# What are your 5 favorite musical cuts from the full Der ring des niebelung/Ring cycle



## ericdxx (Jul 7, 2013)

?

For me it is:

Siegfried: Notung! Notung! Neidliches schwert!

Gotterdammerung: Act 2, Scene 1; Orchesterzwichenspiel

Das Rheingold Scene 1: Vorspiel

Gotterdammerung: Siegfrieds funeral march

Gotterdammerung: Act 3, Scene 3, Zuruck vom Ring!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Nice list. I love all of these.

Got to add the dialogue in act 2 of Walküre between Siegmund and Brünnhilde. In the right hands (voices?) it can get me crying like a baby.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I was very disappointed with Siegfried's funeral march when I first heard it, as well as with the Rhine Journey. Before I got there, I have already learned that there are such fragments in last part of Der Ring and that they are highlights. I expected some new great music then and it turned out that both are mostly recycling of old material. Letimotives don't appear it any ingenious way, sometimes seem even far fetched in terms of meaning and symbolism (particularly in Funeral March). It's just as if Wagner got lazy to bring something new late in the work.


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## Volve (Apr 14, 2013)

For me, it would be:
Rheingold: The very begining; when the gods awake to the sight of Valhalla, on scene 2, the whole of Niebelheim, every scene with the giants or Freia. 
Walkure: Mostly the whole opera, the parts I could live without would be intermissions between the acts. Or interruptions when I'm listening to it. Seriously, I consider it to be perfect. (I guess I do listen mostly to Wotan/Fricka and Wotan/Brunnhilde on act 3).
Siegfried: The forge scene on act 1, that's so thrilling! Act 2 is one of my favorites moments in the ring, particularly up to the point where Fafner is killed. Act 3 isn't yet set in my memory, as I just recently began exploring this opera after the first couple superficial listenings. But the moment when Siegfried meets Brunnhilde is eternaly carved in stone on me. 
Gotterdammerung is a special case, as I've not even gone through the whole opera as of yet (I will after I'm done with Siegfried!). However, that isn't to say that I haven't listened to a good chunck of it! And my favorite part so far has been everything Hagen, when Hagen is sung by Matti Salminen. I've been told once that every man is allowed a man-crush... In my case, that would be Salminen singing Hagen. (Sorry Frick, but you are a very close second!).


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

last 45 min of Rheingold
last 45 min of Walkure
last 45 min of Siegfried Act ll
last 45 min of Siegfried Act lll
last 45 min of Gotterdammerung 

but I love it all. Wagner really knew how to end acts and operas.  :tiphat:


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## Oreb (Aug 8, 2013)

I can't say that these are my favourites - because I could never narrow that down to five. But these are the passages that I turn to when I'm trying to get a feel for the quality of a recording. If they pass these, then they are very unlikely to let me down overall:

_Das Rheingold_, sc. 2 - 'Immer ist Undank Loge's Lohn!': a mixture of cunning and beauty that must be held in perfect balance throughout;

_Die Walkure_, III, 3 - 'O hehrstes Wunder!': rapturous and tragic at once;

_Siegfried_, I, transition between scenes 1 and 2: the juxtaposition of Mime's scheming and greed with the nobility of the Wanderer's motif and greeting;

_Siegfried_, III, 3 - 'Heil dir, Sonne!': must be taken slowly, slowly, slowly, with intense concentration;

_Götterdämmerung_, III, 1: a profound mixture of flirtation, magick and doom.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Certainly the annoincement of death scene in Walkure Act2 contains some very beautiful music.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Rheingold: Entry of the Gods into Valhalla. More motivic magic, this time to a stately dance-rhythm... what's not to like? 

Walküre: Wotan's monologues in Act II. I find them gripping, and rate them among the finest pieces written for the bass-baritone voice.

Siegfried: The "Forest Murmurs" scene. For some reason it always brings a lump to my throat... beauty of nature and all that, I suppose.

Siegfried: Prelude to Act III. Barely 2 minutes long, but with such brilliant interweaving of motivic material it seems much longer.

Götterdämmerung: The _Tagesgrauen_ interlude from the Prologue. The transition from the gloom of the Norns' scene into the blazing light of Siegfried's and Brünnhilde's day is masterfully handled.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

If I had to keep the list to just five, I would choose the following seven:

Rheingold: Donner dispersing the gloom all the way to the entrance into Valhall
Walküre: The Sieglinde-Siegmund duet in the first act and Siegmund's scene with Brunnhilde, and Wotan's Farewell
Siegfried: Forest Murmurs and the singing avian.
Götterdämmerung: Funeral march.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

1. Rheingold Prelude/Scene 1
2. Walkure Act 2 Brunnhilde/Siegmund Scene
3. Walkure Act 3 Wotan/Brunnhilde Scene
4. Siegfried Act 3 Siegfried/Brunnhilde Scene
5. Gotterdammerung


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

The last part of Act 1 of Walkure from where Siegmund sings Wintersturme. In the hands of the right singers it is thrilling. Just listen to Vickers and Janowitz with Karajan and / or Jerusalem and Norman on Janowski's. On the Krauss Vinay is good but Resnick a little squally on top. But Krauss is electrifying. Then there is the famous Lehmann / Melchior with Walter - something special despite the recording.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

The passages for cello quartet in the first act of _Die Walkure_. Plus, the Immolation Scene in the final act.

Siegfried is probably my favorite Ring opera, though.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

1. Prelude from Das Rheingold
2. Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla (used this as my wedding recessional)
3. Brünnhilde and Siegmund in Die Walkure
4. Siegfried's Funeral March
5. Brünnhilde's Immolation

2 and 4 would always make this list; the others I am less sure of!


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Anything that involves the Magic Sleep leitmotif. One of the most beautiful chord progressions in all music.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

mountmccabe said:


> Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla (used this as my wedding recessional)


...hopefully, the bit _after_ Loge has sung "Ihrem Ende eilen sie zu"


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## chalkpie (Oct 5, 2011)

Can you elaborate where exactly this is found? Thx


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

chalkpie said:


> Can you elaborate where exactly this is found? Thx


Wow. Three years and still no answer. But what was he looking for?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Fritz Kobus said:


> Wow. Three years and still no answer. But what was he looking for?


_In itself, deliverance as the result of the right kind of question is a universal, i.e. an archetypal, motif. Indeed, in fairytales it is usual for the hero who wishes to acquire the treasure to have to fulfil one or more special conditions, on the correct execution of which the result depends. One such condition is the question. There is often a prohibition on asking, as for instance in the legend of Lohengrin where it is a matter of guarding a mystery. The mystery is generally that of the hero's descent which, most frequently, is miraculous. With Perceval the matter stands differently. Excepting in Wolfram, and in Wagner where a pure fool, through pity wise becomes the quintessence of Parsifal's character, the question is not based on compassion._

- Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, _The Grail Legend_.


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## ericdxx (Jul 7, 2013)

chalkpie said:


> Can you elaborate where exactly this is found? Thx





Fritz Kobus said:


> Wow. Three years and still no answer. But what was he looking for?





Couchie said:


> _In itself, deliverance as the result of the right kind of question is a universal, i.e. an archetypal, motif. Indeed, in fairytales it is usual for the hero who wishes to acquire the treasure to have to fulfil one or more special conditions, on the correct execution of which the result depends. One such condition is the question. There is often a prohibition on asking, as for instance in the legend of Lohengrin where it is a matter of guarding a mystery. The mystery is generally that of the hero's descent which, most frequently, is miraculous. With Perceval the matter stands differently. Excepting in Wolfram, and in Wagner where a pure fool, through pity wise becomes the quintessence of Parsifal's character, the question is not based on compassion._
> 
> - Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, _The Grail Legend_.


:lol:

Yea. Sorry! I was actually referring to the actual names from the track listings. I can't get more specific than that.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

ericdxx, you were chalkpie?

I don't think anyone answered because it wasn't clear what was being asked, and of whom it was being asked (one specific person? anyone/everyone?)

Track names are a little difficult to answer because every recording is cut a little bit differently. This is much more of an issue with Wagner and other composers that didn't really write numbers operas (but even those are not quite so straightforward).

My answers (just sticking with what I put several years ago)

1. Prelude from Das Rheingold - Track 1 of disc 1 of the entire thing.

2. Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla (used this as my wedding recessional) - What I actually played at my wedding was from the George Szell recording "Wagner Without Words", the track "Entry of the Gods into Valhalla" which is a six minute instrumental portion of the end of _Das Rheingold_. This track starts around when Donner is clearing the mist and then Froh points everyone to the rainbow bridge. Non-instrumental recordings may break it at the start of Donner's bit, "Schwüles Gedünst," or slightly later at "Heda! Heda! Hedo!" It uses material from there to the end of the opera, bypassing some of Loge and the Rhine daughters.

3. Brünnhilde and Siegmund in Die Walkure - this is all of Act 2, scene 4, which starts with "Siegmund! Sieh auf mich!" My favorite part of this is when Siegmund says no, "So grüße mir Walhall", which is about 10 minutes in. This is sometimes the end of the first track of the scene, sometimes the end of the second track. Brünnhilde's response, "Du sahest der Walküre sehrenden Blick" is often the start of the next track.

4. Siegfried's Funeral March - This is often its own instrumental track at the end of Act 3 scene 2 of _Götterdämmerung_, titled Siegfried's Funeral March in English, Siegfrieds Trauermarsch in German, or something similar.

5. Brünnhilde's Immolation - From act 3, scene 3 of _Götterdämmerung_. "Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort," as Brünnhilde directs the Gibichungs to build a funeral pyre effigy of Valhalla. She goes for about fifteen minutes, then there's a few minutes of Hagen, the Rhine daughters, and the instrumental closing.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Dawn Duet from Gotter....
Immolation Scene
Big scene with Erda and Wotan... Walkure?
Siegmund Sieglinde scene
Opening of Act 2 Walkure Wotan and Hojotoho
One more... scene with Bruinhilde and Waltraute


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Big scene with Erda and Wotan... Walkure?


Siegfried Act 3


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

least favorite - walkurenritt. it's sad that the worst memorable piece of music that Wagner wrote is all non-opera fans know of him.

favorites - I'm no iconoclast here--I like all the bits most wagner fans like, leb wohl, magic fire music, entry of the gods into walhall, announcement of death, forging song, immolation, wintersturme-du bist der lenz, etc. 

my favorite bits that don't show up on the bleeding chunks highlights disks--

- Scene 2, Act 3 of Gotterdammerung, when Siegfried is telling his adventures while drinking the magic potion to restore his memory while Hagen is cynically commentating; 

- "nicht sehre dich Sorge um mich", and the recurrence of the redemption through love motif at the very end of Gotterdammerung; 

- the Fricka/Wotan and Wotan/Brunnhilde scenes in Act 2 of Walkure, particularly the transitional passages between Fricka forcing Wotan to submit and the complete freakout he has when talking with Brunnhilde

- "weiche, Wotan, weiche"


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## Ice Dragon (Jun 20, 2018)

I just discovered the Ring last year, and I’ve only heard it all the way through a few times, so there’s probably lots of bits of music I’ll come to love later (I almost never like a piece of music the first time I hear it), but here’s what I love most so far:

The prelude to Siegfried, especially the Nibelung leitmotif that starts about halfway through. It’s so delightfully creepy.

Those amazing 30 seconds from “Siegmund heiss ich” to “Ich fass es nun." It took a while to feel the impact of that bit, but when I did, it slammed into me HARD. What a glorious piece of music.

Siegfried Act II when Siegfried and Fafner posture and insult each other before their fight. Such fun.

The prelude to Die Walkure. It immediately sets a different tone from Rheingold: frantic and dark.

Prelude to Das Rheingold. Very pretty the way it slowly builds. I also like the first few lines from Woglinde and Wellgunde, the way it starts with pretty-sounding nonsense, then shifts to playful banter. 

In terms of leitmotifs, I tend to hum both of Siegfried’s, Brunnhilde’s sleeping music, and the Nibelung theme. 

So far, Siegfried is my favorite of the operas, but I find myself watching/listening to Act I of Walkure the most. Which was unexpected, because the first time I saw it, I had no idea why, after seeing a story about gods, dwarfs, giants, undines, a magical headpiece, a cursed ring, and a rainbow bridge to a castle in the sky, we were spending an hour in a hut in the woods with people we'd never met. It took three days to get through that hour. The second time through the cycle, I knew how important the scene was, and so was able to enjoy it, and now I can't stop watching/listening to it.


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