Description
Book SynopsisLeitmotifs are a type of associative theme found in dramatic music. In this book, Matthew Bribitzer-Stull explores the background and development of the musical leitmotif, from Wagner and art music to the Hollywood adaptations of The Lord of The Rings and the Harry Potter series.
Trade Review'In eloquent prose, Dr Bribitzer-Stull offers a fascinating interpretation of the structural and expressive roles of the leitmotif in Wagnerian opera and Hollywood film music. His attractive semiotic theory of associative meaning yields fundamental insights into how musical motives enhance meaning in intermedial contexts.' Robert S. Hatten, University of Texas, Austin
'Wagner, the leitmotif, and the cinema have floated near one another for a century now. Bribitizer-Stull has woven them together to fashion the first thoroughly convincing explanation of Wagnerian practice in relation to its heirs in the symphonic underscore of classical and contemporary film.' David P. Neumeyer, University of Texas, Austin
Table of Contents1. Introduction: the leitmotif problem; Part I. Musical Themes: 2. Motive, phrase, melody, and theme; 3. Thematic development, thematic identity: musical themes and the prototype model; Part II. Musical Association: 4. The phenomenon of musical association; 5. Piece specifics, cultural generics, and associative layering; 6. From 'Nibelheim' to Hollywood: the associativity of harmonic progression; Part III. Leitmotifs in Context: 7. The paradigm of Wagner's Ring; 8. Leitmotif in Western art music outside the Ring; 9. The modern-day leitmotif: associative themes in contemporary film music.
