SOCIETY OF MUSICIANS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21245, 27 July 1932, Page 4

SOCIETY OF MUSICIANS

WAGNER'S " RING " TALE OF THE OPERAS Wagner's "Ring" was the subject of an interesting address given by the Rev. Wilna L. Constable at a members' evenings,! held by the Auckland Society of Musicians in the Lewis Eady Hall yesterday. Dr. S. K. Phillips introduced the speaker. As Mrs. Constable dealt with the story in each of the four, dramas which constitute the "Ring" the dominant motifs were played on the piano by Miss Dora Judson, and a gramophone selection from each opera was also given. A great advantage of Wagner's music lay in the fact that he was his own librettist, the speaker said, and thus his work was the product of the same mind, soul and experience. As a musical composer he was. not primarily concerned with technique, his chief aim being to get ideas expressed and feelings conveyed, which enabled the simple music lover to enjoy Wagner's music without any intricate ■ knowledge of his tectyiique. The speaker said that the four dramas which constitute the "Ring"—the Rheingold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods—were linked together in a 'wonderful unity of story, thought and music. There were three'different interpretations of the "Ring," firstly, that it was simply a musical theme based upon old Icelandic folk lore and legend, with the gods of old Norse mythology as a setting and background; secondly, as an allegory dealing with the elemental forces in human life—a play of ideas in the development of the race, and thirdly a social drama of Wagner's own day, born of his own social and political experience. Dealing with each opera, the speaker pointed out the meaning of the three interpretations, and in each case told the story of the different operas. A cordial vote of thanks was passed to Mrs. Constable at the conclusion of her address.