«· motJf
188 Myth and Music
In addition to these motifs there are naturally many others in the Ring which
are not directly related to any afore-mentioned isotopy, nor to any modality but
which represent the fourth modality of action in general (faire). The ring motif,
for example, belongs in this category, as do numerous other themes projecting
primarily dramatic situations and moods or scenic elements (like the Valhalla motif)
in the work.
8.1.4. Wagner's leitmotif technique: definition of motifs
The motifs directly concerning some actor in the Ring may convey their content
in two ways: either they define their object qualificatively when they depict the
actor's traits or character or they define an actor functionally, i.e., depicting his
actions in the mythical universe. 24
For example, Wotan's motif - the contract motif - represents the latter group
of functionally defined motifs. It is interesting to note that Wotan's adversary in the
Ring, Alberich, also is musically characterized in a functional way: he is portrayed
by the curse motif. Thus the opposing pair Wotan/Alberich is delineated by opposing
actions contract/curse and their equivalent musical motifs. Siegfried and Siegmund
both have a qualificative motif: Siegmund's qualificative motif reveals him as a
persecuted hero and a person sent by Wotan - his motif is derived directly from
Wotan's motif which again, is functional. Siegfried's qualificative motif projects his
heroic properties and destiny, but in addition to this he also has functional musical
motifs, such as the sword motif or the horn call motif.
The purpose of these musical motifs in the Ring is, on the other hand, to clarify
the mythical structure by musical means. Thus, Siegfried's sword motif is, as has
been noted, opposed to Wotan's contract (or spear) motif with a sinking scale
passage. Siegfried's hero motif, which is derived from the horn call, is musically
contrary to Briinnhilde's love motif — which contrast would perhaps symbolize
the distance caused by the oblivion between Siegfried and Brü'nnhilde in Götter-
dämmerung (this contrast is further emphasized by the resemblance between the
true Siegfried motif and Briinnhilde's love motif, see above the hero-mythical seme,
page 94).
Otherwise Briinnhilde's love motif is to be considered a functional theme: it does
not portray Briinnhilde's character as a Valkyrie, or her character as a heroine
emancipated from Wotan's will, but only Briinnhilde's love for Siegfried: the initial
part of the motif consists of the rising sixth common to the Wälsungenleid, Siegfried
and Entsagung motifs, while the latter is built upon the interval leaps of the motifs
describing Schwesterliebe and Siegfried's youthful power.
On the other hand, the Siegfried motif has its prototypes in the Ring: already the
Entsagung motif which is heard at the beginning of Rheingold is related to the
Siegfried motif as well as to Brunnhilde's love motif. Thus, when listening for the
first time to the Siegfried motif in Valkyrie in Brunnhilde's prediction to Sieglinde,
we might perhaps instinctively feel its connection with the Entsagung motif heard
at the beginning of the whole tetralogy. We might, therefore, sense that the episodes
of the future hero's life will include the function of renouncing love (Entsagung).
Thus, already when hearing the Siegfried theme for the first time, we notice that it
contains a definition not only of his character but also of his function: Siegfried is
a hero with the function of renouncing love. Consequently, we realize that certain
themes may serve as both a functional and qualificative definition of an actor in
mythical narration.
In the musical discourse of the Ring it is undeniably Siegfried who is the central
personage in the whole tragedy, while Wotan is left on the sidelines on the level of
musical manifestation — although on the level of mythical interpretation he might
prove to be as important as Siegfried. Furthermore, it is interesting to observe how,
merely on the basis of Siegfried's themes, we can infer certain aspects of his mythical
background without actually referring to the textual or scenic level in the Ring.
Wagner did not consider it his task to correct ancient myths but rather to compile
them.2 s Consequently he compressed into one personage those traits which in fact
only formed several aspects of the same mythical actor: Balder, the god of light,
Sinfjötl, who is born of incest, and the figures of Helgi, Sigurd and Sigfrid. 26
Siegfried's various leitmotifs also reflect different aspects of Siegfried's nature, which
Wagner had gathered from diverse mythical sources. Therefore, what there is of
"Sinfjötl" in Siegfried is conveyed by the motifs of Siegfried's lineage, Siegmund's
and Sieglinde's motifs and the Wälsunga motifs, which are recalled as a sort of
panorama in Siegfried's funeral march. Moreover, that in Siegfried which goes back
to Helgi, Sigurd and Sigfrid, i.e., a hero who breaks Wotan's spear, conquers a
Valkyrie and is finally slain by Gutrune's (Kriemhilde's) brother, is accordingly
expressed in Siegfried's hero motif. On the other hand, the mythical element in
Siegfried's life, i.e., his role as reconciler of the conflicts between nature, the gods
and the Gibichungs (which was Wagner's own invention) is expressed by the Siegfried
and sword motifs. Finally, that which in Siegfried reflects Balder, the dying god of
light, is expressed in Siegfried's last motif before death, which is the same theme as
that with which Briinnhilde greets the sun when she is awakened at the end of
Siegfried. In that way we may reconstruct from Siegfried's musical elements the
process which in Wagner's imaginative consciousness resulted in the creation of this
mythical heroic figure.
Insofar as scenic events are concerned, one may notice that the musical motifs
may represent actors when they are absent from the stage and even when they are
190 Myth and Music
absent from the dramatic text.

The former case is illustrated by the Siegfried motif in BrUnnhilde's prophecy to
Sieglinde and the latter by the sword theme emerging in connection with Wotan's
grand idea when he refers to the future hero at the end of Rheingold.
What does this merely musical presence of a mythical actor indicate? Does it
allude to the consciousness of the receiver of the whole mythical drama or to that of
the personages on the stage? In extensive epic narrations these motifs evidently
pertain to the awareness of the narrator. But do they at the same time refer to
something else, as well? Do we have to construct in our minds - due to these
purely musical motifs - a sort of "ideal" observer or listener, as in the theory of the
Schlegels who regarded the chorus in ancient tragedy as a kind of ideal receiver, but
which in Wagner's case would certainly be the orchestra.2 7
This problem arises especially in the larger symphonic orchestral sections wherein
it is the orchestra alone which advances the mythical narration. The role of music is
naturally at its greatest in the scenes in which other discourses often cease, while
on the other hand it is as its smallest in the sections in which mythical narration is
expressed primarily by text and/or scenic action and gestural language. The extensive
orchestral passages in Wagner's Ring may perhaps be regarded as rather like symphonic
poems28 — one has only to think of the forest murmurs in Siegfried or Siegfrie'd's
Rhine journey in Götterdämmerung. Then, however, arises the question of how their
musico-thematic substance should be arranged when it is not supported by the
intertextual relations of the drama. Some light is thrown on the problem when we
compare them with, for example, Liszt's symphonic poems. Could we in Liszt's
case apply the aforepresented method of functional or qualificative definition of the
themes? In some cases one may say that in Liszt also the characteristic of a musical
theme expresses the nature and being of the hero denoted as the program for the
symphonic poem in question. In this respect one has only to think of Faust,
Hamlet or Prometheus. But what about such more abstract poems as Die Ideale or
Les Preludes? In them the musical weight of the themes - and not the portrayal
of any mythical personage - is the only decisive factor and forms their qualificative
definition.
On the other hand, functional definition is pursued in these symphonic poems in
the course of the work, in those musical processes and transformations to which
the main themes of the poems are subjected. Thus the functional definition of a
theme is, in fact, constituted by the progression of the whole work.
If we eliminate text and stage from Wagner's opera, we realize that on the musical
level almost the same things happen as in Liszt's symphonic poems: certain themes
anticipate other themes and in appearing successively in different musical contexts
always reveal new aspects of themselves. When they recur they point to something
previously presented and thus acquire their own particular content - which device
we have considered one musico-psychological condition for a mythical effect.

Wagner's leitmotifs are thus arranged on the musical level according to a somewhat
similar code as the themes in a Lisztian symphonic poem, although Wagner's leit-
motif technique is a considerably more complicated procedure than Liszt's trans-
formation of a few themes. In Wagner the occurrences of the themes are also
determined by scenic and textual factors, even if one were to consider the scenic
figures as emanating from the stream of music.
8.2. A syntagmatic survey
8.2.1. Wagner's tetralogy from the viewpoint of the Siegfried saga
In the foregoing, when articulating the content of the Ring into three isotopies,
we were conscious of the fact that this structure serves simply as a working hypothesis,
a conceptual tool in order to comprehend the mythical structure and its musical
manifestation in the Ring. We have already found this structure to be useful when
observing especially the part of Siegfried, the principal mythical hero in the events
of the tetralogy. We may now consciously narrow our viewpoint and proceed to
a systematic redescription of the entire Ring focusing on its central figure Siegfried.
We previously observed how certain musical passages anticipate the entrance of
this mythical hero into the stage, which happens only in the beginning of Siegfried.
On the other hand, we saw that after the death of the hero, it is just on the musical
level where a kind of review is given of his life and where its major phases and themes
are recalled. This occurs in Siegfried's funeral march, at the end of Götterdämmerung,
followed only by Briinnhilde's farewell and the musical fresco of the downfall of
Valhalla. The actual life and activities of the hero are thus outlined between two
temporal categories, avant/apres, before and after. The heroic action remaining
between these limits might be outlined according to those functions which Jan de
Vries, among others, uses to postulate the model of a heroic life as it appears fairly
universally in myths, fairy tales and sagas.29 This scheme by de Vries may be made
more precise with the "Proppian" functions already presented above (see p. 56).·
We may thus outline Siegfried's life in the following manner:
1. The hero's prehistory (avant)
a) The appearance of a lack: Alberich robs the Rhine gold and thus causes a
a fundamental conflict between the levels of nature and society.
b) The anticipation of the hero (I): Wotan conceives the idea of a hero who is not
bound by contracts of the social level and who therefore is the only person able to
reconcile the conflict.
192 Myth and Music
c) The hero's origin: the scene of Siegmund and Sieglinde in Hunding's hut. Sieg-
mund pulls out of an oak the sword sent by Wotan as the token of a hero and the
lovers escape into the forest.
d) The anticipation of the hero (II): Briinnhilde prophesies to Sieglinde the coming
of the hero, Siegfried.
2. The hero's life
a) The hero is banished as a child to be reared by somebody else: Mime fosters
Siegfried.
b) The hero reveals his powers early: Siegfried forges a sword.
c) The hero acquires "invulnerability", or the mark of hero: Siegfried does not know
fear.
d) The heroic deeds (a battle against a monster): Siegfried and Fafner.
e) The hero conquers a maiden after having overcome great dangers: Siegfried
awakens Briinnhilde.
f) The hero's return: Siegfried's return and conduct as "a false hero".
g) The hero's death: Siegfried's death (includes in reality also Siegfried's return as a
"true hero", i.e., the recognition of the hero).
3. The hero'sposthistory (apres)
a) The funeral march: the survey of Siegfried's life as a whole (the hero's return in
a purely musical sense).
b) The lack is redressed: Brunnhilde's farewell and the fall of Valhalla; the ring is
restored to the Rhine maidens.
In the context of this study we are especially occupied with the problem of how
these "functions" are expressed in music and, on the other hand, how in several
instances it is the musical discourse which, of all the discourses participating to the
drama, alone gives us a hint of the respective functions. These functions are
distributed unequally among the various operas: the first two functions occur in
Rheingold, ~ next two in Valkyrie. The actual life of the hero is presented
primarily in me course of Siegfried but a part of it, the last two sections, occurs
in Götterdämmerung, as does the hero's posthistory.
If we again think of the distribution of these functions according to the isotopies
distinguished above, we may perceive that the hero's prehistory - excepting the first
phase, which is placed in the isotopy of nature - takes place in the world of society
or saga. The first five phases of the hero's life happen in the fairy tale isotopy, with
the last two once again in the isotopy of saga - now in the society of the Gibichungs.
The funeral march likewise belongs to this world of saga, the last section integrating
and reconciling all three levels.
8.2.2. Relations between the various parts of the tetralogy
The first two operas thus are only preparatory to the hero's appearance while
the latter two present his actual activities. Such a division might seem unbalanced
in considering the tetralogy as a whole, if the parallelisms and similarities appearing
throughout its course (to which we have already referred in segmenting the Ring,
see page 175) did not change the musico-dramatic totality of these four operas into
a very symmetrical arrangement. In a certain sense, namely, the two middle operas,
Valkyrie and Siegfried, as well as those at either extreme, Rheingold and Götter-
dämmerung, can be paralleled with each other.
One may find a parallelism between Valkyrie and Siegfried due to the fact that
the same functions are realized in both but are performed by different actors: in
Valkyrie the central figures are Siegmund and Sieglinde, in Siegfried they are Siegfried
and BrUnnhilde. In the first place, nature is non-mythical in both operas. In Valkyrie
nature is portrayed realistically with all its seasons, while in Siegfried a fabulous
nature without seasonal changes prevails. These differences are apparent on the
musical level when we compare, for example, the winter storm and the spring forest
in the first act of Valkyrie with the murmur of the Germanic fairy tale forest in
Siegfried, which serves as a frame for the mythical trials of the young Siegfried. In
both operas the hero's first trial is also similar: Siegmund pulls a sword out of
the tree in which Wotan had embedded it, while Siegfried in turn forges a sword
from the pieces into which Wotan had broken that same sword. These two trials
are musical culminations in both operas. On the other hand, if we think of broader
contexts these trials must be situated differently in each opera. Guido Adler has
commented on Wagner's way of building complete operas so that the climax comes
at the end of the musical whole.30 In Adler's opinion Siegfried's and Briinnhilde's
duet at the end of Siegfried - which scene is analogous to Siegmund's and Sieg-
linde's great duet at the end of the first act of Valkyrie - progresses with increasing
intensity through three stages to its highest point at the end.
We have already, in studying Liszt, noticed that musical narration often exploits
the general three-phase narrative structure "eventuality - passage into action -
achievement". These three degrees may be discerned in the first act of Valkyrie
and in Siegfried as a whole, naturally taking into consideration that such a succession
of phases is possible only if it is realized by the same actor or actors who first
appear fighting and thereafter victorious. 31 We may compare Valkyrie and Siegfried
since in both of them the same series, "eventuality - passage into action - achieve-
ment" is pursued by a pair of actors - in Valkyrie by Siegmund and Sieglinde, in
Siegfried by Siegfried and BrUnnhilde.
In Siegfried these three phases of action are distributed among the three acts of
the opera thus: Act I: the forging of the sword (eventuality); Act II: the elimination
194 Myth and Music
of obstacles from reaching the goal, or the slaying of the dragon and Mime, and the
breaking of Wotan's spear (passage into action); Act III: the awakening of Briinnhilde
(achievement).
One might even describe these phases as a "program" accomplished by the
protagonist of the heroic myth and observe how the same actor adopts new programs
after the preceding one has been fulfilled (This procedure has been called a "narrative
program" guiding the plot oi' narration).
The first act of Valkyrie likewise can be sketched according to this scheme :
1) Siegmund's and Sieglinde's meeting in Hunding's hut. The whole first half of the
act is filled with tense expectation which is expressed by the concentrated spareness
of the music and an almost chamber-musical reduction of musical means (Adorno's
claim that Wagner should always be heard from a certain distance inasmuch as the
musico-ί hematic details in Wagner do not stand close examination32 - which Stra-
vinsky expresses by saying that in Wagner one never hears any instrument clearly33 -
does not hold true at least in this passage). This section would correspond to the
eventuality of action.
2) The passage into action occurs with the coming of spring which is musically
described by an almost folkish simple pastoral melody. (This same theme, which
in Valkyrie expresses the call of a spring forest and nature at the beginning of
Siegfried conveys in a rhythmically changed form Siegfried's departure into the
world and the temptations of a fabulous nature:
Valkyrie:
Siegfried:
Ifl ρ -' !
Mr r^ff ^ 1
F—P-*-|
Aus dem Wald fort iii die Welt zieh'n
• · . ·
n-4
A— —ϊ1—ι1r=H
Λ J J LJ
<&-!?' ϊ *
I—J— hf— 1—tP
r r -
•j f - t i
-Ψ^
3) The achievement of action or the third phase of the scheme, begins with Sieg-
mund's naming. The giving of a name has the same meaning for a primitive mind
as the birth of the being34 and in this case the denomination constitutes the hero's
second birth, 35 his recognition as a hero through a trial, namely the pulling of the
sword out of the tree. (The trial, which here represents the last function and
culmination of the scheme, corresponds in Siegfried (in the forging of the sword)
only to the first phase of this scheme, the opening of the possibility for action.)
More similarities can be found between Valkyrie and Siegfried if one takes into
account the fact that Wotan and Briinnhilde appear also in Valkyrie and subsequently
participate in Siegfried. Valkyrie might, in fact, be considered Wotan's tragedy as
well and Wotan its principal actor.36 If we thus juxtapose Wotan and Siegfried,
the following oppositions and parallelisms will be readily apparent: from Siegfried's
viewpoint Wotan is an adversary in the same sense as Hunding serves as Siegmund's
enemy. Furthermore, in considering the helpers of these principal actors, the helper
in both cases turns into an adversary: Brunnhilde turns against Wotan and Mime
against Siegfried.
Briinnhilde's personage also is associated with opposed functions: Valkyrie ends
with Wotan putting Brunnhilde to sleep while Siegfried terminates in the scene
wherein Siegfried awakens Brunnhilde. Moreover, the similarities between Valkyrie
and Siegfried are reinforced by musical transitions to the mythical level (see above
the connective sections, page 176): in Valkyrie this transition is made from the
isotopy of saga in the form of the prelude to the second act, depicting the violation
committed by Siegmund and Sieglinde against the norms of the level of society.
This is realized by transforming the Schwesterliebe motif into an agitated figure
repeated by the strings with forte and heftig expression. Somewhat similar is the
transition from the bird's prophecy at the end of the second act of Siegfried to
the scene with Wotan and Erda at the beginning of the third act in which the dotted
rhythmical pattern moving in E major from the postlude of the preceding act is now
changed into a menacingly and tragically soaring figure of accompaniment in G minor.
In the same way we may compare the operas at either extreme of the tetralogy,
Rheingold and Götterdämmerung. They both begin and end in the isotopy of nature:
at the beginning of Rheingold three Rhine maidens are testifying to Alberich's robbery
while in the opening of Götterdämmerung three Norns make known Wotan's crime,
whittling a spear from the world oak.
Both operas also end with the isotopies of nature and society opposed: the
conflict between them at the end of Rheingold remains unresolved while in Götter-
dämmerung this conflict is set at rest: the level of nature again acquires the object
which originally belonged to it, the theft of which caused the initial situation of the
whole tetralogy; the level of the competing societies perishes since they have broken
their pact with nature and in the third isotopy Siegfried and Brunnhilde as its
representatives ultimately accomplish this reconciliation of the fundamental conflict
between nature and society. In Rheingold events in the society of the gods have
center stage, whereas in Götterdämmerung the action occurs at the opposite pole,
on the level of the Gibichung-clan. In addition, both operas include a journey of
its central hero - Rheingold that of Wotan, Götterdämmerung that of Siegfried -
196 Myth and Music
or the functions of the hero's departure and return. These orchestral sections are
comparable also in their musical realization: Wotan's (and Löge's) journey to
Nibelheim is primarily depicted by the dotted triplet rhythm of the dwarfs' forging,
to which a special touch of musical realism is added by the clangor of the anvils
blending into the sound of the orchestra. Siegfried's Rhine journey is also described
rather concretely by Siegfried's horn call, whose rhythmic pattern belongs to that
family of dotted triplet motifs from which also the work motif of the Nibelungs
is derived:
Wotan'e Journey:
£
-r
Siegfried's Journey:
These rhythmic core motifs are, moreover, supplemented by motifs which disclose
the aim of each journey and the "sender". The first half of the description of Wotan's
journey is dominated by the chromaticism of Löge's themes - it is namely Loge who
serves as the "sender" of Wotan and originator of the whole journey — as well as
by the motifs of the Rhine gold and the ring, together with that of the fall of the
gods. Siegfried's Rhine journey music also gives hints about the nature of this
journey. The motif of the sender, Briinnhilde, dominates the beginning of the
journey with Siegfried's youth and liberty motifs adding impetus to the departure.
In the depiction of the voyage itself Siegfried's horn motif and a variation on
Löge's motif intertwine in a contrapuntal texture. The inclusion of Löge's theme
illustrates Wagner's habit of anticipating forthcoming events with a motif in the
musical structure which is intended to be heard unconsciously; the appearance of
Löge's, the intrigant's, motif in this context cannot allude to anything other than
the intrigue at the court of the Gibichungs which Siegfried is approaching. When the
journey reaches the Rhine, however, the Loge motif fluttering in the staccato of
the strings yields to the rising of the nature motif from the depths of the orchestra.
This motif then culminates in its inversion, which again refers to the fall of the gods
and soon we hear in the music, like the cause of this fall, the motif of the gold itself.
The whole description of the voyage ends in the Goldherrschaft motif which transfers
the listener to the realm of Hagen and Alberich. Both these extensive descriptions
of journeys in the mythical narration, which we have called connective sections (see
above p. 176), are thus also musically similar in their realizations, even to their
musical themes.
The symmetry of Rheingold and Götterdämmerung is, moreover, emphasized on
the mythical level by the following functions associated with their heroes: both
heroes allow their first helpers to perish: Wotan loses Siegmund and Siegfried loses
Mime (these personages cannot be helpers since they are competitors of these heroes
situated in the same isotopy). Another common feature is the fact that the second
helper is found in the isotopy of nature: Erda prophesies to Wotan, and the Forest
Bird and later the Rhine maidens to Siegfried: thus each opera contains a special
section on prophesying. Both heroes are, in addition, subjected to the same trial
involving the ring: Wotan is saved temporarily be relinquishing the ring, but Siegfried
keeps the ring despite the warning of the Rhine maidens. We must also note one
important passage in Götterdämmerung: Siegfried's appearance as a "false hero"
after having lost his memory due to a magic potion. This function corresponds to
Wotan's appearance as a "false hero", i.e., disguised as Wanderer in Siegfried. These
two heroes meet only once in the Ring and then that which is a failure for Wotan
becomes a success for Siegfried: namely the breaking of Wotan's spear at the end of
Siegfried. These last mentioned functions do not, however, place Rheingold and
Götterdämmerung on the same dimension in any other way than be emphasizing
the resemblances and contrasts between the fates of the two protagonists in these
operas, which only serve to heighten their importance in the totality of the work.
After this comparative survey of the various parts of the tetralogy we may depict
their interrelations with the following generalized scheme:3 7
Rheingold f^ Valkyrie
Götterdämmerung Siegfried
8.2.3. Siegfried - Wagner's mythical hero
8.2.3.1. Prehistory (avant)
We shall next examine Siegfried's vicissitudes throughout the whole tetralogy in

their diachronic order according to the chart above (see pages 191-192).
The first half of the hero's prehistory occurs in Rheingold, where it appears
primarily on the musical level. The future hero is indicated by two motifs, one of
which is heard at the very beginning of Rheingold and the other not before its end.
The first motif is formed by the aforementioned emergence of the Entsagung motif
198 Myth and Music
in the Rhine maidens' disclosure to Alberich of the secret of the gold, while the latter
is the sword theme occurring for the first time in connection with Wotan's grand idea.
What is the musico-mythical situation in Rheingold before the unfolding of the
Entsagung motif? We have heard a great nature-mythical orchestral prelude sym-
bolizing primal chaos, timelessness and the birth of the world, to which we have
already referred as an example of nature-mythical symbolism in music (see p. 175).
We have also noted that such musical passages affect the modern listener in much
the same way as music — no matter whether it be oriental temple music or a
primitive Indian song — is experienced in its immediate connection with the mythical
sphere, simply because the material itself, the concreteness of the music, and the
instrument or timbre are considered sacred primal phenomena. At the very point
where the archaic monotone swollen by an orchestral crescendo has reached its
climax, the human voice bursts out in the song of the Rhine maidens as though
born of this movement of the world's primal forces. The song of the Rhine maidens
lingers long in the coloristic major harmonies on an organpoint of Ei>, until with
the words "des Goldes Schlaf one hears the first minor harmony in the Ring, a
melody in C minor anticipating the forthcoming Entsagung motif.
The Rhine maidens incautiously reveal the magic properties of the gold to Alberich:
the person who can forge a ring therefrom, will be capable of subjugating others.
After the ring motif one hears the important motif associated with the person who
alone can accomplish this task: only the one who renounces love can forge the ring.
The musical motif accompanying this revelation is in C minor and its nobly resigned
figure, whose intervals suggest the Siegfried theme, has already been discussed above
(see page 93).
After Alberich's curse and theft of the gold we hear an orchestral interlude
depicting the change in atmosphere from the state of primal natural happiness into
that of an alienated, violated order. As the stage darkens the orchestral colors also
become somber and finally from the mists of a minor variation on the Naturweben
motif played by the string, the Entsagung motif once more rises in its tragic and
nostalgic expression. The ring motif is then heard on the ground of the ninth chord
of E flat major tonic; the stage lightens again to its full brightness and the sublime
D flat major of the Valhalla motif tranfers us from the nature-mythical stage to the
society of the gods.
In the last act of Rheingold, after a nature-mythical orchestral section depicting
Donner's thunder and Froh's rainbow, the second theme anticipating the future
mythical hero occurs, namely the sword theme. The preceding events have, on the
other hand, prepared this prophecy on the musical level. Wotan has, on his journey
to Nibelheim, retrieved the gold from Alberich but lost it again in bargaining with
the giants for Freia. Wotan's decision to give up the ring is portrayed in musical
discourse with Wotan's contract motif modulated from E flat minor to F flat major
(= E major), after which it soon returns to E flat major reflecting the joy of the gods
because of their restored youth. The decisive character of Wotan's resolution is
stressed musically by a modulation to a distant tonality.
After a brief dramatic passage, in which the curse of the ring shows its power
as Fafner slays Fasolt and takes possession of the treasure, the orchestra breaks into
a colorful, picturesque nature-mythical depiction. The thunder raised by Donner
releases the tense situation with its bright tonic chord motif of B flat major which,
however, is darkened by the appearance of the parallel minor depicting an approaching
storm cloud. From B flat major a modulation is made into a submediant tonality
of G flat major, wherein Froh is heard to spread his rainbow, whose musical motif
is — like all themes associated with the element of air in the Ring — based on a broken
triad. This section again leads to the Valhalla motif, which is presented in its original
tonality, a majestic D flat major. The more suprising is the tonal effect produced
by a momentary modulation to C major when Wotan salutes the castle and at the
same time gets his grand idea of a hero rescuing the gods from danger. The sudden
modulation projects on the one hand the psychological conception of the idea itself
but, on the other hand, the listener, who does not yet know the whole Ring, cannot
endow this musical lexeme with the proper mythical meaning. In some productions
of the opera this problem is solved by placing a sword, the symbol of the future
hero, quite plainly in sight on the stage, thus clarifying the meaning of the motif.38
8.2.3.1.2. Three aspects of the leitmotif (the sword motif)
In fact, such motifs in Wagner are always three-level units of signification: they
are articulated either simultaneously in three discourses or in only one or two of
them: in music, on stage and in dramatic text. Let us examine the sword motif,
for example, from these viewpoints. In order to establish the significance of this
single leitmotif throughout the whole tetralogy it is not enough merely to list all
its occurrences in music, text and on stage, but one must also take into account its
use and context. Consequently, we can approach this inventory of the sword motif
from three different angles: as a message, a code and a context. The aspects of
sender and channel are already determined by the sign system in which the motif is
placed (music, stage, text). When music serves as the channel, the sender is frequently
an omniscient narrator, the orchestra; when the motif appears in text or on stage
the sender is any actor in the drama. (The aspect of receiver has already been
discussed, see pages 66—70).
We shall first examine the sword motif as a message, taking into consideration
its musical figure, its occurrence on the stage and finally as a literary symbol in the
200 Myth and Music
text. As a musical motif one may discern in it certain constant features. For example,
the interval relations which remain unchanged whether it be presented as a rhythmic
condensation or expansion or in different tonalities, with different harmonization
or in various orchestral colors:
Wotan's grand idea So (truss1 Ich die Burn, ^
Sehr energisch.
Sieglinde's glance
Langsam.(Lento.)
°lrtn.
Siegmund pulls the sword out of the tree
Siegfried forges the sword

(DtrVorkonj/ViNr.)
[Γ Ι Γ |Γ Μ Ι 1 1 1 |P~T-|-
Ι =t=| -4-^-4— -h
^ ?=Φ ^M^ ϊψψ W 4

^
Just in the aforementioned scene at the end of Rheingold the sword motifs
musical aspect (not scenic and textual) is dominant. Generally speaking, we may
note that this leitmotif is always associated with some tonality which imbues it
with a clear and serene quality in relation to its harmonic context. At the end of
RheinenJd it breaks out astoundingly in a luminous C major from a tonal field
dominated by D flat major and B flat minor; in Act I of Siegfried, which starts in
a somber B flat minor, the rhythmic condensation of the sword motif appears in
D major, which serves as a tonic for the natural G minor in the preceding forging
music. At the end of the act the tonal figure and function typical of the sword motif
once again manifests itself.
The sword motif occurs frequently also as a scenic object. A typical example is
the scene in Act I of Valkyrie, in which the sword is an element almost dominating
the stage. There it glows, fastened to the oak in Hunding's nocturnal hut, and
Siegmund takes its glint to be the dawn or Sieglinde's radiant glance. The sword
motif does not occur in Siegmund's monologue at all as a symbol on the textual
level, although the presence of the sword, underscored by the musical motifs as well,
is quite apparent to the spectators, since it is the only lighted object on the otherwise
dark stage. The sword as a presence on the stage may function also as a symbol of
given dramatic situation, as an element connecting two levels: the mythical narrative
structure and the dramatic structure manifesting it.
For example, the sword in the above scene represents, as we have seen (page 193)
the phase of eventuality in mythical narration, the situation with a tense expectant
atmosphere of l'attent de l'avenir. We thus notice that in many cases we are justified
in comparing the musico-scenic dramatic situation to the mythical one - the latter
comprehended in the sense of Roger Caillois (see page 21), namely as a situation
wherein the mythical hero performs a symbolic act such as undergoing a trial,
preparing himself for it, solving a riddle or posing a mythical question about the
origin and meaning of his being, etc.
There still remain those cases in which a motif occurs as a message contained in
the text. Mostly, however, the symbols in a poetic text are so closely connected
with the musical motifs, i.e., the mythical narrative function is assigned to both
together, that it is difficult even methodologically to separate the pure and indepen-
dent textual level from the whole process of signification. Nevertheless, a scene in
which the sword occurs in the text but not simultaneously in music or on the stage,
is that of Siegmund's sigh: "Walse, where is your sword", immediately before the
appearance of the sword on the stage because of the firelight on it. Another
example is the scene at the beginning of Act III of Valkyrie, wherein Briinnhilde
holds out the fragments of the sword to Sieglinde as a portent of the future hero.
It is then that the Siegfried theme is heard for the first time in the whole tetralogy,
as the musical counterpart of the sword symbol.
What, then, is the meaning of a motifs code, in this case that of the sword motif,
as it manifests itself in the various sign systems? In fact, we have already referred
to the musical code of the sword motif when it was examined simply as a message.
We may consider as the code the musical-syntactic utilization of this motif and how
it pertains to the musical structures of the Ring. Thus one must note how this
202 Myth and Music
leitmotif is related to other leitmotifs, to Wotan's spear motif, for example, or to

the ring motif to which it is musically opposed or to those motifs similar to it,
like Donner's or Froh's motifs or finally the Rhine gold motif. This musical
utilization and structure of the motif already alludes to the code of the scenic
level, where the appearance and position of the sword on the stage and its relation
to other scenic objects (such as the spear, helmet, ring, gold, anvil, etc.) are in
themselves important. On the textual level again the code of the sword motif may
be found in the use of this symbol as a sign for heroism, for example, or as a
connective element between two heroic figures, like Siegmund and Siegfried, indi-
cating similarities in their tasks.
Still remaining is the clarification of this motifs context. In music this context
is formed ultimately by the whole musical style of Wagner's Ring and particularly
the way its musical leitmotifs are constructed. In a broader sense romantic culture
of Wagner's time in general may serve as a context. For example, Wagner's sword
theme might be paralleled with that of Glinka in his Russian and Ludmila, in which
it also has almost the rank of a leitmotif. In the scenic respect the context may be
the dramatic situations in the Ring tetralogy as a whole. On this level one must
notice especially how changes in the contexts, i.e., stagings of the tetralogy by various
directors may considerably change the meaning of the scenic motifs. As Adolphe
Appia has stated: "One and the same drama is realized always according to the time
and place in the most varied ways visually: it is staged (sich insceniert) in diverse
fashions."3 9 This factor is hardly of little consequence if we consider that Wagnerian
drama may really be regarded as a reconstruction of a primal mythical communication
— in this case of a ritual — with the integrated effect of artistic sign systems. For
what is essential in a ritual is precisely the way it is performed, which has to be
relatively invariable in order that the ritual may be performed in the "right" way.4 °
In a primitive culture it is the tribal society which makes this judgment collectively
as a community, controlling the performance, but would various stagings of Wagner's
tetralogy correspond to various ways of performing a ritual in the same society?41
Two directors' vision of the interpretation of some passage — those of Appia and
Wieland Wagner, for example - are two different versions or expressions (signifiers)
of the same mythical message (signified). Then the spectators, the receivers of the
music drama would jydge whether the performance fulfills that society's concept
of the mythical drama in question, i.e., whether the "ritual" is correctly or in-
correctly performed. In such a case it must be assumed that the society is a
"specialist" on the work being performed - in other words, the society must have
some knowledge of it beforehand. It is just such familiarization with the mythical
message of the music drama that the charts of Wagner's leitmotifs - common in
programs and piano transcriptions in Wagner's as well as our time - attempt to
further, although in doing so they admittedly implant a certain simplified way of
listening to mythico-musical discourse. Stravinsky afterwards understood the indis-

pensability of this factor to the communication process of a mythical work when
he employed in his Oedipus Rex a narrator who tells the audience the content of
the myth already beforehand. Thus the listeners can concentrate on the manner
in which the mythical message is transmitted (i.e., the code of myth). In other
words the audience is drawn into the mythical communication in its original,
primitive sense: the listeners become participants in the mythical communication,
a ritual, and the performed work itself becomes the myth.
On the other hand, one may also say that in a primitive society some ritual "is
staged" (sich insceniert) in districts with different traditions in a surprisingly similar
fashion. One may recall the famous anthropological example of the potlatch
ceremony of North American Indians researched by Marcel Mauss among others,
or in South America, the Kwarip ritual which in its essential features is identical
even in tribes of the Matto Grosso area speaking different languages.42 This same
observation may be made also concerning the musical performance involved in the
ritual — it may be almost identical among different tribes. Only by referring to
some common code and context can we explain the fact that the same composition
is repeated in a similar way in various places although its performers would have
little communication with one other. Thus to this question of repetition in a similar
form is added the problem of the concept of genre in oral tradition. In the final
analysis, can some genre — for example, the flute orchestra music of the Indians,
the ritual of the changing seasons, the jaguar myth etc. - be determined by this
very simple criterion: a genre consists of those sign processes which are found in
relatively similar forms in different times and places?
In many instances in the field of Western art music we must take into account
those implicit music-historical codes which guide the development of musical genres,
but which can be revealed only by "decoding" a great amount of musical messages,
i.e., by analyzing their structures. Insofar as Wagnerian drama is concerned we are
interested in how the musical code as well as the scenic and textual codes are related
to the mythical deep structure behind it, of which, in turn, we may learn only by
analyzing the various sign systems manifesting it — as we have done above for one
element, the motif of the sword.
8.2.3.1.3. Siegmund and Sieglinde - the hero's origin
The musico-dramatic totality of the first act of Valkyrie has already been dealt
with above in part by distinguishing three narrative phases therein. We shall now
examine more closely how this function of the hero's origin is realized, especially
204 My th and Music
on the levels of music and gestural language which dominate the beginning of Valkyrie.
The prelude to Valkyrie which depicts a winter storm raging in the forest, is
musically based on low unison and tremolos of the strings in the orchestra. Against
their background Donner's thunder motif rises from the tutti of winds but another
god of the Ring is also represented by a threatening motif: the monotonic ascending
and descending D minor scale can be interpeted as a variation on Wotan's motif.
In the style of the prelude to Valkyrie one may perceive connections with Gluck's
prelude to Iphigeneia in Aulis (which Wagner re-orchestrated during his Dresden
years)43 - this is prompted by the unisonous sound of the strings and the steady
melodic line with staccato quavers:
Wagner:
Stürmisch.
(Furioso.)
Gluck:
Allegro.,,.,,
The storm abates and the scene shifts from the exterior to the interior, Hunding's
hut which Siegmund enters exhausted and searching for shelter. The contrast
between the outside and the inside appearing already here at the beginning of Valkyrie
has a central position throughout the v/hole first act. This is, namely, the first interior
in the entire mythical universe of the Ring. Considering that Rheingold in its entirety
is dominated by the nature-mythical element, this first indoor space may be considered
a symbol of human culture, since taking possession of a space might be considered
the very first cultural act of man. 44
Paralleling this scenic situation, the orchestra is reduced to chamber musical
proportions, creating an atmosphere of intimacy underlined by the concentrated
spareness of the music itself, in which every musical element acquires quite particular
human significance.
On the other hand, the same interior which at the beginning of the act provides
a haven for the lovers against the storm, turns out to be - after the entrance of
Hunding and his recognition of Siegmund - a trap from which they must escape.
As though nature participated in Siegmund's and Sieglinde's love, the winter storm
gives way to spring overnight.

The tutti of the orchestra again at the end of the act expressing the passion of
Siegmund and Sieglinde, the flight of the lovers to the spring forest from the cramped
interior: all these are associated with the category of the exterior, which now at
the end of the act forms a contrast to the interiority of the beginning. Toward the
end of the act the frank acceptance of incest also alludes to this flight to the
outdoors, in a sense beyond the culture: the passage from the interior to the
exterior symbolically corresponds to a transition from the norms and rules of human
culture, from the contracts of the social level to the area of irregularity and anomaly.
We may thus interpret the mythical content of the whole act with the following
scheme:
interior exterior
(culture) (nature)
Hunding's hut (at the The spring forest (at the end of
positive beginning of the act the act the forest as a refuge for
offering shelter to the lovers)
Siegmund from a music; orchestral tutti in B flat
winter ström) major
negative Hunding's hut (at the The winter forest (the storm
end of the act after which Siegmund is escaping)
Siegmund's recognition) music. orchestral tutti in D
minor
In many heroic legends the motif of incest is involved in the birth and origin of
the hero; 45 it is thus related to the elementary structures of kinship and to the
entire human culture, as Le"vi-Strauss's studies concerning the incest taboo have
indicated.46 As a mythical subject incest is, therefore, quite a general, elementary
mythical problem situation, which has had to be solved already in the most archaic
phase of culture. The myths dealing with incest must consequently be rooted in the
deepest strata of mythical consciousness. But what is the function of incest in an
opera with mythological subject composed in the nineteenth century, as in Wagner's
Ring?
In the mythical universe constructed by Wagner, incest means above all the vio-
lation of contracts on the level of society, the denial of the principle of exogamy
among the clans. And since the primary hero himself is born of incest, this fact
already places him outside society, which, however, is vital to his task, as we have
noted above. But on the other hand, when the Ring was created in the latter half
of the nineteenth century, a work of art in that pre-Freudian time possessed its
own function as a discourse of man's unconscious. From this viewpoint the incest
206 Myth and Music
motif as a part of artistic discourse - such as musical thematics depicting it - may

be considered one of those numerous fantasy compensations which not only stem
from a surplus of energy and imagination but which really correspond to a psychic
deep structure and its conflicts.4 7
The theme representing Schwesterliebe at the beginning of Valkyrie is based on a
chromatic melodic line which, however, is not chromatic in any coloristic sense, as
are Löge's nature-mythical thematics, but rather contains psychic-mythical harmonic
tensions. The scene wherein Siegmund's and Sieglinde's eyes meet when Sieglinde
extends the drinking horn is musically one of the most effective in the whole tetralogy.
The tones of the chord at the beginning of the motif proper are prepared by an
expressive cello solo repeating Siegmund's motif three times, always a third higher,
until the extreme tone B is reached, which becomes a sustained tone for the first
harmony of the Schwesterliche motif proper. In the succeeding passage a decisive
effect is created by an E major triad, a dominant to the third grade in F major - a
form of mediant harmonic device which Liszt also used for special surprise effects
in his tonal language (see Prometheus, page 82):
On the other hand it is worth noting that Wagner does not at this point heap
different sign systems one upon the other to express the same mythical function,
but that they alternate with one another. Thus, gestural language, sheer pantomime,
with music giving it a temporal framework, plays an essential role in this scene.48
When the gestural language ceases, the poetic text comes to the fore but nowhere
do they crowd each other — on the contrary all discourses are characterized by a
certain discontinuity and alternation:49 long pauses allow even the smallest musical
phrases to breathe and be heard. Siegmund and Sieglinde are described with an
intimate musico-psychological technique reminiscent of Ibsen's almost suffocatingly
enclosed heroes and heroines whose innermost soul is bared to the spectator with
microscopic exactitude. In the scene between Siegmund and Sieglinde, Wagner is
perhaps closest to the psychological atmosphere at the end of the century, anti-
cipating the world of Proust and symbolism, Ibsen and introspection.
Without Siegmund's and Sieglinde's sensitivity and internality Siegfried's and
Briinnhilde's brilliant heroism would perhaps not come into its own although their
very musical characterization indicates their affinity with the level of mythical
heroes, where the psyche must be archaically uncomplicated and magnanimous - in
a word, of mythical grandeur.50 The contrasts between these two heroic couples
is already obvious at the end of Valkyrie when Briinnhilde helps Sieglinde to escape
Wotan's punishment and, on the other hand, prophesies the future hero Siegfried
to her. This scene, taking place at the beginning of the third act after a nature-
mythical depiction of the ride of the Valkyries, introduces another new motif, that
of salvation, which echoes in the orchestra at the end of the whole tetralogy while
Valhalla perishes, indicating musically the mythical function of obliterating the initial
crime or lack. The very fact that this motif is heard already here just in connection
with the Siegfried motif, alludes quite clearly to the forthcoming task of the hero:
8.2.3.2. The hero's life
8.2.3.2.1. Siegfried, Act I - mythical questions and riddles
The actual phases of Siegfried's life are presented in the two latter operas of the
tetralogy, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. As we have noted above, these phases
total eight according to the scheme by Jan de Vries, but in the Siegfried saga we
may combine the second and third phase ("the hero reveals his powers early" and
"the hero acquires invulnerability") into one function: the mark of the hero or,
in Siegfried's case, the manifestation of fearlessness which enables Siegfried to reveal
his heroic qualities at the very beginning of this story and to forge the sword from
the fragments of Nothung.
The first function is, in any case, the growing up of the hero in the care of
someone other than his parents. Siegfried is just such a l'enfant sauvage, raised by
the dwarf Mime, who also has taught him the craft of a smith.
The very first scenes in Siegfried are scaracterized by a certain balladic flavor
appearing in the simple refrain structure of Mime's narration and on the other hand
in Siegfried's dreamy, chromatically rising motif which on the musical level expresses
Siegfried's questions about his origins. It is just this questioning which, in fact,
208 Myth and Music
produces the mythical quality in the first act of Siegfried — as we remember in

Andre' Jolles's theory myth itself is determined by a question and answer (see page
19). In myth the being itself is bom of a question and answer. Man is confronted
by the world and asks. He demands of the phenomena that they become familiar
to him. But, on the other hand it is typical of a mythical question that the answer
is already concealed in the question itself - as in the prophecies of an oracle.51
Siegfried is presented in the first act of Siegfried as questioning while the mythical
nature of his.questions is hidden in their musical form, and here one discovers how
Wagner is able, simply with music, to analyze and reveal the mythical significance
of the text and the staging. Siegfried's inquiring Sehnsucht motif begins with a
chromatic sequence passage which is the inverse of the descending chromaticism of
Siegmund's and Sieglinde's love motif. Furthermore, the end of the Sehnsucht motif
is the same as the repeated sequence in the Schwesterliebe motif — the music in
itself thus discloses the arswer to Siegfried's question about his origins:
weich and bewegt.
T
Similarly, the motifs anticipating Siegfried's forthcoming deeds are in miîy places
hidden on an unconscious level in the orchestral texture as, for example, when
Siegfried looks at his reflection in the water and the Siegfried motif is heard played
by horn in piano, aber bestimmt, or when the Wälsunga motifs are incorporated
in the forest murmurs in the second act as though in reply to Siegfried's question
about his parents.
The inverse form of mythical questioning also appears in the first act of Siegfried:
the riddle in the scene between Wanderer and Mime. In the riddle, too, the answer
is contained in the question itself, but here the question serves as a test to judge the
worth of the person who is asked. The riddle does not concern the relation between
man and the world; rather, the knowing person simply poses a question which the
other has to answer.52 It is in this sense that the scene between Wanderer and
Mime must be construed. First Mime poses three questions to Wanderer: What
race dwells underground, on the surface and in the heavens above? It will be noted
that only when the answers are given do we also hear the motifs of the Nibelungs,
the giants and Valhalla in connection with Wanderer's answer. Contrarily, when
Wanderer questions Mime, it is a riddle-propounding situation just in the above sense.
Here the answer to every question is already disclosed by the music which is heard
simultaneously with the question: the motifs of the Wälsunga clan, Nothung and
Siegfried when Wanderer asks the identity of the family which fought Wotan, the
name of the sword with which Siegfried must defeat Fafner and who will forge the
sword from the pieces.
The first and second act of Siegfried thus move in the world of mythical questions
and riddles in which the fabulous and the fantastic predominate.
The end of the first act of Siegfried focuses on one important phase of a hero's
life - Siegfried's true heroic nature is namely defined as fearlessness which will
enable him to pass succesfully all the coming trials. When Mime tests Siegfried's
courage with his narration we already hear in the orchestra the Waberlobe motif
anticipating Siegfried's last trial, the awakening of Briinnhilde, when Siegfried finally
knows fear. Finally, the forging of the sword at the end of the act forms a highly
detailed realistic musical description of the work process (which has been said to
represent the beginning of an industrial age).53
The musical properties of the section have already been referred to above, such
as the balladic character of Siegfried's forging song (see page 104) and the emergence
of the sword motif as a result of the forging, thus concluding this eventuality section
and preparing the passage into action in Siegfried.
8.2.3.2.2. Siegfried, Act II - the encounter with the dragon
The second act of Siegfried corresponds in the scheme of narration to the phase
of passage into action. Siegfried's encounter with the dragon is presented here, but
this section also conceals another important mythical theme: communication with
nature. Here Siegfried obtains information from the nature-mythical level without
which he would be unable to pass his final trials. It is the communication with nature
in its various modalities which, together with the fight against the dragon, forms the
most essential mythical content of this act. Nevertheless, the communication with
nature is not pursued directly but by resorting to magic. The whole of Siegfried is,
it is true, characterized by a certain magic-mythical quality melting into the fabulous
and the fantastic, on the level of musical as well as scenic manifestation. Wotan's
behavior in Siegfried is musically magical: he is presented as a magic sorcerer who
has made Briinnhilde sink into sleep. Moreover Fafner, by using a magic object,
the ring, has bewitched himself into a dragon. And finally Siegfried himself manages
to communicate with nature only with the help of magic.
Siegfried has arrived, guided by Mime, to the opening of Fafner's lair. Nature's
great calmness and the gradually increasing murmur of the forest, in which the
themes of the Forest Bird are distinguishable, form a famous musical pastorale —
it is a musical picture of an ancient Germanic fairy tale forest in the background of
210 My th and Music
which, however, looms the nature-mythical level indicated by the very theme of the
Forest Bird which is simply a variation on the song of the Rhine maidens. Siegfried
attempts in vain to comprehend the "speech" of the bird and to imitate it on his
reed pipe. It is not, however, possible to communicate with the nature-mythical
sphere with the same technique and skillfulness which Siegfried showed in forging the
sword. The communication fails but it does result in the awakening of Fafner in
his lair. Siegfried kills Fafner and after having inadvertently touched his lips to its
blood he suddenly understands the bird's message. The bird transmits thre'e important
pieces of information to Siegfried: about Fafner's magic helmet in the lair, about
Mime's wicked intentions and finally about Briinnhilde waiting asleep on the rock
for the person who would awaken her.
All these trials of the hero told in the second act of Siegfried are concentrated
into quick glimpses: scenic action and the dramatic moments directly revealing the
situations of an immanent narrative mythical structure prevail in this section.
Here is manifested the category of the "miraculous" bordering on the fantastic in
the sense established above — primarily due to the succession of highly contrasted
scenes. One may think in this respect of the middle of the act where Siegfried is
confronted with a mythical situation: he again poses a mythical question and the
fabulous nature seems to reply. This section, with its atmosphere suggestive of
pantheism, soon changes, however, to its antithesis in Siegfried's unsuccesful attempt
to communicate with nature, which is presented musically in a humorous light with
sounds of alarm. The horn call leads, however, to an unexpected Gothic effect:
the awakening of the dragon. Siegfried's situation is somewhat similar to that of
Prince Tamino pursued by a dragon in the opening of Mozart's Magic Flute, the
only difference being that Siegfried knows no fear. In any case these changes in
the atmosphere from one extremity to another endow the whole section with a
certain fantastic flavor. Musically it is expressed in the pastoral music of birdsong
and murmur of the forest (the tonality is always E major, with modulations effected
sometimes through a mediant transition and sometimes enharmonically, but always
producing a dreamy impression of sinking somewhere, while in the orchestration
typically Lisztian pedal effects are frequently employed - as in the figures of seconds
of the strings giving resonance to the dialogues of the winds):
There is also the heavy and dull unisonous sound of the tubas in Fafner's music,
along with an almost Berliozian contrast between these elements. Wagner has some-
times been accused of "over-instrumentation"54 but here the rich orchestration is
used to fulfill symbolically the impression of freeing oneself from the laws of
"probability"ss which is indispensable to the scenic presentation of the mythical
function of the encounter with the dragon.
8.2.3.2.3. Siegfried Act III - Siegfried as a sun hero
Siegfried's last act includes that function of mythical narration wherein the hero
wins a maiden after undergoing dangers such as the fight with the dragon described
in the preceding act. The same succession of events occurs here as in the myth of
Oedipus: the conquest of a maiden happens after a certain violation of the norms.
Oedipus kills Laios and defeats the Sphinx — Siegfried, on the other hand, breaks
the spear of Wotan, the divine authority and kills the dragon. The revolt against
patriarchal authority and the kiuing of a monster are thus functions common to
these myths. But the beginning of the third act of Siegfried also manifests Wagner's
turn to pessimism and the Schopenhauerian ideology of renunciation. This is
especially revealed by the music in the first scene between Wanderer and Erda,
already marked by the darkening of the timbre which later characterizes the tonal
language of Götterdämmerung. Wanderer enters now after the theme of destiny
alluding to the tragic end of the gods, to Valhalla's fall.
For Siegfried, however, the end of this act means the climax of the hero's action,
212 My th and Music
after which only a turn in the opposite direction is possible. For Siegfried this
culmination signifies the victory of the Dionysian Rausch world over the Apollonian
Traum world.56 These two Nietzschean principles can well be used to describe the
development of Wagner's heroic couple, Siegfried and Briinnhilde, in the course of
this mythical drama. Siegfried's starting point is the Apollonian dream world and
the Germanic fairy tale forest symbolizing it. Siegfried belongs to this dream world
as he poses mythical questions and seeks to learn the origins of his existence.
Nevertheless, Siegfried progresses from this dream-like inwardness into external action
and Dionysiac ecstasy which find expression not only in the love duet at the end of
Siegfried, but also in Siegfried's intoxication in the last act of Götterdämmerung.
This likewise means a sinking into ignorance from which Siegfried awakens only at
his death. The curve of Briinnhilde's life, again, forms a contrast to that of
Siegfried, in that Briinnhilde progresses from a Dionysiac Rausch world (with the
music of the ride of the Valkyries as its musical manifestation) ultimately to the
world of clear Apollonian knowledge. The courses of the lives of Siegfried and
Briinnhilde intersect only in the last act of Siegfried where the degree of consciousness
of both attains the same level: thereafter Siegfried sinks into the world of ignorance
through oblivion, while Briinnhilde achieves awareness and prophesies the fate of
the whole mythical universe.
The awakening of Briinnhilde at the end of Siegfried means also a return from the
fairy tale era in which the entire first half of Siegfried's life has been spent and to
which the sleep motif of Wotan transferred us at the end of Valkyrie. The same
Waberlobe motif which concluded Valkyrie recurs when Siegfried approaches Briinn-
hilde asleep amidst the ring of fire. If the Waberlobe motif represents the sinking
from a historical time characterizing the isotopy of society, the motif of the awakening
in turn signifies a transition or return to the historical time characterizing the isotopy
of society, the motif of the awakening in turn signifies a transition or return to the
historical time from that of the fairy tale. This same function is fulfilled by an
almost identical repetition of the awakening motif at the end of Götterdämmerung
when Siegfried dies. There, too the motif serves to bring Siegfried from the fairy
tale era into which he had sunk while recalling his previous deeds in his narration
to Hagen's courtiers back to the time of saga or society.
This motif of awakening in which the most brilliant and delicate groups of the
orchestra alternate without mingling produces a sound effect of transferring from
a dream-like dimness to clear sun light. First we hear a transition from the wood-
winds strengthened by the English horn (an E minor chord) to the brasses (a C major
chord), after which an arpeggio passage on the harps unites the brass and woodwind
groups into one reinforced instrument group. After its diminuendo the harps (which
according to the score, must be six in number) perform in their upper register a
passage of contrary thirds almost as a cluster effect in the tonal field of C major,
which leads to a high trill on the strings, with the dissonant tones of F ^ and
adding even more radiance. (Such effects were later used by Richard Strauss in
his Rosenkavalier, even to depicting respective mythical functions, as in the clock
scene). The whole section, a real masterpiece of orchestration,57 disappears with
plucks on the harps and strings:
(Sif fceyrSuslnut feierlii-ktnGebärdunder erkobeiitti Armi· iliiv Hiivkkrlir ;tir
Sehr !angsam;(Molto lento.)
<- 7^ iirr"
•)&t3&
:*%fr=
Pe.l. ·'
t-fntninii /frKrf/f Httd tit1* Ilininiftxj
In both occurrences of this motif, in Briinnhilde's greeting to the earth and sky
as well as in the dying Siegfried's greeting to Brünnhilde, the mythical level looms
in the background - the fairy tale reaches its climax then and is heightened to
mythical significance. Althought Siegfried as a whole might be characterized by
the quality of fabulousness one may, however, discern in the background at least
the possibility of myth, a potential which is realized only in this culmination of
Siegfried's life, the awakening of Brünnhilde. With this musical motif Wagner once
again has succeeded through music in giving mythical meaning to the events and
elements of his tetralogy. It is precisely this motif which qualifies Siegfried as a sun
hero, the personification of light — an interpretation commonly applied in the last
century to all mythical heroes. In that way, for example, Michel Breal interprets a
sentence from the Oedipus myth "Oedipe est aveugle" (Oedipus is blinded) as a
popular figure of speech meaning in reality sunset. 58 Wagner agreed with this theory
and applied it to his Siegfried, for example: "In the Siegfried legend we may observe
the original substance which to a considerable degree clarifies the essence of myth in
general. We see natural phenomena — such as the sun — which imagination has
crystallized into anthropomorphic gods transformed further into really living heroes
of whom actual tribes and races consider themselves to be descendants" (Oper und
Drama).59 For Wagner, however, music above all was the sign system which most
effectively enabled the reconstruction of such mythical content in the context of
a Gesamtkunstwerk.
214 My th and Music
8.2.3.2.4. Götterdämmerung: A turn to the tragic
We have already dealt above with the remarkable change which appears in the
music and also in its mythical substratum at the beginning of Götterdämmerung
(see page 129). In fact, the last act of Siegfried already contained new, strange
elements in its musical style which reflect the lapse of time between its composition
and that of the second act. Between these two acts Wagner created Tristan and
Meistersinger - the letter's style especially having influenced Siegfried's and Briinn-
hilde's love duet, the following passage from which might well pertain to the
polyphonic orchestral texture of Meistersinger:
molto espress.
c.f. Meistersinger:
r r
The fact that the Ring nevertheless forms a coherent whole is due to a great
extent, to its "immanent mythical structure". Thus the differences in musical style
between the optimistic end of Siegfried and the somber fatefulness of the opening
of Götterdämmerung are justified by the mythical narration itself. It means a
transition to the functions of the hero's journey to the underworld, his return and
finally his tragic end, which demand a different kind of characterization and expression
in their musical delineation as well. Consequently, the discontinuity of the musical
discourse in the transition from Siegfried to Götterdämmerung is an understandable
phenomenon from the viewpoint of the mythical substratum.
The Norn scene at the beginning of Götterdämmerung means a return to that
mythical "time" and isotopy which dominated Rheingold but which had to give
way already there and in Valkyrie to the isotopy of society and its "historical time
level". Thus we have discerned in the tetralogy also three different time levels
corresponding to its isotopies of which the isotopy of myth was based on a kind
of mythical, reversible and "timeless" time (the mythical personages, the Rhine
maidens and Erda, remain the same in all their appearances; they do not grow older
or change) while the fairy tale isotopy was established by a kind of sinking into a
static present and the isotopy of society by a historical time ruled by causality.
In the Ring the gods are placed on two different time levels according to their dual
natures, on the one hand as an assemblage of the gods and on the other as personi-
fications of mythical natural forces. Even as mythical being their "timelessness"
is conditional and that in a material sense: only by eating Freia's apples do they
remain eternally young. When Freia is robbed at the beginning of Rheingold, the
gods are plunged into "temporality", subject to the historical process and aging. The
events of the historical time and the force catalyzing them, desir,60 at the end lead
to the ultimate catastrophe. It would seem that the Ring as a whole would be
characterized by a kind of historical time which, however, differs from the normal,
historical time in that there are gaps leading beyond that time. One such "gap" is
created when Wotan puts Briinnhilde to sleep amidst a circle of fire at the end of
Valkyrie and from which we return to a "historical" time only at the beginning of
Götterdämmerung. The seriousness and epic quality of the musical expression
actually convey the impression that a long time has passed since the events in
Rheingold and Valkyrie. One may say that in the Ring the actors often move,
as it were, from one time level to another. Thus, for example, the fabulous time of
Siegfried is penetrated by actors from other time levels, among them Alberich and
Wotan. But then Wotan has to change himself and assume a mask - he cannot
musically be represented only by the purposeful theme of his contract or spear
motif; instead, his musical "mask" consists of chromatic harmonies gleaming in a
kind of fairy tale eternity. Neither can Siegmund's and Sieglinde's historical time
level of saga be affected by Wotan directly: rather, he has to fight as an invisible
supporter of Bunding.
8.2.3.2.5. Siegfried at the court of the Gibichungs
Siegfried's Rhine journey is depicted by an orchestral interlude which serves as

an example of how the musical sign system alone carries the task of mythical
narration. We have already examined above the musical content of this section;
the Rheingold and Goldherrschaft motifs finally bring us to the court of the
Gibichungs. Hagen, Günther and Gutrune conspire to utilize Siegfried in getting
possession of the ring and making Briinnhilde Gunther's spouse. Gunther's sister
Gutrune plays an intermediary in this ruse. The magic potion is to unite two
incompatibles: already in the original German mythology Siegfried is obliged at
the court of the Gibichungs to deny his uniqueness as a mythical hero, the vanquisher
of the dragon. He repudiates his very being when he undertakes to serve the weak
Günther and it is this lie which ultimately destroys him. Likewise the Amazonian
Briinnhilde is an unsuitable wife for Günther and that is why he perishes.61 Both
216 Myth and Music
weddings, those of Siegfried and Gutrune (originally Kriemhilt), and Günther and
Briinnhilde, which are presented with such external brilliance and barbaric bombast
- this is the only passage where Wagner uses a chorus in his tetralogy - are thus
based, however, on an internal untruth and speciosity.
The function of the hero's return is ambiguous in Wagner's opera: does the return
mean Siegfried's return to Briinnhilde changed and memoryless because of the magic
potion or Siegfried's return in a spiritual sense and his recognition as the true hero
in connection with the awakening motif at his death?
This problem might be resolved by recalling that two returns of the hero occur in
Götterdämmerung: first the return as a false hero, expressed in the scene with Briinn-
hilde on the rock, and then as the "true" hero, when Siegfried remembers Briinnhilde
at his death, which corresponds to the recognition of the hero.
Siegfried's return as a false hero as well as Briinnhilde's reaction to this return is
depicted with singular, tonally distorted music. The listener stays for a while in a
tonal field where the usual orientation according to leitmotifs and their tonal rhythmic
developments and procedures is not possible. He is not supported by any other
familiar musical motif than the dotted Gibichung motif and the inversion of Wotan's
motif. The melodic line of Briinnhilde's vocal part with its great interval leaps already
exceeding the limits of a romantic tonal language and foreshadowing the late romantic
expressionism, along with the orchestra's rushing figures of broken diminished seventh
chords, manifest the influence of the Tristan style. With a very similar musical charac-
terization Wagner later portrays at the end of Götterdämmerung another betrayed
heroine, Gutrune. Perhaps the music here attempts more to present a dramatic
"revelation of betrayal" and the feelings aroused by it than the particular subject of
these feelings, who is thus reduced to the mere status of Triebkomplemente in a
musical sense (one may draw a direct line to the heroines of Richard Strauss and
Arnold Schoenberg):
Götterdämmerung, Act I
Etwas gedehnt·.
Briinnhilde: Nun cr-M-li' ich t ruf'·
P%^ 5^
—T·;"—~^~ · """£=· -~^ =·»—·. -
-' ·* -
Götterdämmerung, Act III
The hero's final return occurs only after many sequences important to the opera's
plot as a whole have served to consolidate the in a certain sense timeless functions
of mythical narration into a psychologically credible whole.62 What is involved
here, however, is more the psychology of the nineteenth century Western receiver
of art, or an artistic audience and community, than the psychology of mythical
consciousness and world view in its primal sense. The mythical outlook namely
expresses itself rather in "images", "mythical situations" or "functions" picked from
the paradigm of mythical subjects than as a continuously proceeding discursive
narration. Just from the viewpoint of this original mythical consciousness the whole
wedding scene in Götterdämmerung gives an "operatic" impression in the Meyer-
beerian sense of this term (compare to this Stravinsky's use of Meyerbeerian elements,
like the choral marches as musical elements in his Oedipus Rex.) For Wagner the
chorus on the scene was only "an artificial part of the scenic machinery which had
to march to the rhythm of an operatic aria"6 3 and thus was incapable of representing
that original nation from whose music also operatic music, according to Wagner,
had later burgeoned.
On the other hand, if we consider the unauthenticity of the wedding scene to
which reference has been made one may perhaps understand the use of a mighty
chorus in this passage as an exception to Wagner's customary musico-scenic style
in the tetralogy.
When Siegfried's betrayal has been revealed Briinnhilde allies herself with Hagen
and the Gibichungs, a scene containing an ensemble of Italianate form in which
vengeance is sworn on Siegfried. Brünnhilde's personage is ambiguous in the isotopies
of the Ring: as a helper of Wotan she belongs partly on the level of society, yet she
violates the rules of the gods in defending Siegmund and Sieglinde in Valkyrie against
218 My th and Music
Wotan's prohibition. That is why Wotan puts Briinnhilde to sleep and she returns
to her mythical natural state. When awakened Briinnhilde is in the same position
as before: that of an emancipated Valkyrie. Nevertheless, the very fact that she is
capable of allying herself with Wotan's adversaries, the Gibichungs, in order to seek
vengeance, shows that she knows also the rules of action and communication on
the level of society. And finally, at the end of Götterdämmerung, Briinnhilde returns
the ring to the creatures of nature whose family she left by becoming a helper of the
Wälsungas.
In the last act of Götterdämmerung one opportunity is still offered to Siegfried
to be saved: the Rhine maidens warn him against the curse of the ring when he
is hunting in the forest. But unlike his reaction in Siegfried, he does not now obey
the voice of nature but assumes the same scornful attitude toward it as he did to
Wotan before the awakening of Briinnhilde. Indeed, the motif of the Rhine maidens
has now changed into a undulating, chromatically descending theme whose rhythmic
figure already anticipates to a certain extent the reconciliation theme heard in the
end. This again illustrates how future events are anticipated in the music allowing
them as it were to ripen without the knowledge of the actors on stage.
Siegfried's account of his own deeds to Hagen's hunting party means for the hero
himself a kind of return to a happy early period, to that which for Siegfried himself
is the "avant" phase of his mythical life, in relation to which the present time forms
but a faded copy, "apres". In Wagner the narrative balladic style often is associated
with two factors: a soft 6/8 or 3/8 meter and flattened tonality (see page 104).
The triple meter characterizes Mime's narration in the beginning of Siegfried, as
well, moving first in F minor but modulating soon into natural G minor with
Siegfried's reply. Siegfried's narrative, his ballad of his own life also begins in G
minor and triple meter but in reaching the prophecies of the bird, modulates into
E major, which was also originally the tonality of the Forest Bird in Siegfried. This
scene of Siegfried's ballad in a way anticipates the end of the epoch of myth,
saga and fairy tale, i.e., the phase in which the events of the mythical, legendary
and fabulous era are merely distant prehistory, that Glückliche Vorzeit the remem-
brance of which Creuzer, a German mythologist anteceding Wagner, considered to
be the true origin of myths.64 Consequently, Wagner creates, as it were, a myth
within myth and reconstructs for us a scene representing the birth and function of
heroic legendry in ancient Germanic society. The essential point is that Siegfried's
"oblivion" gives the whole story a special flavor just as the deeds of ancient tribal
heroes are recalled in mythical communication * as mere obscure allegories and
fragments to the minds of the narrators and listeners.
After Siegfried's narration there remains yet Hagen's murderous act and Siegfried's
"awakening"; the death of the hero is accompanied by a recurrence of the same
awakening motif which already expressed the mythical function of "conquering a
maiden". (It is interesting to notice in this context that in his Kullervo symphony
Sibelius uses to represent the fall of the mythical hero a musical motif referring to
the same phase in the hero's life, namely the motif of the seduction of his sister —
see later page 269.)
In these concluding scenes of Götterdämmerung - especially in Siegfried's funeral
march — the leitmotifs primarily have the task of recalling, alluding to the past;
thus they assume even within the musical discourse a form reminiscent of myth.
This return of themes is sufficient in a purely musical context to produce an
impression similar to that which is experienced in listening to a myth: the past
comes alive in the present and this is due to the sign processes in the music itself.
We may thus restate that, generally speaking, in such musical sections - in Siegfried's
narration, death and funeral march at the end of Götterdämmerung — the music
is articulated according to the codes of mythical consciousness.
8.2.3.3. Posthistory (apres)
Siegfried's funeral march constitutes the posthistory of the hero's life. This
symphonic mourning music throws a glance at the most relevant functions in the
Siegfried saga with musical leitmotifs representing them. In this section, especially,
the orchestra assumes the same role which in ancient tragedy was adopted by the
lamentations of the chorus. Music now expresses the shocking nature of the hero's
fall described in the funeral march by a C minor chord with sharp rolls of the
kettledrums and the succeeding chromatic triplets of the strings.
In this funeral march, which may be shaped into three parts, 65 these musical
elements form the principal substance combining thi different themes and sections
— their function is consequently connective. The first part of the hero's reminiscence
consists of themes from his prehistory which at the same time express the tragic
fate of the whole Wälsunga family. In the second section the sword theme breaks
forth for the last time in a flashing brilliance of C major on the trumpet. This theme
describes the hero's passage into the victorious trials and deeds of his life. Like
Beethoven in his Eroica funeral march, Wagner also includes in his mourning music
the hero's apotheosis and triumph. This second section likewise transforms the
lamenting chromatic music with drum rolls into major, to which the trill of the
piccolo adds further martial shimmer. The section as a whole is mostly iri a major
key although the two occurrences of the Siegfried motif introduce minor elements
as well. For the first time this theme is presented in its original major/minor
splendor (C major/C minor) but the second time it begins in G minor, from which
it modulates into E flat major toward the end of the theme, preparing for the
220 Myth and Music
tonality of the following, the hero theme. After a repetition of the hero motif
there is a return to the mourning music with its minor flavor, which may be said
to conclude the section in the funeral music depicting the hero's triumph. The
third and last section does not repeat the initial part of the march but introduces
Briinnhilde's love theme, now scored for clarinet and English horn and recurring
twice. In contrast to this theme we still hear the curse and Goldherrschaft motifs,
when Briinnhilde's personage is used as a symbolic negation of the destructive
forces in the life of this mythical hero.
In fact, this funeral march constitutes, not merely for Götterdämmerung but for
the entire Ring, a kind of "core lexeme" or musical passage summarizing the most
essential mythical and musical content in the whole tetralogy. In fact, from this
core lexeme we may decode the intrinsic substance of the Siegfried saga as presented
by Wagner. The three themes in the middle of the march represent those three
levels, or isotopies, the conflicts among which are "mediated" by this hero's life
and actions. First we hear the sword motif, which also is the very first musical
motif in the whole Ring anticipating the forthcoming hero and which belongs to
the isotopy of saga, society. This is followed by two appearances of the Siegfried
motif which refers to the hero's mythical task of mediation and expresses the relation
between the hero and the mythical isotopy. Finally in this section we hear Siegfried's
hero motif whose origin, Siegfried's horn call, alludes to the fairy tale isotopy.
However, true elements of the fabulous do not emerge in this funeral march, neither
do motifs indicating Siegfried's sender Wotan, if one does not regard the sword motif
as such. The omission of the fabulous elements can perhaps be explained by their
incompatibility with the Beethovenian concept of a funeral march which still prevailed
in Wagner's time. In certain sections of the Ring, however, Wagner is already very
close to the aesthetics of ugliness (Aesthetik des Hässlichen) which became fashionable
at the end of the nineteenth century yet he is still very far from the aesthetic
category of the everyday (Das Alltägliche) which only in the beginning of this
century began to appear to a greater extent in the area of art music. The blending
of these stylistic features with the naivete of the fabulous and further with the tragic
— which last mentioned combination would theoretically have been possible for
Wagner - was realized only in Mahler's funeral marches, whose typical grotesque
connotation is consequently avoided in Siegfried's funeral march.
(Later in neoclassicism the funeral march in the old Germanic tradition changed
into its antithesis: Prokofiev's and Stravinsky's strong interest in marches — one has
only to recall the marches in such works as L 'Histoire du soldat and The Love for
Three Oranges — often appears as an inflation of the march to parodic proportions.
In their background there are, furthermore, the march tunes of Glinka's operas and
of the Russian tradition in general which often incorporate the fabulous quality.
An exception in the context of neoclassicism is constituted by Honegger's funeral
march in Le Roi David which is a typical funeral march in the German late romantic
tradition.)
8.2.4. The epic element in Wagner
In the last part of the tetralogy, Götterdämmerung, the mythical functions are,
perhaps, to a greater extent than in any of the previous operas in the series left for
music to manifest. In it the symphonic form or perhaps, rather, the form of
mythical thinking expressing certain intrinsic themes of the heroic myth concentrated
in fairly simple musico-structural oppositions. In fact, Wagner in his Ring tetralogy
is already on the threshold where mythical thought imparts its forms to symphonic
thought and wherein the symphony becomes "mythical", on a threshold crossed by
Sibelius in his Ku'lervo Symphony, as well as by Russian composers like Borodin
in his Second symphony, Prokofiev in his Fifth symphony and Shostakovich in his
Seventh and Ninth symphonies thus creating a special epic-mythical symphonic
style.
Carl Dahlhaus has called attention to those difficulties which Wagner had partic-
ularly in the musico-scenic arrangement of the epic element. 66 One may perhaps
say that in those sections where the epic, -purely narrative elements are given to
musical discourse to convey alone — as in Siegfried's funeral march — its inclusion
in mythical drama succeeds well. On the other hand, extensive narrations on the
stage undeniably threaten the laws of dramatic activity and continuity6 7 — against
which danger in arranging an epic into a tragedy already Aristotle warned.6 8 As to
the paradigmatic and in a certain sense discontinuous nature of mythical thought
itself, Wagner with his leitmotif technique and the continuity of the musical texture
in general has solved this problem from the viewpoint of Western receiver of an art
work in quite satistactory fashion. The succession of mythical elements is "psy-
chologized" for the modern man, the fragments are transformed into a plot6 9 and
this is made possible by musical discourse and not, for example, by gestural dis-
course, since gestures can only be repeated or stressed but not developed in the
true sense.70
Again, the very fact that Wagner's broad epic and narrative sections may be
considered deficient from the viewpoint of dramatic integrity and the interaction
of the sign systems forces us to search elsewhere for a musical style which would
better realize this narrative epic-mythical style. Such a musical style may be found
in Liszt's symphonic poems, which we have already scrutinized (see p. 131), as well
as in Slavonic music, also surveyed above. If we place ourselves on the plane of
mythical thought — in the Levi-Straussian sense of this concept — we may notice
222 Myth and Music
its complementary character: just as Levi-Strauss in hisMythologiques in examining

some South American Indian myth may refer to a structure which is found in the
North American mythology, in the same way we can now, within the Western music
tradition and justified by the mythical basis itself, parallel diverse stylistic mani-
festations of the mythical in the contexts of various composers and local music
cultures.
9. Sibelius's Kullervo
9.1. General observations
For Wagner it was the figure of Siegfried from Nibelungenlied, which served as a
germ for the reconstruction of the whole mythical communication. We would hardly
err in considering the Finnish mythological hero Kullervo one of the most fascinating
personages from the Kalevala for Finnish artists at the end of the nineteenth century.
The Kalevala itself had appeared, it is true, already in 1835, as one manifestation
of the passion for national history and especially its oldest period, which dominated
all Europe during the romantic era. As Mircea Eliade has observed, myths then
were given the special task of functioning as the most ancient historical documents
of a people, evidence of a "noble origin" and "antiquity" — which sometimes resulted
in a certain cultural "provincialism"1 as well. In Finland this orientation toward
antiquity converged with another one which was geographical in nature. At the end
of the century it was believed possible to find still extant in Karelia, the eastern
parts of Finland, the ancient Finnish culture as it manifested itself in the folk poetry
collected in the Kalevala.* However, the journeys not only of the scientists but also
of the artists, to the fountainhead of Finnish mythology and culture always occurred
d'apres une lecture de Kalevala. The objective was to discover those forms of primal
mythical communication, in all their concreteness, as a part of which the myths of
the Kalevala still served as living exemplars for the people.
The achievements of this cultural movement, which was at its height in the early
1890's, might be found above all, and in their most enduring form, in the area of
artistic creation. Its best works, like the Kullervo Symphony by Jean Sibelius,
exceed the bounds of local culture and acquire universal significance as a part of
Western artistic culture.
Regarding Sibelius's Kullervo we must, moreover, take into account the genetic
aspects involved in the birth of the work in another sense as well, for in Sibelius's
production as a whole, this work represents his first large-scale effort in symphonic
Sibelius's Kullervo 223
composition and also the only symphony in which the chorus and vocal soloists have
important parts. This construction of the Kullervo Symphony, with its reference
to operatic devices, must be regarded not so much as a concession to the Wagnerism
which had spread also to Finland, but rather as a means justified by the work's
mythical Kalevala text. The vocal parts of Kullervo reveal Sibelius's highly independent
way of building a vocal line, not only faithfully following the correct intonation
of the Finnish text - in this sense Sibelius might be compared with Janacek and
his attitude toward his own national language - but also conveying with the archaic
style of the melodic and harmonic construction the highest level of the text, its
semantic intention, i.e., the symbolic world of myth. These sections are as
fundamental insofar as the Finnish epic-mythical vocal style is concerned, as Glinka's
operas had been in Russia. On the other hand, in the purely instrumental parts of
the Kullervo Symphony, namely in the first, second and fourth movements, Sibelius
confronted the same problems which previously had occupied Borodin: how the
symphonic form could be used to express the mythical. This common problem,
the reconciliation of the conflic between two expressive worlds, that of primitive,
mythical thought, and that of the highest manifestation of the structural principles
of Western music, the symphony,4 gives rise to the parallelisms between Borodin's
Second Symphony and Sibelius's Kullervo. This does not mean a genetic connection,
however, such as that between Kullervo and Bruckner's Third Symphony, as the
biographic research by Erik Tawaststjerna has been able to show.5
Yet the purely instrumental parts of Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony also can be
interpreted by indicating connections with the mythical text - somewhat as in Liszt's
program symphonies. Such an interpretation of Sibelius's First Symphony in E
minor, composed six years later, would already be considerably more daring, since
in this symphony "the mythical" manifests itself in a more general way and can
be inferred solely from the purely musical structure — as we noticed when discussing
Borodin's Second (p. 163), Prokofiev's Fifth (p. 164) and Shostakovich's Seventh
Symphony (p. 36).
The Finnish musicologist Ilmari Krohn, a contemporary of Sibelius, ventured to
make a structural analysis of Sibelius's First Symphony, where it was related point by
point to the content of the Kalevala's Kullervo legend.6 In Krohn's interpretation one
may notice the inability to prove decisively that this symphony refers specifically to
the life of the hero Kullervo, and not to any fictional heroic tale in general. Krohn
supposes moreover, that Sibelius's melodies are thoroughly imbued with a folk musical
spirit that they might well be improvisations of an exceptionally talented runic
singer.7 In that case we might also presume that Sibelius's imagination and creative
inventiveness could have functioned in the mythical sphere as well and that the
content of the composition might be considered a kind of myth in the Kalevala
style imagined by the composer, which we, however, are no longer able to grasp in
224 My th and Music
its literal form, but of which only its manifestations in musical thematics have
survived.
As for the Kullervo Symphony, contrariwise, there is no doubt about the mythical
background: it consists of the runes 31-36 from the Kalevala, which tell the tragic
heroic legend of Kullervo, "Kalervo's offspring, the old man's son in light-blue hose".
This heroic legend follows to a great extent the general model of a heroic life, which
we have already applied to Wagner's Siegfried - many identical functions and mythical
situations were distinguishable there. A similar syntagmatic model of the mythical
level can consequently be used here, naturally taking into consideration the differ-
ences in the musical realizations of this immanent mythical structure.
9.2. The Kullervo saga
The events in the tale of Kullervo are, briefly, the following: the opening
situation is the enmity between the brothers Kalervo and Untamo, culminating in
the latter's expedition where Kalervo's whole family is killed save for one woman
who is brought as a slave to the house of Untamo. This woman soon gives birth to
a son, called Kullervo. Already at an early stage he reveals his coming nature: he
tears off the swaddling bands and swears vengeance on Untamo. Untamo in turn
tries to kill Kullervo by drowning, hanging and burning, but Kullervo is rescued from
all these ordeals. As an adult Kullervo is put to work but he proves to be too
strong: he breaks a fence, entangles fish nets, shatters a cradle. Finally Untamo -
in order to avoid more disasters — sells Kullervo as a slave to the smith Ilmarinen,
a sort of Donner figure in Finnish mythology. Ilmarinen's wife, the famous Maiden
of the North, who has been sought after by Väinämöinen himself, sends Kullervo
out to tend cattle, but bakes a stone inside his bread. Kullervo's knife, the only
memento of his family, breaks against the stone and Kullervo makes up-his mind to
take revenge on the mistress of Ilmarinen. With his shepherd's horn Kullervo drives
the cattle into the marshes and conjures bears and wolves to attack and kill the
woman. This act of vengeance gives a definite impulse to Kullervo's tragic action.
However, he finds his parents alive in a forest (here an illogical element appears: at
the beginning of the story Kalervo's family had been killed). His attempts to work
for his parents are as unsuccessful as they were for Untamo: this is due once again
to Kullervo's too great, superhuman strength. Ultimately Kullervo is sent on a journey
to pay the land taxes. In the course of it he meets a maiden and seduces her without
knowing that she is his sister, Kalervo's daughter, who had disappeared while picking
berries. When the sister learns of Kullervo's origin she throws herself into a torrent
in despair while Kullervo again returns home, from which all except his mother want
Sibelius 's Kullervo 225
to banish him after having heard about the tragedy. Kullervo now resolves to avenge
himself on Untamo. He prepares for war and leaves joyfully, comes to Untamola and
lays waste the whole district. On returning home he finds no living thing there.
Tormented by pangs of conscience and contrition, Kullervo kills himself with his
sword.
Such, briefly, are the vicissitudes of this somber and tragic hero, the most tragic
in the Kalevala, which are narrated in an austerely pathetic saga-like style. According
to Matti Kuusi, Kullervo is, of all the Finnish heroic runes, most akin to the family
tales narrated in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Iceland as well as to the
Scandinavian so-called heroic songs (Kämpavisor), which tell the life story of a hero
with extensive episodes, through all of which runs the subject of a blood feud as the
thread of the story.8 In this sense Kullervo has been compared with Hamlet (by
E. N. Setälä among others),9 but the heroic realism characteristic of it also relates it
to the figure of Siegfried, for example. Consequently there are similarities between
the heroes chosen by Sibelius and Wagner which have their origins in the early
medieval outlook expressed by primal mythology itself. On the other hand, the
Kullervo saga includes mythical elements as well, indicative of which, in Matti
Kuusi's opinion, is the fact that the runo about the birth of the first human beings
is found just in the introduction to an Ingrian runo about the son of Kalervo
(Kullervo).1 ° From this viewpoint the Kullervo saga could be presumed to contain
resemblances to the Greek Oedipus myth which, according to Le"vi-Strauss, also deals
with an attempt to solve a problem about the origin of the human race: are the
first people autochthonous or not. 11 Thus in the background of the incest motif
one may see the same mythical problem as confronted Siegmund and Sieglinde in
Nibelungenlied.
9.3. The interaction between myth and music as an internal process of the composer
The purpose of this study is not, however, to refer to the level of primal mythical
communication except in the sense that it serves as a starting point for those
"secondary sign systems",12 such as music, with which these primal myths are
revived and reconstructed in the context of Western artistic culture. We are, therefore,
more concerned with what elements Wagner or Sibelius have chosen for their com-
positions, how this material has been stylized and incorporated into the artistic
discourse to form a subject suitable for an artistic presentation. On the other hand,
in this phase, in which the mythical substance, a given mythical motif, begins to
fascinate a composer one has to take into consideration the fact that the stylization
and interpretation occur according to the aesthetics of his cultural background.
226 Myth and Music
The myth which a composer comes to know rarely represents the myth in its
archaic and authentic form, but constitutes a text already included in the semiological
network of a culture and hence is interpreted according to the numerous sign systems
of that culture. In the case of Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony one must therefore
note the fact that the same Kullervo saga had, even before Sibelius and in his time
as well engaged Finnish artists and aestheticians, like Aleksis KM in his tragedy
Kullervo13 (1865) or even earlier the aesthetician Fredrik Cygnaeus in his essay
On the Tragical Element in the Kalevala (1853).14 In Sibelius's case it is interesting
to see how he was able to meld together this national romantic or "Karelianistic"
spirit and view of the Kullervo legend on the one hand and his own tonal expression
on the other.
What may be taken as the musical basis for Sibelius is the tradition of Western
art music, particularly that of Viennese classical symphonic writing, which can be
designated as a musical langue.15 Yet we must consider Sibelius's individual way of
realizing it or the parole16 of his compositions, in this case that of the Kullervo
Symphony, whose construction has also been influenced by another system, langue,
namely the aforementioned langue of the Finnish culture at the end of the nineteenth
century, oriented toward the Kalevala myths. And insofar as this Karelianistic culture
is concerned, the works expressing the Kalevala myths by various artists are its parole.
In this kind of research outline new light is thrown upon the inner psychological
process of the composer: we may namely say that the spirit of the time - Karelianism,
for example, or some other movement - can influence the structure of the art
work itself only to the extent that the artist has internalized it. This process may
be called autocommunication :*7 in the consciousness of the composer such com-
munication takes place between two levels: that of myth — where in addition to
the cultural interpretation of myth the composer's personal "myths" also function -
and that of music, where one may discern the influence of the prevailing musical
culture upon the composer's personal idiom.
Thus we may notice that we are, in fact, dealing with a new variant of the
interaction between myth and music, now in the form of the composer's inner
process, autocommunication between two spheres of consciousness. We could,
therefore, describe this situation with the following scheme, where the interaction
between external and internal communication also is noted:
sender sender = receiver

receiver
culture composer culture
Karelianistic Karelianistic but also
culture, other cultures, for
The level of oriented toward the code example, the modern
myth myths ί . of myth music listener
i ^ ' j.
/
» Sibelius -^
I
Western tra- / 1
' f "Ϊ 1
The level of dition of art / j the code
music music 1ι of music 1
v^, χ 1
' t ^· ι
/ . autocommunication '
external autocommunication
When examining the actual subject of our study, the Kullervo Symphony, we
must therefore consider many aspects, which are, nevertheless, worth noting also in
a larger sense from the methodological viewpoint.
First, in considering this symphony as a text18 representing a certain cultural
period we must be able to determine the characteristics of this local cultural movement
as exactly as possible, hence the research program will inevitably become fairly
intertextual; we shall have to study various manifestations of Karelianism in highly
disparate texts: in compositions, paintings, and literary products. In reality we
should attempt to define and reproduce a certain si} *e manifested in various sign
systems.
But on the other hand it must be noted that the mythical level of Sibelius's
Kullervo Symphony might also be related to that more extensive mythical sphere
of Western culture which we have previously tried to elucidate. In this respect we
can compare Kullervo with, for instance, Wagner's Siegfried and finally with Oedipus
Rex by Stravinsky-Cocteau. The basic problem of our study is how this mythical
plane — no matter from what side it is approached — is connected with that of music
and how it is manifested therein. As to the composer, one must also consider his
bonds with a broader musical tradition as well as how this tradition is applied to
express the composer's personal idiom and in this case the musico-mythical thematics.
The composer who thus serves as the intersection and meetingplace of these
"systems", under this "pressure" shapes a message whose receiver is, for example,
either the same cultural phase to which the composer himself belongs or some other
cultural period, like that of the modern listener.
228 Myth and Music
In the final analysis this ultimate receiver of the message functions as a criterion
by which is judged to what extent the transformation process between the various
spheres and levels of a composition has resulted in a work of art whose artistic
structure in a way universalizes the local and historical factors in its origin.19 It
was just this transformation, referred to above as a composer's autocommunication,
which produced the same phenomenon - for example, in Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk
- now apparent in Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony: the musical structure analyzes
from the myth, as it were, its universally human element, in which mythical thought
manifests itself as pure structures and processes of consciousness, "left to commune
with itself to use a Levi-Straussian expression.2 °
9.4. The Karelianistic movement
Our first task in studying Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony is to clarify to what

extent and in what way it can be considered a manifestation of the so-called
Karelianistic culture. In other words, on what levels of composition the Karelianism
and its characteristic style appears. Regarding Karelianism itself one notes the
existence of two kinds of sources: on the one hand there are texts — paintings,
poems, novels, dramas and compositions — in which Karelianism manifests itself
directly as "a primary sign system" while on the other there arc metatexts which
attempt to interpret the properties of these primary texts. 2! The portrayal of a
cultural phase should - insofar as it aims to maintain an immanent and in a certain
sense hermeneutic character — be based on the utilization of these two kinds of
texts: the "semes" which are sought in the primary texts should be discovered
on the level of the metatexts of that culture. What kind, then, are those texts
and metatexts in Karelianism? (With this methodology one will avoid the error
of analyzing some culture with completely strange and external categories). As
primary texts we may regard such works as just Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony;
Akseli Gallen-Kallela's paintings, where Kullervo forms the subject of two significant
works to be discussed later, namely Kullervo's Curse and Kullervo Goes to Battle;
the novel Panu by Juhani Aho, 22 wherein the author reconstructs a conflict between
the ancient pagan world of which the shaman Panu serves as its symbol, and the
Western Christian faith; Eino Leino's poem collection Helkavirsia13 which develops
the hero- and nature-mythical elements included in the Kalevala; the Kullervo drama
by J. H. Erkko, 24 whose first performance in 1895 was greeted with as great
enthusiasm as had Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony three years earlier, 25 and many
others. The Kullervo tragedy by Aleksis Kivi cannot be regarded as a product of
the "Karelianistic" spirit, although it was presumably known to all the afore-
mentioned literary authors and therefore its influence particularly upon later inter-
pretations of the Kullervo legend undoubtedly has been considerable.
On the other hand, we may distinguish metatexts which, on the level of aesthetic
scrutiny deal with the properties of these artistic texts and especially their relation
to the Kalevala which, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, was elevated to the
status of a text dominating the entire Finnish culture. The Finnish culture thus
represented a type in which a single text was established as a code or a norm deter-
mining the perusal and evaluation of other texts.26 Such metatexts which belong
to the same culture as that which they describe, are the essays by Yrjö Him, Eino
Leino, Julius Krohn, Eliel Aspelin-Haapkylä, Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Jean Sibelius
himself,2 7 among others. Leaning on these documents we may perhaps finally be
able to reconstruct and determine the special Karelianistic style where we may
discern several levels (according to the model of reconstruction presented by the
Tartu semiotic school), beginning with the general intention of the text down to the
lowest phonetic or corresponding plane.28 The material which artists collected on
their journeys to Karelia was only a kind of substance, elements of an already
completed structure, framework of thought or a special system of Kalevala-
Karelianistic aesthetics. In studying the artistic texts manifesting this aesthetics,
one notes its realization on many levels of articulation. First, it appears on the
lowest, most concrete level, as an archaizing, fictional, "Kalevala-Karelian" language
in the novel Panu by Juhani Aho or as Karelian-Finnish colors in the paintings of
Gallen-Kallela's Karelianistic period or as trepak rhythms and folk musical melodies
along with dark sensual timbres of orchestration (as a counterpart of Gallen-Kallela's
paintings) in Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony, or as the meters in the Kalevala style in
Eino Leino's poems of Helkavirsiä etc. Furthermore this Kalevala-Karelianistic style
expresses itself also on the middle plane of a work of art, in its structural lay-out:
as the decorative composition of Gallen-Kallela's paintings, as the primivistic variation
technique in the second and fourth movement of Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony, as
the balladic refrains in the poems by Leino. On the highest level, that of the "general
semantic intention" which as a semantic gesture also governs the lower levels of
articulation, Karelianism appears in the structure of the mythical universe in Aho's
novel Panu and in that "primal magic-demonical" outlook which is reproduced
therein or in Sibelius's Kullervo as the austere unisonous narration of the chorus
depicting the hero- and nature-mythical elements of the tragic Kullervo legend, in
the special way of treating the thematic substance of the symphony (where one
may also discern a certain magic, incantatory stratum. Similarly, the style in all
other Karelianistic artistic texts is evinced in the idea of a primal Kalevala-mythical
universe looming in the background, which is simultaneously transmitted on many
overlapping levels of signification.
Additionally, other non-Karelianistic isotopies involved in these Karelianistic works
230 My th and Music
of art can be discerned. For example, the Kultervo drama by J. H. Erkko is the end
product of many other elements than the purely mythical and legendary: in it
Kullervo is made the hero of the proletariat, the leader and political agitator of the
enslaved labor class, with the actual Kalevala-mythical factor appearing primarily in
the story line which follows the plot of the Kalevalan heroic tale.29 If we compare
Erkko's Kullervo with the Kullervo tragedy by Aleksis Kivi we may see how this
personage, as an allegory of the ideal established by Erkko, loses an essential part
of its original mythical greatness. Although in Kivi's Kullervo the complexes resulting
from slavery also are important, they form only one element in this Shakespearean,
Gothic drama, where the modern spectator may already perceive elements of an
Artaudian "theater of cruelty". The comparison between the Kullervo figures by
Erkko and Kivi indicates how myth is characterized by its subordination to ever
new «interpretations and re-readings — this is due to the surdeterminational nature
of myth, its ability to function as the supporter of widely different processes of
signification.
In Gallen-Kallela's works, such as his Kullervo paintings which subsequently were
to become true "cultural units" in Finnish culture, Karelianism is blended with
many other trends on the level of content as well as on that of expression. Gallen-
Kallela's paintings Kullervo's Curse and Kullervo Goes to Battle namely reflect also
the transition of this artist colleague of Sibelius and the most noted "karelianist"
in painting, from naturalism and realistic folk-depiction to a mythological, decorative
style30 in which one may already sense the coming of symbolism at the end of
the!890's.31
One may say that Gallen-Kallela, even before the creation of the Kullervo paintings,
had at his command all the necessary stylistic and substantive elements to produce
them: 1) the naturalistic technique learned in Paris at the school of Bastien-Lepage,
2) the naturalistic aesthetics, Aesthetik des Hässlichen, where ugly and grotesque
subjects were selected, a la Strindberg, for artistic representation, 3) the aesthetics of
the Finnish wilderness, which was evident already in Gallen-Kallela's painting A
Shepherd Boy from Paanajarvi (1892). The subject of this painting was a shepherd
boy blowing on a birchbark horn, in the background a woodland lake and distant
hills enveloped in the gloaming of a summer night. In Yrjö Hirn's opinion these
elements in themselves sufficed for Gallen-Kallela to convey an atmosphere of
ancient times and runes, although the subject as such had nothing mythological about
it.3 2 (Nevertheless, Hirn did not realize that the objects presented in the painting,
"distant hills", "birchbark horn" and "shepherd boy" already constituted a part of
the cultural semiotical network and in the Karelianistic culture were associated with
the element "the archaic world of the Kalevala"). We may thus assume that this
semantic field was already known to the viewers of this painting in Gallen-Kallela's
time and that its effect was based mainly on this familiarity: an artist operates with
elements which already have a certain significance before he seizes them and thus
creates a new level of signification above the semiotic level of the culture (see
Barthes's model above page 27), 4) the Kalevala subjects or the idea of choosing
myths as subjects for painting - for example, in Gallen-Kallela's Aino, this central
female figure in Finnish mythology was presented with a realistic- technique but given
a highly national-romantic interpretation, 5) the decorative and primitive art with
which Gallen-Kallela became acquainted while studying Japanese woodcut engraving
and Italian fresco painting.33
All these elements exist in one form or another in the Kullervo paintings and
might be arranged in the following manner:
Kullervo 's Curse Kullervo Goes to Battle
The level of expression Naturalism (developed Decorativism, (primitivism,
(technique) almost to the grotesque, archaism, ornamentical
the portrayal already effects)
beginning to resemble
a stylized, primitivistic
expression)
The level of content The Strindbergian The aesthetics of the hero-
(aesthetics) aesthetics of ugliness mythical
It thus becomes apparent that defining Karelianism itself and its stylistic features
of primitivism and mythicism as they pertain to the aforementioned works is not
an unambiguous task. Such significant works of art as Gallen-Kallela's paintings and
Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony are also closely related to the Pan-European movements
of the period which links them with the mythical thematics of the Western artistic
culture in general during the late romantic era.
9.5. The musical background of the symphony
What compositional and aesthetical qualifications did Sibelius possess for the
creation of his Kullervo symphony? Structurally it has been compared primarily
with Liszt's Dante and Faust symphonies,34 in which the chorus enters in the last
movement to provide a climactic effect as in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony* In
Sibelius, however, the chorus has a more central position in the totality of the work,
since it is mainly through the vocal parts of the chorus and soloists, Kullervo and
his sister, that myth becomes the integrating principle and intention of this monu-
mental five-part symphony. On the other hand, the instrumental sections can be
* For the first extensive analysis of Kullervo, see Tawaststjerna: 1976, 107-121.
232 Myth and Music
characterized as symphony movements: the first part, titled introduction, follows

the senate form with exposition, development and recapitulation, while the second
part, Grave, in turn represents the rondo form. The construction of the third part
is determined by the musico-dramatical structure of the text and the fourth part
may be regarded as a scherzo with trio. In the last movement again many of the
intrinsic themes of the symphony recur, thus achieving the cyclical form typical of
a romantic symphony. From the viewpoint of this overall structure the tonal
relations among the various parts also become comprehensible: the first and last
movements unfold in E minor, which key consequently forms the tonal framework
for the whole work. The Grave movement does not, however, represent a subdominant
effect as one might expect, but is in B minor, from which it nevertheless twice
digresses to the B fr Mixolydian tonal field in the pastoral sections dominated by the
woodwinds: The slow movement does not, therefore, constitute a tonal rest point
but on the contrary accumulates expectation and tension for the next movements.
The third and fourth movements are, however, for the most part tonally modal which
is a device justified by the mythical text and creates the milieu and atmosphere of an
original mythical communication. In the last part the initial tonality of E minor is
again restored after a long passage with a dominant function.
Insofar as musical thematics and orchestration are concerned we may speak rather
of kinship with Bruckner's Third Symphony.3 s The Bruckner influences appear in
the Kullervo Symphony in π any ways beginning with the tonic-dominant nature of
the main theme to its return at the end of the symphony, set in a heavy unisonous
sound of the orchestra. On the other hand, this hst feature: the restatement of the
main theme at the end with the force of orchestral tutti, as well as the frequently
appearing rugged sound of fifths and fourths can also be found in the style of Liszt's
Dante Symphony (see above, the sacred seme, page 109).
If one were to search for a genre antecedent or counterpart of the Kullervo
Symphony one might, in addition to Liszt's symphonies point to Berlioz and
particularly his Romeo et Juliette, far though these works are from each other in
style and content. The subtitle of Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette is Symphonie avec
choeurs, solos de chant et prologue en recitatif choral and Berlioz also says in his
prologue to the work: "... Although vocal parts are frequently used there, it is
neither a concert opera, nor a cantata but a symphony with chorus. Even though
the singing participates almost from the beginning, it is there in order to prepare the
listener's mind for the dramatic scenes whose moods and passions are left for the
orchestra to present."36
It is exactly the beginning of Berlioz's composition, the reciting chorus in the
Prologue, that most resembles the narrative chorus style in Sibelius's Kullervo: one
may see in them both an attempt to reconstruct or at least to relate to the chorus in
ancient tragedy. A brief, lively orchestral introduction is followed by a unisonous
choral passage preparing for the future action - a somewhat analogous situation is
at the beginning of the third movement of Kullervo, although the chorus in Kullervo
represents the voice of a primitive, ancient tribal community while the thinner, more
transparent sound of Berlioz's chorus reflects rather the atmosphere of a Renaissance
court.
An interesting problem is posed by the relation to Wagner - the Kullervo
symphony was, after all, composed amidst the golden age of Wagnerism. Apparently
Sibelius manages to avoid all imitations of Wagner in his musical thematics - only at
one point, where the symphony comes closest to opera, namely in the music
depicting the seduction of the sister does one hear in the strings a descending
passionate scale passage which Wagner also might have used in some dramatic climax
of his operas (see above G tterd mmerung, Br nnhilde and Gutrune, page 216).
Nevertheless, if one takes into consideration the close relationship between Kullervo
and Bruckner's Third Symphony the Wagner question might be formulated also in
another way: could some Wagner thematics have been transmitted through Bruckner
to Sibelius? In this case one should naturally first determine the relation of Bruckner's
Third Symphony to Wagner. The massive codas in the first and fourth movements of
the symphony may be paralleled with certain preludes and codas in Wagner's operas,
as, for example, the fanfares at the end of Rheingold. The only point at which
Wagnerian thematics emerges in a really outstanding fashion is the fanfare motif of
trumpets at the beginning of the development in the finale (score section 0), which
reveals the signal-like aspect of stage music,37 reminiscent of the structure of the
Siegfried and sword motifs in Wagner's Ring.
Viol .
Jf 1 V, [y —l —Ο
Pos.
A
Tr. Τ" Γ
Λ //
^ΛΜ 5
ί=
234 Myth and Music
But here, too, the typical Brucknerian orchestration, the placing of the heavy winds
against the chromatic figuration of the upper register of the string« - which device
is later exploited by Sibelius in his Kuttervo - gives to the Wagnerian thematics the
flavor of the Bruckner style. The Wagnerian influences are thus transformed into
elements of the composer's own personal tonal language, with the seams hardly
discernible. In principle Bruckner is thus related to Wagner as Sibelius is to Bruckner.
Although the first half of the main theme of Kullervo may contain an allusion to the
main theme of Bruckner's Third Symphony,38 which the further development of
the theme substantiates, it has, on the whole, a very "Sibelian" sound especially in
the almost Slavonically dark and somberly glowing tonal field.
There is also another compositional feature which connects Sibelius with Bruckner.
As is known, Bruckner typically interrupts the music's continuous, often growing
and intensively driving motion with a fermate pause and continues thereafter with
totally new thematic material, as though transferring to an entirely new level. This
device is exploited by Bruckner, in his symphonies and it undeniably also contributes
to the monumental and granitic character of his style. At the same time these factors
segment the composition into parts in a way which might be compared with the
corresponding discontinuous trait appearing in the structure of myth: myth also
consists of discrete elements which are combined together often with no regard for
the coherence of the plot. This gives the figurative language of mythical thought an
archaic and rudimentary character in contrast to rational and discursive thinking.
Consequently one may readily understand that in Sibelius this device of fermate
pauses borrowed from Bruckner 39 (see score sections I: H, Ö) is highly suitable as a
part of the musico-mythical narration and forms a musical procedure reflecting the
nature of the mythical sensibility itself. In this sense one may perhaps also comprehend
the somewhat clumsy transitions and connections between various sections in the
Kullervo Symphony. Regarding them Sibelius might be, it is true, likened also to
Mussorgsky, whose original version of Boris Godunov possesses its own archaic values,
as well, which a composer like Rimsky-Korsakov could consider only technical
deficiencies to be corrected.40
On the other hand, in Kullervo the symphonic form is incorporated in the structure
of myth, which at certain points actually takes over the musical form, subordinating
it to the starting point of its own sign system, as we have already noted (see Barthes p.
27). In the second and fourth parts which in their construction approximate
Liszt's symphonic poem, the musical form coincides with that of the mythical
structure: it displays a variation technique, also characteristic of primitive art, which
in the area of folk music and myth manifests itself in the transformations undergone
by the same motif, musical or mythical. On the other hand, it is significant in the
first movement of the symphony that the development is reduced to a minimum —
yet containing a musically impressive turn to "the tragical" (see score section R) -
while the recapitulation is expanded because of the growth of the subordinate theme
to considerable proportions: this, like the last movement of the whole symphony,
emphasizes exactly the function of the themes' return - which also in mythical
thought is an essential sign relation (see above page 69).
9.6. The mythical background of the symphony
The various parts of Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony may also be outlined according
to the phases of the Kullervo legend itself. On this level of mythical narration one
can find parallels with Wagner, whose Siegfried undergoes similar "functions" as
Kullervo. The different parts of the symphony accordingly express this mythical
structure in their background:4!
Part I: Introduction: corresponds to the presentation of the hero's attribute, a
strong-minded character, which in itself — along with the theme of fraternal enmity
and vengeance — forms the motivating force of the narration, its initial situation.
Part II: Kuttervo's Youth; the hero's development to maturity as a shepherd and
slave outside society.
Part III: Kullervo and His Sister' the hero conquers a maiden, a function, which
acquires more mythical significance from the incest motif involved therein.
Part IV: Kullervo Goes to Battle; the hero's departure on a journey.
Part V: Kullervo's Death; the hero's return and death.
On the basis of this scheme we may now compare the original story narrated in the
Kalevala and the story presented in Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony and ascertain what
Sibelius has omitted from or added to the original version. This very selection
discloses the stylization of the original myth on compositional, dramatic r ;d aesthetic
grounds. As we can see, the first half of the hero's life and the depiction of the
background is left exclusively to the orchestra. The interpretation of this narrative
function naturally presupposes a knowledge of the mythical text, yet the mere
musical structure of these parts already contains links to the mythical sphere so that
they can be listened to even without any concrete programmatic content in mind. A
knowledge of the program, i.e., the story itself serves the same purpose here as in
many other Karelianistic works of art: "it gives the portrayed emotions a perspective
deepening backward in time... A knowledge of the story naturally reinforces the
impression of the listener."42 Furthermore, the epically descriptive instrumental
sections in Sibelius's Kullervo succeed in realizing that which caused difficulties for
Wagner - namely the incorporation of the epic element into drama. In his vocal
parts also Sibelius maintains the limits of epical narrative or lyrical expression
leaving the more dramatic sections for the orchestra to present.
236 My th and Music
The Kullervo legend represents in principle the same narrative genre as that of
Siegfried: it is the task of the hero to oppose the "false order" established at the
beginning of the story. This happens in a way that entails the hero's committing
transgressions which ultimately lead to the overthrow of the false order - in Kullervo's
case as vengeance on Untamo, the slayer of Kalervo's family. In this respect the tale
of Kullervo is related to the Oedipus myth and to the Indian story of Sisupala, as well
as to that of the ancient hero Hercules and the giant Starkatherus from Scandinavian
mythology, which George Dumezil has compared with one another.43
Sibelius has chosen from the episodes in Kullervo's life the scene of the sister's
seduction and the account of Kullervo's death by his own hand. These episodes
form the subject of the actual textual narration - the others are left to depend on the
more or less abstract musical narration. The selection of just these scenes as the basis
for the composition with text can be /iewed in connection with the hero-mythical
thematics of the romantic era which we have already attempted to sketch when
studying Liszt, Wagner and Slavonic music. The choice of the siblinglove motif
alludes to the beginning of Wagner's Valkyrie, the scene between Siegmund and
Sieglinde — but also to the same Strindbergian aesthetics which perhaps influenced
the selection of a subject from the domain of the unusual, violating the bourgeois
taste. (In his essay on the tragical element in Kullervo the Finnish aesthetician
Fredrik Cygnaeus strongly condemned Wagner's insights into the myth of Oedipus
as presented in Oper und Drama).4* Actually, in Sibelius the whole scene of Kullervo
and his sister is realized in a musical manner which is far removed from the intimate
chamber musical tonal expression at the beginning of Wagner's Valkyrie. In Sibelius
the figures cf Kullervo and his sister belong to the primal mythical world — they are,
contrary to Siegmund and Sieglinde, archaic and clearcut, on the musical level almost
relief-like heroes. To enable this grandeur and clarity of character and action to
attain its fullest expression, the number of acting personages in Kullervo has been
reduced to these two figures in addition to the chorus which functions as narrator.
Thus Sibelius's attitude toward myth is manifested in Kullervo as an abridgment of
the original story, while at the same time focusing on a few musical "pictures" -
perhaps in somewhat the same manner as Gallen-Kallela focused on two phases of
this story in his Kullervo paintings.
9.7. The structure of the Kullervo Symphony
9.7.1. 1 st movement: In induction
The Kullervo Symphony starts in medias res with the Kullervo theme which, as in
Sibelius 's Kullervo 23 7
Liszt's symphonic poems, is presented directly, ready in all its musical cogency and
characteristics. The long pedals of the double-bass on E tone, the monotonously
recurring ostinatos of the violins, altos and cellos open a wide epical spatial impression
for the listener - one experiences the feeling of being amidst the Karelian wilderness
which Gallen-Kallela in his paintings had established as the ideal landscape for
Karelianism. Similarly the effect of the French horn and clarinet playing the main
theme tentatively, like the call of a shepherd's horn in this somber tonal field, is
primitivistic in its darkly monotonous expression. However, the Kullervo theme
breaks out in its full scope only when the violins have taken it over with their wide
cantilena. The various wind groups of the orchestra enter gradually, striving the high
A tone, the climax of the melody, wherein the whole orchestra is united in a
powerful tutti sound:
3 j J i f r r-E·
The initial part of the theme consists of four bars, where the bouncing motif is
first heard rising through the second and fifth degree up to the tonic and then
descending with majestetic common harmonies, as though filling the gap of the
preceding great interval leap; these elements can be said to represent the contrasts in
Kullervo's character - just the kinü of correspondence between theme and hero that
the aesthetics of romantic symphonic poem require. We may thus suppose that the
octave leap at the beginning of the theme would express the aggressive and destructive
forres in Kullervo, while the latter half reveals his sovereign nature, as it is stated in
the runes: "Kullervo is a man, a king".45
Furthermore, the fact that the themes in the Kullervo Symphony are generally
speaking "primitivistic" in the very sense that they move in a narrow range and leave
238 Myth and Music
the tonality undetermined in their often modal character, gives to the first half of this
melody a particular significance with its plain tonic-dominant leap and makes it
exceptional in the musico-mythical universe of the whole work. This gigantic theme
is also as far as its ambitus is concerned, unusually extensive - over two and half
octaves - which would evoke comparison with the hero theme in Strauss's subse-
quently composed Neidenleben. Moreover, Sibelius's main theme is characterized not
only by its epic breadth but also by a certain plasticity and continuity - in this sense
it may be paralleled only with the violin cantilena themes in the epic style of the
Russian symphony (Glazunov and Rachmaninov) or in the late romantic Viennese
symphonies (Bruckner or Mahler). This theme is rare in Sibelius's aggregate pro-
duction, in that it is, as we noted, ready and complete already when it is first heard
(in fact it is heard in its full length only twice in the whole symphony) thus forming
a contrast to Sibelius's later compositional technique where the theme is often
developed carefully in the course of the work and only at the very end heard in its
definitive form.46 In such cases the composition itself reveals the process which
ultimately results in the finished product: a theme.47 This happens, for example, in
the Second and Fifth Symphonies. In the Kullervo Symphony, contrarily, the main
theme is heard immediately in its most original form, in relation to which the thematic
variations of its different parts in the later course of the composition are like fragments
of this complete primal unity. Perhaps the whole tragic symbolism of the symphony
on the musical level is based on this fact: the Kullervo theme becomes a kind of
symbol of the vanished Kalevala world, which can later be captured only by recon-
structing recollections from its discrete parts without, however, attaining the original
unity. (In a certain sense at the end of the symphony a motif, expanded from the
subordinate theme of the first movement, replaces this disappearance of the main
theme and its dispersal. But at the end of the symphony this subordinate theme
assumes an entirely different position in the mythical narration than the main theme:
it is namely a theme which tells about the events in the mythical prehistory while the
main theme of the first movement is itself an intrinsic part of this primal mythical
universe, the Kalevala world, and represents it as its musical symbol (see later p. 269).
Musico-thematically this theme already contains the germs of most of the future
themes - this Kullervo theme might consequently be regarded with reason as the
"germ lexeme" of the whole symphony in the same sense as Siegfried's funeral march
in Götterdämmerung - by means of which the essence of the symphony can be
decoded. Thus the variation on the motif with descending tl ird and second, charac-
teristic of the subordinate theme of the first movement, is probably derived from the
se;ond-third intervals, frequently recurring in the principal theme. The same motif is
later repeated by the chorus almost in the manner of a leitmotif, being mostly con-
nected with the words "Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring". Thus the most essential germ
of this whole Kullervo theme proves to be the successive intervals of the second and
third, which may appear in the following forms:

I:D,5-6
Π ι
a)
^Î P p
m *—σ
Ψ
Kuller-vo
P
Kalervon poika
1:1,24-28
*>m jJirrrr^
Ι:Α,4-10 l J
HE
h . I I I . Kullervon vaLitus
III:L, 3 h
h) rr
240 Myth and Music
Various combinations of fourths and seconds also have an important place in this
theme, from which thematic substance for other themes is derived. For example, the
motif c in which the third is replaced by the fourth (see the 13th bar in the main
theme) is repeated at the end as a destiny motif in the chorus's account of Kullervo's
death. The Kullervo theme thus forms a kind of motif repertory from which ever
new thematic material is drawn throughout the composition. Of the other themes in
the exposition perhaps the transition theme into the subordinate theme, oscillating
between major and minor second, and the chromatic closing theme are in their
characteristics the most: itithetical to the main theme:
Transition theme
Closing theme
* rj^*
They, too, are exploited later in the composition: the transition theme becomes
the sister's reminiscence in the last movement - we may thus perhaps interpret this
transition theme with its soft whole tone passages as the sister's theme in contrast to
Kullervo's forceful motif, taking into consideration that in the romantic tradition
such symbolism was common. Liszt after all in his Faust Symphony portrayed
Marguerite with a diatonic theme placed in a subdominant key in opposition to the
augmented intervals and chromaticism of Faust's theme.
In the recapitulation the germ of the subordinate theme is then developed into the
important runic theme which, perhaps more than any other theme in the Kullervo
Symphony, is akin to the music of the original runic singing, heard by Sibelius before
undertaking the composition of his symphony. When occurring for the first time it is
characterized by an ornamentation of the triplet figures which is not, however, merely
melodic embellishment but focal thematic material which Sibelius still uses, for
instance, transferred to the winds at the opening of the development section or as an
accompaniment for the subordinate theme in the recapitulation.
> B".
^ PP
Inversion of the main theme
The inversion of the main theme; to which is added the leading tone of the tonic,
prepares for the transition to the development - the closing theme is comprised of a
chromatic, sighing triplet motif on the strings (see above page 240).
The most important musical elements of the symphony have thus been presented
and the musical bricolage may begin. The transition to the development is realized
through ar enharmonic modulation: the fifth D# - Ajf is interpreted as the fifth in
Ε flat major, which serves as an accompaniment for the canon on the clarinets built
upon the initial part of the main theme. The sister motif is heard on the cellos, ending
with a motif of fourth-third-second, taken from the latter part of the main theme.
The oboes, in turn, now assume the triplet motif of the subordinate theme as their
repetition figure while the cellos once again present the new ending of the "sister"
motif — the atmosphere might be described as religiously devout:4 8
m V»
*£
F ί
Similarly, in Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony the cellos are allowed to sing

alone the modal motif of the choral theme in the development of the first movement.
Also in Sibelius the cello motif is a modal fragment of a theme heard earlier in its
entirety but whose part merely as a distant memory now represents the whole theme.
242 Myth and Music
The winds continue the development of the tonic-dominant-tonic motif as a canon

until the section where the tubas and trombones present the beginning of the Kullervo
theme in a dim pianissimo - the devotional mood in which one is immersed here is
not incompatible with the content of the Kullervo myth itself: certain Christian
elements are quite evident there, such as Kullervo's later remorse, in contrast to the
cold-blooded heroism of the Edda sagas.
Thereafter the flutes and woodwinds play an inversion of a motif already heard
in the exposition before the closing theme - which in turn was a variation on the
leap of the fifth in Kullervo's theme. At the same time the violins continue repeating
the rising triplet figure of the subordinate theme. All this happens in G major, with
the passage concluding, however, on a minor tonic of C major with a Dorian sixth.
The major second of the chord consisting of a fifth and sixth dissolves to an A I? and
an A flat minor chord based on it (in the same way as the major second of the closing
theme requires a resolution to a prime). A chain of minor chords descending in a
mediant relation is heard thereafter producing a tragic effect - as if the hero, unaware
of his fate, were suddenly faced with tragic reality, when the whole Scheinwelt which
has been built throughout the development breaks down:
pi/.z .
It is just here that "the mythical" comes close to the listener in a highly original
form. In fact, the whole idea of a development and change in the sense of a historical
process is impossible. Instead, repetition, variation, stability, recurrence and returning
to the same are the laws of the mythical world and not development, teleologism,
intentionality, causality or discursive progression.
In the recapitulation the subordinate theme acquires a central place. The main
theme is also slightly expanded, it is true, after having reached the melodic climax
and having added one variation more from the third-second motifs to the already
extensive melody, which motif in turn refers to a transition already heard in the
exposition. Now this motif is left to sound in the flutes and woodwinds, while the
strings present the subordinate theme as a full cantilena in its simple form suggesting
runic singing:
cantabile
Viol., m/-
Alto,
Cello
P TT^-J
Trombone,
Tuba, Kettledrum, Double bass
Woodwinds
r r
The flutes and the woodwinds add their comment to this in triple thirds as a shrill
figure — which seems to anticipate already the nasal, invasive wind passages in
Stravinsky's Firebird. The subordinate theme grows finally to almost frightening
dimensions — this is a same kind of primitive monotony and tenacity which we find
later in Sibelius in the finale of the Second Symphony discussed above (see page 37)
or which occurs similarly as an oriental variation in Rimsky-Korsakov in the expansion
of the themes up to their utmost limits — as, for example, in the following, originally
a folk song theme from the opera A Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh:4 9
fMC Mr
IL 0(r "" -τ—-τ p 2 -Γ» - - -.- I !Ι Λ Ι·J Ι
JΤ " 1 t J b«
l" M J r D
1 beC» - ·'- ή
eJ >
Or:
A· M lj
o a^ ^ if *. j^ «
I 1
p
Γ
•^^ Λ 1 | 1
244 Myth and Music
In Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony the growth process of the subordinate theme is

primitivistic in the very sense that it does not lead to anything. The passage simply
ends with a fermate pause, after which the sister then,^ is heard as from another
world in a caressing unison of the strings. From the viewpoint of mythical narration
this phase can be interpreted as a phase of "not passage into action". This section
might consequently be paralleled with the end climax of the next movement, wherein
such "passage into action" is achieved and realized with the outburst of Kullervo's
curse motif after a long development.
Such expansion is in accordance with the spirit of the original folk poetry also in
another sense. Already Julius Krohn pointed out in his essay Kalevala from the
Viewpoint of Aesthetics (1908) the common device of crescendo in Kalevala: "Fre-
quently the effect is reinforced in such a way that it is first begun moi2 quietly but
then ever more force is put into play."50 The Kullervo legend in particular is
characterized also by grandiloquent exaggeration - as in the depiction of Kullervo's
superhuman strength: "Into soup he churned the water/Into tow he threshed the
drag-net/Into slime he crushed the fishes."51 These literary devices are related to
that feature of Kalevala noted by many researchers — Roman Jakobson among
others:52 namely the repetition or parallelism of the verses. So brief are the verses
that every even slightly longer sentence has to be divided into two, three or more
parts, each of which is repeated before moving on the next. This double presentation
results in the poem's leaving a somewhat mosaic-like impression. Moreover, the
repetition or doubling occurs in the epic on an even broader scale, developing to the
utmost in the phenomenon called "magical metaphorism."53 Many times some idea
which was iriginally intended to serve as a mere symbol or metaphor, overwhelms the
runic singer to such an extent that he develops it into an independent scene. For
example, in the story of Lemminkainen, his mother ponders whether her son, who
is fleeing the men of Pohjola, should be hidden "As a pine upon the mountains/
Or upon the heath a cranberry/In the lake as pike when hiding", but imagining and
depicting each time how these also can be "cut to pieces", "plucked", "tûcen in net"
or "brought to destruction". Or in the Kullervo legend Kullervo's sister, who, after
her recognition of Kullervo, wishes to have remained in the forest: "As a lovely
flower existed,/On the ground a beauteous berry/Even as a scarlet cranberry." Such
metaphors have a magical effect: the singer himself begins to believe in his own,
purely verbal images and the ornament which was first intended as a mere decoration
grows into a constructive motif.
The fact that Sibelius in the first movement of his Kullervo Symphony, allows the
originally "decorative" subordinate theme to grow in the recapitulation into an
extensive constructive motif, is perhaps one of those ways in which Sibelius attempted
with purely musical means to create the atmosphere of folk poetry and its primal
milieu. The growth process of the subordinate theme can actually be compared with
the "metaphor" appearing in folk poems which increases in the consciousness of the
runic singer, ultimately attaining magical dimensions. Sibelius as a musician must
have paid attention to this structural property of folk poetry, which could be
effectively portrayed by a corresponding musical process. Thus the subordinate
theme is characterized by the repetition of the verses and the theme's expansion by
adding to it, a motif which was already heard as an extension of the subordinate
theme in the exposition but which had passed almost unnoticed. This extension of
the subordinate theme now heightens the whole theme to a moving climax:
iff K P* I 1
11.*
r —'
v * —τL J/
-— L· d
J —1
-s-'
t ff largamente
cf. section F, directly after the subordinate theme
The growth of the subordinate theme is thus the focal musical event in the
recapitulation. How, then, is the entire section concluded? After the occurrence of
the aforementioned sister theme, fading away in the distance, one hears as the wind
instruments' crashing tutti-fortissimo the beginning of the Kullervo theme, the musical
symbol of this tragic hero. The strings immediately thereafter present one variant of
the Kullervo theme from the development but which is now expanded with a
passionate leap of the ninth. Both sections are repeated — the Kullervo theme as well
as its variation leading to the triplet figure of the closing theme, which now acquires
a challenging and questioning character due to the pause of the succeeding four bars.
The same question-and-answer scheme is repeated three more times — the question
motif (the closing theme) rhythmically broadened and transferred to the strings. The
third time the answer comes as the first part of the Kullervo theme itself performed
by clarinet and bassoon, staying nevertheless on the upper tonic. If one were to
interpret the Kullervo Symphony on the basis of its mythical background, this section
might perhaps reveal the connections between the Kullervo and the Hamlet sagas —
they both deal with the vengeance motif.54 Also in Liszt's symphonic poem Hamlet,
the long pauses become a part of the musical expression just as in the end of the first
part of the Kullervo Symphony. Thus the connection is justified by musical thematics
as well.
246 Myth and Music
9.7.2. 2nd Movement: Kullervo's Youth
The title of the second part of the symphony, Kullervo's Youth, gives us a hint of
the textual background presumably associated with this movement. It consists of
runes 32 and 33 of the Kalevala, which tell about Kullervo's life as a shepherd and
the death of Ilmarinen's mistress. Insofar as the musical realization is concerned this
part is one of the most primitivistic in the entire symphony, its musical structure
obeying the principle of the combination of short motifs. Although this part is
characterized by a certain growth of intensity toward the end, its form is, however,
strictly symmetrical. In the movement we may distinguish three principal sections,
which can be designated by terms used by Tawaststjerna,5 5 since they seem to
portray well the mythical content of the music, as well: these sections might
consequently be called "Lullaby" (A), "Incantation" (B) and "Pastorale" (C). They
are each clearly discernible segments which with their positions shape the total outline
of the part as follows: ABABA C ABA C ABA.
The structure of the movement on the level of the larger units is thus fairly regular,
obeying the rondo form. But inside these sections appear numerous variations on the
smaller phrases, realized by combining the constant units differently. Hence we must
use as the level of analysis the plane of the small germ motifs, where the real "action"
in the work is placed.
The lullaby section accordingly consists of three motifs: a motif based on the
repetition of F tf which, nevertheless, acquires a sharp dissonant character with the
appoggiatura of G (a, al), 56 a motif moving in a whole tone scale and beginning
with a dactylic rhythm, and finally a motif with a descending third-second figure
whose origin can be recognized as a motif from the last part of the first movement.
Here, however, the interval of the third is widened in the restatement of the motif
ultimately to an augmented fourth:
a)
f
. . JT ' g ΓΠ i i Γ •Γ
b) (<fr * 8* » J J J L — J —H
-tf * s> * * tjJ J ' *
^
Λ 1— τ1
— ι Τ τ ^
—
c) fe » P a^'J ..-—P^T ! \— —β
l 1 0
— 1 —ι 3—-U—-i—ι—ι—
//
The incantation section includes only one motif with two different variations —
the repeated C is attained either from a minor second below it or from an upper
major second. It is characteristic of the rhythmical and melodic shape of this motif
that it contains the same primitivistic traits as so many other themes in the Kullervo
Symphony: the moving in a narrow range of a fourth and the obstinate repetition of
the same tone (later, in another context, Sibelius was to use a similar rhythmic figure,
but in a widened form — namely in the main theme of En Saga (see above, the
fabulous seme, page 103)).
The denomination of the whole theme as "incantation" is justified by its growth

during the movement: it occurs altogether four times: on the first occasion it is
repeated four times, on the second and third twelve times and on the last all of
eighteen times. Every time the instrumentation is different: first the theme occurs
in the strings: the next time likewise although alternating between the solo of the
violas and the whole string section; the third time it is given to the woodwinds and
in the fourth it sounds first with octave doublings of the horns and finally with the
force of the whole orchestral tutti.
The pastorale section consists mostly of the woodwind texture reinforced by the
strings and flutes alluding thus to the pastorale style common in romantic music (see
above, p. 123). Thematically one may discern in the pastorale section three inter-
related motis:
248 Myth and Music
These elements, their restatement, various harmonizations and orchestrations consti-

tute the musical texture of the second movement, which might be summarized in
the following chart. The various sections are not, however, placed merely in suc-
cession, but upon one another and staggered, as well. We have marked the pre-
dominant motif in the chain with its respective letter and the motifs heard in the
background cornerwise to the letter of the principal motif:
A: abalblca 2 b 2 w
Β: χ (4 times)
Β1: χ (12 times)

A2: caba^b^w (b:n liquid)
C: mnm 1 n 1 (w)lm 2 n 2 l l I2m3n3m4(a)m5(a1)m6 (liquid.)
A3: aba1b1cc1a2b2a3b3(w)
Β2: χ (12 times)
A · c(x)c aa ^ a Kw)
C1: m n m l
Β 3 : χ (18 times) a
In observing, for example, the recurrences of the lullaby sections (A) throughout
the work, one may notice how the order of its three elements alternate. Of these
elements the motif c, which was derived from the subordinate theme of the first part,
is the most mobile one: it can occur both after b and a or together with the
incantation motif.
On the other hand, by arranging these germs in a staggered way, Sibelius obtains a
continuity of the musical action: the transitions from one section to another occur,
especially towards the end, due to this thematic elaboration, "slidingly" or as a logical
result of the development which took place within the preceding section. In just this
manner, for example, the incantation theme, after having appeared in the last section
B3 eighteen times, finally conjures forth the a motif of the lullaby section, which,
too, has grown from its dream-like figure of the beginning into a symbol of Kullervo's
curse. In the same way the repetition of the pastorale section (C^) and the succeeding
lullaby section (A^) intertwine in such a way that the borderline is hardly perceivable.
Also the connection between the third occurrence of the incantation passage (B2) and
the succeeding lullaby passage (A4) has faded away by starting the lullaby section
with motifs c and χ placed one upon the other.
On the other hand in the total outline of the movement the. ''nvariable length of
the lullaby and pastoral*1 sections focuses attention on the continuous growth process
of the incantation passage between them. What is involved is an endless repetition of
a simple monotonous motif, common to all primitive music, but now used as a
means of artistic representation, the psychological effect of this incantation upon
the human mind being depicted with a gradual strengthening and crescendo of the
orchestra.
How are the key relations among the various sections related to this general course
of the movement? The oscillation between B major and B minor, or major and minor
third, characterizes the lullaby section, a descending whole tone scale from G#
serving as their mediation. The incantation section is presented in an Aeolian key,
first A and then G as the melodic center. The pastorale section again is represented
successively in B*** and F^ Mixolydian tonalities. On the whole, the character of the
movement is thus highly modal and different possibilities of harmonization of the
modal scales are widely utilized there.57 Thus one may hear how the incantation
motif finally grows out of its modal nature and arrives through the harmonies of B
minor to the B major tonic chord of the lullaby section's motif a to which is added
a minor sixth giving it a special archaic accent. The somber G minor chord heard
thereafter on the clarinet and bassoon - a truly romantic darkening effect - is like
an echo of Kullervo's curse amidst the wilderness, depicted so vividly in Gallen-
Kallela's painting. Musically, the listener associates this point with the end of the
first movement, where the wild outbursts of the orchestral tutti, the long, breathing
pauses and simple chords from the woodwinds low register also alternate. Harmoni-
cally considered Borodin already had exploited the same kind of effect by placing the
tonic chords of F slnrp major and G major in a direct succession without any
modulation in the first part of his Bogatyr Symphony.
As for the mythical narrative technique we may again compare this closing of the
second movement with that of the first movement which had to be regarded as "not
passage into action"; this ending, however, we may now interpret as a true passage
into that action which starts at the very opening of f he third movement.
If one wished to pursue musical hermeneutics or the explication of meaning in
music through a poetic text, for instance, one might well apply to this music depicting
Kullervo's curse the verses from Goethe's poem Das Göttliche which seem to portray
the musical passage in question, and which might also serve as the motto of Gallen-
Kallela's painting Kullervo's Curse: Denn unfühlend ist die Natur/ es leuchtet die
Sonne/ Über bös' und Gute/ Und dem Verbrecher/ Glänzen wie dem Besten/ Der
Mond und die Stirne. This kind of textual parallelism could perhaps also be justified
by the fact that even in the Kalevala Kullervo as a shepherd sighs: "Sun of Jumala,
0 shine thou/ Of the lord, thou wheel, shine warmly/ On the warder of the smith's
herd/ And upon the wretched shepherd/ Not on Ilmarinen's household/ Least of all
upon the mistress."
250 Myth and Music
In linking these texts we, in fact, only follow the basic idea of Peirce's semiotics,
that texts and signs determine one another as a kind of chain:58 consequently if we
interpret the aforementioned passage in Sibelius's Kullervo and Gallen-Kallela's
painting by referring to Goethe's poem, we need an interpretant or an element
combining these texts - the corresponding passage in the Kalevda might prove to
be such a bond — even if it is hypothetical and arbitrary — thus illustrates the process
according to which the cultural units, to use a term by Eco, are defined in a given
culture.
The entire second movement of the Kullervo Symphony is thus characterized by
a primitivistic compositional technique which appears in the melody, harmony and
rhythm as well as in the orchestral colors and thematic developments, and this makes
it a kind of musical reconstruction of a Kalevalan tribal society. Again, if we consider
the function of this movement from the viewpoint of the mythical narration and its
structure, we may indicate certain direct connections between the Kalevala text
depicting Kullervo's youth and the music. First, it is quite apparent that the pastorale
sections can be considered a musical portrayal of Kullervo's shepherding. And the
growth of the lullaby theme cannot but depict the development of Kullervo's strong
character and finally its violent outburst. On the other hand, the central position of
the incantation theme refers to another personage in the Kullervo legend as well: the
mistress of Ilmarinen and her lengthy incantation which covers most of runo 32
recounting how Kullervo was sent to tend cattle.
Kullervo, too, reveals his magical capacities when he conjures the wolves and bears
into cows and sends them to Ilmarinen's farm. Thus the central incantation passages
in the movement portraying Kullervo's youth allude to the original magical-demonic
world view and therefore justify the denomination of theme C really as an incantation
theme. A glimpse of the "other" nature of the mistress of Ilmarinen as a famous
beauty, the Maiden of Pohja, is given perhaps in the transition before the third
incantation section — in that section where one may see the germ of the strings'
polyphonic texture in the upper register that is so frequently met in Sibelius's later
works:59
•J XJJ.JJ
Certain structural traits in the second movement, above all the variations on the
level of the short motifs, are also found later in the musico-mythical narration of the
symphony, namely in the fourth movement. One should note, however, that in the
second movement the primitivistic variation technique is set to express the magical
and the incantatory, whereas in the fourth movement they constitute a musical
counterpart of decorative and martial ornamentation. The comparison between these
two movements may prove interesting also by juxtaposing them with Gallen-Kallela's
Kullervo paintings, which with their pictural expression transmit the same functions
of mythical narration, corresponding episodes from the life of the hero.
9.7.3. 3rd Movement - Kullervo and His Sister
The second movement of the symphony ended with the string motifs of the
lullaby theme fading away and the silent tonic chord of B minor. The ancient world
of the Kalevda which emerged from dim, prehistorical obscurity at the beginn'ng of
the movement once again disappears.6 ° A sharp contrast is provided by the transition
to the dramatic and active section of the third movement — a surprise effect is the
transition from B minor to the tonally distant Lydian F major.
The Kdevala includes cheerful scenes, as well, particularly in the depictions of
journeys, among the most lively of which are the descriptions of travels in the
Kullervo runes. The short, dancelike orchestral prelude has been already discussed
(see above, the seme of the national-musical, page 121). It is just at this point of
Sibelius's symphony that the decorative element of Karelianism is manifested - as it
is in the descriptions of Karelian festivals in Juhani Aho's novels6! or in the deco-
rative scenif effects of Erkko's Kullervo drama. This connection and especially the
couleur karelienne conveyed by the trepak dance is clearly reflected in the rich
harmonies of the orchestra:
Strings, Horns, Trombones, Bassoon, Cl.

252 Myth and Music
In this prelude to the third movement Sibelius is perhaps closest to the dance scenes
obligatory in the Russian operatic style and in general to the realism of stage music.
(In his musical realism Sibelius does not, however, even in the later parts of the
symphony, go as far as Wagner, whose "acoustic code" includes also the use of noises
to supplement the actual musical devices. In Sibelius musical realism is always based
on the thematic substance; one need only recall the depiction of the sleighride or
that of nature in the sister's monologue, the blasts of the French horn when Kullervo
goes to battle or the violent thematics of Kullervo's death.)
This trait, however, retreats into the background when the male chorus enters
with its somber, epical and narrative unison. New musical problems arise with the
chorus, due to the treatment of the text. The task of the chorus at first seems to be
the same as in ancient tragedy: to act as a narrator within the narration and to
introduce and prepare the entrances of the drama's protagonists, the subjects of the
narration. 62 But in ancient tragedy the chorus itself participates in the action — it
is situated partly on the same level as the actors, while in Sibelius the chorus represents
only the narrator, albeit a sympathetically participating one. Consequently Sibelius's
conception of the function of the chorus follows the nations of the romantic aesthetics
about the chorus as an "ideal spectator" (A. W. Schlegel)6 3 or a "living wall" between
the reality of the stage and the audience (Fr. v. Schiller).64 On the other hand, we
also have to ponder the relation of the chorus, not to the dramatis personae, but to
the orchestra which can be said to possess narrative functions as well, particularly
in the first, second and fourth movements and among the vocal parts in the third
and fifth movements.
The orchestra is, after all, present every moment although the significance of its
occurrences varies from mere accompaniment to independent symphonic texture
— as in Wagner, whose orchestra can best be compared with the chorus of ancient
tragedy. In Sibelius', however, the narrative function is divided between the chorus
and the orchestra, with the chorus representing the voice of the narrating community
and the orchestra displaying all those unconscious "forces" and connections which
existed even before the articulations given them by culture and society — in this
sense we might identify the orchestra with the structural category "nature", which
is represented by the orchestra also in another, quite concrete sense, for example,
in the nature painting of the sister's calling out in the forest.
In the musico-technical realization of the choral part Sibelius was occupied by
the same problem as Stravinsky was later in his Oedipus Rex — namely musical
versification. True, Stravinsky's starting point was an obsolete language, Latin,
vhich the composer could manipulate relatively freely, creating his own system of
musical versification 65 (which we shall examine later, see page 290). Sibelius, on
the contrary, started from a living, spoken language whose original, natural speech he
attempted to imitate and in that way to endow the corresponding musical expression
with its own phsticity and original purity. 66 Thus Sibelius takes care of the right
accentuation within the limits of 5/4 rhythm so that the song of the chorus would
sound like natural speech. That is why he also often allows the music to violate the
meter of the poetic language to avoid contrived solutions, which the alliterations,
meters and repetitive verses in the Kalevala might easily prompt. The orchestra's
quintuple meter, written as 3/4 + 2/4 - depicting Kullervo's journey and giving the
entire half of the third movement a lively character — and the recitation of the
chorus, on the other hand, do not often coincide in their accents. Instead they are
staggered which increases the vivacity of the narration:
m Jtul ler - vo Ka - ler -von poi

f ,
ί^=»
•»/f f f f r
§ΕΪ
Cello, Alto
E-f r f .
Bassoon
Later the whole appellation of the hero is repeated many times: "Kullervo, Kaler-
vo's offspring/With the very bluest stockings/And with yellow hair the finest/And
with shoes of finest leather", emphasizing once again the importance of a name and
naming in mythical thinking. A thing or a being exists only when it is given a name.
In this opening of the chorus special attention must also be given to its versification,
particularly to the protraction of the first syllable in the word "poika" (offspring)
and in general the realization deviating from the natural meter of the verse. The verse
could be interpreted as:6 7
4
4 I
d J I J J J J J J
Kul-ler-vo Ka-ler-von poi - ka,
J J
254 Myth and Music
but instead we hear:
J j
Kul -ler - vo
J J J J
Ka-ler-von poi - -
J.
ka,
The former possibility, or rhythmic scheme Sibelius uses instead at the «nd of the
movement, in Kullervo's lamentation. But there also one must note that the meter
of the text might call for another interpretation should the melody strictly follow
the textual rhythm. Thus Sibelius, perhaps in order to avoid monotony, proceeds in
both aforementioned points contrarily to what the poetic text might at first glance
suggest. Kullervo's lamentation begins like this:
I j J J J J J J J J J J -
Voi po - loi - nen päi - vi - ä - ni
although we might expect to hear the following versification:
4
4 J J J J- J J J -
Voi po - loi - nen päi - vi - ä - ni
The orchestral accompaniment also varies with the progress of Kullervo's journey.
When the first maiden comes along the chorus hushes and presents the same motif
previously heard at the beginning of the second movement as a lullaby motif.
Tonally the choral narration follows modal scales and plagal melodic construction
especially a three-tone motif based on the fifth scale degree which makes the minor
natural of Dorian. These tonal factors, along with the unisonous style of the chorus,
give the narration an epic flavor which is enlivened not only by the aforementioned
realism of the orchestra but also by the music's onomatopoetic imitations of the text
at certain points, as in the following passage depicting the progression of the journey
and the rhythm of the sleigh runners:
Wtrk - ku Juok-si, mat-ka jou - tul, tie vie - ri, re - kl ra-ea-st (
t »/ rwf1 L_ i, a
Cello, Bassoon
J J J «t J
In the meetings of Kullervo and the maidens the melodic, almost chromatically
ascending line reflects the tense character of the situation. The interval relationship
of a major third which is so important in the musical thematics of Kullervo and his
sister, appears already in these first scenes. When Kullervo first attempts to persuade
the maiden to step into his sleigh, the part of Kullervo begins with an E ascending
thereafter to G κ at the beginning of the sister's immediate reply; "In thy sledge
may Death now enter/On thy furs be Sickness seated". The second time the tonal
relations are: Kullervo/F^ , the sister/A ν and the third time a descending major
third from G if to E.
The dialogues between Kullervo and his sister differ in their lively natural speech
rhythm from the chorus's epically grave narration, proceeding by refrains. In order
to intensify the dramatic effect Sibelius has eliminated from the original text the
indirect discourse between the speeches of Kullervo and his sister and joined them
smoothly to one another. The chorus prepares every scene, the first two times, which
do not lead to any result, it presents a variant of the first chorus motif:
1 1 1 1 1 1
ι i'l ι 11'>'ι 1 J ι 1
Kul -ler -vo Ha-ler-von poi - - ka
The third time, however, before Kullervo actually drags the maiden into the sleigh
the chorus does not present this motif, thus symbolizing the hero's concealed identity
in a subtle way that affects the listener unconsciously. Instead, this motif is saved
for the scene in which Kullervo reveals his "origin", after the seduction. One may
therefore speak about a Kullervo leitmotif — taking into consideration, however,
that, like Siegfried, Kullervo also has several themes which refer to him.
256 Myth and Music
The dramatic climax of the movement is focused just on the third meeting of
Kullervo and the sister. There the chorus abandons its plastic modal melodic line
and freezes into a repetition ot the same motif, A minor: V^ (E-B-D-F# ) for
five bars, which means an increase of tension in the mood. The sister's resistance is,
however, overcome by the contents of Kullervo's chest: "Soon the fabrics turned her
dizzy/To a bride the money changed her/And the silver it destroyed her,/And the
shining gold deluded". During this whole, musically very dramatic passage the sister's
torrent of words is succeeded by a genuinely Wagnerian resolution on a minor
subdominant chord with an added sixth in E major:
Sister:
3
Jf frft'1 h- l h m J? m1)—mJ?—-t =
4Θ—"— l··— _ ^—^J—p5 · -C
t)
ra-in k- si reen re - tu-kan . M. _ 6
Violins -β-
it 1f* .;r-
y0 Sji
/Γ " - ' '
-*? &tt , ΓΠ
*
_ t f.
_ Λ?_. _ -_' , *- l* Γ
πm *
._ m .. t'
ft; 6 Ui.J'- --J-- ·-.·

ff 6
HomS JJ dim.
Trombones
α Λ
cVit Κ r ·
./ \ —
I'fji*
v
.. .... t C', ··
Double f". '
bass I
The chorus remains in the background, thus obeying the principle of Sophoclean
tragedy that the chorus must not compete with the actors.68 Also in the depiction
of the silver and the gold the chorus remains on the same pitch to which the
recurring motif of the rising second and sinking third always returns. The lonely
theme of the oboe against the pedal tone of the French horn and clarinet is as
effective as the oboe theme in the opening of the second movement in Liszt's
Dante Symphony. Both composers give a solo part to the oboe since the theme
played by it alone suffices to portray the mner dimensions of the mythical situation
— that which we have called "the psychic-mythical", according to Cassirer — better
than any larger or more massive instrument combination:
Ob.solo
dolcissimo
This scene is followed by a more extensive orchestral interlude (58 bars) whose
task is to depict the fourteen highly realistic verses in which the Kalevala relates the
sister's seduction. Sibelius's music, moreover, gives this event a tragic dimension even
before Kullervo and his sister recognize each other. We hear in the strings the
following theme composed of two motifs. The first is an inversion of Kullervo's
"leitmotif and the second a variant of the same motif central in the paradigm of the
whole work:
VioL.Fl.
q :
Λ * it1
if. t
I I ο^ Γ
Ρ * fl-ar - ™l~
1
~(
l
ft p^
'
O *
1
^^
1
^L·.
|?^%
\^ V7 Λ
4
ff
C5 * ff ffi
11
Qκ.
Λ m
» / 2 v
JI 1
j
W •J • JF
j * | 47t fm Λ
-, -, Α
I Γ
Cellos, Altos
In the syncopated rhythmical figures of the theme there is something reminiscent
of Bartok or perhaps rather of Hungarian folk music - in any case, it is rare in the
general rhythmical context of the Kullervo Symphony. The theme is repeated three
times and leads finally after an orchestral outpouring to F minor, which opens the
second scene in the drama in which Kullervo and his sister pose the same kind of
"mythical" question concerning their origins as does Siegfried in Wagner's opera or
Oedipus in the tragedy by Sophocles. The consequences of this inquiry are as fateful
for Kullervo as for Oedipus.
Kullervo reveals his identity with an A flat minor variant of his leitmotif:
Kullervo:
•Μττπ-τ
Ka - ler - von ka - ta - la
' rr poi - ka
The motifs of the woodwinds in particular interweave as contrapuntal counterparts in
the monologues of Kullervo and his sister. In Kullervo's monologue the clarinet
modulates at the same time to the initial key of Kullervo's speech, F minor, while
in the sister's monologue the oboe has a corresponding function. The sister's narration
starts in C sharp minor, which once again manifests the tonal relation of the major
third dominating the thematics of Kullervo and his sister.69
The sister's monologue tells about her berrying trip, becoming lost in the forest,
climbing up a high hill and calling out in the wilderness. In this section appears,
particularly on the musical level, the nature-mythical element of the Kalevala, the
relation between man and nature. The skilful intertwining of the wind solos in the
258 Myth and Music
sister's song and the imitation of its motifs as echo effects can be interpreted to
symbolize the sister's loneliness and wandering amidst the vast nature, as well as
the mysterious unity between nature and man, the communication between them
— as in the following passage, in which nature replies to the sister's call:
FfP
Sister:
E - - la huu - a
&-fift++
hui - lu tyt -tö
Viol. -» PfP
aJftj_
0"ja
pi
The flutes perhaps depict bird song, the French horn again the sister climbing a
hill and calling out in the wilderness, while the oboes resound as an echo from the
forest. Although the winds have an important role in this section, it cannot be called
as "pastorale" in the same sense as the "pastorale" in the second movement of the
symphony, for example. This scene represents rather the musical projection of a
mystic unity between nature and the Kalevalan man since the music portrays a rugged
Finnish wilderness rather than a fairy tale forest such as that in Siegfried's Waldweben.
The episode of Kullervo and his sister occurs in the middle of a wilderness which is
"magical", animistic only from the viewpoint of the mythical personages themselves,
but which on the musical level is portrayed in a highly realistic manner.
The oboe's theme recalls the sister from her memories back to the present situation:
the meter also changes to a quadruple one from the broad 9/4 preceding it, and so
makes way for the rhythm of Kullervo's lamentation. The sister wishes that she
had died on her berrying trip and imagines how she would "have shone forth as a
grass-blade, as a lovely flower existed". Here once again the magical and the nature-
mythical outlook is manifested against the rippling background of the strings, wood-
winds and flutes. The sister's plunge into the torrent, described in ten verses of the
Kalevala, Sibelius has condensed into a single six-four chord of C sharp minor, which
has been placed in the highest register of the flutes and woodwinds in a penetrating
fortissimo.
The end of the third movement, Kullervo's lamentation, is begun directly by
Kullervo's motif, which is the same as the motif of the sister's seduction, heard
earlier in the orchestra:
1
Kullervo: 1 '
Ξ" Γ Γ | J 1 >IP 1
=$=
Voi po - Ιοί -nen p i - vi - - ni, vn i - pa k r - ja a - nl
rtTutti ^ J^—ι F£ rfn

r^ '
rv
/f
n
r " j
-p
4
'
^
-yr> (, L^ _— •.^=3
L > -=—
f Ti—
^ ji ·— V j Jv »
'f
: OLi_-JLJ_ Oi_
J
^ ^
On the other hand in considering that the inversion of this theme occurs as
Kullervo's leitmotif, one may perceive how the same theme as "negated" depicts
the destructive side of Kullervo while as positive this theme reflects his sovereign
character. When comparing the personages of Siegfried, Kullervo and Oedipus as
mythical heroes we may see that there are particular reasons for such juxtaposition.
All three heroes are, namely, governed and characterized by some trait which, on the
one hand, makes them heroes and leads them to heroic deeds exceeding ordinary
human capacities, but on the other hand leads them to destruction as well. In
Siegfried this trait is "fearlessness", in Oedipus "knowing" and in Kullervo his super-
human strength. Thus it is understandable that the inversion of the same theme is
used to present the hero's conflicting modalities.
As a dramatic effect in Kullervo's lamentation Sibelius uses the repetition of
musical phrases corresponding to the verses: "Woe my father, woe my mother/Woe
to you, my aged parents". The orchestra accompanies with bare, heavily falling
chords which give this lamentation a monumental character. This static quality, as
though chiseled in stone, is reinforced by altered major harmonies moving mostly in
the subdominant of F minor — the dominant function is heard only twice, at the
end of both A section - in other respects the structure is symmetrical.
In the frequently recurring triplet figures one may perhaps see an indication of
the first movement's closing theme. As far as the mythical narration is concerned,
Kullervo's lamentation expresses the revelation of the hero's identity and his reaction
to it. When comparing these three heroes one may see that similar mythical situations
recur in their stories, but that each approaches and resolves them in his own way.
The reaction of Sibelius's and the Kalevala's Kullervo to the revelation of his identity
and its tragic consequences is a Prometheic lamentation. In Siegfried and Oedipus,
260 Myth and Music
however, - in Wagner and Stravinsky - the same situation is portrayed by considering

the mythical personage as a kind of sun hero; 70 in Wagner's Siegfried we hear the
motif of the awakening while in the opera-oratorio by Stravinsky-Cocteau Oedipus
states resignedly: Lux facta est. In Oedipus Rex the stage lightens (in reality
already before the words of Oedipus) along with a bright major third D-F^ on
the flutes and at Oedipus's speech with a broken B minor chord of the harp's
twangs against the background of the clarinet and the cello (which same orchestration
Stravinsky used later also in his Orpheus depicting the similar mythical function of
the hero's recognition.
When paralleled with these sun heroes - Wagner's Siegfried and Stravinsky's
Oedipus - Sibelius's Kullervo represents a more elemental mythical figure whose
tragic greatness is largely based on his monumental loneliness amidst the action.
Kullervo's tragedy is consequently individual and Sibelius did not attempt to trans-
form it — as J. H. Erkko did in his drama or as it was done in the Russian epic
opera - into a tragedy of the fall of a people's leader.
9.7.4. 4th Movement: Kullervo Goes to Battle (some parallelisms with the paintings
by Akseli Gallen -Kallela)
The contrast between Kullervo's lamentation and the movement depicting Kul-
lervo's departure for battle is manifested on the musical level above all as a contrasting
discontinuous/continuous musical discourse. At the same time there is a sudden
change in mood — Kullervo has matured into that militant hero who also served as
the subject of Gallen-Kallela's latter painting. The fourth movement of the Kullervo
Symphony is characterized by the variation on certain melodic-rhythmic motifs
without, however, developing them climactically as in the second movement. In
this part there is no striving for contrasts portraying the hero's character or psy-
chological development; rather, the whole movement is marked by the same kind of
uncomplicated directness as that in the depiction of Siegfried's Rhine journey or in
the forward rushing third motifs of the winds in Borodin's Second Symphony.
This movement presents the hero in all his splendor, conscious of his own heroism
and on his way to great deeds. At the same time there is an air of reckless bravado
and arrogance which enables one to predict the ultimate turn to the tragic. Kullervo's
situation in departing for battle is the same as that of Siegfried on his journey to
the court of the Gibichungs: both these episodes mean the culmination of the hero's
life, after which the mood can only darken.
Nevertheless there is about the whole movement, despite its energic progression
and haste, something static and immobile - a similar static quality is characteristic
of, for example, the apparently animated figuration of primitive decorative art. This
essential immutability results from the fact that the same figures are repeated end-
lessly, unchanged in their basic structure and undergoing only slight transformations.
The main theme of the movement includes several thematic elements heard earlier
in the symphony; at the end of the motif, the second-third motif already familiar
from many other connections (the sister's seduction, calling in the forest etc.) throws
a darkening shadow with its flattened sixth and seventh tones over this otherwise
vigorous and untroubled theme:
Alia marcia
CL, Altos
On the other hand, the first half of this theme can be compared with the octave
leap in the Kullervo theme itself — here, however, not trough any intermediate
tone, but directly up and then downwards by degrees. In this respect the theme
suggests rather the trepak theme of the third movement, a simplified variation on
which this motif depicting the departure for battle undoubtedly is. The continuation
of the melody, too, is related to the opening of the third movement — here the
continuous melodic line is, however, broken by a high-pitched trill on the piccolos
dividing this main theme into three sections, the first two of which are brief, only
three and two bars respectively, the third one lasting eleven bars. Only there is this
theme brought to a conclusion marked by an impetuous and fragmentary quality.
In other respects the alternating figuration of the woodwinds and strings seems
to form an unbroken band, a mosaic whose leading motif is the syncopated octave
leap opening the main theme and which always indicates the points of return to
it in this arabesque. In the following are some variations from this apparently
inexhaustible series of transformations (following, however, the traditional rondo
form):
262 My th and Music
-p-
m =§=
J J
"
t· Jjmjgii^
Is it possible to discover in these variations any "system", any kind of trans-

formational grammar whose rules would allow us to generate endless variations
appropriate to the movement Kullervo Goes to Battle?'1'1 Such a grammar would
be highly useful at least here - otherwise we must be satisfied with confirming the
fresco-like nature of the movement, for which the listener may only imagine the
visual counterpart of the tonal figure - perhaps in the same way as Liszt's battle
pieces may suggest Delacroix's great battle paintings or as the militant rhythms in
the Russian epic symphonic style express the mythical images of "struggle" or
"departure for battle".
In searching for rules integrating the structure of the work one soon realizes that
it is not worth looking for them in the paradigmatic aspects, since what is involved
here is a discourse which unfolds linearly, stressing the syntagmatic order. Thus the
musical texture is constructed on the principle of continuity; instead of pondering
thematic relations among the discernible elements one must ask how to proceed
from one given motif to another without interruption. The entire musical discourse
is thus contrary to the first and second movements of the symphony for instance,
where one mythical effect was created just by the discontinuity of the discourse,
its paradigmatic nature reflecting in that way the elemental pictorialism common to
the mythical thinking. Here we are confronted by a principle which, while charac-
teristic of primitive art seems to form almost a contradiction to the structure of the
mythical message. What is involved here is the non-representative, geometrical nature
of primitive art and from this viewpoint one may understand that Sibelius in this
movement is near Stravinsky and the future neoclassicists who did not look for
content in music and primitive art but simply plastic forms, "the play of lines, colors
and tones".73 Thus it is not surprising to find among the variations in this movement
a motif resembling Danse russe in Stravinsky's Petrouchka. Sibelius detaches himself
in this part for the moment from "the mythical" of romanticism and anticipates the
conceptions of the 1920's of mythical communication's significance for Western art,
the flight from the psychologically complex, abstruse and profound in the sense of
German metaphysics. This movement does not attempt to reproduce the mythical
message and its code but only the way of performing a ritual, a myth, including a
decorative dance as well as the ornamentation of festal dresses and masks.
The continuous arabesque of the melodic line is interrupted only periodically:
first, at the point where the tremolo on the A major tonic chord of the strings cuts
the thematic thread and the trombones in a powerful unison sound the motif of
Kullervo's departure to battle, which proves to be a transformation of one dance
variation on the prelude to the third movement:
4th movement: . , >
Prelude to the 3rd movement:
At the end the tempo is accelerated to its utmost — the fanfare of the battle horn is
still heard in a flattened subdominant and the whole movement ends in a brilliant C
Kullervo Goes to Battle by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931)
«Kullervo's Curse by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931)
published through the courtesy of copyright owners
Pirkko and Aivi Gallen-Kallela
264 Myth and Music
major.
Sibelius himself had written in the program of the premiere of the Kullervo
Symphony the following verses from the Kalevala depicting Kullervo's departure:
"Went with music forth to battle/Joyfully he sought the conflict/Playing tunes through
plains and marshes/Shouting over all the heathland/Crashing onwards through the
meadows/Trampling down the fields of stubble."74
Also Akseli Gallen-Kallela's painting Kullervo Goes to Battle refers to this episode
in Kullervo's life. If we on the other hand juxtapose Gallen-Kallela's painting with
the earlier painting Kullervo 's Curse and moreover the fourth and second movement
in Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony, we may discover interesting similitudes between
them.
In scrutinizing both paintings by Gallen-Kallela strictly from the viewpoint of
their semiotic structure we may consider the category motion/motionlessness as one
of the basic oppositions. In both paintings there is a man amidst nature, but a
different man in a different landscape. Both portray a man who is oriented towards
something, who purposes something. Nevertheless, in the former painting this
intention has come to nothing and the intense striving has turned into an outburst
of helpless rage. It is as if the personage in this painting still lacked something, i.e.,
he does not possess the means to work his will. He is still altogether a part of the
surrounding nature and thus his fury does not seem to be directed toward anybody
or anything in particular, but toward the whole unjust world order, toward nature
in general. This is manifested by the clenched hand raised toward the sky, which is
the only means of expression and gesture for the personage. But the nature
surrounding him remains silent. Now let us look at the second painting, representing
different situation. The personage in the painting also has an intense striving for
something but he is aware of his goal, which can be easily surmised from the martial
dress of the rider.
He is conscious and sure of the success of his intention. All the gestures and
positions in the painting are almost ritually planned. This deliberate and controlled
strength emanates even from the animals portrayed in the painting, from the gait of
the horse and the dog. Nature also is now different: the constellation in the dark
sky illuminates the rider's way and brings its own fateful mood to the scene.
If one juxtaposes the protagonist in both paintings one may notice certain meta-
phorical and metonymical relations. In the former picture an important element is
the clenched hand. It has its counterpart in the latter painting — the horn raised
to the lips of the hero. If the clenched hand is the symbol of helpless hatred - in
particular since there is no other person in the landscape who would understand the
message of this gesture or toward whom it might be directed — then the rider's battle
horn serves as a kind of symbol of the means furnished by culture. If we moreover
presume that both paintings represent the same personage, we may state that he now
possesses the means to realize his intention: the horn is an extension of the hand and
its blares penetrate the air, signaling to all the aim of the rider. It is through the
horn that society, the whole surrounding culture, is present in this painting. Through
the sounds of the horn society is brought in as a witness to future events.
In the former painting the personage reaches out from the fallen tree in his
Prometheic curse, while in the latter the fallen tree represents the motionlessness
and immutability permeating the whole picture. The same still, ominously oppressive
atmosphere is exuded by the Nordic wilderness in the heat of August. In the latter
painting, contrarily, the personage is in motion and lively action. Yet, even in the
former picture, one may perceive motion — the hand rises up from the left to the
right. It thus represents a sunwise motion, a departure or an intention to depart for
somewhere.
In the latter painting, on the other hand, the rider moves from right to left -
consequently in the opposite direction - and, as it were, returning somewhere. But
one has to notice, as well, that the rider turns in the same direction as the personage
in the former painting - from left to right, blowing the horn in the direction from
which he is coming. The fact that in both paintings the gestures of the personages
are focused on the same direction makes us infer that they perhaps have the same
purport. The only difference then would be that in the former picture this intention
is repressed, it is impossible to realize, because in order to do that one needs tools,
"culture", without which the primitive man is powerless. In the latter painting in
turn the mediation of culture has been attained; its symbol is the rider's horn
which also symbolizes the freedom of the hero: he is no longer bound to one place,
his Lebenswelt has been widened to Umwelt.'15 Also the hero's horse and the
strikingly decorative battle dress depicted with almost ethnographic exactitude, allude
to this mediation of culture.
Nevertheless, the hero is returning somewhere - his blares are at the same time a
farewell, the parting fanfares for culture, for society, which he is going to destroy
with war. Thus we may finally determine more precisely what kind of movements
these paintings concern: the first painting manifests the striving from nature to
culture while the latter represents the return from culture to nature. The fact that
we thus interpret these movements as contrary is moreover supported by the motion-
lessness of the milieu in both pictures. They form contrary poles also because they
both represent the extremes of Nordic nature - the heat of the summer with its
thunderheads and the cold midwinter. We can summarize these observations with
a structure:
266 Myth and Music
motion motionlessness
(the personage) (the milieu)
sunwise countersunwise the heat the cold
I
departure
I
return
I
summer
I
winter
I
from nature
I
from culture
I
day
I
night
to culture to nature
In that way we have perhaps succeeded in reconstructing the most essential

"mythical" content of these two paintings by utilizing solely the elements of their
composition. We have not yet referred to the reality outside the picture, but now in
comparing the paintings with those Kalevala texts, the runes of the Kullervo legend
to which the artist himself has related them, we observe that we have through
semiotic analysis proceeded to the threshold of their content, semantics, which can
now be pertinently connected.
In paralleling the second and fourth parts of Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony the
same way, are we able to grasp their mythico-semantic content by resorting merely to
the observations concerning their musical structure? In a certain sense we have
already done it in determining for each movement the characteristic traits of their
musical structure: in the second movement the growth and variation of the so-called
lullaby theme lead finally to a violent outburst as a result of the incantation passage
preceding it - but the whole tension and effort come to nothing. The long pauses
may be interpreted there to symbolize the stillness and motionlessness of the sur-
rounding nature analogically to Gallen-Kallela's painting Kullervo 's Curse (see above
pages 249 (Sibelius) 264 (Gallen-Kallela)). In the fourth movement again we have
noticed the decorative thematic texture and forward rushing character of its motifs.
When to these musical structures are joined their respective mythical narrative
function, designated by the composer himself with the titles of these movements,
we may presumably have discovered in the context of a given culture, namely the
Finnish Karelianistic culture at the turn of the century, two different manifestations
of the same mythical functions, the youth and departure for battle of a mythical hero.
9.7.5. 5th Movement: Kullervo's Death
The last movement of the symphony represents in the mythical narration the
function which we have caHed the hero's return and, on the other hand, also the
hero's death. From the viewpoint of the musical narration as well this movement is
full of mythical significance - the focal themes of the first part of the symphony,
Introduction, recur and acquire their definitive meanings, which still at the beginning
of the symphony were left more or less undetermined. Consequently, when the
chorus recounts Kullervo's return to the very place, where he had met his sister,
with the transition motif from the Introduction, we no longer hesitate about the
meaning of this theme. The fact that we already dared to call it the sister theme is
now justified by the text.
On the other hand, on the musical level the transition from the "scherzo" move-
ment (the fourth) and its optimistic spirits to the elegiac atmosphere of the finale,
miglit be heard as a Tchaikovskyan effect - keeping in mind, however, that Kullervo
was composed years before Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony. The strings' quiet
tremolo gives the hero's return a ghostly and pale gleam. The unisono chorus soon
changes into chordal song with a minor dominant cadenza as though expressing its
sympathy. Then the theme of runic singing or the subordinate theme, which had
so important a place in the first movement, recurs but now as a soft unison of the
strings and woodwinds — to which the chorus still in polyphonic form but with
common harmonies, adds its comment: "There the tender grass was weeping/And
the lovely spot lamenting". In this point the nature-mythical element emerges again
in the hero-mythical framework giving it its own reconciliatory flavor. It expresses
again — as in the sister's monologue — the communication with nature or nature's
participation, now with compassion, in the course of events. This close relation
with nature is a significant feature in Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony. The mythical
heroes of Sibelius do not live apart from nature; rather,.nature is present in their
important mythical situations and fates.
The narration of the chorus soon turns, however, from 6/4 to the broader meter
of 9/4 which reflects the change of the narrative modality from the lyrical, sym-
pathetic and compassionate style to a more objective, epical expression. Also the
key is changed from the lyrical E minor to the more somber, flattened G minor.
The wild unisonous narration of the chorus is realized with the G minor ninth chord
alternating - the ninth of the G minor is, however, marked G# which demands a
resolution to a dominant of D minor.
Against this harmonic background the chorus relates Kullervo's question to his
sword: "If it was disposed to slay him/To devour his guilty body/And his evil blood
to swallow" and the sword's reply, with an enharmonic modulation to a B major
seventh chord (with a diminished fifth) in interpreting E If as Ώγ . The sword's
cynical reply: "Should I not thy flesh devour... I who guiltless flesh have eaten/
Drank the blood of those who sinned not?" is presented with an accompaniment
of the trombones' motif and a piercing trill of the strings, piccolo and woodwind
emphasizing the almost bitonal character of the chord of B - D # — F-A: it can, of
course, also be considered a seventh chord of the F major tonic (F-A-E^ ). This
268 Myth and Music
tonal ambivalence here serves the extreme tenseness of the narration and interprets
the horrifying nature of the sword's reply and its violent symbolism:
Thus the musical thematics of the sword in Sibelius's Kullervo do not contain any
positive value as in Wagner's Ring or Glinka's Russian. Quite to the contrary the
trombone's sword motif has something grotesquely distorted about it — the sword is
exclusively the symbol of violence and thus Sibelius's musical interpretation agrees
with the general moral principle of the Kalevala condemning violence.
The sword chord, where the seventh chords of B major and F major (the keys in
a tritonic relation) loom one behind the other also reflects with its dramatic tension
Kullervo's mental conflict and his torturing remorse. This section ends, however,
with a chord where F is turned to Έγ accomplishing a definitive transition to Β
major, the dominant of Ε minor.
After a subito pause of three bars the strings again start their convulsive contrary
motion while the chorus narrates the death of Kullervo. Stravinsky later used the
same kind of device in his Oedipus Rex: the restless roving of the strings in depicting
the catatrophe of the Theban court. The song of the chorus with a D: "Thus he
found the death he sought for/Cast himself into destruction" seems particularly
dissonant in the framework of E: V^ . The flutes and woodwinds, as though alarmed,
continue repeating the restless motif, which can be recognized as the transition motif
from the introduction (score section B), where it realized the transition from the
main theme to the theme of the sister, whereas now its task is to make the transition
directly to the subordinate theme, the motif of the runic song. At the same time
the dominant tension resolves into E minor, where we now hear the recurrence
of the runic song theme but more richly harmonized than in the introduction and
also orchestrated in a different way than in the first restatement of this theme, in
the recapitulation of the first movement. Now it appears somewhat dimmed and
more distant, reflecting the tragedy of the mythical events which, in the manner of
true runic singing, it now narrates to modern man, the listener to the work. The
melody leads through an A minor: l| chord to E major, which casts a tender,
reconciliatory glance at the tragedy. At the same time the sister theme is heard
in a swaying triple rhythm as a rich, liberating cantilena. If one had to find a musical
counterpart of the catharsis of ancient tragedy or that which Nietzsche called the
"metaphysical" consolation of tragedy,76 one would certainly best find it in this
point of the Kullervo Symphony.
On the other hand, the composer still has reserved for the listener an effect which
is based on a modulation from E minor to G sharp minor. This modulation at the
same time gives the sister theme its definitive meaning, but it also has the important
function of reinforcing the structure of the work. After the G sharp minor section
it is, namely, transferred immediately back to E minor in which a powerful orchestral
tutti presents twice more the opening bars of the Kullervo theme. The tonal relation
of the major third which prevailed in the thematics of Kullervo and his sister, is thus
once more affirmed. Between the fragments of the Kullervo theme the chorus gives
its statement in G major: "Thus the hero's life was ended/Perished thus the hapless
hero". The last speech of the chorus is presented in a D, which as a modal "leading
tone" leads to E minor, stressing in that way the epic and in a musical sense largely
modal nature of the narration predominant in the whole symphony and thus re-
establishing the isotopy which includes this whole musico-poetical realization of the
Kullervo legend.
9.8. The structures of mythico-musical narration in the Kullervo Symphony
Lastly, we still have to consider the total outline of the symphony and particularly
the specific character of mythico-musical narration manifested in it - this is nec-
essary in order to clarify the particular position of Sibelius in the paradigm of our
study, the various modalities of the interaction between myth and music, and
especially his place between Wagner and Stravinsky.
How should we interpret the most essential elements of the mythico-musical
narration regarding the whole of the Kullervo Symphony, the characters in the myth
and its narrators, the chorus and the orchestra?
A significant feature here is the fact that the level of the chorus or the society
represented by it and that of the actors, individuals in the myth, never intersect: the
narrating chorus and characters are once and for all separated from each other; there
is no communication between them. There is, however, communication among all
the other elements: a communicative bond is established between the orchestra,
270 Myth and Music
which also represents a sort of narrator situated on a still higher level of consciousness
than the chorus, and the characters particularly in the section in which the mythical
personages inquire about the origins of each other, where we may say that, in the
orchestral texture, the wind solos form what may be called "metaphorical" correlatives
of the vocal parts. Anf 1 , on the other hand, the chorus and the orchestra - these two
narrators "meet" each other, as well, at the point in which they both express their
sympathy for the hero's tragedy in the last movement of the symphony. We may thus
give the following outline of the inner structure of communication in the Kullervo
Symphony:
monologue .x^ monologue

>r dialogue
/""V * r-\
VjCullervo f ί Sister/ Chorus Orchestra
the function of action the function of

narration
(object language)
primary secondary
metalanguage metalanguage
This model clearly discloses the fact that there is no communication between thr
individual and society (the chorus) in Sibelius's musical interpretation of the Kullervo
legend. The lack of such communication may be interpreted in the following manner
(referring to tLe general view of Levi-Strauss according to which all mythology comes
back to the problems of communication): First, it expresses the attitude of society
toward the events in the myth which are the subject of the narration. What is
involved is a distinction between society (the chorus) placed in a "historical time"
and the protagonists and their actions set in a "prehistorical time". In the musical
structure of his work Sibelius has definitely separated these two levels from each
other: nevertheless, the composer has also placed a "mediator" between society and
the myth's protagonists, namely, the orchestra which as a narrator superior to the
chorus, refers the whole work to the listener and thus ultimately places the entire
composition on the same plane as its listener, or modern man as the receiver of this
mythico-musical message. Consequently, the mythical message is transmitted in the
Kullervo Symphony through many overlapping codes:
codes:
historical the time of the historical
code mythical action time "modern times", i.e.,
the sender and receiver
social code the individual society of the mythico-musical
message
narrative code the subject of the subject the listener to the myth
the myth of the
narration of
the myth
(society)
musical code the soloists the chorus the orchestra
linguistic code object primary secondary metalanguage
language meta-
language
Naturally there can be many other "codes", as well, according to which the
contents might be interpreted, but all the codes do not overlap in such a way as
those presented above. Thus one might think, for example, of a biological code
and its relation to the social code — in which is incorporated the manifestation of
the myth's familial structure and its violation by incest. What then is the basic
mythical problem projected by the Kullervo legend? Or can it be reduced under
any circumstances to a single fundamental opposition? Then we naturally take into
consideration the interpretation and version of the Kullervo legend as expressed in
Sibelius's symphony. Regarding the overlapping of the various codes in the scheme
above it seems that the eternal problem of the relation between an individual and
society would search for its symbolic mediation in this myth. The Kullervo myth
would then convey the rebellion of an individual against the rules and norms of
culture, as in told in this story about a hero who consistently breaks all the rules
of the diverse spheres of his culture and finally is destroyed in this revolt. This
basic conflict is manifested, as we have observed, also on the level of musical
discourse and not only in the mythical text. On the other hand, this same immanent
mythical structure can be found in the visual interpretations of this myth, as well.
In referring to one possible opposition in the interpretation of this myth, we do not
want to exclude the ambiguous essence of the myth, its sui-determination, but only
to present one interpretative model for this mythical tale which appears to have
been a central one in the Finnish Karelianistic culture.
272 Myth and Music
10. Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex

10.1. Myth in the aesthetics of modernism
Although only a quarter century separates Stravinsky's opera-oratorio from Sibe-

lius's Kullervo Symphony, one of the greatest crises experienced by Western art -
not the least by music - took place during this interval. The turn of the century
signified the breakthrough of "modernism" in the sphere of all the arts. ,In music it
meant the dissolution of the traditional tonality and transformation of the very
foundations of tonal language, searching for new models in atonalism, polytonalism
or other forms of altered tonality. These compositional reforms were in turn aes-
thetically justified by the different "isms" which conquered Europe and toppled one
another after hardly having had enough time to publish their manifestos and estab-
lish their frontiers.1 We have already mentioned above how in Russia the Scythian
quality in Stravinsky and Prokofiev also meant a reinterpretation of the mythical
and its definitive desentanglement from the musical thematics of romanticism. In
observing various "isms" in the area of art at the turn of the century we may note
that most of them were interested in myths or the mythical dimension of man in
general, but gave it new interpretations. Symbolism, which still could ostensibly
shroud itself in mythical allegories, actually conceived mythical symbols according
to a totally non-mythological consciousness, with a kind of "scientific" inquiry of
systems and networks of analogies and correspondencies projected to an esoteric
level.2 Similarly in surrealism an artist had to be the discoverer and revelator of a
myth, but what was involved then was the myth of the modern world, the myth-
ologizing of machine and city.3 Apollinaire defined the "surreal" as something
which comes from elsewhere, about which we have no questions, which we could
not expect at all.4 A poet's task was to disclose that hidden other reality with a
"scientific" analysis, "automatic writing" directly manifesting the spheres of the
unconscious. Thus there was in surrealism a certain amount of Dadaism's spontaneity
and free fantasy. To cubism, on the other hand, it was related through the aim of
creating a work of art which could be enjoyed even without catching its meaning.
Hence art could be mere "notation", an idea which culminated in Apollinaire's
famous poem in which every verse began with the words "i7 y a", the whole poem
consisting only of a long list of what all "there is". Actually, we might recognize in
this idea of poetry that is reduced to mere listing and denominating the old con-
ception of the identity of name and thing characteristic of mythical thinking.5 Also
for a primitive man - as for a surrealist poet - the simple repetition of the name of
a thing or being suffices to convey the right effect. In the same way the Dadaists, too,
built poems on the idea of mere repetition: "What is beautiful! I don't know,
don't know, don't know..."6
Stravinsky 's Oedipus Rex 273
What, then, was the relation between cubism and futurism? Cubism endeavored
to create an asemantical art, wherein the artistic activity as such was the goal.7 One
need only recall the "scientific" grammars for painting written by Kandinsky8 or
of Cezanne who already in Poussin's mythological paintings wanted to see only
geometrical forms, pure elements of visual representation.9 In music, "cubism"
and its aesthetics were represented by Satie1 ° and Stravinsky in his middle period.1 *
Cubist music returned to the simple elements of tonal expression, melodic line, plain
sound of the instruments and to that "simplicity" which Jean Cocteau expressed in
these words: "A poet always has too many words in his vocabulary, a painter too
many colors in his palette, a musician too many tones in his keys".12
Cubism was thus a reaction to futurism, which wanted to heap into a work of art
the full richness of reality, place pictures and situations one upon another, furnish
them with an exclamation point, transfer the Nietzschean adoration of superman to
machines, establish Bergson's elan vital as the highest principle.13 All this appears in
music in the so-called "fauvism" — for example in the previously mentioned Scythian
Suite by Prokofiev as well as in his Second Symphony and Stravinsky's Sacre du
printemps.
Two common denominators can be found for all these new "isms": first they
were all more or less reactions to the period of romanticism and to its continuation,
overrefined symbolism, to all that music which had to be listened to "with a hand
on the cheeck" (La figure dans les warns).14 Second, they all expressed in some
form the spirit of the new world dominated by science, the adoration and myth-
ologization of its products (the futurists' adoration of the machine), 15 "the scientific
analysis" of the artistic expression (Kandinsky, the cubists), the scientific revelation
in art of the unconscious sphere of man (the surrealists).
From this viewpoint it is understandable that myths, too, that traditional subject
of the arts, would acquire a new interpretation which was in accordance with the
spirit of the age. In music the reconstruction of mythical communication was given
a scientific and analytic stamp, as apparent, for example, in the culminant work of
Stravinsky's Russian period, Les Noces, or Bartok's studies in folk music through
the "secondary sign system" of art music.
Of all these new trends it was perhaps neoclassicism which was most oriented
toward myths. This orientation was manifested on the level of content and expression
as well. Myth once again became the subject of art, particularly the plastic form
world of ancient myths, but, on the other hand, it was antiquity seen through the
eyes of the modern world and consequently modernized and stylized. On the level
of expression this movement appeared as a "return" to simplicity, i.e., to the forms
of expression which preceded romanticism. In Picasso this occurred as a return to
Ingres,16 in literature as a simple and purified reportorial form without rhetoric, as
well as in the chaste dialogue of the French myth dramas of the 1920's, for exam-
274 Myth and Music
pie, 17 and in music as a return to Bach, i.e., a turning away from the complex
harmonic thought of romanticism to the simple line of rhythm and melody, and
even to the usage of banally simple musical elements and models.18
10.2. Stravinsky and neoclassicism
As a general artistic phenomenon classicism is therefore a highly complex movement

notwithstanding its own artistic principles underlining classical clarity and objectivity.
Nevertheless, in this study we are concerned with neoclassicism — as we were with
Finnish Karelianism in the foregoing — primarily as the context of the composition
whose mythico-musical structure forms the object of our research, namely the opera-
oratorio Oedipus Rex by Stravinsky-Cocteau. We shall thus link Oedipus Rex above
all to the background of French neoclassicism, since the musical and poetical real-
ization of this work find their closest parallels just in the soil of French culture.
However, we shall attempt to view this work also in its more universal significance,
as a musical reproduction of the ancient tragedy whose subject, the tragic Oedipus
myth, moreover places it in the larger paradigm of this study alongside Sibelius and
Wagner. In Stravinsky's production, Oedipus Rex (1927) belongs to his middle
period. 19 It had been preceded by the great orchestral works of the fauvistic period,
the ballets for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The Russian period was followed by
Stravinsky's emigrant years, during the first part of which he wrote exclusively for
a strictly limited setting, as in L'Histoire du soldat (1918). Only in the following
decade did Stravinsky initiate his neoclassic period, the principal works of which are
Pulcinella (1920), Oedipus Rex (1927), Apotton Musagele (1928), The Symphony
of Psalms (1930), Persephone (1934) and also such subsequent works as Orpheus
(1948) and The Rake's Progress (1951). Thus temporally Stravinsky's neoclassic
period coincides for the most part with his sojourn in France, which naturally leads
us to ponder what Stravinsky's relation was to the composers of the group Les Six
and their neoclassical production, such as Erik Satie's Socrate, Darius Milhaud's
compositions with ancient subjects or to Arthur Honegger, who also used Cocteau's
text in his opera Antigone. But, on the other hand, when evaluating Oedipus Rex
by Stravinsky-Cocteau we cannot be satisfied with these two paradigms, that of
Stravinsky's production and that of neoclassicism. This movement was also a Pan-
European phenomenon which was connected with the renascence of opera with
classic subjects and of opera in general in the 1920's and 1930's, to which phenom-
enon Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex made its own contribution. 20 It is astounding to
notice the abundance of operatic works filling these years - one may mention as
examples the operas by Krenek, Weill, Hindemith, Strauss, Prokofiev, Bartok, Schoen-
berg, Busoni etc. 21

This whole panorama must be taken into consideration - as well as Stravinsky's
musical habitat, the Russian music culture - in determining the position of Oedipus
Rex in the musical scene of the 1920's and its specific musical character.
It is, however, typical of Stravinsky that every work forms its own world and
style whose "rules" can be read only from the particular structure of the work; in
that way we may interpret Stravinsky's famous stylistic metamorphoses.2 2
On the other hand Stravinsky was an artist who instinctively felt the "social
demand" defined by Majakovsky,23 according to which Oedipus Rex may be con-
sidered a topical work. 24
What, then, was the "social demand" on a composer in the context of European
music in the 1920's, that period during which Western artists, "weary of the excesses
of cubism and the emptiness of contemporary art, began turning to classical or
Biblical themes, resurrecting ancient subjects and art forms".22 May we interpret
this turn to the artistic devices of the past and the search for "eternal subjects" -
as did Nestyev, the biographer of Prokofiev - as an attempt by Western artists "to
save themselves from the complete intellectual and artistic degeneration toward which
their rootless experimentation was inevitably leading?"26 Such an evaluation seems,
however, to contain too normative and narrow a view about neoclassicism and its
best works, which — like masterpieces always — overstep the limits of the epoch and,
especially in the case of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, refer to that mythical level which
can be regarded as a deeper seam in the archaeology of culture than the stylistic
categories. Certain biographies of Stravinsky, however, stress the fact that Stravinsky
was all too ready to follow the trends of the time and that, in order to remain
perennially at the peak of his fame, he could no longer exploit the inexhaustible
potentials of youth, or the sources of Russian culture. 27 From this viewpoint it
has been claimed that even such important and undeniably beautiful works as Oedipus
Rex, Orpheus and The Rake's Progress lack the creative spontaneity and inventiveness
which characterized the works of the preceding period. 28 Nevertheless, such an
evaluation may resort to aesthetical criteria which prevent one from observing the
specificity of the work itself within the context of its production, as well as its
connection to those interpretational codes through which its message was understood
in its time and which make it comprehensible eve^: today. Although Stravinsky's
Oedipus Rex migiit be considered a "formalistic" work in the sense that it has to be
evaluated according to purely structural criteria, yet we may explain this work better
by taking into account its connection with the aesthetics of neoclassicism and
particularly the place of myths therein.
276 Myth and Music
10.3. The programs of Cocteau and Busoni
Subsequently Stravinsky crystallized some of the basic ideas of this "formalistic"

aesthetics with his famous thesis about the inability of music to express virtually
anything other than itself.29 Nevertheless, the foundations of this aesthetics were
already laid before Stravinsky e.g. in Jean Cocteau's collection of essays Le Coq
et L'Arlequin (1918)30 which made Cocteau the ideologist and spokesman for the
group Les Six and brought him briefly into conflict with Stravinsky3' and also in
Busoni's essay Die Junge Klassizität (1920).32 In addition Stravinsky has been
influenced by the modernistic movements prevailing in Russia at the beginning of
the century 33 and which later were crystallized into the aesthetics of the Russian
formalists, although by then Stravinsky's bonds with his homeland had been broken.
In any case the starting point and background of both the theories of Russian
formalism and Stravinsky seem to be the same — Russian modernism — and this
has to be taken into consideration in examining certain traits in the tonal language
of Oedipus Rex.
The program declarations of Cocteau and Busoni have many points in common,
the most salient of which might be summed up as an almost parallel program. They
both emphasize simplicity, but remark at the same time that what is involved is not
the simplicity based on a poverty or inadequacy of expression but the simplicity
utilizing all the achievements of the preceding periods and condensing them. Cocteau:
"The simplicity which emerges as a reaction to the refinement is dependent on this
refinement; it purifies and crystallizes the acquired richness".34 Busoni: "Young
classicism I perceive to be the mastery, observance and application of all the results
achieved in the previous experiments: their placing in stable and beautiful forms".35
It was just this kind of simplicity that Cocteau believed only Satie to be able to
teach other contemporary composers.36 Cocteau probably had in mind especially
Satie's Socrate and perhaps not so much his ballet Parade with its cubist theater and
decor. On the other hand, some members of Les Six regarded the naivete of the
Parisian musical folklore or popular music in general as an ideal also for the new
style, I'esprit nouveau, of art music.37 Busoni, however, undoubtedly considered
Bach as the model of simplicity but generally speaking also the musical tradition of
the eighteenth century from the viewpoint of the Latin spirit, i.e., that of restoring
the lightness.38
This same brightness, or Heiterkeit, might also be considered the predominant idea
in French artistic culture at the beginning of the century. The concepts of serSnite
and jeu occupied an almost sanctified position in it 39 and just such playfulness
characterizes much of the works by Les Six and also of Cocteau's literary production.
In Cocteau the childlike impishness is combined at times with an emphasis on
technique (which combination he admired in Satie — C'est la poe'sie de l'enfance
rejointe par un technicien:),40 again with a tragic style, as in Cocteau's conception

of Sophocles's Oedipus, which he expressed through the narrator in his French
adaptation of the drama: "Les dieux grecs ont la cruati de l'enfance et leurs jeux
coutentcher aux mortels"*1
In the area of music this requirement of lightness and playfulness naturally pre-
supposed an entirely different style than the tonal languages of late romanticism or
impressionism. In Busoni's opinion one should be free of everything thematic and
restore melody to its true worth — not in the sense of sporadic, pleasant motif but
as an idea governing all motions and sounds.42 Cocteau, for his part, saw in the
return of painting to lines and graphs a model for music, with melody the counterpart
of a line.43 Just as neither of these aestheticians of neoclassicism meant by such
melody the Wagnerian unendliche melody, so they did not desire as support for this
melody the sensual sound of the late romantic orchestration:44 "We have had
enough of clouds, waves, aquariums, mermaids and perfumes of the night: we want
to have music which is down to earth, everyday music".4 5
These demands meant the reduction of the great symphony orchestra to a small
chamber ensemble and even when the whole orchestra was employed, the maintenance
of the various instrumental groups' independence.46 Cocteau wished to have an
orchestra "without the tenderness of the strings" but instead many woodwind, brass
and percussion groups.4 7
These demands were accompanied by a certain analytical and scientific criticalness
in the use of all musical resources, which Busoni expressed by rejecting all that was
profound and metaphysical in the area of music48 and Cocteau by declaring the
"dreamers to be bad poets".49 This attitude appeared likewise in the musical
aesthetics of Brecht 50 who also joined the same anti-Wagner front — although for
different reasons. Brech called late-romantic opera, the idea of a Gesamtkunstwerk,
"culinary opera", the antithesis of which — and the ideal of modern times (the 1920's)
— he considered to be epic opera which portrayed the world as critically and remotely
as the audience was to receive it. 51 Brecht's critique of opera was in accordance
with Busoni's conception52 (in musico-technical aspects) — and, as we have seen,
also with Cocteau's, althought the composers of Les Six used the same aesthetics for
entirely different purposes. Brecht thought that the composer should avoid everything
which activated the unconscious forces, because the new artistic experience demanded
full awareness above all. That was why Brecht recommended the restriction of
orchestral colors and the reduction of the orchestra to a maximum of thirty spe-
cialists. The dynamics of music drama had to be replaced by the static nature of an
old-fashioned number opera with separate scenes and arias, hence the action was
divided into formally independent musical episodes.53
278 Myth and Music
10.4. Stravinsky and the group of Les Six
10.4.1. The place of Oedipus Rex in neoclassicism
Purely on the basis of compositional technique many of Stravinsky's works in his

post-Russian period do seem to conform to the aforementioned aesthetics - certainly
L'Histoire du soldat exudes this antiromantic spirit: the constitution of the orchestra
has been reduced to a minimum: clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trombone, percussion
instruments and violin and double-bass. Which mostly play spiccato and arco. The
music is divided into clearly distinguishable "scenes" and the action unfolds mainly
as pantomime, with a narrator describing the action. The only melodramatic effect
is provided by the lecture rythmSe at certain points but even that can be viewed in
an ironic light, as can the polyphonic chorales inserted between the ragtime and the
dance of the Devil. Oedipus Rex also follows, on the whole, the neoclassical
aesthetics in that, like a number opera, it forms a musical whole divided into clear-cut
arias and scenes while the orchestra avoids all use of color and impressionistic tone-
painting. While its make-up is again that of a normal symphony orchestra, the
graphic clarity is firmly maintained even in the complex musical passages and the
narrator, as in L 'Histoire du soldatf adds his own "alienating" effect. But, on the
other hand, the seriousness of the subject: the musical reconstruction of an ancient
tragedy — and furthermore, in the form of an oratorio — as well as the austere lucidity
of the music endow this work with over-all expression exceeding Cocteau's and
Busoni's principle of Latin serenitas and the fairly light quality of much of French
neoclassicism. Nevertheless, one must remember that in praxis the group of Les Six
was considerably more incohesive than in its program. Arthur Honegger's tonal
language in his three monumental compositions based on subjects from the antiquity
or the Bible, Le Roi David (1921), Antigone (1927) and Jeanne d'Arc au bucher
(1935) has almost more in common with German late romanticism, expressionism
and the Viennese school than with the lighter and more pellucid expression of
Poulenc, Auric or Milhaud which is generally considered typical of the aesthetics of
Les Six. In Darius Milhaud's case, to be sure, one may separate the serious and
the light element from each other — Choephores, composed to a text by Paul
Claudel, undoubtedly belongs to the former group while the music to Cocteau's play
Le Boeuf sur le toit, and the ballet L'Homme et son desir, exploit aspects of
Brazilian folk music, not for the purpose of portraying pagan antiquity, as in
Choephores but in a genuine, Cocteaudian sense of "music for everyday use"
(Musique de tous les fours).54 In any case Stravinsky's relation to the production
of Les Six is a problem to be pondered also in examining Oedipus Rex, keeping in
mind, however, that his melodrama Persephone, composed three years later, relates
still more explicitly to the French musical tradition. ss In the background of
Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex one may see above all Honegger's Le Roi David, with which
it has certain common points, Milhaud's above mentioned Choephores (actually, as a
contrast to it) and Erik Satie's symphonic drama Socrate. In addition to these
possible genetic relations, interesting parallels may be found, as well, between Oedipus
Rex and Honegger's Antigone and the subsequently composed Jeanne d'Arc au
bucher — not to mention other musical interpretations of the Oedipus myth at the
beginning of the century, such as Carl Off s primitivistic Oedipus or Georg Enescu's
great five-act opera Oedipus which uses elements of the Romanian folk music in a
stylized fashion.
10.4.2. Milhaud: Choephores
Choephores, composed some years before Darius Milhaud's sojourn in Brazil, forms
an interesting contrast to Stravinsky's and Honegger's later musical interpretations of
ancient subjects. Milhaud's work was composed in 1915—1916 — consequently a
little earlier than Stravinsky's L 'Histoire du soldat: In both works lecture rythmee
has an important but quite different function — but Choephores was performed only
in 1927 or in the same year as Oedipus Rex.56 This seven-part composition is based
on a play of the same title from Aeschylus's Orestes trilogy, which had been translated
and adapted into French by Paul Claudel.57 Milhaud's orchestra is still in principle
the huge impressionistic orchestra of Debussy, with its full, compact and bright colors
in the orchestral sections of this suite, to which, however, the polytonality of the
harmonic texture adds its own pungent tone.
A large symphony orchestra is involved also in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, but it is
used like a chamber orchestra and the tutti effects of the orchestra are reserved for
the climaxes, as a background for the chorus. Polytonal passages occur in Stravinsky
as well, but only as deliberate stylistic devices in an otherwise tonal context. 58
In Milhaud the soloists, Elektra and Orestes, blend into the choral and orchestral
parts in a way which creates the impression of uniform, forward-flowing sound — in
Stravinsky, on the contrary, the vocal parts are never drowned in the massive sound of
the orchestra, but always preserve their own individuality and melodic line.
Milhaud's choral sections are in the French Berliozian tradition, as is indicated by
the dominant position of the unison song of the sopranos and altos in the work.
Milhaud also uses the chorus purely as an instrument for its element of timbre, i.e.,
without any song text — as does Ravel in Daphnis et Chloe. The choral groups are
combined with one another in various ways: for instance, in the sixth movement La
justice et la lumiere, the tenors and bassos sing merely the melody, accompanying the
sopranos and altos performing the text, while in the second movement Libation the
280 Myth and Music
first soprano alone presents the text against the polyphonic background of the chorus:
Sopr.
Altos fr 4 ff ff M P- m 6 ,Μ> Γ g ^m [*=g=
Pous-se ΙΌ lo lo ho, La mai-son est sau- v£ef ο
—1 — =3= J
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Milhaud has also utilized the technique common to ancient tragedy of distinguishing
the role of the chorus's leader. In the version of Oedipus by Stravinsky-Cocteau this
possibility is not exploited — to the advantage of the more sharply outlined cha-
racterization of the protagonists and the pertinence of their musical delineation as
well, which would have been more difficult with numerous solo voices.
Milhaud's way of using lecture rythmee, or the recitation of the chorus and soloists
to the rhythmic background provided by the percussion instruments also differs from
Stravinsky's corresponding passages in L'Histoire du soldat and Oedipus Rex - in the

former work it is employed primarily as an ironic alienation effect while in the latter
it is used only in scenes with great emotional tension (for example, Oedipus accusing
Tiresias). Instead, Milhaud uses lecture rythmee in Choephores specifically as a stylistic
device to emphasize the mystery-like nature of the ancient mythical and pagan world.
The movement Prtsages (with quadruple meter predominant) Exhortation (with
triple meter predominant) and Conclusion (with compound duple meter predominant)
form perhaps the most effective parts of the whole suite. They reveal the very aspect
of the world of antiquity which is not usually emphasized in French neoclassicist
works: the antiquity of myrteries, rituals and magic. In these passages Milhaud
exploits various combinations of the percussion instruments — as in writing for them
later, when he was inspired by Afro-Brazilian folk music:
M + Jfc A Α J> > 7
Jl » Jl * — A . -h . A . jN .
ft 3 j» τ 3 j* 7
T. T. ι ΓΊ Γτ η π ΓΊ ΓΊ ΓΊ ΓΊ "hT> .
β ΓΤΊ ηΓΤ3/Τ3 J7T5 m Π75 m JTT?
» β, t ^ */ 1 ^ 7
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Α A A A Ib K. H. H. K. II.
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282 Myth and Music
10.4.3. Satie's Socrate
The ideal of the group of Les Six was Erik Satie, whose original, exceptionally
concentrated and ironic tonal language seems sometimes to anticipate the Stravinsky
of the middle period. The tonal expression of Oedipus Rex, too, is namely "cubist"
in the sense that it endeavors to be purely musical, distinctly defined forms. A certain
"discontinuity" of the musical space and at times even a dry austerity - also typical
of Satie - distinguishes their orchestral texture most obviously from that of Ravel,
for example. Alexander Tansman, a Stravinsky researcher, aptly observes that one
must have great faith in one's own richness in order to impoverish its use deliberately
and to spare one's resources to the point of artistic asceticism.59 It was undoubtedly
just this belief which motivated Satie when he composed his Socrate to Plato's dialogue
translated into French.60 In this work everything is focused on the concentrated
line of the singing voice whose task is to convey the contents of these philosophical
texts and the story of the great philosopher's death in a way worthy of it. The whole
work becomes something of a recitation like the Gregorian chanting of the Gospels.61
Hence the vocal parts, all female voices, are used to serve the word, losing all their
individual tone colors. Here if anywhere one might recall the "whitewashed" plaster
antiquity of Goethe and Winckelmann — one could not imagine a greater contrast
between two views of antiquity than that between Milhaud's aforementioned in-
cantatory and rhythmical speech choruses in Choephores and the thin and filtered,
almost too purely disinfected antiquity, in Satie's Socrate. In spite of that, this
peculiar feature soars, especially at the end of the work, to a certain mystically
devout effect due to the monotonously repeated ascending progression of the chords
in the accompaniment (in different church modes) and to the continuous, almost
speech-like, constantly variating line of the vocal part. In Stravinsky's production
perhaps only certain passages in the Symphony of Psalms, like Laudate eum in the
third movement — may approximate in their religious profundity and contemplative
concentration the last movement of Satie's Socrate:
SotTttto dU : Crl1on,iiousduvoiisuii coq fi K^.cu.Ia . pt-
i
tlT/,
π
\wj J'·. ;=]
iTouhllt-pas d'ncqultter col.lei det . 1e ...
=r ι >
g,j
^«3 f P
M f
Γ-rS [« 4 j-
'FpU_fl
1
^l-—^ P< I
*^ ·
• "tlJ—I
-4-nj J ι =^"J-J-^ -
10.4.4. Honegger: Le RoiDavid and Antigone
The "mythical" category appears in Arthur Honegger's production as well often

fused with a certain sacredness which naturally ensues from the selection of subjects
for his oratorios from Christian topisc, such as Le Roi David to Biblical texts and
Jeanne d'Arc au bucher and La danse des morts to texts by Paul Claudel. In certain
respects Honegger's Le Roi David may also have served as a model for Stravinsky's
Oedipus Rex, but on the other hand one may discern in it influences of, or at least
similarities to, Stravinsky's earlier stylistic periods.
As a musical genre Le Roi David already represents the same type as Oedipus Rex
— i.e., an intermediate stage between opera and oratorio, a work which can be pre-
sented as well on the stage as in a concert hall. In both works also the narration of
the plot is assigned to a special narrator. In Le Roi David the role of the narrator is,
however, more central than in Stravinsky and Honegger also takes greater advantage
of the melodramatic potentials offered by the narrator as, for instance, in the
movement portraying Gilboa's lamentation. Honegger's narrator is a participating
one while in some points the Stravinsky-Cocteau narrator can be considered virtually
a parody of the usual melodramatic narrator.
284 Myth and Music
Honegger's oratorio is a neoclassic work not only because of its subject but also
because it utilizes quotations from the Bach style, even more frequently than does
Stravinsky. As a typical example one may mention the third psalm where the solo
part of the trumpet in particular suggests the fast movements in the concerto grosso
style iof Bach or baroque music in general. Also, in a broader sense, the wind instru-
ments and their timbre combinations occupy an important place in the musical whole
of Le Roi David. Particularly Honegger's fanfares may perhaps have served as a direct
model for the fanfares of the messenger's declaration in Oedipus Rex. ' In Le Roi
David fanfares are used especially where the army of the Philistines and Goliath and
later the camp of Saul are depicted - the fanfares appear there as natural elements
of the realistic narration.
Honegger's use of the chorus differs, however, from that of Stravinsky in Oedipus
Rex, firstly as to its very composition since it includes female voices and secondly —
as in Milhaud — in its adherence to the Berliozian tradition of choral texture. On
the other hand, the influence of German music on Honegger appears already in Le
Roi David, and later almost dominates the tonal language of Antigone. Thus Honegger
did not hesitate to use almost Viennese-sounding parallel thirds in Psalm 21 or even
a Mahlerian funeral march in portraying the death of David's son. Obvious Stravinsky
influences can be seen in the second part of Le Roi David, in the festive song and
dance before the ark, scenes which are reminiscent of the wedding choruses and
dance rhythms in Les Noces. Insofar as melody building is concerned in Honegger's
Le Roi David one must note the musical exoticism, for instance, in the oriental oboe
and clarinet solos in the Introduction and in the gamut in Gilboa's lamentation.
David's shepherd's song, again is a good example of primitivistic, pentatonic melodic
construction - in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, however, the primitivism occurs pri-
marily in the narrow range of melody and in monotonous ostinato figures. In
Honegger, many psalms are lyrical and pastoral, while in Stravinsky the pastoralism
is limited for the most part to the story of the Shepherd at the end of the opera-
oratorio.
If some similarities may be found between Le Roi David and Oedipus Rex,
Honegger's Antigone, on the other hand, differs distinctly not only from Stravinsky's
Oedipus, but also in general from the framework of French neoclassicism, although
its text consists, as in Oedipus Rex, of Cocteau's adaptation of a play by Sophocles.
The sister work of Honegger's Antigone is thus not Oedipus Rex - in spite of the
same period of their composition - but rather Strauss's Salome or Elektra.
Honegger himself in his foreword to Antigone has declared his primary purposes:
first, "to develope a drama with a closed symphonic construction without retarding
the motion", and second, "to replace the recitative with a melodic song texture which
does not sustain the tones but which obeys the melodic line and the plasticity afforded
by the words themselves".62 Both these endeavors coincide exactly with those of
the Viennese expressionistic school. The continuous, symphonic character of the

opera means a return to the Wagnerian or, rather, to the post-Wagnerian music drama
in the style of Strauss's Elektra. And Honegger's attempts to follow the natural
rhythm and expressive line of speech denotes that the content of the speech, its
expressive value, is taken into consideration in the melodic contour - somewhat as
in Schoenberg's Sprechgesang style.
Honegger's approach to the subject of the mythical play might be characterized as
a psychoanalytical interpretation of the mythical tragedy. (On may recall that
Richard Strauss's librettist, Hugo v. Hofmannsthal, also was fascinated by the Oedipus
myth and made his own German adaptation of it.63) On the other hand, if we
want to connect Honegger's Antigone with French tradition perhaps the most
appropriate point of convergence would be surrealism. Honegger's attempt to create
vocal music entirely following the rhythm of speech may perhaps be regarded as
analogous to Breton's and Apollinaire's wish to produce so-called automatic writing
(ecriture automatique)6* which, with as great authenticity as possible, would record
all the psychic movements of man. Creon's lamentation at the end of Antigone is
akin to the disconnected and hysterical speech song of the heroine in Schoenberg's
Erwartung; these scenes might perhaps be considered musical equivalents of ecriture
automatique:
^^£-
J J yj* *? rP^'frJ'^gfrES
Creon: Ma femme est morte ce n'estpasvrai Ah Pluton, tu manges tout
Notwithstanding Antigone's generally dissonant and darkened timbre and tonal

expression, the vocal parts especially are varied, furnishing examples from archaizing
lyrical choral scenes to extreme forms of speech song penetrating the very limits
of the melodic line. Some examples of this varied range follow:6 5
286 Myth and Music
Overture
Allegro molto
Allegretto
Coryphds:
Da ~ na - e aus-si fut en-ter-roe vive et p o n - c h e e d a n s le bronze et
Ή ] , r jh J> J' ι! j> jS S

M ^ Ji J| | ii-*-h—J.·- —j1h—i —Jr~——* J
*4
*
\ J= —ι f^fr
χ— •^s.
,——·-*x
!
i=
ρφ= -ι MN !
in H
Coryphes (soprano)
-^sans bles-su-res
Tu mourras done sans etre ma-la-de Libre, vlergc vi-van-te ce-leb-re,
^.
i „„«, ^
Especially notable is the care with which the French phonetic form is indicated in
the music, whose melody completely adapts itself to the expressive qualities of the
language. This is in total contrast to Stravinsky who uses language as mere phonetic
material, entirely subordinated to the musical form. Also in the orchestral passages
Honegger's expressionistic style includes strong contrasts between lyrical sections, in
which the solo instruments come to the fore, and great tutti effects. The following
oboe solo, which precedes Antigone's great farewell scene, is a good example of
Honegger's melodic invention - the melody follows the general vocal style in
Antigone, hence at Antigone's entrance the same melodic line continues but now
transferred to a singing voice:
The dynamic climax of the opera is formed by the chorus's adoration of Bacchus,
wherein the orchestra swells to a ritualistic dance rhythm and culminates after the
passage of the chorus in a heavy unisonous sound almost reminiscent of the pathos
of the Russian school, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.
The drastically terse end of the opera repeats the motif of the funeral march to
which Creon had entered earlier and closes the work with a sudden third motif
apparently suggesting the comparable, closing scene in Strauss's Salome:
a Coryphos basso
P (Rideau)
Troptard Cre-on troptard
ff
Honegger's oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bucher, to which reference already has been
made in connection with the magical seme, is interesting in this connection in that
musico-dramatically it has the same kind of structure as Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex.
Here also the psychological drama of the heroine's last moments reflects her historical
life but in an inverse order. The earlier phases of her life thus recur in the course of
the music66 — in the same way as Oedipus reviews his life during the tragedy leading
finally to the recognition of his own origin and fate with catastrophic consequences.
Honegger's monumental oratorios and operas reveal in any case that French neo-
288 Myth and Music
classicism cannot be regarded as an unambiguous phenomenon completely closed to

external influences - although one could get such an impression from merely the
Parisian aspect of Les Six or works like Honegger'sPac//?c 231, Milhaud's ballet suites
or Poulenc's Les Biches — not to mention their collaboration on the music for
Cocteau's comedy Les Maries sous la tour Eiffel. (Although the division of labor in
this work, too, follows the special talents of each composer: Milhaud wrote a fugue
Le Massacre for percussion instruments alone and Honegger's contribution wasMarche
fiinebre.)
10.5. Cocteau's part in Oedipus Rex
As far as Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex is concerned, the connections with French

neoclassicism and the French world of ideas in general appear primarily in Jean
Cocteau's part. The result of the composer's and the poet's collaboration prompts
one to ask, however, what there actually is of Cocteau in this monumental opera-
oratorio. The intentions of Stravinsky and Cocteau were in conflict at several points,
as can be inferred from the structure of the work itself and not only from- Stravinsky's
late comments to Robert Craft.6 7 They both attempted to reconstruct the ancient
tragedy but they understood different things by it or stressed different aspects of it:
Cocteau wanted to "modernize" the antiquity and to reduce the dimensions of the
tragedy to that of a compact judicial case,68 while Stravinsky, in turn, wanted to
reconstruct the mythical greatness of the original tragedy by Sophocles. The Oedipus
myth fascinated Cocteau, however, to such an extent that he subsequently used it as
the subject of his drama La Machine infernale which is a kind of extension and
surrealist interpretation of Sophocles's play King Oedipus6 9 (in principle La Machine
infernale and the "free adaptation" of Sophocles's Oedipe-Roi are, in any case, two
completely different works).
On the other hand, the Oedipus myth, even before Cocteau, had engaged many
French authors and been given different interpretations which is not surprising in
view of the fact that King Oedipus can be considered a model of ancient tragedy.
The interpretations by Corneille, Voltaire, La Motte, Chenier and Bouhelier — to
mention only the most important — represent most varied interpretations of the
original Oedipus myth. 70 The return to ancient myths occurred particularly in the
field of drama in the 1920's, perhaps reflecting the existential fundamental problems
disclosed by the war which were similar in nature to those confronted by the heroes
in ancient tragedies.71 The adaptations of ancient subjects by Cocteau, Gide,
Giraudoux, Anouilh and Claudel thus dealt with well-known subjects which had once
again become topical. But, on the other hand, in many cases they were - as Walter
Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex 289
Benjamin has remarked - in the nature of laboratory works (d'oeuvres de studio)

comprising constructive experiments.72 Just this aspect is dominant in Cocteau's
French adaptation of Sophocles's Oedipus-tragedy, whose translation into Latin
constituted the libretto for Stravinsky's opera-oratorio.
In this work - as in his earlier adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo et Juliette -
Cocteau strove for an art which would not only be entertainment for the public but
a search for an art form justifying itself.73 He began searching for poetry of the
theater instead of being satisfied with creating only poetry in the theater.74 This
tendency was in contradistinction to those numerous works by Cocteau whose
inspiration was the theater's external "gesturality" and was manifested in works like
Parade and Le Boef sur le toit: A decisive turn for Cocteau was making the
acquaintance of the poet Raymond Radiguet who, from 1921, taught him "the
new spirit" which now meant a return to regular verses and classicism.75 Conse-
quently Cocteau had two stylistic tendencies both of which were founded on a
reaction against romantics: the one was impetuous and scandalous (Parade, Les
Maries sous la tour d'Eiffel) and the other sublime, quiet and modest, based on that
astonishing novelty that one need not be original but that it was possible to write
like tout le monde?6 Following this latter trend Cocteau relinquished his earlier
team work and began to work by himself in order to learn how to write simple
dialogue, "dialogue without ornaments, appoggiaturas and ritardandos".
The results of this new method of working were the adaptations Romeo et
Juliette (1918), Antigone (1922) and Oedipe-Roi (1922). How do this classicism
and new technique manifest themselves particularly in Cocteau's Oedipe-Roi?
Cocteau's effort at modernization is to be seen above all in the exclusion of all
superfluous, pathetic, theatrical and meditative elements retarding and prolonging
the action. Every word and sentence now has its carefully weighed objective and
purpose. That is why Cocteau's version is characterized by a certain modern and
fresh objectivity, which is spurred on by a breathless haste.78 The lyrical element
has been emphasized. Such simplification on the linguistic level inevitably has
influenced the contents as well. Oedipus has stepped down from the stairs of his
royal palace and been brought before a modern court of law.79 Just this causal
character of the drama fascinated Cocteau and it dominates both Oedipe-Roi and
La Machine infernale. In the prologue to Oedipe-Roi this process is depicted as
absurd by calling it a cruel and childish prank of the Greek gods. Also in Oedipus
Rex the narrator considers the whole process to be a trap set for Oedipus. The
very title, La Machine infernale, refers to the idea that the process of the entire
play has to be regarded "as one of the most perfect machineries of the infernal gods
for the mathematical destruction of a mortal".80 On the other hand, the Cocteaudian
language with its playful irony for its part helps place the whole process of Oedipus
in an absurd light in all these three versions on King Oedipus: In each of them the
290 My th and Music
blending of modern, matter-of-fact expressions with the proper lofty style of tragedy
adds its own ironic touch:81 in Oedipus Rex the narrator must conduct himself
according to Cocteau's advice like a "Conferencier" and to use modern expressions
such as "Thebes is demoralized" (although later he behaves rather like a radio
announcer in declaring at the end: "And now you will hear a brilliant monologue..."
(the very phrase which irritated Stravinsky)). Cocteau's irony is even more dominant
in the plays Oedipe-Roi and La Machine infernale: in the former, Apollo announces
that Thebes has to be "disinfected" and Jocasta disrespectfully addresses Tiresias as
"Zizi", nobody believes any more in the "Sphinx" which has become a myth
exploited by the leaders.82 (Such demythologization of antiquity was common to
neoclassicists in France; for example in Claudel's play Protee*3 Helen of Troy is
parodied as in Oedipus in Gide's drama. 84 ) Thus the capriciousness and playfulness
on the linguistic level finds its counterpart on the level of contents: for Cocteau,
Oedipus's fate is absurd, he is but a blind tool of the gods. The causal process
reminiscent of the trial in Oedipus's tragedy, its strict progression dictated by the
cause-effect relation, stresses the fundamental absurdity of the whole action, making
the tragedy a mere ritual without any countervailing mythical belief. Cocteau thus
juxtaposes the levels of expression (the playfulness, capriciousness vs the matter-of-
fact, reportorial style) and content (irrational absurdity vs rational litigation, causality)
hence the semantic universe of the whole drama can be interpreted as a contrast
between man and blind, insensitive fate. The Fate is machinery whose mechanism
is unknown to man - the position is thus similar to that in the world of Kafka's
novels and there appears an existential sense of being thrown to the world, of
Geworfenheit: This mythical situation can be considered perhaps one reason for
modern man's interest in the Oedipus myth, as well as in its musico-poetical inter-
pretation in the opera-oratorio by Stravinsky-Cocteau.
10.6. The relation between music and language in Oedipus Rex (the problematics
of versification)
In his own interpretation of King Oedipus Cocteau wanted to maintain a distance

between the mythical action and its modern framework primarily in order to produce
ironic contrasts. Thus Cocteau does not attempt to identify the heroic past with
the unheroic present, but rather to emphasize their discreteness.85 Stravinsky,
contrarily, thought that Cocteau's narrator was, all in all, "unbearable snobism"86
and he wanted to restore to Sophocles's play its dignified, ritualistic meaning. He
also attempted to endow the music with a certain monumental character by using
language which was older than the ordinary everyday language and in this sense more
"sacred".87 Cocteau's text was translated therefore into Latin, since Stravinsky
believed that this would create a certain "mythical" effect by taking as a musical
starting point the incantatory elements of this "petrified" and, for modern man, to
a great extent asemantic language.88 However, this incantatory quality must not
be interpreted in the same sense as the Latin conjurations of witches' Sabbath in
Berlioz's Damnation de Faust. Likewise the function of Latin there is different than,
for example in Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, where it serves as a distinctive feature
in the music drama counterposing the armies of the Russians and the Teutons - or in
Villa-Lobo's historic suite Descobrimento do Brasil, where Latin symbolizes the
conquerers who have invaded the country. Instead, in Stravinsky the function of
Latin is constructive providing the composer with phonetic material89 which can be
elaborated on solely according to the principles of musical versification.
Moreover, the problematics of versification comprise the core of the whole com-
position on the musico-technical level.90 The selection of Latin as a text for the
music was thus well-founded on the plane of expression, as well as on that of
content. By making use of it Stravinsky really believed that he could reproduce the
mythical tragedy of antiquity in its original form and to transmit it to the modern
listener, while Cocteau's purpose was to emphasize with his "reconstruction" just
remoteness of ancient Greece, being satisfied only in "photographing it from above"
(Antigone).91 Consequently Cocteau's attitude might be called, using the Nietzschean
term, the Socratic man's critical attitude, which exactly destroys the spirit indis-
pensable to the acceptance of the mythical.92 Stravinsky's music, in contrast, was
inspired by the spirit of Sophocles's tragedy, which he believed to contain a direct
mythical message for modern man. On the level of compositional technique Stra-
vinsky, however, employs new "modernistic" devices like the quotation technique,
the form of the number opera, neoclassic orchestration and musical primitivism in the
sense of the 1920's. These two elements: "modernism", predominant on the level
of expression, and the reconstruction of "the primal mythical sensibility" prevailing
on the level of content, form the constructive tension in his Oedipus Rex.
Stravinsky himself mentioned that versification is one of the most central musical
problems in Oedipus Rex.93 True, this same problem occupied Stravinsky also in
other works composed in the same period, like the Symphony of Psalms and Apollon
Musagete9* In the Symphony of Psalms Stravinsky experimented with different
possible versifications of the same words for which the Latin text afforded an
opportunity. For example, in the third movement (score sections 8-18) the words
Laudate Dominum are always presented with different accentuation, thus producing
the following versifications:
292 Myth and Music
~\—R— Γ K ^ k v
«M
-*f
J
—* J) ΛΞΕϊΕ
· 9—-*·9
Lauda-te Domi-num
Jf ί ^ k •— S—ft— ft ·
Λ * Λ ' -j) J' j'
W
LaiHJa - te D<HTii-num
-ft— n- —«kβ—#k—k
Π *Π—mk—
Π mi —*ι
V ·
Lauda - te Do-mi-num
tfW f — . J J)-m—*—-i=V
·—m—
Lauda - te Domi-nun .
f If ff If ff ϊ
IL^'.p. \j y y y γ.
Lauda-te Domi-nurrι
0
-<&—!t-
-*—*r— *r
_ 1 J' _ 1 n
K |
Lauda-te Dc«ni-num
In Apollon Musagete, again, Stravinsky has used as a motto for Calliope's variation,
which begins with the strings imitating the alexandrine meter, the following passage
from Boileau's poetics: "Always when in your verses the meaning separates the
words from each other, suspend the hemistich and there mark a rest". Nevertheless,
one has to remember that the problems of versification were timely in the aesthetics
of modernism as a whole at the beginning of the twentieth century. 95 Already when
Stravinsky left Russia, there had emerged the first germs of the theories of versification
and metrics, which the so-called Russian formalistic school later systematically de-
veloped.96 Experiments in the metrics of poems, for example, had already been
initiated by the symbolists,97 so that Stravinsky might have adopted modernistic
attitudes and problematics while still living in Russia in the atmosphere of new
artistic movements. Majakovsky's work How verses are prepared"1 has certain
parallels with Stravinsky's aesthetic views at the beginning of the 1920's. In this
work Majakovsky quotes the same maxim of Boileau as Stravinsky did (see above)99
and expresses his antiromantic conception about poetry as a production 100 as well
as the principle that for every art work one must establish new methods101 -
which view was later shared by Stravinsky quite literally in his constant stylistic
metamorphoses. Notwithstanding the fact that Stravinsky and Majakovsky could no
longer understand each other at the end of the 1920's (as an anecdote told by
Cocteau about their meeting reveals),1 °2 the problem of versification in general
might, however, have come to Stravinsky's mind from Russian modernism.
Particularly Oedipus Rex which has been considered an example of formalistic,

non-expressive style of composition103 may have in its aesthetics connecting points
with the theories of the Russian formalists. If such a connection were demonstrated
this would prove that Stravinsky even in the middle of his neoclassic period was
bound to his Russian cultural heritage. In that case the principles of Russian
modernism would have influenced the very structural process of his composing and
not only the selection of themes and subject matter in the Russian area as it still did
in works like Les Noces or Mavra. Thus only the remoteness of the Russian material
- folklore, music, poetry - would have allowed Stravinsky to realize the aesthetic
principles formulated in Russia but now in an entirely new and in a certain sense
neutral substance. The classical elements in the Oedipus tragedy, the ambiguous but
at the same time archaically clear-cut world of myth would then have offered
Stravinsky a constructive challenge and a fruitful soil in which to realize new formalist
aesthetical ideas. Consequently, also in this respect Oedipus Rex would be more
than mere "neoclassicism", a return to antiquity - it might be regarded as a mani-
festation of formalist aesthetics within the framework of the neoclassic style, the
problematics of versification being only one part of this larger problem field.
Roman Jakobson has remarked that versification can never be completely inferred
from the language in question: "If versification is the unknown χ and we are given
only the prosodic elements of the language (i.e., those concerning its pronunciation,
accentuation etc.) we shall obtain an undetermined equation, in other words several
possible values of x".1 °4
If we think of the relation between music and language, for instance we could
claim on these grounds that Sibelius's way of composing the Kalevala text in his
Kullervo Symphony or JanaJek's style wherein the prosody of the Czech language
is incorporated into the musical, melodic structure itself as its constant feature, are
nevertheless not so genuine and true to the natural languages as they may seem, but
only one possible solution, which does not exclude other musical models of versifica-
tion. But Jakobson also warns against the other extremity: "It would be an error
to consider the relation between language and versification arbitrary. The number of
possible solutions to the equation is clearly limited but... among them some do more
violence to the language than other".1 ° 5
However, if we examine the case of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex we might presume
that there the number of possible versifications would be great, since what is involved
is in a certain sense petrified language, which does not possess a prosody in the true
sense. In other words, one may ask whether Stravinsky has chosen some given model
of versification which he has then consistently followed or whether he has gone to
the other extreme and, on the basis of church Latin, constructed so many different
models of versification that the unity of the work is finally dissipated.1 °6
Even a casual survey of the work suffices to show that Stravinsky does not,
294 Myth and Music
however, adhere exclusively to the ancient metrics, although at some points he does
use the classical models afforded by it (or rather the musical metrics coinciding with
them) as, for example, in those sections of the beginning and closing choruses based
on triple meter (3/8, 6/8 or 9/8) or of the chorus's narration of the catastrophe based
on a more intense variant of the trochaic meter. In any case in Oedipus Rex there
are not such extensive passages dominated by some metrical model as those in
Milhaud's speech choruses in Choephores which apparently make use of the ancient
metrics. In Stravinsky the various types and models of "versification" are not an
immutable element in the background of the work; rather, the principle of versifica-
tion itself serves as the object of artistic elaboration. It is precisely from the view-
point of versification that Stravinsky's and Sibelius's ways of writing for the chorus
may be juxtaposed, since in Oedipus Rex as well as in Kullervo it is in the choral parts
where the style characteristic of mythical narration is attained and hence an essential
part of the reproduction of primal mythical communication. Both composers par-
ticularly attempt to avoid schematic solutions - Sibelius groups his quintuple rhythms
in various ways while Stravinsky in his opening chorus divides the meter 6/8 either
into 2x3 or 3x2 units. Elsewhere in these works both composers also seem to
adhere to the principle enunciated by the Russian poet Andrej Belyi, that "the more
varied the deviations from meter are and the more unexpected and complicated the
figures produced by these deviations, the richer and, in an artistic sense, better is the
rhythm of the poet" (or here: that of the composer).1 ° 7
10.7. A stylistic survey of Oedipus Rex
Before undertaking a closer examination of Stravinsky's versification, particularly

in the opening chorus of Oedipus Rex, a brief look at the over-all form of the work
will be useful. Oedipus Rex is shaped by the music into a strictly symmetrical two-
part work. Both parts begin and end with a tutti passage of the chorus and the
orchestra, so that the first part begins with the Kyrie section of the chorus which is
later repeated at the end of the second part while the first part ends with the Gloria
of the chorus, which then opens the second part. Aside from this cyclic form the
work achieves cohesion from the thematic connections and the use and restatement
of the same musical motifs in various parts of the opera-oratorio. On the other hand,
Oedipus Rex also has discontinuity as well as a certain monumental blockiness because
of the articulation of the arias and chorus scenes into discrete numbers which are
grouped by the speaker's interpositions into larger entities. Yet, the speaker does
not at any point break the course of the music or intervene actively in it as in
Honegger's Le Roi David. If we examine Oedipus Rex from the viewpoint of musical
narration, two different narrators can be discerned therein: first, the speaker, being
on the level· of the receiver of the work, is situated in modern times and forms a sort
of subject of the assertion (sujet de l'enonciatiori) and second, the narrator on the
level of action in the tragedy, namely the chorus, serving as a kind of subject of the
asserted (sufet de I'/nonce*).106 On the other hand it is not the task of the chorus
merely to comment on the action, but also to participate in it, hence Stravinsky's
chorus corresponds rather closely to the chorus in the original tragedy by Sopho-
cles.109 In Sibelius's Kullervo, contrarily, the chorus served solely as a narrator,
while in Wagner the narrative function was given to the orchestra and the pro-
tagonists themselves. In Stravinsky the chorus primarily has to introduce and prepare
the entrances of the protagonists onto the stage. Nevertheless, the part of the
chorus varies, so that at the beginning of Oedipus Rex it appears prominently and
actively as the people of Thebes, but then keeps an increasing distance from the
events of the tragedy as they move inexorably toward the ultimate catastrophe,
when the chorus functions only as an objective narrator. Thus the chorus moves
from an active function to a narrative function, whereas the speaker retains his own
"style" as a modern reporter to the very end, as is indicated already by the fact that
he does not speak Latin but some modern language. The words of the speaker may
be considered in the nature of subtitles in a silent film, which relate the course of
events while interrupting it at the same time. 110 On the other hand, the assigment
of the semantic function to a special narrator enables Stravinsky to realize his
program of "asemantic" or "n on-expressive" music. On the musical level we do not
regard Oedipus, Jocasta, Tiresias and Creon as the heroes of the opera-oratorio, but
rather "a major third", "a broken seventh chord", "a G minor chord on the harp"
etc.1 ] 1 The music thus unfolds according to its own laws and it is only through
them that we may articulate the mythical action of the work.
What, then, is the role of Stravinsky's famous quotation technique in creating the
mythical atmosphere on the level of music? Does not the fact that the musical signs
in this discourse constantly refer to the works of earlier composers, produce the same
effect as the use of an older, "obsolete" language, Latin, on the textual level? Just
as the archaic language in Stravinsky's opinion included a "mythical" or "incantatory"
element,1 ] 2 we might perhaps suppose that a quotation from Mozart's Requiem,
Bach's St.Matthew Passion or Handel's oratorio, which surprisingly emerges from the
musical texture of the work, would affect a modern listener. Is it not, also in this
case, a question of alluding to some "older" and in this sense more "sacred" level of
culture? In reality, however, the effect of such musical quotation may well be a
contrary one — we may probably experience it as an "alienating" effect, because the
quotation appears in a context strange to it. What is involved then, is rather, a
dadaistic or cubistic collage with surrealistic overtones, keeping in mind that those
artists who were still dadaists or cubists in the 1910's soon turned to surrealism.113
296 Myth and Music
In fact, the content of surrealism changed from its original meaning as expressed by
Apollinaire. The appellation "surrealism" occurred for the first time in connection
with the collective work, the bauet Parade by Satie-Cocteau-Picasso, when Apollinaire
called it a "sur-reel"114 ballet. Apollinaire then meant by the surrealism of Parade
something quite different from what Breton later expressed in his actual surrealist
manifestos.1 l s Stravinsky's "surrealism" in Oedipus Rex should thus be interpreted
in the earlier sense of this term referring to cubism and dadaism. In the same way as
some paintings by Max Ernst such as Dada-Gauguin and Dada-Degas, are "dadaist"
variants of the original works of art, Stravinsky treats and transforms Verdi, Mozart,
Bach and Beethoven in his Oedipus Rex.
10.8. The musical structure of Oedipus Rex
10.8.1. Act One

10.8.1.1. Oedipus contra the Thebans
In Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony the prehistory of the hero is presented in two
symphonic orchestral movements, in Wagner's Ring again in two entire operas - in
Oedipus Rex this epic background is reduced to a brief, objective report of the
speaker, after which no prelude or introduction is needed, but the chorus of Thebans
plunges the spectators directly into the midst of the mythical action. The chorus's
cry for help Kaedit nos pestis in its strong expressive character suggests the Kyrie
eleison movement in a mass. It is based on a brief motif in B flat minor, which in the
orchestration is divided in a typically Stravinskyan manner into different octaves
widening into dramatic intervals of ninths at the beginning and end of the motif:
Ten.
Bassi
Γ
The motif is heard three times successively, with the exception of a short inter-
posed comment by the chorus and the winds. As though it were the result of this
outpouring a triplet rhythm emerges as an important part of the continuation. These
three phrases outstand as monumental columns surrounded by the silence of measure-
long rests. The third time the timpani, piano and harp continue the three-part
rhythm of the last word "moritur'", repeating it monotonously within a minor third.
This simple motif, which also ends the whole work, perhaps symbolizes those
"sleepless deities who are always watching us from the world beyond death" as the
speaker announces in his prologue.
·*ϊί
0 0 -a
The next, more extensive choral section is interesting from the viewpoint of its
versification: with its continuous progression within the limits of a minor third it
appears to form an uninterrupted chain to such a degree that it is hard to distinguish
between the verses, since the text itself gives no hints in this respect. The separation
of the verses according to the bar lines of the music proves immediately ineffectual.
Neither does the melodic line give any support to the segmentation of the musical
discourse.
Let us, however, examine more closely the first choral section which ends with
a clear-cut cadence in A flat minor (soon enharmonically transformed into G sharp
minor) (score sections 2-8). The rhythmic profile of this first choral passage might
be written, to make the examination easier, with metrical signs indicating the short
and long, accented and unaccented syllables:
298 Myth and Music
J V _
J> J J > J > J > J > .
V_> _
ι ι
J>J
J>J>J>ll J. J. J. IJ>J>J>J. J. J>J>J

J L J L
J. J Ji J
u _
J>
J> J> J> J. J. J. J> J> J>
J. J. I Jr-J J. J. J. J» J> J>
As one may see, the first eight-bar group is built on the simple principle of
addition: the trochaic foot serves as a fulcrum, in front of which increasing numbers
of rhythmical units are accumulated, while the main stress moves ever farther from
the beginning. All this gives — as is known from the theory of metrics — an impression
of accelerating the tempo (accentuation croissante).11"1 Thus the fluctuation of
meters between 6/8 and 9/8 has no practical significance since the verses proper
(= musical phrases) are shaped according to a different principle. According to this
idea of addition the length of the verses increases continually and at its longest a
verse may include nine short units (eighths) as a sort of anacrusis118 or "upbeat"
to the accented trochee of the next bar. What happens after the length of a verse
has been extended to its maximum? Stravinsky accomplishes a shortening of the
verses in the succeeding bars, in which are first heard four long and accented units
(fourths), then three short (eighths) as an upbeat to two fourths. Thereafter the
verse is truncated from the end: two long units change into a trochee and finally the
group of three short units is reduced to two. Then a section of five bars is restated
from the beginning of the whole passage, leading again to three accented long tones
("e peste".) At the end this group of three long and accented tones recurs once more
but this time,moreover, supported by a harmonic cadence.
If one looks at this section from the viewpoint of the text, one notes that nowhere
does Stravinsky exploit a repetition of the text in establishing the musico-rhythmic
form. The clearly distinguishable groups of three long and accented tones are twice
set to the words "qua Theba moritur" and once to the words "e peste". Into these
outstanding points Stravinsky condenses, as it were, the semantic content of the whole
section, the people's cry for help: Thebes is dying of the plague. Thus in respect to
the mythical narration as well, the function "the appearance of a lack" is clearly
manifested on the musical level.
After this passage, where the versification is based mainly on rhythmics, the verses
are shaped according to different principles. The following section deals with the
text of the preceding section, but coloring it with the polyphonic, harmonic and
dynamic means of the orchestra and chorus. The bassos sing a descending chromatic
scale while the trumpets and trombones project over it a pattern in contrary motion
and different octaves. The chorus alternates between tutti and solo of the bassos
using the effects of level dynamics and the bassos then display a new principle of
versification: pitch, the exploitation of which makes the octuple meter syncopated,
since the highest tone of the broken tetrad falls always on a different point of the bar:
p j J p« ρ p
Oe - di-pus,Oe-di - pus a - dest pes - tis a pes-te li -be-ra nos
This short passage is, generally speaking, a typical example of Stravinsky's melodic
and rhythmic invention: often the melody simply consists of breaking a chord
complex or a plain triad or tetrad, 119 to which principle Stravinsky here adds
another trait typical of his rhythmics: the accents of a rhythmic figure are dispersed
by initiating it each time on some new point of the bar and in that way forming an
unsymmetrical linear passage.120
In the following rhythmical, staccato-like "e pestis" passage the meter changes
from triple to duple. In the canon "adest pestis" the accent falls on the beginning
which retards the tempo, as well (accentuation decroissante).1*1 This changing
of the meter to a quieter duple meter also changes the "modality" of the musical
narration from the excited and active rhythmics dominated by trochees into a more
tranquil and stable motion which prepares for the entrance of the next personage
in the tragedy, King Oedipus:
300 Myth and Music
Oe- di-pus a - dest dest a dest a - dest
Oedipus enters to a richly adorned arioso, whose ornamentation alludes to the

baroque style; - here, however, it is written down and ordered to be sung, not ad
libitum but dolce ma ben articulate. This first arioso of Oedipus is in many respects
primitivistic. First it consists of a melodic phrase whose motion is descending, going
from F to Β , from dominant to tonic. This same simple motif is repeated three
times, the last time, however, more intensively, raising the pitch a second. Such a
descending melodic contour which returns to the principal tone of the scale is the
most common pattern in primitive music, notably in that of African Negroes.122
The repetition of the same motif also serves as a primitivistic effect. 123 Thus as
one analogy to the plasticity of Oedipus's first arioso may be mentioned e.g. the
interest in primitive art which became fashionable in the 1920's and inspired Picasso's
graphics:124
li - - be - ra-bo
The fourth phrase in Oedipus's arioso — which later becomes an important motif
in the work — constitutes its code and moves in B minor, which a diminished second
degree endows, however, with a Phrygian tinge:
i n t ρτπΤφ p IEJCJ
Eg' Oe-di - - pus vos di - li - go, Eg'Oe-di - - pus vosser-va - bo
The tonal relations - the narrow scope of the keys: Β flat minor, C minor and Β
minor - also give Oedipus's arioso a certain archaic flavor. The accompaniment,
on the contrary, is noteworthy for the lofty dotted rhythm reminiscent of baroque
music as well as the dominance of the clarinet - later one may perceive that the
clarinet really is an instrument mostly identified with Oedipus.
If we observe the content of this arioso or its "function" in the mythical narration,
we may notice that its task is to emphasize Oedipus's firm position and particularly
his magic force and ability. Oedipus has, namely, already once rescued the Thebans
from the Sphinx with his wisdom. The arioso thus refers to Oedipus's capacity to
solve riddles, to clarify problematic situations with his magic knowledge. To indicate
this power Oedipus extols himself as "clarissimus" and repeats his name "eg'Oedipus".
Here again we have an example of the working of primitive thought: in repeating the
name of a powerful being it is believed that the powers of this being will be transferred
to the speaker of that name: 125 Oedipus is preparing himself here to solve a new
riddle. Thus one must not necessarily see in this conduct mere hubris and boasting
- which interpretation is, nevertheless, supported by Cocteau in his play La Machine
infernale and by Andre Gide in his own version of Oedipus — but the evocation of a
sorcerer's powers.
The versification in the first half of the following choral passage adheres to the
same principle of "addition" as previously: first one hears a trochee alone, then its
beginning is preceded by three short eighths and then by five and six. Nevertheless,
Stravinsky does not use any principle of versification as a mannerism in his Oedipus
Rex. In observing the rhythmics at the end of this choral passage one notes
how rhythmical monotony is avoided by inserting a pair of trochees, without
which the section would be too symmetrical in meter. The passage ends in a
forceful cadence of the chorus and its question: What should be done?
302 My (hand Music
Oe-
Quid fa - ki - e - ndum, quid fa - ki - e -ndumse -
Oedipus's reply is a variation on his first arioso. The third phrase of the first
arioso is repeated there twice but heightened by beginning first with G t, then with
G τ · Also the accompaniment pattern has to be interpreted as a transformation
of the first arioso's woodwind accompaniment. It, too, is now placed on a higher
register. In this aria Oedipus relates that he has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to
consult the Oracle.
In section 25 of the score there is a direct transfer to the chorus's salutation
to Creon. The greetings of the chorus constitute their own paradigm in the work.
They occur only in the first part of this opera-oratorio: as though increasing
the tension of the drama they are longer each time preserving, however, their
purely diatonic character. They are based either on one simple triad or on common
major harmonies. These chorus scenes are reminiscent of the folk choruses in
Glinka's, Borodin's and Mussorgsky's operas, 126 which hail their rulers with similar
chord signals accompanied by unisons of the orchestra as those in Stravinsky's
Oedipus Rex. Later the salutation to Tiresias further alludes to the Russian opera
with the plagal cadence form in Β minor: I—VI—III—IV—I.
'Icnors I J "1 Γ j ^- 3- Γ--3-1 r-3··-ι

ί L
Γ V * Γ * * 1 3 *i—1—1^—ι . ? li'T 1 | u b«l—?—^ »j !
~S—K— b*) 7 .^ ,T b*^ »^ 1 ^ p ΐ>Ί? ^|
Φ 3 ? fr ? * '
Va-lc,Crco!
t / f '? ? M
Au-dimus Vu-lc,Crc-o!
r »'T S m · -
Ki-to, ki-to, Audi - tu- ri

-V—r*
te s -lu-tant
; Busses Λ _» * *
ι , * H ff- ., 1ffl>-.i ί.1—SH —ιη—ι \TJ-1 V U i g g r
i / r r' r 5 r r r r r r r r 'J t im m
-^ P H '
l j—η r- j---i r-y-n
f ^ r ' l '
Salve. Ί i-ro-si-a! Sal - vo! : Die no-l)is (|uod ; nia - not do-u.s, dk·,
/
Si - vc, T i - r c - s i - a , ho - mo cla - re, va-tcs
3 "Ί
f / /
Sol-ve, sol-ve, sol-vc!
In addition, it is also the task of the chorus to incite the protagonists to action
with these impatient salutations: in hailing Creon it turns its excited expectation
upon him with its staccato triplet motif, "au-di-mus", to Tiresias the crowd directs
with greedy curiosity the single word "die! " while it later as eagerly demands Oedipus
to solve the riddle: "Solve! Solve!".
10.8.1.2. Creon
The following aria of Creon can be cited as a pure example of the neoclassic
style, for which there are many reasons. First, the central motif in the aria is
a simple broken C major tonic chord, sung by Creon immediately in fhe opening
in unison with the trombone:
304 Myth and Music
Tromttone
§3
Wf —'r—ΓF— -4—j
-*·^ η;
> > -^
1-^
Creon:Re-spon-det de - us
This phrase functions throughout the whole aria as a sort of mainstay : in the middle
part it recurs twice expanded to a cadence, appearing as a canon in the orchestra and
and for voice and finally concludes the aria.
It can be compared with the three supporting pillars in an ancient temple facade,
the central one of which rises higher than the others. On the other hand, it also
crystallizes the most essential semantic content of the aria: Pespondit deus ... Thebis
peremptor latet ... Apollo dixit deus. It thus has an important structural function in
the aria by creating symmetry, but it can also be considered a musical quotation from
Mozart's Requiem where also the bass voice and the trombone perform a similar de-
scending triad motif in the movement Tuba mirum (although in B flat major). Like-
wise in its orchestration, Creon's aria can be regarded as an example of the neoclassic
timbre: piano, trombone and piccolo perform as a continuation of the aforementioned
motif a theme wherein the trombone and the piccolo serve as doublings and reinforce-
ments of the piano's low and high register. The impression is indeed like that of the
plastic contour in some ancient sculpture:
vai Cl.picc. ? C l . , Pice.
Piano
m
/ e tegofo
Trombone
^FT^
La ul kis - ki, ul - kis - ki,

If Oedipus's musical portrayal was characterized by melodies progressing by degrees

and remaining within a narrow tonal range, the vocal style of Creon and later of
Tiresias emphasizes, in contrast, a skipping melody, built mainly on broken triads
but avoiding in any case the expressive meanings attached to large intervals by
romanticism. In Stravinsky the ascending seventh no longer conveys Wagnerian
passions. Instead we hear intervals following one another in rapid succession, with
the entire traditional system of "expressive" intervals breaking down and we get
rather the impression that Creon is performing a sort of solfeggio exercise - an
impression which is particularly strong in the sections wherein melody takes some
tone as its fulcrum, in relation to which series of expanding or decreasing intervals
are presented, as in the following passage:
ul - kis-ki,
M
ske - lus ul - kis-ki, ske-lus ske-lus, La-ium,
-«-«—
)< I — • nd'—r=—'
b=—— 9 V
-—1 1—^Γ— —g —ι
• I
1 1
La -ium ul - kis - ki, r e - p e - r i - r e pe- rem- pto-rem
Such a procedure gives the whole aria a certain ironic flavor especially as it seems
to be in contrast with its true message and function in mythical narration. What is
involved here, namely, is the declaration of Apollo's oracle, the transmission of the
divine will to a "lower level". Wagner reserves for Erda, who appears as an oracle in
Rheingold, all possible musical "authoritative" effect, compared to which Stravinsky's
procedure seems really disrespectful. The listener experiences Creon's aria as slightly
reminiscent of the comical bassos in an Italian opera buffa like Rossini's Don Basilio
or Mozart's Osmin. The rapid manner of singing the text in Section 31 represents a
genuine opera buffa style in the same way as the surprising ceasing of the allegro
movement in Sections 32 and 33 and then, as it were, reviving it again.
The ostinato motif in the accompaniment pattern in Section 34 is very common
in Stravinsky's compositions in his neoclassic period — one may recall its central
position in the beginning of the Symphony of Psalms.
In the recapitulation of the main theme, after the aforementioned cadence, the
march-like character of the entire aria becomes still more apparent. The march
culminates in a fanfare of the winds repeating different chord combinations in the
subdominant of C major and with a robust, quadrangular rhythm hammered by the
timpani against the organ point of C sung by Creon.
306 Myth and Music
Piano, F l . , Ob. ,C1. Piano

fe
Just this passage was presumably seen to be in accordance with the neoclassic
aesthetics of the 1920's; Cocteau had already announced: "No more music in which
there is swimming, or music in which there is dancing, but music to which one
marches". 127 The end of the aria once again illustrates Stravinsky's way of realizing
his "phonetic-musical" elaboration of the text: he allows Creon to sing his long
organ point on the vowel a from which he can appropriately proceed without any
interruption to the conclusing comment on the same tone and vowel: Apollo dixit.
10.8.1.3. Oedipus contra Tiresias
Oedipus's next starts with a strong contrast to his earlier appearances. As an

introduction we hear the strings' hesitatingly groping portamento motif to which
Oedipus, however, adds his own comment about Creon's declaration: "No, no,
you can hardly solve the old crime". It seems as though Oedipus's position has
wavered: his aria now moves in the same style of large intervals and broken
triads as the previous aria of Creon. A typical melodic figure is the broken
seventh chord which is divided into a third and fifth:
In-co- lit s k e - l e s - t u s
Mi - ki, mi- ki de - bet
At the end, however, a variant of the initial motif from the first arioso recurs:
Oedipus pulls himself together, recollecting his earlier deeds, particularly the solution
of the Sphinx's riddle. He promises now also to solve the riddle - this promise he
gives as a reply to the chorus's urging in tonic harmonies of E flat major: Solve, solve.
The motif of Oedipus, when he sings Clarissimus Oedipus, pollikeor divinabo is the
same as the closing motif of his first arioso or its coda, which is now raised to the
heroic E flat major:
Oedipus:
Λ I, - « - -
\J ι 9 w Λ 1 3
J
f m W β IE W
Λ
·*
W
·
τj ψΛ 9
I?H V0 U[f
A. r) Vr r Τ
J r 1 J
Cla-ris-si-mus O e - d i -pus, pol-li ke-or di vi-na-bo
This same motif wreathed around one tone is repeated many more times in
Oedipus Rex, which only reinforces the impression of certain thematic affinities
between the different parts in the course of the work. In this connection one
may list the most important variations on this motif in the opera-oratorio. It
occurs in addition in the salutation of the chorus to Jocasta, in Jocasta's recitative
and the Messenger's announcement of the death of Polybos — consequently in
all cases referring to Oedipus's family or origins, to that world which will experience
a catastrophe after the "riddle" has been solved: 128
308 Myth and Music
Chorus (Laudibus)
Act I Gloria r f r r· n- r r H l f f f ,r r r^
Act II locasta:
Messenger:
After Oedipus's declaration the speaker enters and continues his speech on the
same organ point of E b accompanying him as above at the end of Oedipus's aria and
with an accentuation of the words in his last sentence L 'assassin du roi est un roi
already in the 9/8 metre of the next choral section. This is one of those rare passages
in Oedipus Rex wherein the style of lecture rythmee typical of L 'Histoire du soldat
In the succeeding choral section, whose text appeals to various Greek gods for
help, Stravinsky might have allowed the strong images of the mythical content to
tempt him perhaps to a somewhat similar musical interpretation as in Milhaud's
Choephores. Nevertheless, Stravinsky returns again to the same minor third and
triplet thematics which characterized the preceding appearances of the chorus. This
endows the whole work with a certain "symphonic" continuity which would have
been lost in a more operatic or melodramatic setting. Stravinsky remains true to
that "neoclassic" view of the antiquity which already Satie had determined in his
Socrate and at the same time maintains the sacred tinge presupposed by the de-
signation of Oedipus Rex as an "oratorio", appearing as early as in the "Kyrie"
chorus of the opening. Stravinsky gives this choral passage an epical narrative
expression in spite of its dramatic content.
An important form-giving factor which groups the verses is the call "et tu"
with which the gods Phoebus and Bacchus are summoned for help. Associated
with this call motif is a melodic germ: a rising major third and descending major
seventh:
f . -' J3 w—· \4 \ 1 l) 9j \J
3 9 9 9 9 9
c f Et tu, Bak-ke,curn.tae-da ad
LE -5—?' ^- ^~* m-s

a 1 '
• ΓP if —
f ) * |
Et tu, Bak - ke tu
This mythological exposition of the chorus also serves to prepare for the entrance
of the sorcerer Tiresias. Tiresias's properties as a prophetic seer thus acquire a
profundity - he arrives as an apparition from that world of mythical beings and
knowing (savoir) to which the foregoing narration of the chorus has alluded.
Tiresias is presented with the same kind of music as Creon, the melodic line
progressing with broken triads and tetrads. The introduction of Tiresias's aria begins
with a "Dorian" rhythmic figure ( J· l·)) ) which, together with the dactylic, was
considered the most dignified and majestic in ancient music. 129
Tiresias's introduction is interrupted by the accusal thrown by Oedipus: "tu
peremptor", with which Oedipus attempts to shift the guilt onto Tiresias after the
latter's refusal to tell the truth. Tiresias, however, replies to Oedipus's agitated
outburst with his seer's dignity maintained. Oedipus's speech, imitating the style
of Creon's aria, is followed by Tiresias's reply against the organlike background of the
winds in A minor. The scene can be paralleled, insofar as the mythico-dramatical
situation is concerned, with, for instance, a scene in Bach's St. Matthew Passion
wherein the voice of Christ interrupts the strong, expressive narration of the evan-
gelist, or with the dialogue between Tamino and the priest of Sarastro in Mozart's
Magic flute. In all these cases what is involved is the appearance of the transcendental
and sacerdotal amidst profane passions and struggles.
Fl.,Ob.,Cl.
Λ -e -β ^ -
JT Δ. Ά 0 ΛΛ
Ο i4—»ι
fa "-f- —&
» -»; Horn * "°
^
Λ· Λ
/· Ί
* αA ο C'* f^
^* il«.·»
^ Ρ"
Bassoon
| ; 1—η 1—θ θ 1
*1I4—ί— F J—1 , .
L_
/ Α . . .r —I J
Tiresias:Mi - se - ran- de, di - co, di - co

310 My th and Music
Tiresias's next aria is based on ascending thirds of the A minor tonic chord. As its
accompaniment one hears the "destiny" motif of the minor third which occurred
as early as in the opening chorus but is now presented as a rhythmical transformation.
In the recapitulation the accompaniment is endowed with the same kind of abruptly
beating rhythmical contour as above in Creon's aria, the only difference being that
the conjradactyls in Creon's aria are now transformed into incomplete triplets: ffj
—> /V? _ The transition from Tiresias's aria to Oedipus's reply is effected by
gliding on the same pitch, as in Creon's instance. Now the connective tone is D,
which at the same time forms the first tone of Oedipus's aria.
Oedipus's next aria again reflects the inner psychological development of the hero:
he no longer behaves as a powerful solver of riddles but tries to evoke pity in the
crowd. The cothurned character of his first arioso has now changed into an Italian
cantilena style utilizing tonal cadences and the expressive nature of chromatic leading
tones. This elegiac and lamenting cantilena line is broken twice, giving way to more
passionate expression. First, it soars even to the high A tone with dramatic leaps and
glissandos. The second time lecture rythmee continues the dramatic and expressive
line of the melody whenever this no longer suffices to portray Oedipus's state of mind.
faumi
a 5V?
(Ed. ' ί£ΦΜ^ ΕΜ^ΜίΞ^
Cre.ovult munus regte. Stipendarlua ee.Tireel.al hoc fakinus e.ffo eolvof
Thus these dramatic climaxes allude to the expressionism of the Straussian tone
drama or Honegger's Antigone. This can be readily understood from the musico-
psychological viewpoint: before this Tiresias has revealed that the murderer of King
Laius is a king himself, whereupon Oedipus believes himself to be the victim of Creon's
palace intrigue. An important integrating factor in the structure of the whole aria is
the recurrence of the closing part of the first phrase as a sort of "cadence" or element
corresponding to the refrain in a poem. This motif B is repeated, almost unvaried,
four times in the course of the piece:
- nvi - di - a for - t u - n a m o-dit crc-a -vi - slis mere - gem

Motif A, which at first is reminiscent of the song of the priestesses in Verdi's Aida,
bursts at its third repetition into a melodic motif which intentwines with the poly-
phonic texture of the strings, French horn and bassoon. At the same time this point
illustrates how in Stravinsky the harmonies are often subordinated to serve the melody
and part-leading. In the foregoing arias of Creon and Tiresias we could observe how
the harmonies were reduced to a mere accompaniment of the vocal parts but here,
contrarily, the harmony emerges as a result of several independent parts and therefore
this quite common procedure in Bach, for example, is experienced as a surprising
and fresh new invention:
Quis l i - b e - r a - v i t vos car-mi-ni- bus?
Oedipus: ft)
In the same way Stravinsky did not hesitate to use amidst Creon's aria the good
old dominant-tonic cadence which was given an even more baroque flavor with the
play between parallel major and minor. 1 3 0 In fact, what is involved here is an
alienating effect in the same sense as the Russian theoreticians of art, the "formalists",
understood it in the 1920's. Viktor Shklovsky determined the purport of alienation
to be the shattering of ordinary perception, habitual schematization: "The receiver
of a work of art sees familiar phenomena as though for the first time in his life; he
cannot pass by them mechanically".13 1 Just in this way we might describe the tonal
cadences or the above mentioned polyphonic harmonies in the style of Oedipus Rex
which also includes strongly dissonant, modernistic passages. The basic principles of
the old tonality are displayed in Oedipus Rex with the alienating effect: by per-
mitting a tonal cadence to develop from a modernistic musical texture of the 1920's
312 My th and Music
it appears like a new, only recently invented stylistic device. In Oedipus Rex this
technique of alienation is especially focused on the classical-romantic style and the
tonality and listening habits rooted in it, which Stravinsky thus desires either to
reform or to abolish completely.
The lamentation of Oedipus (again an allusion to Russian opera: the lullaby at the
end of Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa) is interrupted by Jocasta's entrance and the Gloria
hail of the chorus. Just as the cry of the chorus at the beginning of the opera-oratorio
suggested the Kyrie eleison of a mass, here one may see connections with its Gloria
movement.
The Gloria motif itself is based on a rhythmic cellule of a simple C major triad and
its inversion: just like Handel, Stravinsky builds his choral passages from short, sharp
motifs and their variations.
:
I l l ιΡ Π ιΠ
Glo - r i - a , glo - ri-a, glo-ri-a
The canon "Laudibus" presented by the chorus in the continuation is based on the
very "pollikeor" motif of Oedipus, which we already have found to be one of the
central germs in the whole composition. Here its task is to set the royal couple as
though in the frame of the same portrait. The Gloria section functions in the work
as a sort of pivot — it is repeated again at the beginning of the second movement to
which it leads naturally, concluding in the dominant of C major and thus leaving the
situation "open" and tense.
10.8.2. Act Two
10.8.2.1. Jocasta and Oedipus
At the opening of the second act Queen Jocasta enters to pacify the quarreling
princes. Jocasta first sings a recitative and then an aria which, on the whole, follows
the classical lied form aba (slow-fast-slow). Accompanied by a G minor arpeggio on
the harp Jocasta's recitative begins with a motif which is the same as that of the
chorus's preceding Laudibus canon (see above page 308).
The harp twangs two diminished, broken tetrads, after which the recitative ends
with a Handelian style cadence in E flat minor. Through B flat major, the dominant
of E flat minor, it progresses to the actual aria which moves in G minor and which is
accompanied by solemn and heavy chords on the piano and harp reminiscent of the
somber splendor of the Renaissance court in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet:
locaste:
Nonn' e - ru be - ski - te in aeg-ra u - rbe qla ma - re
W Harp
However, the clarinets soon enter with their light parallel thirds, in which
the world of playful wind solos in Stravinsky's Capriccio gleams distantly. On
the other hand, the use of the harp already in the recitative and now in the
accompaniment to the principal part of the aria, is associated with the mythical
connotations of the harp's timbre in Slavonic and romantic music in general - one
may only think of, for instance, the song of the Bard in Glinka's Russian. The
middle section of the aria is more resolute in its content as well as its musical
expression. It is divided into two parts, the latter of which, oracula, oracula, is
notable for its staccato motifs repeating the same tone (the same device was
employed by Stravinsky in his Symphony of Psalms, as well, see above page 292).
ben articülato
o-ra-cu-la, o - r a - c u - la,
Jocasta wants to convince Oedipus that oracles always lie and that one should not
believe in their predictions. As evidence of this she says that Laius was killed at
the crossing of three roads. Here, at the end of the recapitulation of section A in the
aria, the chorus joins in quietly in the background, singing as a canon the fateful
word trivium. This scene constitutes in the course of the tragedy a sort of peripety,
in which the scales tip definitely to Oedipus's disadvantage: Jocasta, who had intended
to help Oedipus, has unknowingly disclosed a secret which worsens Oedipus's sit-
uation. 132 Against the smoothly rhythmical background of the orchestra in B flat
major rises the threatening gesture of the chorus when it repeats the word trivium,
now challengingly, in the same rhythm in which it had sung Gloria to Jocasta at the
314 Myth and Music
opening of the act.
Chorus a f
1»-i-
=P £
P Tri - v i - u m , tri-vi-um, tri-vi-um,
>., I?
3j-^ ^=
Kettledrum, Horn, Piano, Cellos
The restlessly syncopated triplet figures with many sustained tones dramatically
convey Oedipus's alarm. The first recognition of the hero occurs, in the following
dialogue with a kettledrum, during which his true identity begins to be gradually
revealed. The second phase of the recognition is also clearly discernible since it is
based on the same kind of dialogue between Oedipus and the orchestra and is
distinctly separated from the musical discourse by rests:
Tempo sostcnuto
rbfcirJtaz^
The duet of Jocasta and Oedipus is structured according to the model of an Italian
operatic duet. It is begun by Jocasta alone with a descending chromatic triplet figure.
When Oedipus joins in, the winds - first the flute, piccoloclarinet and trumpet and
then also the trombone - play a rhythmically skipping tune, which again is one of
those numerous allusions in Oedipus Rex to Capriccio and its thematic material. The
entire beginning of the duet utilizes the same thematic substance as the orchestral
section 17 of the Symphony of Psalms wherein Stravinsky allows as well the fast
chromatic triplets to shimmer in rich orchestral colors. Insofar as the vocal parts
are concerned the duet of Jocasta and Oedipus exploits the opera buffa technique,
in which two singers simultaneously sing entirely different texts with fully contrary
meanings: Oedipus tells about his fear, while Jocasta advises him to forget the whole
prediction. In that way these mythical heroes are placed in an ironical light on the
musical level — in accordance with Cocteau's intention in the original French text, as
well.
The crescendo of the kettledrum sounding behind the speaker's report leads to the
next scene in which the Shepherd and the Messenger are central personages bringing
new information which results in the exposure of Oedipus.
10.8.2.2. The Shepherd and the Messenger - musical irony
The Messenger's report of Polybos's death is a variation on musical material in

Jocasta's aria, as was already stated. The motif of Mortuus est Polybos is namely a
rhythmical transformation of Jocasta's recitative while the flute, accompanied by the
French horn, plays a reminiscence of the clarinet's parallel thirds in Jocasta's aria.
The Messenger also relates that Polybos was not the real father of Oedipus, which is,
as it were, confirmed by the chorus with its canon Falsus pater — which includes an
allusion to the chorus of false witnesses in Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
The following narration of the Messenger and the chorus about Oedipus's origin,
consequently about the first phase of the hero's life story, includes several interesting
aspects which are worthy of closer examination.
Here, for the first and only time in Oedipus Rex, emerges the rhythmic world of
changing meters and syncopation typical of Stravinsky's earlier Russian period,
of Sacre, more particularly. The scene is like a fragment of the "Scythian"
Stravinsky including the "arco" manner of bowing on the strings:
316 Myth and Music
π ν
TCfll
pOft> Jif, pQ\
Thematically the motif is reminiscent of Jocasta's aria from the opening of the
second act with its mordent ornamentations, while the latter part of the motif might
be interpreted as a transformation of the ornaments of Oedipus's first arioso. In this
connection, as a parallel phenomenon, it may be noted that Stravinsky used this
same motif still later in his melodrama Persephone to Andre Gide's text, in the song
of the nymphs:
leggiero e marcato
On the other hand it is interesting to discover that Persephone surprisingly includes

a quite obvious allusion to the Russian folk music amidst its neoclassic melodrama
in the French style. In the score of Persephone, Sections 207-214, the chorus of
nymphs sings the praises of Demeter, the Goddess of the Earth, portraying how
"the wheat is still green, but the rye already yellow" and longing for Persephone,
the symbolic figure of spring.
K l1
JLJL * t T~ ' 'J
* ^ M Lf ·
Nous ap-por-tons nos of - fran-des Des guir - Ian - des lys,— sa-
frans, cro-cus,bleuets re - non - cu - les, a - n - mo - nes,
fPîj N J) κ j) j j -—jN jN jS N 1 J Jl J
κ dN ' -h1 iil4i _ΓΊ J rrt
φ»lf g ^T ]—j
Des bou-quetspour Per-s<5 -

^ Π Μ 'g ί r r
pho - ne Des a - pils pour De-me-ter. Les
jff uk» a—j—J—ι— ΐ —[ J J) N

ft M > ΐ ^ J— j i ! t' —d S—i—ι—t—ϊ— -«
ίίί— · 1*^ o
bl s sont en - co - re vcrts Mais les seigles d - ja blonds.
One may note here that Stravinsky composes the text following particularly its
semantic or, we should like to say from the viewpoint of the composer himself,
almost "mythical" meaning. In Stravinsky's imagination Persephone, the symbol of
spring, could be represented most appropriately only by a tune possessing the freshness
of a Russian folk melody, hence presumably in the composer's fantasy the ancient
mythological coming of spring was identified with the Russian spring, depicted by
Stravinsky's Sacre in the style of that period. This might be regarded as an illustration
of how certain mythical images on the plane of a composer's personality are connected
with tonal expressions and how one may perhaps finally talk about "the personal
myth" of a composer in the same way as Charles Mauron speaks of the mythical
networks of a poet. On the whole, however, that spring which is conveyed by
Stravinsky's Persephone is more akin to the serene spring of Paris than to the
elemental natural phenomenon of Russia. The music of Persephone includes in other
respects references also to the works of Les Six, being in this sense likewise more
French; one may think of Section 130—133 alluding to Milhaud (especially Milhaud's
style in La criation du monde) or Section 118 where the trumpet melody is obviously
borrowed from a well-known popular tune by George Auric.
Nevertheless, we are more occupied here with what makes Stravinsky surprisingly
quote an elemental and primitivistic rhythmical motif from Sacre in his Oedipus Rex,
318 My th and Music
in a neoclassic work which we have seen to obey very consistently the view of the
"white and plastic" antiquity in music established already by Satie. The reason for
this is,undoubtedly the intention to create, following the collapse of the whole royal
family's authority, a parodic counterpart of the lofty style predominant in the first
half of Oedipus Rex. Thus one may perceive at the end of Oedipus Rex a strong
tendency to trivialize all that which was dignified and sublime in the initial part of
it, in other words, the groundlessly arrogant and conceited conduct of Oedipus,
Creon and Jocasta. At the beginning of the drama they are still aware of their own
position, but toward the end when the truth begins to be revealed, their musical
motifs also undergo transformations, changing them into caricatures of their original
figures. Thus in Oedipus Rex, this mythical tragedy, the themes of the beginning
return — in the same way as we have seen the themes recur at the conclusion of
Wagner's Ring and Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony — but in returning they undergo
parodizing as a result of which the whole original idea of the mythical recurrence
of a theme is endowed with an ironical flavor. The mythical personages, the heroes,
are thus deliberately made banal. It should be noted, however, that Stravinsky does
not make the very framework of the action itself or the counter pole of the pro-
tagonists - the chorus - an object of the irony, rather its task remains the salvation
of the religious cathartic effect of the primal mythical communication at the end of
the drama.
We may thus consider that in Stravinsky the irony - one might here even speak
of a special "ironical seme" as a subgenre of the mythical among other mythical
semes previously presented (see page 85) - as a musical stylistic device is very
appropriate to the heroic figures which he has selected as subjects for his com-
positions. Their lives do not include, in any case, the chain of heroic "functions"
characteristic of, for instance, the hero-mythical in Liszt or romantic music in
general terminating with the triumph of the hero, but on the contrary the thematics
of the hero's decadence and often consciously banalized end. Thus, for example,
what is presented in L'Histoire du soldat and in The Rake's Progress is the life
of a kind of antihero, wherein the musical irony serves as an alienating effect. But,
on the other hand, in Stravinsky the irony may also be attached to such "serious"
contexts as mythical opera-oratorios like Oedipus Rex. All this warrants our con-
firming the actual existence of a particular mythical seme of the "ironical" in
Stravinsky.
The rhythmic and melodic contour of Jocasta's aria is thus subjected to an
ironical variation in the scenes of the Messenger and later of the Shepherd — at least
five different variations can be recognized as direct derivatives of this theme of
Jocasta. They change the reserved and noble anapestic meter and the almost oriental-
like chromatics twining around the tonal fulcrum into the agitated, vulgar rhythmics
and diatonic melody typical of Sacre:
locaste:
159 Siepherd and Messenger
164 Ibid
J?^lflJ'IJ>J iJ
166 Ibid and chorus
Ρ In
Among these variations, which inexorably accumulate the decisive evidence for
the downfall of Oedipus, are placed three intermediate passages: the Shepherd's
pastorale, Oedipus's last aria as well as the declaration of the chorus and the
Messenger.
The Shepherd's aria or "pastorale", as we might call it, also proves to be a
transformation of the first arioso of Oedipus in Act I. Oedipus's original musical
figure with its noble ornamentation is "vulgarized" in the Shepherd's aria into
a simple siciliano rhythm. In the same way the bassoon's accompaniment pattern
can be interpreted as a stylization or simplification of the accompaniments written
for the clarinet and the flute in Oedipus's appearances. Thematically Oedipus's
aria is suggested there by the same key, pitch and figures descending from the
dominant:
320 My th and Music
Shepherd:
- turn
Oedipus's next aria, during which Jocasta flees from the stage, still expresses the
hope that Jocasta is ashamed of Oedipus's low origin and therefore rejects him. This
aria likewise begins with a transformation from the first act's repository of themes:
the melodic pattern of Nonne monstrum is an adaptation of Creon's march aria; now
it is changed into a discontinuous staccato figure which destroys the original tore of
conviction and replaces it with something of that "monstrousness" of Oedipus which,
he believes, makes Jocasta ashamed of him. At the end of the same aria Oedipus still
develops the descending scales and pastoral trochaic rhythms ( J~77J ) of the
Shepherd's aria, transforming them into virtuoso-like figurations in the Italian opera
seria style.
The dotted rhythmics of the Handelian baroque music recur in the accompaniment
as well - the clarinets are given this figure to present as they did at the entrance of
Oedipus in Act I (the timpani, cellos and double-basses repeating the "destiny" motif
of a minor third in the background.)
Stravinsky thus proceeds skilfully in saving these means of musical irony for the
end of his opera-oratorio - and does not use them like Cocteau, for example, in his
play, La machine infernale, as a continuous stylistic trait. Cocteau, namely, presents
the protagonists of his drama from the very beginning in a strongly ironical light.
Stravinsky, in contrast, permits his characters to appear first in their full splendor
and dignity in order to show their decline and fall even more powerfully at the end
of the tragedy. Just from this viewpoint Stravinsky's subsequent criticism of Cocteau
is understandable: for Stravinsky, irony was a musical means of expression, a
component to be used only where justified by the structural plan of the com-
position and the mythical narration, and not merely a superficial coloring dabbed
on the personages.
10.8.2.3. The recognition of the hero - the catastrophe
Following the declarations of the Messenger, the Shepherd and the chorus the
whole stage lightens in accordance with the stage directions and this is reflected
also in the thinning of the orchestral timbre, to such a rarefied state that the
revelation of Oedipus is portrayed with the same thin, clear texture which also
characterized Satie's style in Socrate. On this point Satie's and Stravinsky's views
about the antiquity fully coincide: the final tragic situation is musically char-
acterized by thin bright colors and contours:
Oedipus:
Oedipus Rex does not, however, end here, although the protagonists no longer
intervene in the action other than through the narration of the chorus. The task
of the chorus now is to restore the mythico-musical narration to that isotopy to
which it originally pertained. An important narrative function is thus now assigned
to the chorus. Nevertheless, before the chorus we still hear in contrast to the
lyricism of the preceding section the trombones' fanfares and the speaker's announce-
ments.
Stravinsky had perhaps got the idea for such wind fanfares from Honegger's Le Roi
David, in which many fanfares with different instrumental combinations occur as
one realistic element of the musical narration. Stravinsky also wanted to use fanfares
to solemnize the mood of the opera-oratorio, but he did not place them, where
they would have been readily incorporated in the plot of the mythical narration;
rather, he used them to provide, as effective a contrast as possible in the course of
the music. He could not have created a more powerful effect than in situating*these
sharply dissonant fanfares sounding in fourths and seconds in Β flat major immediately
following the lyrical mood of the scene between Oedipus and the Shepherd:
322 Myth and Music
11701 Le Meat age r apparait
Tr.kt
The last scene in the opera-oratorio consists of a dialogue between the Messenger
and the chorus, which occasions the use of a kind of rondo form. The Messenger's
part, Divum Jocastae caput mortuum, namely, is repeated all of four times, with
only the accompaniment changing: first it is accompanied by the strings' back-and-
forth sweeping G Phrygian scales,133 the second time a high-pitched trill on the
winds joins in, the third time the strings' scale changes slightly, at the end and the
trombones simultaneously play the same kind of fanfare as before, while the fourth
time the declaration of the Messenger leads directly into a Kyrie chorus employing
the full resources of the orchestra which thus returns from the opening of the whole
work, bringing its symmetrical, cyclical structure to a close. The choral passages
placed among the Messenger's declaration have been called "tarantellas"134 because
of their impetuously rushing trochaic rhythms. In many places the trochees hasten
toward the last accent of a strophe which Stravinsky spins out to stress; the musical
rhythmics have perhaps been inspired by the text: the stressed tones coincide with
the accented vowels of the infinitive ending in the verbs lakerare, exclamare and
ululare and the rhymes of the poetical text consequently support the musical
versification. On the other hand, the placing of the accent at the end of the verses
creates the general impression of accelerating the tempo — which suits this choral
narration well since it depicts the consummation of the tragedy, Jocasta's suicide and
Oedipus's self-blinding:
Tenors
Ä —r
Mu - U -er in ves - ti - bu - lo, ves-ti - bu - lo co-(o)- mas la - ke-ra -
s
Basses
££ m
Stravinsky condenses the actual active elements in the chorus's textual part to
the simultaneously heard verses Omnibus se ostendere/Beluam vult ostendere, after
which he treats the last three verses of the section as a fugato. This musical
procedure is appropriate to these verses, since they do not add any new material
to the events in the tragedy. Instead one may note in the previous choral passages a
device used particularly in the Latin poetic text: the repetition or parallelism of the
verses which gives epical breadth to the narration and is projected also in the musical
discourse, thus avoiding artificial repetition of the same verses.
According to the Aristotelian aesthetics of tragedy, two states of mind must prevail
at the end of a tragedy: horror and pity 135 - of these Stravinsky perhaps gives
more emphasis to the latter, allowing his whole opera-oratorio to end with a mon-
otonous motif of a minor third vanishing into eternity, which we have already called
the "destiny" motif. It remains sounding on the cellos, double-basses and timpani
when Oedipus is bade farewell by the chorus and not by Creon as in the original
tragedy by Sophocles. On the other hand, the fact that the whole work concludes
with a minor third of G minor is worth noting in the overall tonal structure of the
work. It may namely be said that if the entire work began with a choral Kyrie,
which was in B flat minor it now ends in G minor, in other words a minor third
lower. Consequently the central position of the minor third is apparent in the
whole composition and the tones of G and B ¥ fading away in the end condense
into one single motif the essential tonal relation in the work. It is one of the
elementary structures of the musical signification in Oedipus Rex:
10.9. The mythical structure of Oedipus Rex
After having thus surveyed the musico-textual structure of Oedipus Rex, we still
need to take a glance at its specific mythical structure.
As early as in the introduction to this study we mentioned that Llvi-Strauss's
structural analysis should be regarded as one impulse to the idea of including the
Oedipus myth in our paradigm of mythical heroic stories. Nevertheless, on closer
examination of Levi-Strauss's analysis we notice that it will hardly prove useful in
our study of the mythical narrative structure of Oedipus Rex by Stravinsky-Cocteau.
First, because LeVi-Strauss attempts to analyze mythical subjects and not the tech-
nique of their narration and second, because our object is a manifold literary and
324 Myth and Music
musical transformation of the original myth. Even if we were to consider Stravinsky-

Cocteau's Oedipus a new myth or version of the Oedipus legend, we would have
to confirm what some anthropologists have been able to ascertain concerning the
application of the LeVi-Straussian method to primal mythical thinking: namely, the
fact that it does not give hints for the analysis of a single, discrete myth, but rather
aims at arranging several myths into a paradigm, a cohesive system. It is just in this
sense that we have comprehended the contribution of Uvi-Straussian structuralism
for this study: we have attempted to show and explicate a certain mythical paradigm
in the area of Western artistic culture primarily from the beginning of the nineteenth
century and observing the manifestation of this "mythicism" in various artistic
discourses, mainly that of music.
From this standpoint we have chosen the tragic heroic myth to serve as our
mythical paradigm, to which Stravinsky-Cocteau's Oedipus Rex has now been in-
corporated as its last member. And since we are above all interested in this paradigm
from the musical viewpoint - its corresponding musical thematics - we have naturally
oriented ourselves to that aspect which lies beyond the purview of the Levi-Straussian
approach, in other words the technique of the presentation of myth. 136
Insofar as the narrative technique is concerned we may distinguish in Oedipus Rex
two different plots which are related to its two principal actors - Oedipus and the
people. The fact that just these actors form the focal opposition in this opera-oratorio
and not, for instance, Oedipus and Jocasta or Oedipus and Creon is obvious in
examining the totality of the work. It is also understandable in considering the
leader/people thematics predominant in Russian epic opera, which may be seen in
the background of Stravinsky's opera-oratorio and appearing especially in its choral
sections.
Let us observe the situation from the viewpoint of these two actors at the opening
of the mythical drama: the state of the people is catastrophic - a plague rages in
Thebes and the people turn to Oedipus, who previously has rescued the city from an
infliction, the Sphinx. The state of Oedipus, in contrast, is satisfactory: he is at the
height of his power and reputation. Consequently for Oedipus almost any change
would mean a turn for the worse. At the beginning of the play Oedipus promises to
eliminate "the lack" and has already sent Creon to consult Apollo. With this promise
Oedipus, however, unknowingly starts the very process ultimately leading to his fall,
since it is revealed that the elimination of the lack presupposes his own destruction.
At the end of the play this is accomplished and thus the individual, by sacrificing
himself, saves society, the people. This fairly common situation of mediation occurs
in several heroic tales - as we have already above observed in examining, for instance,
Wagner's Siegfried and Glinka's Ivan Susanin. In its most general form they all
represent a narrative genre in which the hero destroys the false order prevailing at the
beginning, but his task becomes tragic by the very fact that the abolishment of this
false order presupposes the downfall of the hero himself.

In any case the narrative structure of Stravinsky-Cocteau's Oedipus Rex may be
described with a diagram wherein a peculiar "state of balance occurs between the
people and Oedipus: if the condition of one worsens, then that of the other
ameliorates and vice versa. The drama's action proper which causes this "worsening"
or "ameliorating" is, in fact, realized through minor characters bringing various
messages from the past. These messages are either favorable for Oedipus while
worsening the position of the people - in other words, the possibilities of eliminating
the lack — or they are unfavorable for Oedipus, worsening his situation. A note-
worthy fact is that a number of messengers in reality may bring two messages with
contrary effects: thus Jocasta who arrives as a helper of Oedipus, first declares that
oracles lie, hence the situation of Oedipus improves, but then she says that Laius
has been killed in trivium which again worsens Oedipus's position.
Similarly, the Messenger first announces the death of Polybos, hence Apollo's
prediction of patricide seems to be annualed, but immediately thereafter reveals that
Polybos was not Oedipus's real father, which makes the prohecy again valid. We may
thus depict Oedipus Rex with the following diagram:13 7
326 Myth and Music
The people King Oedipus

An unsatisfactory state A satisfactory state (power
a catastrophe (plague) and fame as a sorcerer)
1. messenger
(Creon)
2. messenger
(Tiresias)
3. messenger
(Jocasta)
a. oracles lie
b. trivium
4. messenger
a. Polybos's death
b. Poly bos is not
the real father
5. messenger
(Shepherd)
6. messenger
(Shepderd & the
fourth messenger)
(the definite revelation
of Oedipus)
A satisfactory state An unsatisfactory state
A catastrophe
The farewell (reconciliation)
+ = ameliorates, - = worsens
After this diagram, a very simple one in fact, we may in conclusion point out one
interesting parallel. If we namely examine the "mythical structure", which Le"vi-
Strauss claims to have revealed in Ravel's Bolero (see above, page 34) it can be seen
to resemble to a great extent the structure of Stravinsky's opera-oratorio presented by
us. Presuming that these diagrams are correctly constructed we may conclude, if not
exactly that two to all appearances structurally and stylistically different works —
Ravel's Bolero and Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex - would be based on the functioning of
the same mythical structure, encoded to a musical sign system (in Stravinsky to a
poetical one, as well), at least that we have devised a structure by means of which these
two compositions can be hypothetically examined just from the viewpoint of myth.
21. Conclusion
At the beginning of this study a kind of panorama of various approaches to and

articulations of the multi-faceted reality of myth was presented. For anthropologists,
myths are above all lived-in models which have a central position in the life of a
tribal society and in primitivie mentality in general. It is from this viewpoint that
we may interpret the views of Malinowsky, Kerenyi and Eliade on myth, while Andre"
Jolles's distinctions between myth, fairy tale, legend and saga have proved to be
useful also in the area of the aesthetics of myth. The models of the heroic life
presented by Jan de Vries and G. Baudouin have been discussed in the latter part
of this study, which on the other hand also is based on Roger Caillois's theory of
mythical situations as psychological conflicts resolved through the symbolic action
of a mythical hero. The nature of "surdetermination", emphasized by the psycho-
analytical interpretations of myth, also forms an intrinsic aspect of the reality of
myth. Karl Jaspers's theory of the mythical outlook and Ernst Cassirer's analysis
of the structures of the mythical consciousness must likewise be regarded as examples
of the philosophical investigation of myths. Also the semiotical theory of myth -
that of LeVi-Strauss, Greimas, Barthes and Lotman — resorts to a great extent to the
conception, established already by Cassirer, that mythical thought constitutes a
particular spiritual activity which is not a mere reflection of being. Myth is not
determined solely by the contents of the message, but by the manner in which it
gives meaning to a phenomenon.
However, it is primarily Le*vi-Strauss's theory about the nature of mythical thought
which transfers us to that special level of the aesthetics of myth and its musical
interpretation whereon our study has focused. Just as mythical thought manifests
itself, despite temporal and local differences, in similar and opposed myths which
can be reduced to the same paradigm, one might also perceive in the area of music
certain similarities beyond the limits of musical tradition and style. The geography
of musical thought would then prove to be, like the mythical sphere, a more
extensive system of the human mind wherein a phenomenon of a given system
might fill a gap in some other context. Only when joined together would the
various musical thematics be capable of forming a complete picture of the whole
paradigm of the mythico-musical thinking behind them.
The aesthetics of myth in music may thus be approached from the viewpoint of
the reception of the musical message, as well as from that of its creation. In the
former aspect mythicism is manifested in the musical communication as the "second
articulation" of a culture giving form to the experiences of the listeper. According
to our hypothesis in certain cultural contexts the music listeners link mythical
figures to music as its content. On the other hand, one may perceive how mythicism
appears in the very structure of a composition. This is suggested e.g. by LeVi-
328 My th and Music
Strauss's analysis of Ravel's Bolero, according to which a musical work - the same
as a myth - attempts to resolve a contradiction. This conception may in turn be
interpreted so that certain compositions adopt the principle of semantic organization
common to myths in order to arrange their own syntactical structures. The structure
of myth is, as it were, embedded in the sign system of music.
Also "conscious" pursuit of the fountainheads of the world of myths has appeared
in Western art music, whereby "mythicism" in its various forms of manifestation
has been used intentionally as a stylistic feature by composers. One may speak of a
particular mythical music style whose central idea is the musical reconstruction of
myth. In this study the mythical universe to which one attempts to give musical
expression has been called the "primal mythical communication". The composer
namely does not only refer in his composition to a mythical story, but other aspects
of mythical communication also may form the subject of musical representation. The
concept of primal mythical communication is illustrated by examples from South
American Indian music wherein — as in primitive cultures in general — music serves
as an intrinsic part of mythical communication. This influence extends right up to
the structure of music itself, as the analysis of the Indian music attempts to demon-
strate. Also in listening to certain sections of Western art music we have to return,
in fact, to the position of primitive man, hence we comprehend the unity of myth
and music in principle in the same way as primitive man. Then music has been
obliged to abandon the complexity of its own structure in order to rnake way for
the emergence of a mythical structure.
As one special case apart from the interaction between myth and music one may
regard the influence of folk music uppn art music, wherein the folk-musical elements
contribute to the creation of mythical atmosphere in a composition. Such mythical
use of folk music is illustrated by Bartok's model of the various modalities of
interaction between folk and art music to which we have, however, attempted to
give a new interpretation from the viewpoint of semiotics.
The discourses of myth and music can also be juxtaposed and one may examine
the different ways in which they approach, intersect and part from each other
throughout music history. As a methodological tool in such comparison we may use
Vladimir Propp's concept of function, which is a unit of mythical narration. "Func-
tions" are then postulated as a sort of immanent mythical structure which is mani-
fested by music as well as by poetical text and scenic action in some cases. In an
ideal case - that of Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk - all three discourses together
support the mythical structure. Sometimes, however, the functions of myth coincide
with the text and music .(e.g. the epical narrative sections in opera) and at other
times music alone is allowed to manifest the myth (e.g. program music and pro-
grammatic symphonies). It is precisely in this manner that we may perceive how
myth and music gradually part from each other when following the development
Conclusion 329
from Wagner to Liszt's and Strauss's symphonic poems and to Sibelius's first sym-
phonies. As an extreme case we have finally Stravinsky's neoclassicism, wherein the
immanent mythical structure has completely disappeared, the poetic discourse alone
represents the myth and music constitutes a particular autonomous system. Such
classification places the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk in the fulcrum of the interaction
between myth and music. It serves then as a kind of psychological mechanism which
the music listeners still a long time after Wagner applied also to the area of pure
symphonic music, instinctively associating mythical functions with music even where
it was not the composer's intention or a device justified by the musical structure
itself. These modalities of the convergence of myth and music naturally depend
on the cultural context in which they occur. Consequently the romantic conception
of the "unconscious primal Gesamtkunstwerk", as we might call it, appeared in its
concrete form just in the musical area, and it is interesting to observe how the
musical discourse changes and adapts itself to this task by creating entirely new
musical genres such as Liszt's symphonic poem or Wagner's mythological tone drama.
At the beginning of the twentieth century the mythical world was reconstructed
"scientifically", for example by researching folk music and exploiting its elements
in order to create a mythical effect and by applying scientific principles such as
analysis, criticism and clarity to musical discourse. The scientific discourse conquers
the mythical one. This situation must be viewed also as the background of neo-
classicism whose German branch likewise was connected with this development
(Strauss's Elektra may be seen as a sort of pre-Freudian interpretation of ancient
tragedy).
The mythical musical style can also be studied from the viewpoint of how it
appears as an objective quality in the different parameters of music. Already the
mere position of a musical sign in the syntagma of a musical work can afford an
opportunity for the emergence of mythicism. For example, the relation of ante-
cedence, or the category generally prevailing in the mythical universe can be trans-
ferred to the musical discourse where it, together with certain other conditions,
can be seen to produce a mythical effect. The mythicism then appears as a structural
characteristic of music. However, only many different symbolisms and connections
between music and the other semantic fields of a culture make the mythical emerge
in its full cogency in the area of music. In many respects the composer has to work
according to the automatisms of the codes in his cultural context. The orientation
of the composer to myths is guided by that of his culture.
Especially in romantic music one may perceive many other stylistic features which
are close to those of mythicism and which may be fused with the actual mythical
traits. The category of mythicism itself can first be divided, in accordance with the
mythical outlooks discerned by Jaspers, into three subgenres: the nature-mythical,
the hero-mythical (in fact Jaspers speaks about the psychic-mythical) and the magic-
330 Myth and Music
mythical. In addition to these stylistic categories one may discern the following
according to the various articulations of the reality of myth itself: the fabulous,
the balladic, the fegendary, the sacred, the demonic, the fantastic, the mystic, the
exotic, the primitivistic, the national-musical, the pastoral, the gestural, the sublime
and the tragic. All these stylistic features can be arranged in the same way as the
smallest units of signification distinguished by A. J. Greimas, the semes. Seme-
analysis may thus be applied also to the examination of mythicism in the area of
music. The aforelisted mythical semes consequently form hierarchic networks wherein
the semes are in subordinate and co-ordinate relations with one another, producing
in that way different effects of significations (effets de sens). Combinations are thus
innumerable but the repertory of stylistic traits from which composers select elements
for the substance of their compositions is restricted and describable.
One may also examine the different parameters of music as such, which are used
to express mythicism. In the area of rhythm one may, for example, allude to a ritual
dance, with a melody again to exotic or archaic scales, while with timbre one may
imitate some archaic instrument; a mythical connotation can also be given to a
certain instrument in some context of interpretation (for example, the timbre of
the French horn in Paul Claudel). Harmonies also may express the mythical - one
may recall, e.g., the modulation in the opening of the slow movement of Dvorak's
Symphony From the New World or of the alternauon between parallel major and
minor in Briinnhilde's greeting to the sun in Wagner's Siegfried.
Also, different combinations of musical parameters may create various nuances
of the mythical, such as the rhythmics and the timbre in Choros No. 3 by Villa-Lobos
or the harmony and the timbre in the first bars of Smetana's Vyiehrad.
Perhaps the most refined distinctions occur just in the area of harmony, in harmonic
developments, which are richly exemplified by several compositions discussed in the
study.
In the second part of the study this metalanguage, which was constructed in the
previous part specifically to examine the aesthetics of myth in music, is applied to
concrete examples from music history. In a central position is the comparison of
Wagner's Siegfried, Sibelius's Kullervo and Stravinsky's Oedipus, three mythical heroes,
especially regarding the musical interpretations of their stories. As a backgiound for
the study of the mythico-musical micro-universes we have examined Liszt's symphonic
poems and how mythical functions appear in them. In Liszt, namely, the musical
themes with their different variations depict just mythical functions. Thus, the
themes do not portray only the presence or absence of the hero, but also express
with modulations, rhythmic transformations and harmonies his inner emotions. In
Liszt the mere structural properties of music are capable of manifesting the immanent
mythical structure, as is shown in analyzing Tasso, Les Preludes and Die Ideale. These
works can be analyzed with a model of narrative technique developed by C. Bremond:
Conclusion 331
"eventuality - passage/not passage into action - achievement/not achievement"

without resorting at all to the literary program proper. The task of the program
remains only to reinforce the relation between myth and music. Consequently the
program cannot be considered a description of the music itself but only one mani-
festation of the mythical structure expressed by music as well. The aesthetics of
myth characteristic of Liszt and Wagner and the above outlined network of mythical
semes extend also to the area of Slavonic music culture. Parallelisms between Liszt
and Borodin are apparent, as well as those between Glinka and Wagner. For example,
in Glinka's opera Russian andLudmüa the hero performs the same mythical functions
as Wagner's fairy tale hero Siegfried. Slavonic music serves in this study also as a
connecting link (on the musical level) between Stravinsky and Sibelius. Stravinsky's
influences from the Russian opera (Glinka, Mussorgsky) are obvious even as late as
in his neoclassic production, while Borodin's Second Symphony includes the same
problematics concerning the mythicism of the symphonic form which later engaged
Sibelius. The examination of certain works by Smetana, Dvorak and Szymanowsky
complete our picture of different variations of mythicism in romantic and late-
romantic music.
The research strategy for Wagner's Ring has been the following: first we singled
out a paradigm of certain mythico-musical situations which recurred as constant
elements throughout the tetralogy. Thereafter we defined the most important
isotopies or levels of signification in the Ring: those of nature (myth), society
(saga) and fairy tale. Each isotopy is characterized by a respective modality of action:
the knowing characterizing the level of myth, the willing that of saga and the power
that of fairy tale. By this relatively simple structure we have then analyzed Wagner's
actors and their musical leitmotifs.'
Next, after this paradigmatic survey, we have studied the plot structure in \heRing
from the viewpoint of the phases of its principal hero, Siegfried. They have been
divided in three parts: the prehistory (avanf), the life story proper and the post-
history (apres). Also in Wagner the return of the themes forms an important musical
device. Siegfried's funeral march at the end of Götterdämmerung can be regarded as
the germ lexeme of the whole tetralogy, the themes of which recollect the most
essential phases of this mythical hero's life.
In examining Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony special attention has been given to
the relation between the composition and its cultural context as well as to the
intertextual networks within the same culture. The interaction between myth and
music has been elucidated from the viewpoint of the composer's inner process, hence
we can speak of a special autocommunication between these two spheres in the
composer's mind. The Karelianistic culture and style in Finland at the end of the
nineteenth century are also examined in the study, especially their influence upon
the Kullervo Symphony. Sibelius's Kullervo is compared with such works as Akseli
332 Myth and Music
Gallen-Kallela's paintings Kullervo's Curse and Kullervo Goes to Battle.

Regarding the mythico-musical narration we may discern in Sibelius's Kullervo
Symphony two different narrators: the chorus and the orchestra. They represent
the primary and secondary metalanguages, while the function of action is delivered
to the two soloists of the symphony, Kullervo and his sister. There is no communi-
cation between the protagonists and the chorus, i.e., the individuals and society.
This feature perhaps reflects the very structure of the Kullervo myth, wherein it is
the conflict between the individual and society which plays an important role. The
hero of the myth consistently breaks all the norms of the culture and the myth
becomes tragic due to the fall of the hero in his rebellion.
The same thematics between the individual and society appears also in Stravinsky's
Oedipus Rex - here, however, transformed into a conflict between leader and
people, in which one may notice an allusion to Russian epic opera. On the other
hand, in his problematics of versification Stravinsky also approaches Russian mod-
ernism, whose aesthetic principles Stravinsky realizes in the neutral substance of
ancient myths. Some aspects of this formalistic aesthetics are illustrated by Jean
Cocteau's and Ferruccio Busoni's programs (Le coq et l'arlequin and Die junge
Klassizität). In this study primarily Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex has been inserted
into the context of French neoclassicism and is examined against the background
of, e.g. Satie's, Milhaud's and Honegger's neoclassic works. About Cocteau's role in
Oedipus Rex we have to observe that his intentions were to a great extent contrary
to those of Stravinsky. Cocteau's contribution is especially the use of a speaker to
report the events, thus freeing the chorus at least in the beginning, from its narrative
function to act as a protagonist in the drama.
In Stravinsky, mythicism is also expressed by Latin, a dead language which
Stravinsky believed in itself would have a certain incantatory effect on the listener,
and by the neoclassic musical style with its numerous quotations from earlier music.
On the other hand, the quotations from the rhythmics of Sacre toward the end of
the opera-oratorio serve as an ironic effect whose purpose is to parodize the pro-
tagonists. Consequently the quotations, as well as the contrast between the speaker's
matter-of-fact style and the mythical personages, function as an alienating effect in
the sense of the Brechtian theater.
Oedipus Rex can be outlined with the same kind of binary structure as that in Levi-
Strauss's interpretation of Ravel's Bolero. The binary opposition is formed by the
fluctuating balance between Oedipus and the people, which is disturbed by the
messages coming from the outside.
In the study of these three mythico-musical universes — those of Wagner, Sibelius
and Stravinsky — it should be noted that for each of them we have arrived at different
models according to the specific nature of each work. Lastly, we must, however,
emphasize their common aspects.
Conclusion 333
First, the history of the mythical semes is further clarified by the comparison of
these three works. To Wagnerian hero-mythicism are added, in Sibelius, national-
musical semes as new nuances, while in Stravinsky the whole hero-mythicism is
finally transformed into the groresque. The seme of the nature-mythical, which in
Wagner is concretized in the leitmotifs of the actors in the isotopy of nature, as well
as in the depictions of the Rhine River and the murmur of the forest, is changed in
Sibelius into a sort of animistic nature which is symbolically present everywhere,
participating in and sympathizing with the events. Finally in Stravinsky it is trans-
formed into "the machine-mythical", a blind mechanism of fate destroying mortals.
From the viewpoint of the mythico-musical narrative technique we may perceive
that the functions of narration and action (those of object- and metalanguage) are
distributed for these three works in the following manner:
the function of action the function of narration
Wagner soloists orchestra
Sibelius soloists chorus orchestra
Stravinsky soloists chorus speaker
In Stravinsky the orchestra no longer has a proper narrative function supporting

the myth, but is replaced first by the speaker, at the end by the chorus, which
consequently moves from action to narration. In Sibelius again the chorus remains
the whole time, according to the aesthetics of romanticism, simply an ideal spectator
or a "living wall". In both composers, however, the chorus serves presumably as
a substitute for the chorus in ancient tragedy — in Wagner, though, the functions
of the chorus are given to the narrative orchestra.
On the mythical level there are many resemblances among Oedipus, Siegfried
and Kullervo, which form the basis for the emergence of corresponding musical
parallelisms.
First we have to determine that all three myths represent the narrative genre in
which the hero's task is to restore and reconcile the old disrupted order. On the
other hand, differences appear in their ways of performing this task and their
attitudes toward it. They are all in a similar situation at the beginning of the
myth; it might be described by the Heideggerian term Geworfenheit. They do
not know their origins or the code program which governs their acts. Nevertheless,
the degrees of their consciousness and action vary in the course of their stories.
In Oedipus Rex the action has, in reality, already taken place before the drama
334 Myth and Music
proper and belongs to the prehistory of the story. Oedipus only becomes aware
of his fate; things happen to him, not through his own action, but due to external
circumstances. By his mere awareness Oedipus effects the downfall of the false
order and the reconciliation of the mythical contradiction. In Kullervo, on the
other hand, what is involved is not so much awareness but the gradual fulfillment
of his fate by action. In the world surrounding him Kullervo is an active being
causing changes and disturbances.
In Siegfried, again, awareness and action alternate. First, he tries with his
mythical questions to become aware of his own origin, but then the role of con-
sciousness diminishes and is replaced by action, finally by blind action as an
amnesiac hero (in contrast to Briinnhilde, who is first presented as an instinctive
nature-being and at the end as an emancipated Valkyrie, a personage who becomes
conscious of the destiny of the entire mythical universe and accomplishes its re-
conciliation). The mythical functions of these three heroes may be summarized
in the following chart:
Conclusion 335
Functions Siegfried Kullervo Oedipus

The prehistory; The theft of The enmity The plague in
the appearance of the Rhine gold between two Thebes
a lack in the clans
mythical universe
i.e., the establish-
ing of the false order
The predictions Wo tan (in Kullervo's (The oracle's
about the hero Pheingold), childhood prediction)
Briinnhilde
(in Valkyrie)
The hero matures Siegfried Kullervo as (Oedipus in
outside society fostered by a slave of Corinth)
Mime Ilmarinen
The hero reveals Siegfried Kullervo's (Oedipus defeat
early his abilities, forges the sword, attempts to the Sphinx)
i.e., the trials defeats the dragon work; the
and passes through death of
the circle of fire Ilmarinen's
mistress
The hero conquers Siegfried Kullervo and (Oedipus and
a maiden awakens his sister Jocasta)
Briinnhilde
The hero's depar- Siegfried's Kullervo goes —
ture (the journey) Rhine voyage to Battle
The hero's return Siegfried Kullervo —
returns as a returns home
"false hero"
The hero's Siegfried's Kullervo's Oedipus's
recognition awakening lamentation awakening
(Lux facta est)
The hero's fall Hagen kills Kullervo kills Oedipus
Siegfried himself blinds himself
The posthistory; The funeral march The closing comment The farewell
the reconciliation and the fall of of the chorus (in of the chorus
of the mythical Valhalla (in music music the return of (in music the
contradiction the return of the the themes) return of the
themes) themes)
336 Myth and Music
The mythical functions have been listed as a paradigm in the column on the left
from which the three myths (interpreted by Wagner, Sibelius and Stravinsky-Cocteau)
pick up, as it were, elements for their stories (sometimes in a different order).
Regarding these functions, Oedipus Rex occurs mainly on the level of reflection
and recollection; only the first and last three functions pertain to the action proper
in this opera-oratorio — the other functions are presented in reverse order (in the
chart in parentheses) in accordance with Oedipus's growing awareness. In Wagner's
Siegfried and Sibelius's Kullervo again the mythical functions for the most part
manifest themselves directly on the level of each work's events, whether the events
be presented by the actors of the myths themselves or simply by musical discourse
(as, for example, in the case of the hero's departure). The denominations of the
mythical functions, again, form a part of the metalanguage devised in this study in
order to examine the content of these heroic myths. In their background one has to
see the more general models set forth by Jan de Vries and Vladimir Propp. Conse-
quently the chain of functions in the chart serves as a hypothetical construction
which endeavors only to make the parallels between the corresponding musical
interpretations by Wagner, Sibelius and Stravinsky more explicit.
NOTES
Part One
1. Introduction
1) The term musical discourse has been used in the same sense as one may speak of, for example,
discourses of poetry, painting, theatre, science, ideology, magic etc. By discourse we mean then, the
language in action which the speaking subject uses in order Ό transmit certain meanings. In
linguistics, discourse may refer to any expression larger than a phrase and to those rules which
connect the phrases with one another. In logic again one speaks of a discursive, consistently pro-
gressing thought as an opposition to intuition; see the term discours in Lexis. Dictionnaire de la
tongue francaise (197 5).
2) Foucault, 1966 (1970) and 1969.
3) Levi-Strauss: 1955,60-61.
4) Especially in the form as it appears in the analysis of the Oedipus myth (Lfvi-Strauss: 1958,
235-242) and of extensive groups of myths (Levi-Strauss: 1964; 1967; 1968; 1971).
5) See LeVi-Strauss: 1962 and Marc-Lipiansky: 1973.
6) Greimas: 1966.
7) The concept of isotopy is one of the most central in Greimas and means the entirety of
semantic categories which enables the reading of a text or a part of text as a coherent whole
(see the term isotopie in Lexis. Dictionnaire de la langue francaise (1975)).
8) Propp: 1928, the French edition in 1965.
9) Bremond: 1973.
10) See Wusiqueenjeu, Nos 5, lOand 12, aswell asNattiez: 1975.
11) Jakobson: 1963,214.
12) Bengtsson: 1973,16-32; Nattiez: 1975,52.
13) Levi-Strauss: 1971a, 1971b.
14) See among others Schrade: 1967,33 and Nietzsche: 1964,83.
15) See Adler: 1904,179.
16) The concept of mythical function has been cited from Propp, see Propp: 1965, 31-34,
Bremond: 1973,11-47 and Greimas: 1966,192-213.
17) See lAi-Strauss: 1958, 233-234 and Propp: 1965,28-34.
18) Eco: 1971,66-68,84-85,89-92.
19) Levi-Strauss: 1958,235-242.
20) See for example Ruwet: 1972,116 or Nattiez: 1975,297-310,330-338.
21) Levi-Strauss: 1964, 10-12, Marc-Lipiansky: 1973, 188-220 (the chapter L 'Analyse struc-
turale des mythes).
2. The problematics of my th
1) See the definition of isotopy above, note nr. 7.
2) Kerenyi: 1952,25.
3) Hegel: 1969(1832-1845) Vorrede zur zweiten Ausgabe, 19.
4) Marc-Lipiansky: 1973,39.
5) Eliade: 1963, 9-10.
6) Llvi-Strauss: 1958,347.
7) Malinowsky: 1962,291.
8) Kerenyi: 1952, 53-54. Also according to Petr Bogatyrev music assumes just this function in
ritual: "Songs render the rites more solemn", Bogatyrev: 1976,24.
9) Danielou: 1960,37-38.
338 Myth and Music
10) Haavio: 1974,44-45.

11) Eliade: 1963,15.
12) Kerenyi: 1952,33.
13) ibid. 30-31.
14) Jolles: 1930,23-125.
15) ibid. 23-61 passim.
16) ibid. 62-63.
17) Eliade: 1963,9-10.
18) Jolles: 1930,62-90 passim; see also Eliade: 1963,238-239.
19) ibid. 91-125 passim.
20) ibid. 129 and 136.
21) deVries: 1961,281-301.
22) Baudouin: 1952, Introduction, 1-2.
23) ibid. 2,228-229.
24) deVries: 1961,281.
25) ibid. 305.
26) Jung & Kerenyi: 1951,112-113.
27) Caillois: 1972,24-25.
28) ibid. 25.
29) ibid. 26-27.
30) ibid. 21.
31) Mauron: 1963,32.
32) Baudouin, op.cit. 4-5.
33) Caillois: 1972,27.
34) Mann & Kerenyi: 1945, 19.
35) Frye: 1957,51.
36) ibid.
37) ibid, among others 72 and 99; see also Albouy: 1969.
38) Mauron: op.cit. 32.
39) Jaspers: 1919, 123-177.
40) ibid. 137-147.
41) ibid. 137-140.
42) ibid. 156-157.
43) Frye speaks of special "fictional modes", of which the mythical hero represents the first one,
see Frye: op.cit. 33-34.
44) Jaspers: op.cit. 157.
45) ibid. 166-167.
46) Cassirer: 1925,28.
47) ibid. 6-7.
48) Sartre: 1968,20.
49) Levi-Strauss: 1964, 18 (the translation according to the English edition, 1969, 12).
50) Cassirer: op.cit. 31.
51) ibid. 97-98.
52) ibid. 98.
53) ibid. 107-174.
54) ibid. 109.
55) ibid.
56) ibid. 133-135.
57) ibid. 137.
Notes 339
58) Bergson: 1920,75-81.

59) Boss: 1953.
60) One may think of such extremely complicated musico-temporal structure as the Ring tetralogy
by Wagner; while following the progression of its four monumental parts the listener really gets the
impression of different temporal networks, situated on various levels and bound together by the
orchestral texture. Also here one may notice how the orientation in time is linked with the
orientation in space - which in Cassirer's opinion is proper to the mythical consciousness; different
time levels refer to the general topology of the mythical universe in Wagner's Ring.
61) Cassirer: op.cit. 29-31.
62) See Pike: 1967, Chapter II.
63) Cassirer: op .cit. 51. This concrete aspect of mythical thought is accordingly called by LeVi-
Strauss "the logic of the concrete" or "bricolage" (see Levi-Strauss: 1962, 26-47). Reference in
principle to the same kind of consciousness is made by those music aestheticians who deny music
the ability of presenting or expressing any thought- of or lived-in content (Hanslick, Stravinsky). In
fact they are then reducing music to its perhaps most primal sameness with the mythical con-
sciousness and in that way, unknowingly, identify music as one form of the logic of the concrete.
64) LotmanandUspenski: 1976,29.
65) ibid. 30-31.
66) Mann and Kerenyi: op.cit. 82.
67) Lotman and Uspenski: op.cit. 30.
68) ibid. 31.
69) Schelling: 1907,93.
70) Barthes: 1957.
71) ibid. 215-216, 218.
72) ibid. 221-222.
73) ibid. 224-225.
74) See Europe, Mars-Avril 1975.
75) Jaspers: op.cit. 141. It is not difficult to find examples of the machine-mythical in the music
of the first half of this century — one may only think of, for example, Prokofiev's "formalist"
works, like the ballet Pas d'acier (see Nestyev: 1960, 221-225) or of Milhaud's composition
Machines agricoles (see Milhaud: 1949, 139-140). In painting the machine-mythical is represented
among others by Fernand Le*ger.
76) Cocteau: 1934.
77) Adler: 1904,216,230-231; Adorno: 1974,27,30-31.
78) See especially Levi-Strauss: 1964,22-40; 1971,578-594.
79) Uvi-Strauss: 1958; Marc-Lipiansky: op.cit. 188-195.
80) Livi-Strauss: 1964,20.
81) SeeDundes: 1974.
82) SeePaz: 1971.
83) LSvi-Strauss: 1964,25.
84) In principle such a study would, of course, be possible without reliance on any mythical
substratum, when the object of study would consist of transformations of purely musical structures
in different stylistic contexts. The result, in this case, would be a sort of structural music history,
where the diachronic aspect would be subordinated to the synchronic one.
3. From the aesthetics of myth to the aesthetics of music

1) Levi-Stiauss: 1971,578.
2) ibid.
3) ibid. 579.
340 Myth and Music
4) Boiles: 1973.
5) Riemann: 1928,7.
6) Reti: 1961,136.
7) See Ducrot-Todorov: 1972, 132 and Nattiez: 1975, 52, according to which Reti's technical
and aesthetic aspects might be called in music semiotics "poiesis" and "aisthesis".
8) One may think of the difference between aesthetics stressing either content or form.
9) The distinctions expression/content and forme/substance are especially used by Hjelmslev, see
Ducrot-Todorov: op.cit. 36-38 and Greimas: 1966,25-26.
10) The articulation in the sense of A. Martinet, see Ducrot-Todorov: op.cit. 73-74. See also
Marc-Lipiansky: 1973,54-58.
11) Langer: 1951,185.
12) Jaspers: op.cit. 139-141,156-158.
13) Levi-Strauss: 1971,583; see also Fuzellier: 1939.
14) LeVi-Strauss: ibid.
15) Eliade: op.cit. 231-232.
18) L€vi-Strauss: 1971,161.
19) ibid. 160.
20) ibid. 161.
21) ibid. 583-584.
22) The term "semantic gesture" was used especially by the researchers of the so-called Prague
circle, see Suda: 1974,177.
23) One may notice that these procedures occur also in the area of literature. For example the
Soviet researcher of literature, Mihail Bakhtin, characterizes Goethe and Dostoievski just with this
opposition. According to Bakhtin, Goethe has a tendency to perceive and describe all existent
contradictions as successive phases of some unique development. On the other hand, it is typical of
the Dostoievskyan interpretation of the world, in Bakhtin's opinion, to perceive the phases and
contradictions as parallel and overlapping and to set them in dramatic contrasts; see Bakhtin: 1970,
61,79-81.
24) Tawaststjerna: 1967,223-225.
4. Myth as a musical reconstruction

1) Jakobson: 1963,214.
2) Danielou: 1968,40.
3) ibid. 45.
4) Nietzsche: 1964(1872), 137.
5) See Azevedo: 1938; Cameu: 1954; Manizer: 1934; Almeida: 1942; Rodrigues-Valle:
1936; Gallet: 1934; Collaer: 1973; Izikowitz: 1935.
6) When compared with, for example several African music cultures, see among others Blacking:
1973.
7) v. Steinen: 1894.
8) d'Harcourt: 1925; Boletin Musical Latino-Americano vols. 3/1937 and 4/1938.
9) Stevenson: 1968; Collaer: op.cit. 40-42; Cameu's oral communications in 1976.
10) Vargas: 1928,12.
11) See note nr. 5 and Seeger: 1977.
12) Izikowitz: 1935,94-95.
13) The collection of instruments in Museu Nacional of Rio de Janeiro and the oral communication
of the officials in 1976. Also Izikowitz tells about comparable cases, see, for example, Izikowitz:
Notes 341
op.cit. 47.
14) LeVi-Strauss: 1969 (1962), 84-90.
15) Marc-Lipiansky: op.cit. 69-75, 338-343 and Greimas: 1966, 108-109; see also Lane:
1970, 37.
16) The transcriptions by Cameu, see Cameu: 1951.
17) d'Harcourt: 1925,542-544.
18) ibid.; see also Gevaert's comment on this "Spanish rhythm", Gevaert: 1881,54-55.
19) The recordings at Museu do Indio, Mario Pompeo's oral communications in 1976, tran-
scription by Tarasti.
20) Seeger: 1975 and 1977.
21) Seeger: 1977,46.
22) Seeger: 1975,215.
23) Seeger: 1977,49,53.
24) Lowie: 1946,490-491.
25) See among others LeVi-Strauss: 1955,249-256.
26) Also the worldview of other tribes is based on simple oppositions, see Schaden: 1976.
27) Seeger: 1977, 53 and 59.
28) ibid. 55.
29) Also in Eskimo cultures each man has his own song and melody, see Boas: 1964 (1888), 241.
It is interesting to notice, that the argument in support of the relationship between Indian music and
Gregorian chant (Cameu: 1962, 26, 31 and 37) is repeated in studies in Eskimo music, see Boas:
op.cit. 244.
30) See among others d'Harcourt: 1925.
31) Cameu: 1962,27.
32) Seeger: 1977,55.
33) Manizer: 1934,305.
34) See among others Agostinho: 1974, 110-116 and, on the relation between music and ritual
ingeneral.Bogatyrev: 1976,23-24.
35) Adorno: 1974(1952), 117.
36) Cassirer: op.cit. 97-98.
37) Nattiez: 1975,22.
38) Bart6k: 1957,164.
39) Reti: 1961,136.
40) Nattiez: 1975,52-53.
41) Bartok: ibid.
42) One should also take into consideration the statements of these composers about their own
music; see, concerning Sibelius, Tawaststjema: 1976, 191 and concerning Villa-Lobos, Villa-
Lobos: 1972.
43) Naturally we are speaking of Sibelius, Villa-Lobos and Bartok in a highly generalizing manner
and keeping in mind that also other possible attitudes to folk music appear in their music.
44) SeeMilhaud: 1949,93-96.
45) The comment by the composer himself in the text to the recording of the Nirvana Symphony
(NHK Symphony Orchestra with chorus, Toshiba TA-7003).
46) vanGilse van der Pals: 1929,51.
47) Particularly in Siegfried, see Dahlhaus: 1971, 131.
5. Mythical and musical discourse (the narrative aspect)

1) Bremond: 1973,12.
2) ibid.
342 Myth and Music
3) Propp: 1970 (1928)

4) ibid. 31-34.
5) ibid. 37-80; Bremond: op.cit. 17-18; Greimas: 1966, 192-212.
6) The visualization by Bremond, Bremond: op.cit. 30.
7) Kerman: 1959,38-46.
8) Nietzsche: op.cit. 142.
9) ibid. 145.
10) See Adler: 1911,105-108,182-195.
11) Nietzsche: op.cit. 151-158.
12) ibid. 154.
13) Kerman: op.cit. 73-98. See also Rosen: 1976,304-305.
14) See among others Searle: 1966,63-68.
15) Tawaststjema: 1976,108,158,160-161.
16) ibid. 108-110.
17) ibid. 153-160.
18) Kirchmeyer: 1958,81-97,170-251; Morpurgo-Tagliabue: 1960,165-180: Hackenbroich:
1949; Cahiers du Sud, Aout 1939; Jouan: 1952; Benjamin: 1931/1932, 157-162; Brustein:
1965,365-366; Jacquot: 1973; Kihm: 1960.
19) Kerman: op.cit. 50-53; Rosen: 1976,164-184.
20) Stravinsky: 1930, vol.11,116-117.
21) Cocteau: 1928.
22) The term "memory" of a culture is used by the scholars of the Tartu school, see Lotman and
Uspenski: 1971,144-166.
23) Kurth: 1923,1.
24) ibid. 36.
25) ibid. 38.
26) ibid.
27) ibid. 14,15 and 38.
28) ibid. 1-3.
29) Levi-Strauss: 1962,26-47; 1964,18-22.
30) Fr. Schlegel: 1956(1800), 123.
31) A.W.Schlegel: Über das Nibelungenlied, cited from Haym: 1906,907.
32) It was Th. Gauthier, who distinguished between the exoticism in time and space, see Petit:
1968,160.
33) Lotman and Uspenski: 1976, 31.
34) Rohde: 1894; Müller: 1890; Bachofen: 1861; Breal: 1863; Frazer: 1890.
35) See Fuzellier: 1939.
37) Cocteau in the foreword to Antigone, Cocteau: 1948(122).
38) Gide: 1931; see also Gillibert: 1973,112-113 and Jördens: 1933,108-116.
39) Highet: 1949,513.
40) Dianin: 1963,305-321.
41) Tawaststjema: 1976, 97-98, 108-109,121.
42) Jarustowski: 1966,73-83; Siohan: 1965,58-59; Schaeffner: 1931,60-63; see also the
opposite view, Tansman: 1948,63.
43) 'Del Mar: 1962, 294-296,331 and W.Mann: 1964,68-69.
44) W.Mann: op.cit.ibid.
Notes 343
6. The mythical as seme an style in music

1) Sourek's interpretation, see Clapham: 1966,133.
2) Propp: op.cit. 36; Bremond: 1973,17.
3) Malinowsky: 1962,291; Cassirer: op.cit. 133-135.
4) Especially Greimas uses the category avant/apres in his own analysis of myths, see among
others Greimrs: 1970,187.
5) From this viewpoint particularly interesting are Schoenberg's comments about the rondo form
in music and poetry, see Schoenberg: 1975, 264-266.
6) Le'vi-Strauss: 1971,160-161,590-592.
7) About the concept of "isotopy" see note 7, Introduction.
8) Eco: 1971,60.
9) The term "mythicism" is not easily translated in all languages. The most appropriate starting
point has to be considered the substantivation of the adjective in German and French: das
Mythische or le mythique — in English the respective terms are either "the mythical" or
"mythicism",
10) See Greimas: 1966.
11) ibid. 58.
12) ibid. 7 and 27; see also Ducrot-Todorov: 1973,340.
13) Barthes: 1973,31.
14) Greimas: op.cit. 24-25.
15) ibid. 38.
16) See among others Chiarucci: 1973 and also Miereanu: 1973.
17) Adler: 1911,177-178 and the chapter "Charakterarien" 216-230.
18) See also Orlando:
19) Carnap: 1928, 110.
20) cf. Levi-Strauss: 1955,203.
21) Greimas: 1966,21 and 41.
22) La Rue: 1970,10-12.
23) See Adler's examples, Adler: op.cit. 60-61.
24) Bücher: 1899,305.
25) Searle: 1966, 85 and Berlioz-Strauss: 1904,153-155.
26) Berges: 1961, 185-188.
27) Claudel: 1970(1926).
28) ibid. 56-57.
29) ibid. 36-38.
30) ibid. 56-57.
31) ibid. 42 and 80.
32) ibid. 57.
33) Eco: 1971,66-67,98-101.
34) Rouge t: 1973.
35) Berlioz-Strauss: 1904, 199.
36) According to A. Seeger's recording, see Tarasti: 1976, 231 and 236.
37) Collaer: 1973, 160-163.
38) Tarasti: op.cit. 231.
39) Kurth: 1923,90.
40) Hull: 1921,106-107; Bowers: 1969a,335; 1969b, 204-205.
41) Kurth: op.cit. 172.
42) Chailley: 1972a, 83-91.
43) ibib. 158-165 and Mäkinen: 1976,108-133.
344 Myth and Music
44) Clapham: 1966,90-91; Schoenberg: 1975,99.

45) Tawaststjerna: 1976,210-211; Krohn: 1945,4-6,32-36,99-104.
46) See La Rue: 1970,41-42.
47) Just from the viewpoint of the technique of narration one may well speak of musical "actors"
and "actants", see Greimas: 1966, 180 (a model of mythical actants), 183-185 (the difference
between actors and actants) and Greimas: 1973, 161—176.
48) Consequently the fifth parameter of music distinguished by Jan La Rue, called by him as "the
Growth", i.e., the factor which combines other parameters, proves to be important. Its central
position regarding mythicism has already been noted above in discussing the analysis of Ravel's
Bolero, see pages 33-38.
49) Greimas: 1966,25.
50) This complicated problem field is studied by Henri Pousseur, see Pousseur: 1972, 7-26.
51) Jaspers: 1919, 139-141.
52) The Kalevala, 1907, Runo 1,4-8 (translated by W. F. Kirby).
53) Tawaststjerna: 1972, 332 and Kuusi: 1963,67.
54) This melody is a quotation from Jean de Lery, see Lery: 1586, 140.
55) Baudelaire: 1971 (1861),2I9-230.
57) ibid. 157.
59) Peckham: 1960,13-31 (Chapter two: The Eroica Symphony and the Ring).
60) Del Mar: 1962, 164.
61) ibid. 166.
63) Searle: op.cit. 67 and Brown: 1974,213.
64) Chailley: 1952.
65) This distinction is based particularly on Jolles's theory.
66) Kerenyi: 1952,31.
67) deVries: 1961,293-294.
68) Tawaststjerna: 1976, 130.
69) Propp: 1970,69-70.
70) Jolles: op.cit. 74-75.
71) Salmenhaara: 1975,41.
72) Jolles: op.cit. 23-61.
73) Malinowsky: 1962,289.
75) Sandelin: 1927,151-171.
76) SeeSchrade: 1967,25.
77) Einstein: 1964,294-295.
78) ibid. 218; see also Rosen: 1976,228.
80) Todorov: 1970,49.
81) Especially illustrative in this sense are the novels by E. T. A. Hoffmann, us Lebensanschauungen
des Kater Mur (1820-1822) and Die Elixiere des Teufels (1816).
82) Jaspers: op.cit. 267; Nietzsche: op.cit. 145.
84) See Greimas: 1966,36 and Ducrot-Todorov: 1972,79.
85) Scriabin's program is the following: "I summon you to life/Hidden longings! /You, sunken/
In the somber depths/Of creative spirit/You timid embryos/Of life,/To you bring 1,/Daring!"
Notes 345
(quoted from Bowers: 1969,134).

86) Racek: 1971,168-170.
87) Samuel: 1967.
88) ibid.
89) Nestyev: 1961, 90-92, 104-107 and Europe. Avril 1975, 34-35.
90) Boulez: 1953,151-224.
91) Also the influence of Milhaud is quite apparent here, especially on Villa-Lobos and Ginastera.
92) SeeJean-Aubry: 1922,9-37.
93) Clapham: op.cit. 205.
94) ibid. 206.
95) ibid.
96) ibid. 137.
98) Brown: 1974,30-31.
99) d'Harcourt: 1925, 137.
100) Adorno: 1974,30-31.
101) ibid.
102) Krohn: op.cit. 37-38.
103) See above the examples of Indian music (p. 48) and Krohn: op.cit. 37.
104) Levi-Strauss speaks about the basic opposition between the categories "sensible" and "in-
telligible", which is mediated by music according to his "physiological" aesthetics, see Levi-Strauss:
1964,22-26.
105) E. Krohn: 1965, 104-107 and Him: 1924,169-196.
106) Lesky: 1958,12.
107) deVries: 1961,246-267.
108) Heidegger: 1967,262-267.
109) Lesky: op.cit.
110) On the placing of mythical contradiction and its resolution in different levels see Köngäs-
Maranda: 1962.
111) One may think of the variations on the tragical in Mahler's Fifth Symphony, for example.
112) Adorno: op.cit. 75.
Part Two
7. Introduction: the mythical in Liszt and Slavonic music

1) Searle: 1966,63-68; Newmann: 1937, vol. 2, 204-217, 249-273, 381-398.
2) Chailley: 1972b,40.
3) Searle: op.cit. 30, 66-67, 79.
4) ibid. 65.
5) Klauwell: 1968 (1910), 133-181; Hahn: Meisterführer nr. 8 (Die Schlesingersche Musik
Bibliothek).
6) Liszt: 1882 (1855), 68.
7) Liszt: op.cit. 3-102.
8) ibid. 53-54.
9) ibid. 54.
10) ibid. 54.
11) ibid. 56-57.
12) ibid. 68.
346 Myth and Music
13) ibid. 69.

14) See Kirchmeyer: 1958, 170-186.
15) Baudelaire: 1971 (1861), 219-230.
16) Kirchmeyer: opxit. 187-202.
17) Liszt: op.cit. 69.
18) Klauwell: op.cit. 138-146 and particularly 163.
19) Greimas: 1966,44-45.
20) ibid.
22) Bremond: 1973,32, 131-132.
23) Schoenberg: 1975,123.
24) Searle: op.cit. 85.
25) See Greimas's model of mythical actants, Greimas, 1966, 180.
26) Jakobson: 1963,217.
28) ibid. 53-55.
29) Propp: 1970 (1928). We might continue the analysis in a still more formal direction, for
example, using structural models elaborated on the basis of Propp's (and Levi-Strauss's) theories.
Especially the model of "structural mediator" by Köngas-Maranda could be interesting in this sense,
see Köngas-Maranda, 1962.
30) See among others Gasparow: 1976.
31) deVries: 1961,161.
32) Seaman: 1967,3.
33) Particularly in the Soviet semiotics.
34) Brown: 1974,304.
36) See among others Seroff: 1963.
37) See Brown: op.cit. 314.
38) ibid.
39) For example Dahlhaus distinguishes the myth of god (Göttermythos) and the heroic drama
(Heroendrama) in the Ring of the Nibelung, (see Dahlhaus: 1971, 134), but on the other hand
also the fairy tale and myth (ibid. 129).
40) Brown: op.cit. 202-203.
41) Dianin: 1963,305-320.
42) ibid.
43) Jean-Aubry: op.cit. 18-29.
44) Abraham: the foreword in the score (Edition Eulenburg), 2.
45) See Dianin: op.cit. 98-103.
46) Adorno: op.cit. 117 and Schoenberg: 1975,164.
47) See Dianin: op.cit. 207-209; Nestyev: 1961,365-370; Tawaststjerna: 1976,209-217;
Krohn: 1945,4-6,31-36.
48) Nestyev: op.cit. 366.
49) Clapham: op.cit. 133, see also the comments by Fr. Bartos in the foreword to the score.
Smetana has also composed an opera whose subject is Queen Libuse.
50) The terms used by Nietzsche, see Nietzsche: op.cit. 48.
51) See the former chapter, note nr. 89.
8. Wagner 's Siegfried

1) Nietzsche: 1904.
Notes 347
2) Appia: 1899.
3) Shaw: 1908.
4) Claudel: 1970 (1926).
5) Donington: 1963.
6) Orlando: 1975.
7) See Dahlhaus: op.cit. 83-107; Bertram: 1957, 136-140; Adler: 1904, 146-147, 191-206.
8) Reynaud: 1976.
9) Adler: op.cit. 199-206.
10) See note nr. 6 above.
12) Barthes: 1957,221-222.
13) in 1850/1851.
14) Wagner: 1852,11,77-78.
15) ibid. 76.
16) A. W. Schlegel's essay on the Nibelungenlied, see Haym: 1906, 907.
17) SeeSchnebel: 1973, V, 68.
18) Levi-Strauss: 1958,237.
19) SeeGreimas: 1966,213.
20) Dahlhaus: op.cit. 101.
21) Greimas: 1970, 166-171 and Chabrol: 1973,20-21.
23) See Heidegger: 1967, 135-179 and 284.
24) The terms "functional" and "qualificative" understood in the sense of Greimas, see Greimas:
1966,122-123,128-129.
25) Reynaud: 1976,42.
26) ibid. 46 -47.
27) Wagner: 1852,111, 140 and 174.
28) Kerman: op.cit. 205-208.
29) Vries: op.cit. 281-289.
30) Adler: 1904,219-220.
31) Bremond: 1973,132-133.
32) Adomo: op.cit. 27.
33) Stravinsky: 1970,60-63; see also Claudel: 1970.
34) LotmanandUspenski: 1976,22-23; Cassirer: op.cit. 54-56.
35) Baudouin: 1952,228.
36) Dahlhaus: op.cit. 117-121.
37) „ . ,
—=— means: χ is related to y as ζ is to w.
39) Appia: op.cit.
40) Levi-Strauss: 1949.
41) Bowra: 1971,223.
42) SeeMauss: 1968, 152-153, 204-205 and Agostinho: 1974, 2-16 and passim.
43) Adler: 1904,73-74.
44) LeCorbusier: 1951 and 1968.
45) de Vries: op.cit. 283-284.
46) Levi-Strauss: 1949.
47) Rank: 1912,639.
48) The idea presented by Roland Barthes, that music could serve as an expression of the phy-
348 Myth and Music
siological movements of the body, so-called "somathemes", might prove to be an interesting methodo-
logical tool in researching the interrelations of musical and gestural languages, see Barthes: 1975,
223—224. If both these discourses can be analyzed with similar methodological means (for example
by separating in them similar minimal units of signification, "somathemes"), then we might be in a
position to elucidate the synthesis of music and gesture, as it appears in the first act of Valkyrie, in
a rather effective fashion.
49) Adorno speaks of "the archaic muteness" of Wagner's personages, which characterization is
just proper here, see Adorno: op.cit. 31.
51) Jolles: op.cit. 97.
52) ibid. 134-136.
53) Orlando: 1975,82-83; Reynaud: op.cit. 53
55) Liszt: op.cit. 54.
57) See Berlioz-Strauss: op.cit. 3-5.
58) Breal: 1863.
59) Wagner: 1852,11,75.
60) See Greimas: 1966,176-177, 187.
61) deVries: op.cit. 89.
62) In a certain sense, what is involved is the birth of the plot, see Broms: 1977.
63) Wagner: op.cit., I, 99-100.
64) Creuzer: 1819,3.
65) Leprince: 1963,274-282.
66) Dahlhaus: op.cit. 88-89.
68) Aristotle: 1967,43.
69) See above note no. 62.
70) Adorno: op.cit. 32.
9. Sibelius 's Ku llervo

1) Eliade: 1963,221.
2) Sihvo: 1973, 246, 294; in this work reference is also made to the possibility of studying
Karelianism with structuralist methods, see ibid. 360.
3) Such "Wagnerism" was apparent especially in the musical interpretations of Kalevala before
Sibelius, as in the Aino Symphony by Robert Kajanus, see Maasalo: 1964, 118 and Tawaststjerna:
1965,274.
4) Stravinsky: 1968,47-48.
5) Tawaststjerna: 1976, 109-110.
6) Krohn: 1945,31-36,99-104.
7) ibid. 38.
8) Kuusi: 1963,325-326.
9) ibid. 325.
10) ibid.
11) LeVi-Strauss: 1958,238-239.
12) SeeGasparow: 1974,30-31.
13) Kivi: 1962(1865)
14) Cygnaeus: 1882(1853)95-153.
15) On the Saussurean concepts of'langue" and"parole" applied to music see Nattiez: 1975,76-89.
Notes 349
16) ibid.
17) Gasparow: 1974,35-36.
18) Uspenski et alia: 1973,6-17.
19) Rene Leibowitz, among others, speaks about such "universalization" in Wagner, see Leibowitz:
1972,57.
20) This expression, used by Levi-Strauss in his Mythologiques (see Levi-Strauss: 1964, 18)
might have come from Bergson.
21) Greimas: 1966, 145-146.
22) Aho: 1897.
23) Leino: 1903-and 1911.
24) Erkko: 1909(1895).
25) Jukola: 1939: 11,147,200-202; Tawaststjerna: 1976,106; see also Tanner.
26) Uspenski et alia: op.cit. 9-11, 27-28.
27) Hirn: 1939; Leino: 1965 (1897), 304-308; J. Krohn: 1908; Aspelin-Haapkylä: 1928;
Gallen-Kallela: 1924; Sibelius: a lecture "Some reflections Folk Music and its influence on
the development of Art music" held in the University of Helsinki, 1896, see Tolonen: 1976;
Tawaststjerna: 1976, 190-191.
28) Uspenski et alia: op.cit. 16.
29) Jukola: op.cit. 155-165.
30) Strengel: 1906,33-45.
31) In Gallen-Kallela, as well as in Sibelius, we find also "symbolist" works on Kalevala subjects
(they must be separated from this original Karelianistic mythicism), like the works of both artists
dealing with Lemminkäinen (the symphonic poem The Swan of Tuonela and the painting Lemmin-
käinen 's mother. To the same symbolist interpretations pertain also Eino-Lcino's dramatic poem
The Swan of Tuonela, whose chorus of the dragonflies the composer Armas Launis used later as the
concluding chorus of his opera Kullervo (1917)).
32) Hirn: 1939.
33) Okkonen: 1961,456; Strengell: op.cit. 39-40.
35) ibid. 110-111.
36) Berlioz in the foreword to the score.
38) Tawaststjerna: op.cit. 110.
39) Tawaststjerna: 1965,276.
40) Jakobson: 1973, 150.
41) See de Vries: op.cit. 283-289.
42) Strengell: op.cit.43.
43) Dumezil: 1971, 17-22, 76-81, 125-128; see also Kuusi: op.cit. 396-
44) Cygnaeus: op.cit. 148. On the other hand, Cygnaeus also compares Kullervo with Oedipus.
45) See Gallen-Kallela: 1924,199; see also Okkonen: op.cit. 558-565.
46) In this sense the Seventh Symphony by Sibelius is analogous to the Kullervo Symphony: one
hears also there a broad theme (49 bars) right at the beginning. It is not repeated as such in the
symphony, but instead provides motivic material for other themes of the symphony, see among
othersMaasalo: op.cit. 155-156.
47) See Salmenhaara: 1970,37-38.
48) Tawaststjerna: the Swedish manuscript, p. 15.
49) van Gilse van der Pals: op.cit. 592 and 614.
50) J. Krohn: 1908,31-32.
51) The Kalevala: 1907, 108, verses 56-58. All the citations from the Kalevala have been taken
350 My th and Music
from Kirby's translation.

52) Jakobson: 1973,243-246.
53) Annist: 1944,200-201.
54) Kuusi: 1963,324-327.
55) Tawaststjerna: the Swedish manuscript, p. 17-19a.
56) One may say that with this motif, which has a tendency to increase from a third to a fourth,
Sibelius has been able to depict quite instinctively a feature proper to original folktunes. One may
only think of, among others, the following example from song-melodies of the Lamuts, a Finno-
Ugrian people. There melody starts with a pure third but gradually becomes a fourth and thus
acquires a modal character (the tones D # , fit and G r might perhaps be interpreted as a
defective pentatonic scale on B:
J . = 80->100
J J J IJ J Jfl
I
m
In the end of the song:
(The recording by Toivo Kaukoranta from 1928, Archives of the Finno-Ugrian Society, transcription
by Tarasti).
57) SeeTolonen: 1976,84-85.
58) See Eco: 1971,68-72.
59) Tawaststjerna: the Swedish manuscript, 10-10a.
60) One might also imagine a similar program for the second part of Sibelius's piano composition
Kyllikki.
61) See in Juhani Aho's novel Panu chapters XIII-XV (Aho: 1897) and in Juha, chapter XII
(Aho: 1911).
62) Kitto: 1954,168 and 174.
63) See among others Schrade: 1967,33.
64) See Nietzsche: op.cit. 145.
65) Stravinsky: 1970,7-16.
67) Tawaststjerna: the Swedish manuscript, 23a.
68) Kitto: op.cit. 168.
70) See Breal: op.cit.
71) See Boas: 1955, especially chapter Style, 144-182.
72) On the application of the Chomskyan transformational model to music, see Nattiez: 1975,
370-386.
73) Souriau: 1971, 18.
74) Tawaststjerna: 1965,283; Maasalo: op.cit. 159.
75) The terms Lebenswelt and Umwelt are from Ludwig Klages.
76) Nietzsche: op.cit. 145.
Notes 35]
10. Stravinsky 's Oedipus Rex

1) See Kirchmeyer, 1958, 222-238; L'Annfe 1913, 1971; Raymond: 1970; Shattuck: 1968;
Stuckenschmidt: 1951; Europe, Mars-Avril, 1975.
2) Lotman: 1976,31.
3) Balakian: 1947.
4) The lectures held by Gaetan Picon in the University of Sorbonne (Paris) during the fall term
1974.
5) Cassirer: 1925,51-54; Lotman: op.cit. 23.
6) Picon: ibid; Raymond: 1970,246.
7) Picon: ibid.
8) Kandinsky: 1970(1926).
9) See for example Francastel: 1955,142.
10) Rey: 1974,88-105.
11) Morpurgo-Tagliabue: op.cit. 174-180; Schaeffner: 1931,109.
12) Cocteau: 1918, 15 and 21.
13) Europe, Mars-Avril, 1975, see also Morpurgo-Tagliabue: op.cit. 166-169.
14) Cocteau: op.cit.41.
15) One may only think of Honegger's Pacific 231 or of Milhaud's Machines agricoles (see
Milhaud: 1949,139-140).
16) See Cocteau: 1946 (1923), 95-104.
17) Cahiers du Sud, Aout 1939 and Tome XXXIV 1951; Jouan: 1952.
18) See especially Cocteau: 1918 and Busoni: 1956.
19) On the style in Stravinsky's middle period, see Jarustowski: 1966, 95-134; Deri: 1968,
187-200; Schaeffner: 1931,98-118; Kirchmeyer: 1958; Vlad: 1960,75-121.
20) Hackenbroich: 1949,17.
21) ibid.
22) Tansman: 1949,69-70.
23) Majakovski: 1959(1927)82-83,123.
24) On Stravinsky's "modernity" see Transman, op.cit. 75.
25) Nestyev: 1961,228.
26) ibid.
27) Tintori: 1966, 177.
28) ibid.
29) Stravinsky: 1971, 116.
30) Cocteau: 1918.
31) Kihm: 1960.
32) Busoni: 1956(1920).
33) When speaking about Stravinsky's "Russianism" we must also consider other aspects than
folklorism, as Tansman has correctly observed, see Tansman op.cit. 63.
34) Cocteau: op.cit. 15.
35) Busoni: op.cit. 35-36.
37) Milhaud: 1949,107-112; Cocteau: op.cit. 29-30.
38) Busoni: op.cit. 37.
39) Morpurgo-Tagliabue: op.cit. 396.
41) Cocteau: 1928,7-8.
42) Busoni: op.cit. 36-37.
43) Cocteau: 1918,27.
352 Myth and Music

46) Kirchmeyer: op.cit. 202-222.
50) Jacquot: 1973.
51) See Hennenberg: 1963, 13-20.
52) ibid. 19.
53) ibid.
55) Also the text of Persephone is a French melodrama, written by Gide in 1933. Melodrama was
the favorite music genre of Les Six.
56) See foreword in the score.
57) SeeMilhaud: op.cit. 78-79; Roy: 1962,200-204.
58) Tansman: op.cit. 104-109.
59) ibid. 131.
60) Key: 1974, 113-124; Roy: op.cit. 42-44.
61) Sauguet: 1970,94-97.
62) Roy: op.cit. 171; see on Honegger's Antigone alsoCollaer: 1928,10.
63) Hofmannsthal: 1911. Also Yeats has written an adaptation of Oedipus Rex, see Yeats: 1928.
64) Breton: 1924 and 1930.
65) Examples taken from the score for piano, cited by permission of Archives de ['Institut Audio-
Visuel (Office de Radiodiffusion-Television Franâise).
66) Vienney: 1961,8.
67) Stravinsky: 1970,7-17.
68) Jördens: 1933,79.
69) SeeDerche: 1962, chapter VII.
70) Jördens: op.cit. 1, 21-116 passim.
71) Jouan: 1952.
72) Benjamin: 1931/1932,157-162.
73) Kihm: 1960.
74) Cocteau: in his foreword to the drama Les Maries sous la tour Eiffel (1922).
75) Kihm: op.cit.; Derche: op.cit.
76) Cocteau: 1956 (1947), 22.
77) Kihm: op.cit.
78) Jördens: op.cit. 77.
79) ibid. 79.
80) Cocteau: 1934.
81) Cocteau: 1928, 12, 34 and 42.
82) Cocteau: 1934.
83) Claudel: 1965.
84) Jördens: op.cit. 113-114.
85) Brustein: 1965,365-366.
86) Stravinsky: 1970, 15.
87) ibid. 7-8.
88) ibid. 7.
89) See Tansman: op.cit. 35.
90) Stravinsky: op.cit. 13-15.
Notes 353
91) Cocteau: 1948(1922).

92) Nietzsche: op.cit. 126-127,141-146.
93) Stravinsky: op.cit. 13.
94) ibid. 18.
95) See for example concerning Honegger, Roy: op.cit. 171.
96) See Erlich: 1955; Zirmunskij: 1966; on the problematics of versification in general see
Ducrot-Todorov: 1972,240-248.
97) Among others in Andrej Belyj.
98) Majakovsky: op.cit.
99) ibid. 20.
100) ibid. 122.
101) ibid. 80 and 123.
102) Cocteau: 1928,59-60.
103) Morpurgo-Tagliabue: op.cit. 176.
104) Jakobson: 1973,55.
105) ibid.
106) On the relation between musical rhythm and prosodic elements of poetry, see La Rue: op.cit.
89.
107) cited from Zirmunskij: op.cit. 46.
108) See among others Greimas: 1970,66-67.
109) On the use of the chorus in the oratorio style, see Adler: 1911, 198-199.
110) Such an interpretation is proposed by Jarustowski: op.cit. 121.
111) This kind of elaboration of sound material was also included in the programs of futurist and
cubist poets, see Pomorska: 1972, 160-161.
112) Stravinsky: op.cit. 7.
113) Picon's lectures in 1974.
114) Cocteau: 1946 (1922), 53.
115) Breton: 1924 and 1930.
116) Tansman: op.cit. 96.
117) Verrier: 1909-1910,1,67.
118) SeeGevaert: 1881,22.
119) See Tansman: op.cit. 96.
120) ibid. 116-118.
121) Verrier: op.cit. ibid.
122) Alvarenga: 1946,360.
123) Azevedo: 1938, 17; see also Schoenberg's commit on the repetition in music, Schoenberg:
1975(1931),265.
124) See among others Stuckenschmidt: op.cit. 35-38 and Savinio: 1950.
125) Lotman: 1976,22; Cassirer: op.cit. 54-56; Mauss: 1968,47-53.
126) See among others Jarustowski: op.cit. 123-124.
127) Cocteau: 1918,28.
128) In a somewhat similar way in Sibelius's Kullervo Symphony Kullervo's name and origin are
associated with a certain motif, see above p. 257.
129) Gevaert: op.cit. 61 and 65.
130) Tansman: op.cit. 104.
131) Sklovsky: 1971 (1925), 52,60-61.
132) On the whole these scenes, i.e., Jocasta's aria, the "Trivium" of the chorus, the speech of
Oedipus and Jocasta's and Oedipus's duet, can be interpreted as a widened "szena and aria"
form. In an Italian opera between szena, the slow movement (here: Jocasta's aria) and aria,
354 Myth and Music
the fast movement (here: Jocasta's and Oedipus's duet) is inserted a scenic event, which motivates
the change in tempo and atmosphere (here: the "trivium" of the chorus) (see the score section
121-132).
133) Similar dramatic scales Stravinsky has also used in Capriccio and Persephone (see Capriccio,
the score sections 0-2,30-33; Persephone, Eumolpe's recitative, the score sections 45-47).
134) Stravinsky: 1970, 14.
135) Aristotle: op.cit. 33-34.
136) SeeBremond: 1973,30-31.
137) SeeBremond: 1970,251.
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Schoenberg, Arnold: (1975a) Style and Idea. Selected writings of Arnold Schoenberg, edited by
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(1975b) Structural Functions of Harmony, New York.
Schrade.Leo: (1967) Vom Tragischen in der Musik, Mainz.
Schure, BJouard: (1916) Histoire du drame musical, Paris.
Seaman, Gerald R.: (1967) History of Tussian Music, Volume I. From its Origins to Dargomyzhky,
New York/Washington.
Searle, Humphrey: (1966) The Music of Liszt, New York.
Seeger, Anthony: (1975) The Meaning of the Body Ornaments: A Suya example, an essay in
Ethnology Vol. XIV no. 3 July.
" (1977) Par Que os Indios Suya Cantam para as Suas Irmas: an essay in Arte e Sociedade,
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Shattuck, Roger: (1968) The Banquet Years, Harcourt Brace.
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362 Myth and Music
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INDEX OF REFERRED MUSICAL WORKS
Bach, Johan Sebastian: St. Matthew Passion Liadow, Anatol: Enchanted Lake 170
295,^309,315 Liszt, Franz: Ce qu'on entendsur lamontagne
Bartok, Bela: Allegro barbaro 118; Im Freien 84, 137; Dante Symphony 109-110, 126, 135-
116; The Miraculous Mandarin 116 138, 144, 146, 231, 256; Die Ideale 126-128,
Beethoven, Ludvig van: Egmont 91; Eroica 132, 135-139, 146-151,199,330; Faust Sym-
Symphony 71, 91, 93, 101, 219; Fifth Sym- phony 98,131, 135, 136, 139, 144,146, 190,
phony 123; Ninth Symphony 127,231; Piano 231; Hamlet 190, 245; Hungarian Rhapsody
Sonata in Cminor op. Ill 129 no. 17 139; Hunnenschlacht 136, 137, 138,
Berg.Alban: Wozzeck36 166; Legends 107; Les Preludes 92, 123-124,
Berlioz, Hector: La Damnation de Faust 59, 134-136, 138-139, 144-146, 190, 330;
79, 98, 291; Fantastic Symphony 59,69, 112- Mazeppa 93, 137-138; Orpheus 77, 131, 139-
113; Romeo et Juliette 232-233 140, 146; Piano Sonata in B minor 125, 137;
Borodin, Alexander: Prince Igor 53, 65, 74- Prometheus 82, 92, 138, 160-161, 190, 206;
75, 158-159; Second Symphony 70, 96, 158- Schlaflos, Frage und Antwort 36; Tasso 77,
164,221,223,249,260 92, 136, 140-146, 149, 330; Vallee d'Ober-
Brahms, Johannes: Ballades op. 10 104; op. mann 84, 125, 137
118 in G minor 105; Piano Sonata in F minor Mahler, Gustav: Fifth Symphony 345
69; First Symphony 127; Fourth Symphony Mayuzumi, H: Nirvana Symphony 54, 70, 341
106 Mendelssohn, Felix: Incidental Music to the
Bruckner, Anton: Third Symphony 108-109, Midsummemight's Dream 102; Reformation
223,232-234; Seventh Symphony 108 Symphony 74,165,241
Chavez,Carlos: Sinfonia India 119 Messiaen, Olivier: Oiseaux exotiques 116;
Chopin, Frederic '.Ballades 104, in G minor 105 Quatuor pour la fin du temps 36; Turangalila
Dvorak, Antonin: "Dumky " Pianotrio op. 90 Symphony 116-117
66, 120-121: Legends 166-170; Rusalka 169; Milhaud, Darius: Le Boeuf sur le toit 278;
Serenade in E major 66; Symphony, "From Choephores 278-282, 294, 308; Creation du
the New World" 83, 330; Third Slavonic monde 88, 317; LHomme et son desir 54,
Rhapsody 66 278; Piano Sonata (1916) 124; Suite pro·
Enescu,Georg: Oedipus 65, 279 vencale 124
Franck, Cesar: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue 68- Monteverdi, Claudio: Orpheus 100
69 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: The Abduction
Glinka, Mihail: A Life for the Czar (Ivan from the Seraglio 115; Don Giovanni 111;
Sussanin) 58, 95, 122, 152, 153, 158, 324; Magic Flute 38, 82, 101, 108, 153-154, 210,
Kamarinskaya 152; Russian and Ludmila 77, 309; Piano Concerto in D minor 111-112;
95, 98, 101-102, 105-106,151-158, 202, 268, Requiem 295,304
313,331 Mussorgsky, Boris: Boris Godunov 99, 152,
Gluck, Christoph Willibald: Iphigeneia in Aulis 234
204; Orpheus 58 Offenbach, Jacques: Tales of Hoffman 113
Honegger, Arthur: Antigone 65, 274, 279, Orff.Carl: Oedipus 279
283-288, 310; Jean d'Arc au bucher 98, 278, Poulenc, Francis: Les Biches 288
279, 283, 287-288; Pacific 231 27, 288; Le Prokofiev, Sergei: Alexander Nevsky 88, 96,
Roi David 221, 278, 279, 283-288, 294, 321 291; The Love for Three Oranges 220; Romeo
Indian music: in general 13, 40-51, 124,202- et Juliette 313; Scythian Suite 88, 90, 117-
203; Brazilian (Guajajaras) 47 (Kadiueus) 42- 118, 173, 273: Fifth Symphony 96,163-164,
43 (Suyas) 47-51; Eskimo 341; Mexican 30; 221,223
Peruvian 44-46 Rachmaninov, Sergei: The Isle of Death 170
Janäcek, Leos: The Makropoulos Case 114-115 Rameau, Jean Philippe: Les Indes galantes 115
Kajanus, Robert: Aino Symphony 348 Ravel, Maurice: Bolero 14, 33-37, 65, 69, 74,
Launis, Armas: Kullervo 349 76, 98, 326, 328, 332, 344; Daphnis et Chide
364 Myth and Music
90,279 Symphony ("Pathetique") 35-36,164,267

Rimsky-korsakov, Nikolai: Golden Cockerel Wagner, Richard: Flying Dutchman 104-105;
76-77, 99-100, 115, 159; A Legend of the Götterdämmerung 57, 68, 69, 129, 130, 133,
Invisible Gty of Kitezh and the Maiden 150, 162, 173-222, 233, 238, 331; Lohengrin
Fewronia 106-107, 243; Mlada 170; Sche- 80, 90, 134, 147; Meistersinger 214; Parsifal
herazade 77 57-58, 78, 110-111; Rheingold 52, 57, 78,
Salmenhaara, Erkki: Second Piano Sonata: 80, 98, 124, 157-159, 173-222, 233, 305;
36 Rienzi 93; The Ring of the Nibelungs (in
Satie, Erik: Parade 276; Socrate 274, 279, general) 54, 76, 93-94, 124-125, 129, 155-
282-283,308,321 158, 173-222, 268, 296, 318, 331, 333-336;
Schubert, Franz: Unfinished Symphony 129 Siegfried 12, 15, 70, 80, 104-105, 107, 124,
Schumann, Robert: Fantasy in Cmajor 70,77, 129, 130, 133, 152, 154-158, 173-222, 227,
107 258, 324, 330; Tristan 38; Valkyrie 52, 98,
Schoenberg, Arnold: Erwartung 65, 285 125,130,133,173-222,236,348
Shostakovich, Dmitri: Seventh Symphony Weber, Carl Maria von: Der Freischutz 78,
("Leningrad") 36-37, 69, 73, 97, 221, 223; 112; Oberen 78,102
Ninth Symphony 69, 221; Fifteenth Sym- Verdi, Giuseppe: Aida 311
phony 69 Villa-Lobos, Heitor: Amazonas 89; Choros
Scriabin, Alexander: Fifth Piano Sonata 114; no. 3 79-80, 330; Descobrimento do Brasil
Prometheus 13, 80; Vers la flamme 35 291; Erosao 89
Sibelius, Jean: En Saga 102-103, 247; Kyl-
likki 83, 350; Luonnotar 13, 87-88; Swan of
Tuonela 79, 349; Kuttervo Symphony 12, 15,
51, 57, 59, 60, 65, 68, 70, 121-122, 155, 157,
159, 163, 221, 222-271, 293-296, 308, 331-
336, 349, 353; First Symphony 83, 118, 126,
163-164; Second Symphony 37, 238; Fifth
Symphony 238; Seventh Symphony 349
Smetana, Bedrich: Bartered Bride 169; /
Vlast; Vysehrad 66-67, 69, 73, 74, 77, 164-
166,330, Tabor. Blanik, Sarka 165
Strauss, Richard: Elektra 65, 284, 329; Helben-
leben 73, 94, 238; Rosenkavalier 101; Salome
58, 284, 287; Till Eulenspiegel 113
Stravinsky, Igor: Apollon Musagete 274, 291-
292; Capriccio 313-314, 354; Firebird 243;
L'Histoire du soldat 226, 274, 278, 279, 281,
308, 318; Mavra 293; Les Noces 13, 53,65,
79, 118-119, 273, 284, 293; Oedipus Rex 12,
16,61,88, 124, 152, 155,161,203,227,252,
260, 268, 272-326, 332-336; Orpheus 260,
274, 275; Persephone 274, 278, 316-317,352,
354;Petrouchka 263; Pribaoutki 65; Pulcinella
274; The Rake 's Progress 274,27 5, 318; Sacre
du printemps 118, 173, 273, 317, 318, 332;
Symphony of Psalms 274,282,291-292, 314
Szymanowsky.Karol: Myth 170-172
Tchaikovsky, Peter: Mazeppa 57, 312;
Nutcracker 102; Fifth Symphony 95; Sixth

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Myth and Music

MOUTON PUBLISHERS THE HAGUE · PARIS · NEW YORK

MOUTON PUBLISHERS · THE HAGUE · PARIS · NEW YORK

Helsinki, December, 1977 Eero Tarasti

6.3.10. The fantastic 112

8.2.3.2.3. Siegfried, Act III - Siegfried as a sun hero 211

10.8.2.1. Jocasta and Oedipus 312

vinsky's Oedipus Rex. There are many reasons for this.

2. The probJema tics of myth

2.1. General observations

2.2. Some anthropological theories

In most anthropological approaches to myth the importance of "living" mythology

2.3. The psychological and literary point of view

is the theory of Roger Caillois.27 He namely distinguishes between the mythical

into plots of more or less realistic fiction."35

2.4. The philosophical approach

In general the mythical conception of time, as well as of space, is wholly concrete

mythological consciousness, will be exemplified later by those three cuLural frame-

2.5. The semiotic approach

has a certain meaning analyzable according to the same three-dimensional schema

3. From the aesthetics of myth to the aesthetics of music

3.1. Mythical figures as the content of a composition

In the last chapter, "Finale", of Mythologiques, Levi-Strauss discusses the place

levels of "signifier" and "signified").7

this code varies according to different musical styles, as exemplified by Wagner,

3.2. Myth and music as a symbolic resolution of contradictions

musical thought is frequently met in the semiotics of culture. Such transfer of

fUJ.-WtP.: C. «UJ.-C BtF. :

Horos Ourse, Souris, Horos

(chasse de Grizzly). V^ *>

I. L'ECHANGE DES DENTS II.POURSUITE ET TENTATIVE D'EVASION HL MORT DU HEROS

Levi-Ctrauss now asserts that Western music subsequently rediscovered and

fl/u·. 1 T^- . _. ι—ft 1

The aforementioned three compositions of Ravel, Shostakovich and Sibelius can

language of the composer and the local musical culture.

4. Myth as a musical reconstruction

4.1. Primal mythical communication

4.2. An example: Indian music

Na-go-do na-go - - do-o-do na-go-dodo do n a - g o - do-do-na, na

Na-go do - nago-do - na na - nago-do - na go-da nago- do - na go-do_

_no-no-no - - Halla-do-a Djikenen a-la - a i-a Halja_ da DJikenin E

Ha-la-na - a Djike-ninHala - na- a DjikeninHala da - a dji-ke nlnHala -da- a Djikenln..

Ε - no- ί-ηο na - go - do. .. na - go-da... a . . . n i - g i - l i - on(nal (nlo

Na-go-do - nago - d o - n a g'i-do nago-do- na go-do., n a ^ g o - d o - n a go-do do

Another principle characteristic of both mythical and musical thought is that

Eatendu.dans la rue. Lima (Pirou

JWcrt a votontt ralentir

Similar combining of diverse elements (not conscious, of course) appears also in

Λ j, . , ·) r^i ί±ζΞ —j!

individuality of every akia melody is also the consequence of this communicative

>jf U^l l?,

<κ3. The interaction between folk music and art music

5. The mythical and musical discourses (the narrative aspect)

5.1. The technique of narration: a model

characteristic of Wagner continues to function as a kind of learned psychological

5.2. Myth and music in the cultural context

5.2.1 Romanticism -- the dialectics of the unconscious

5.2.2 Neoclassicism — the influence of scientific discourse

6. The mythical as seme and style in music