Tannhäuser, WWV 70

1845 · WWV 70 · Opera in three acts

The Paris revision of 1861 greatly expanded the Venusberg music. Its ballet was placed in Act I, which offended the members of the Jockey Club, who expected to arrive later.

14 min

Recording

Overture — concert-band arrangementUnited States Marine Band · 1995
14:27
The United States Marine Band plays Wagner’s overture to Tannhäuser, WWV 70, in Sousa’s arrangement for concert band. The pilgrims’ hymn leads into the music of Venus’s mountain and then returns with the quick figures still around it, and the clarinets take over the strings’ fast lines.
Listening notes · joins
1. Pilgrims’ hymn, opening statement
  The hymn begins quietly in clarinet, bassoon and horns. In the opera, its long B♭ major phrases belong to the pilgrims travelling to Rome. Sousa keeps the scoring spare, and the band’s brightest instruments rest.
2. Hymn in the brass, clarinet semiquavers
  The brass play the hymn in broad, even notes. Above them the first clarinets play continuous semiquavers in 3/4, taking the part Wagner wrote for the orchestral strings.
3. The song contest at the Wartburg
  Tannhäuser leaves Venus’s realm, then sings her praises at the Wartburg song contest. The other singers turn on him. Elisabeth protects him, and he joins the pilgrims bound for Rome.
4. Venusberg music, Allegro
  From bar 82, Venus’s music begins with short running figures in the clarinets, followed by the upper woodwind at pp. The bass and heavy brass stop. Wagner changes the hymn’s three-beat metre to common time and marks the passage Allegro.
5. Solo clarinet, rehearsal D
  At rehearsal D the solo clarinet plays a long melody. Flute, piccolo and E♭ clarinet play running figures around it. The bass and brass have extended rests.
6. Return of the hymn to Venus
  The broad melody of Tannhäuser’s hymn to Venus returns in B♭ major. Beneath it, the lower clarinets, saxophones and euphonium play continuous flowing lines.
7. Paris production, 1861
  For the Paris production of 1861, Wagner placed the ballet in Act I. Members of the Jockey Club wanted the dancing later in the evening, and their whistles and catcalls disrupted the performances. Wagner withdrew the opera after three nights.
8. Return of the hymn
  The hymn returns in the middle and lower wind parts. Above it the first clarinets continue their semiquavers. Wagner brings back the procession and keeps the mountain music going at the same time.
9. Cosima Wagner’s diary, 1883
  On 23 January 1883 Cosima wrote in her diary: “He says he still owes the world Tannhäuser.” Wagner had then spent nearly forty years returning to the opera.
10. Hymn in B♭ major, full band
  The upper winds and full brass play the hymn in B♭ major. Under it the clarinets continue their quick figures. Sousa scores the long melody for the whole band.
Joins
1. Brass take the hymn melody
  The hymn stays in B♭ major and in 3/4. The brass play its long notes, and the first clarinets take a continuous semiquaver part above them. The low instruments mark out the bass beneath the two layers.
2. From the hymn to the Allegro
  The B♭ major hymn thins out to sustained wind notes. At the Allegro (bar 82), the metre changes from 3/4 to common time and the lower clarinets begin a soft rising figure. Flute, oboe and upper clarinets follow at pp with chromatic turns. The bass instruments rest.
3. Solo clarinet over quiet wind figures
  The loud chords stop, and quiet falling and rising figures follow in the wind. The low bass drops out. The solo clarinet plays a sustained line, with smaller notes in the flute, piccolo and E♭ clarinet around it. At Un poco ritenuto the phrase slows for a moment and the melody is held above the accompaniment.
4. F major dominant preparing B♭ at Tempo I
  The band holds F major harmony, then repeats it in short, accented chords. F is the dominant of B♭. At Tempo I, rehearsal E, the Venus song returns in B♭ major. The lower clarinets, saxophones and euphonium play flowing quavers beneath the broader upper melody.
5. The hymn returns under running clarinets
  The fast music thins out towards B♭ major. The hymn returns in the lower clarinets, horns and saxophones over long sustained bass notes. Above it the first clarinets continue their semiquavers.
6. Full band takes up the hymn
  At rehearsal H, marked Assai stretto, the upper winds and full brass join the B♭ major hymn. The bass doubles its steps and the first clarinets continue their running figures. Long notes spread from the low brass to the top of the wind section, and the running accompaniment continues within them.
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