The Tristan Chord - And Why it Matters
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On Wagner's Tristan Chord, as featured in his opera, Tristan und Isolde
Mentioned Works:
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde
Mozart - Don Giovanni
Rossini - The Barber of Seville
Wagner - Lohengrin
Wagner - The Ring Cycle: Das Rheingold
Beethoven - Piano Sonata no. 18 in Eb major, Op. 31 no. 3
Debussy - Golliwog's Cakewalk, from Children's Corner
Debussy - En Sourdine, from Fetes Galantes
![Harry Potter And The TRISTAN Chord [Music Theory]](/img/n.gif)
Just to clarify something - as said below, there is technically some tonal resolution before the very end. However, the Tristan chord itself is not "resolved" until the very end. Moreover, these moments of "tonal resolution" which end Act One and Two are extremely abrupt - have a listen. They only resolve into a key for the last 30 seconds or so of an 80 minute Act. But more than that...
Wagner does everything he can to make T&I feel separate and apart from the world around them. So when the Sailors come in at the end of Act One, they're excited to be arriving at Cornwall! It has nothing at all to do with the lovers and their inner conflict. So hooray, triumphant fanfare in a major key, but it is not a resolution of the Tristan chord conflict, nor of the lovers' problem. In fact - the arrival at Cornwall is BAD news for the lovers, because it's where Isolde is being taken to marry King Mark. So the major triumphant fanfare is very jarring.
The ending of Act 2 is struck with a devastating minor turn - which again only hits in the last 30 seconds of an 80 mins act, as the two of them have nowhere else to turn except for death. That minor tonality is prolonged for a while in the bleak beginning of Act 3, as Tristan lies sick and alone.
So yes, there are moments of clear cut tonality, to be sure! Though on the whole it is a yearning and searching opera, where tonal expectations are constantly subverted (which, at the time, was revolutionary). But the Tristan Chord itself is not "resolved" until the final minutes of the whole opera. And generally, when the drama focuses on the lovers, there is a characteristic tonal 'restlessness'. Have a listen yourself!
I remember learning about this chord in Theory class and the two common 'resolutions' were either interpreting the chord as a French 6th chord and simply 'resolving' on V after it, or we thought of it more non-functionally (Schenker) and it resolving at the 'a tempo' later.
That being said, I prefer any analysis that further brings into the story of the Opera, as I feel that aspect of musical interpretation is often lost on those that get too deep into the theory of the notes themselves. I think this is the most studied chord simply because of how many ways there are to interpret it. One of my friends tried to analyze it from an atonal perspective and it was rather interesting.
This chord was invented by Liszt years before Wagner came upon it.
CD122344 They as now that Liszt pasted it in after hearing Wagner. FWIT
@@CD122344 Did you even watch the video, where he explains how even Beethoven used it? Nobody 'invented' it. It's all about the context in which it's used. In this case, it's a vehicle to keep tonality at bay. It's expressing the disharmony of the situation that the characters find themselves in.
This is probably the best presentation of this chord that I have ever seen. Great work!
Agree. Your short illustrations on piano of each element while going along are great. Superb teaching and illustration. I was always curious to know what this 'Tristan chord' was about... seems like it was basis of much of Liszt's 2nd half of work, the unresolved and uncertain, opposed to the safe, and resolved.
I love the facial expressions you make when you play the chords.
That's how musicians do.đ
This is a phenomena I have noticed often, especially in guitar solos. Why does this happen ? I suggest listening to Rudolf Steiner's lectures on music. I have playlists on my channel that contain these answers.
I never felt lost listening to Tristan and Isolde
The "atonality" of Tristan was beautiful
The revolutionary thing about Wagner is that he showed us that love sounds different than hate. That every human emotion lives in its own musical space.
The drama of life sometimes resolve, sometimes it doesnât. Thatâs what the misunderstood idea of âtotal work of artâ really meant.
This explanation just adds such a new dimension to the music. I now realize that I've probably never enjoyed any piece of classical music to the fullest. Thank you for this amazing revelation!
Of all the music channels I've looked into, I like yours the best. You have heart as well as extensive knowledge. You're not impressing me with your cleverness so much as sharing a real passion. I am subscribed and hope to see much more from you. Cheers!
Snuggles McSquishbottom, welcome to the club. đ
An analysis of Wagner's "Parsifal" would be interesting if you have the time in your busy schedule.
Please! Parsifal is incredible! Iâm a new subscriber and quite delighted.
Yes Parsifal please
When I get my first tattoo, itâs going to the the Tristan Chord!
Iâd probably choose Hojotoho, but the octave leaps would take up too much of my arm!
Make sure they write it correctly. You didnât even write your comment without a small mistake! (You wrote âtheâ instead of âbeâ. đ)
Ffs, please donât.
I love this conversation. Studied this chord in advanced analysis in undergrad. Your enthusiasm reminds me of one of my favorite professors. I love seeing your face through this. We need visual human proof that this music is worth listening.
This chord makes me feel that time is melting. This chord also changed my life. Thank you for the nice video.
SHUT UP YOU PATHETIC FUCKING PONCE.
Does it really though...
This guy is an awesome music instructor. I hope that he goes far!
The film melancholia got me hooked on this haunting beautiful piece...thankyou for posting
me too
Just from the few lines he plays, I first heard the strings in my head, then chased the thought to Melancholia.
Great music in a great movie
As an amateurs composer, you're the only help I get.
Getting a capable composition mentor will help immensely!
Watch "jjay berthume" on youtube, you can see him compose full orchestral pieces from beginning to end with him explaining his thought process. "Rick beato" is also very good for theory but it can get super advanced so if you need something slower, well constructed and accessible to all while still giving you a wide breadth of music theory then go see "musictheoryguy". Another good one is "signals music studio", it has a little emphasis on the guitar but it doesn't get in the way at all. "Richard Atkinson" and "orchestration online" are also good for score analysis. If you work hard and are determined that should be enough to get you pretty far, good luck :)
@@ITBahren thank you so much
007Raizor thank you a loot!
I was lucky enough to see Berlin Philharmonic perform Tristan & Isolde back in 2016, conducted by Simon Rattle. Stuart Skelton (Tristan) was in tears at the end, Eva-Maria Westbroek (Isolde) comforting him. It was an astonishing evening, Conductor, Singers & Orchestra pushing themselves to the limit. The 2nd act in particular, will never forget it. Love this video, captures how the Tristan chord creates such emotion & feeling :-)
We're playing Rachmaninoff The Bells this week. There is a gorgeous Tristan reference in the second movement, appropriately "Wedding Bells "
I enjoy watching you explaining the chord's impact almost as much as I enjoy listening to the music itself. Very heartfelt.
As Bernstein said, "this is the hub of the wheel, the central work of all music history".
Western music changed forever after this Drama. Bruckner, Mahler, Schönberg, Berg, Strauss, etc, adored this masterpiece.
Lovely, intelligent, and heartfelt analysis.
Omg I have a harmony test in two weeks and we are studying Wagner, this is so useful, Thank you!
Good luck.
I like this video format by the way. I see some miss the usual format with score etc. However, if this format makes it possible to upload rather than spend hours in the edit then go for it. It was great (and impressive) to listen to your live demonstration and appreciate your knowledge and passion on it. A complicated edit is a ânice to haveâ not a requirement for me. Enjoyed âmeetingâ you and seeing your enthusiasm! Your love of talking about this subject comes across so well on screen. Fantastic
Thank you for the intensive study into Debussy's use of the chord as well. Incredible.
I always recall Excalibur 1981 when I hear Wagner...especially Lancelot and Guinevere.
And now might be a good time to progress up to Alexander Scriabinâs âChord of Pleromaâ (or Mystic Chord) which he felt enshrined the totality of all Divine Power. This chord is the basis of his work âPrometheusâ for piano, orchestra and LIGHT KEYBOARD (a keyboard that would by pressing a given key, produce a colored light or combination of colors that would represent their direct association to a feeling or spiritual concept and symbol). Scriabinâs output from this point onward was based and greatly expanded, on the tone relationships from the notes in this chord. Completely new scales and chords (based on 4ths) were the cornerstone of this period, all culminating to the great âMYSTERIUMâ, the was never realized because of his sudden death.
The scope of this mankind shifting, 7 day, multi sensory, spiritual rite, at the foot hills of the Himalayan mountains, would have been the grandest expression in art of all time.
Excellent exploration of this, from one musicologist to another.
7:17 Didn't expect that resolution at all since I've listened to this piece many times, and it caught me so off guard that I let out a laugh and almost choked on my coffee!
I love the Tristan's chord, I love this video! đ
I think this chord responds great more and more to our times as in terms of ambiguity but not only. Gives me chills.
Love Wagner have all his mature operaâsCDs Iâve always wondered why the Tristan
Cord was so intriguing and you did a beautiful job explain thank you so much
The best classical music channel I had discovered so far. Dude you will be famous!
By the way, I loved this overture and I didnât know why until I watched this video. Some of the words perfectly described my feeling.
Thank you--this is fascinating and I look forward to watching more of your videos. Your singing is also distinctly beautiful. Cheers!
Golliwogg's cakewalk is not only quoting the tristan chord in the middle section. The A-section is a ragtime based on the tristan chord, too. The notes ab, f, eb and cb (a enharmonic version of the tristan chord) are all over the place and quite prominent in the opening theme. It really needs some genious to mix up Joplin and Wagner and only Debussy could do that!
3.00 Excellent insight. Setting the chord in the context of usual practice ... brings out the MYSTERY Of the chord ... which is why it had such an enormous impact on musicians and the wider public ... For it was beyond all expectations ...
I sang Debussy's "En Sourdine" in college and never realized it's connection to Wagner's "Tristan" chord. Same thing with "Galliwog's Cakewalk" Thanks for this. It was illuminating.
Wonderful and insightful video! Thank you for introducing me to this concept, and the musical worlds it shaped after Wagner
It is not true that the opera proceeds for more than three hours without resolution. The first and second acts conclude with clear tonal resolutions. The third act begins with a variation of the Tristan chord motif that features a plagal cadence (this time Wagner does quite the opposite to the first act prelude, moving from dissonance to consonance). Therefore, at certain places in the score tonalities are established and tension is resolved.
It is true, however, that the opera generally feels like a long way from the first Tristan chord to its final resolution in B major in the very last measures.
You're right my riffing should not be trusted! However there are caveats! The Act One resolution is very much in the last 20 seconds only (of an 80+ minute Act), and it's the chorus shouting "Cornwall, Hail!" to a massive fanfare on a very sudden perfect cadence that seems itself unprepared. That, musically and dramatically speaking, has little or nothing to do with Tristan and Isolde's characters - Wagner does everything he can to pit T&I against the rest of the world, or emphasise how distant they feel from the world. I always found the ending fanfare of Act 1 to be intentionally jarring - a moment of sudden tonal clarity in an otherwise ocean of searching. But the clarity doesn't come from T&I, it comes from the sailors shouting Land Ho. Moreover, remember that arriving at Cornwall is Bad News for the lovers - it's where Isolde is being taken to marry the King of Cornwall.
Likewise Act 2, where the sexual climax is devastated by the famous "Coitus Interruptus" (Rette dich, Tristan!!!) - and then the music becomes usurped by the Hunting Chorus, who have returned to ruin T&I's night. The final minor resolution is devastating because they have nowhere to turn except death - the final resolution.
It is only at the end of Act 3 that we have a sense of *true* resolution. At least that's my reading
But as always - thank you for corrections!
Fuegan There are tonal resolutions obviously over the course of a 4 hour opera, but the chord itself, the longing motive of the prelude, is never resolved until the very end.
@@Dan474834 You hit the nail on the head.
This channel is absolutely amazing. Great work!
Your videos on music are some of the best at CZcams. You're an addiction. The Tristan score is, in my opinion, the most orgasmic music ever written. And the early audiences were duly shocked.
So interesting. I could listen to this guy for hours. A born musician and educator.
I know next to nothing about theory, I write songs out of chords (and sometimes make up my own chords). This was thirteen minutes of heaven for me. I need to find ways of working in these sort of ideas. Wonderful! Thank you!
very interesting comment, just saw Tristan & Isolde yesterday (Paris, Bastille) and those chords keep haunting me! I didn't know this half diminished was called Tristan chord.. Good to know other people are haunted ;-) so thank you so much
These videos are such gifts... I hope uni is going well for you!
I cannot read music or understand the mathematics behind it but I HEARD exactly what you were talking about in this presentation which is gold to an illiterate music lover like myself . I think I first really consciously noticed this irresolution thing going on in Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time . Thank you for making my enjoyment of music more informed without diminishing it into academia . Thanks for what you do .
I just love the way you presented this video. Wagner is such a mystery to young people but you really helped me to understand why I am mesmerised by this opera.
Played piano since i was 3, made some music, lived music, but never got into the theory, so happy I found your channel ! I have sooo much to learn. Thank you
Thanks, I needed this. My music theory teacher referred to this chord and I had no idea what she was talking about.
I love eveything you said and presented. Tristan AND Impressionists captured my heart in about 9th grade and I never went back.
I know very little about music theory and criticism, but I think that this video is about to send me down a rabbit hole. And I'm very much looking forward to it!
I first heard this 50 years ago at the Dallas Public Library, on vinyl with headphones. The record contained a Chopin etude, a Schoenberg String Quartet and the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde. I did not know it was from an opera, or even what an opera was at that point. But I must have loved it because I listened over and over. Twenty years later, married with children, I was parked at a Burger King. The kids were playing in the park and I was sitting in my car listening to public radio. I heard Jesse Norman belting out the Liebestod accompanied by the full orchestra. I had never heard it before. Tears streamed down my cheeks then as now and whenever I listen again. Check out "Wagner-Isolde's Liebestod-Waltraud Meier..."
I've know about the "Tristan chord" for quite a while but listening to you break it down as it's being played really helps me put into words why I love his music and everything it has since inspired. Composers alive circa JPE Bach through Hayden, Mozart in particular, turned composing almost into a science. As long as you followed what was essentially a template you could write music. It was almost formulaic and repetitive, which fit perfectly with what was fashionable at the time, but I've always found classical cadences and forms to be too sterile and predictable. Beethoven helped rewrite the rules and things got a little more experimental for much of the 19th century, but a lot of it was still copy and paste, imitate and maybe innovate. It wasn't until the latter half of the century with the rise of the Mighty Handful in Russia, Saint-Saens and of course Wagner that I can finally feel true tension and emotion in music. A hundred years before them you had maybe a specific key or mode to show sadness or despair, but you had to break so many conventions to make the music itself, almost in a meta way, to demonstrate the kinds of emotions that music could really portray.
Your videos are the absolute best !! This new format is absolutely brilliant as well.
Subscribed. Your passion and knowledge reminds me of my favourite teachers
You are a wonderful teacher, thank you so much.
Excellent presentation. Your discussion, personality, camera position, Just really well done. Subscribed.
Some also hear it as an augmented 6th chord, not one of the regular 3: F, B, D#, G# with a slightly different resolution - the D# moving to D natural instead of up to E and the B and G# resolving as part of a voice exchange between the aug 6 and dominant 7th
Everytime you played that chord, it reminded me of Rhapsody in Blue. I don't know how this part is called but if you recall the Fantasia 2000 animation, it was just before the ice-skating part.
Yes!!
Your videos are so interesting and always on point! Really enjoy watching them
Thank you đ Love how casual & friendly this all is yet really informative & enjoyable... Gonna go play this chord right now... đ
It is an interesting demonstration how all western music is based upon Bach as presented by Leonhard Bernstein in his the "Unanswered Question", a standard now for any music student. He shows us a consequent unfolding in accords as proven in the music of Beethoven, Berlioz and Wagner. The accords keep from Bach to Mahler more and more a rising ambiguity; in the beginning the ear cannot fathom in which key the music will end. And sometimes there is no definite end when the music closes with a still ambiguous accord.
new here. I appreciate what you are going. I would have like to see your hands on the keys with clear view of the chord structure. but then again the more I watch over it.it's theory & analysis
Fascinating stuff man. Thanks for sharing this knowledge
Sometime you might address for us the problem of Wagner's demolition of western music, which one critic likened to razing a thriving village to make room to build his cathedral. Another critic---Hanslick, I think---opined that after Wagner's astonishing high wire act composers attempting to follow his example would surely break their necks. If, as you say, the tonal ambiguity in "Tristan" and its long refusal to resolve leads us to atonality, that does introduce a fatal flaw into the equation. I adore the music of "Tristan" for the emotional engagement I always feel hearing it. I love being drawn into its extravagant and strange harmonic progressions, but no matter where the music ranges, with Wagner I always feel that I am on the path to a destination. Other composers, following his example, meander through keys without a tonal center and withhold resolution to heighten tension, but it can feel like the elaboration of a method without the emotional purpose that compels it into being. It seems to me that composers were more successful when they refused to become his disciples, and did as Debussy did, using Wagnerian elements to realize their own ideas. The German school went down fast after Wagner. The schools of other countries remained viable well into the 20th century. Why was the effect of "Tristan" so potent and destructive at the same time? Was Nietzsche right about Wagner when he said he was ânot the prophet of the future, as perhaps he would wish to appear to us, but the interpreter and clarifier of the past?â Is his music really just an addictive artistic drug that deadens the pain of existence rather than affirms life?
beautifully clear exposition.
I just realized that Debussy's Cakewalk contains Wagner's T&I Prelude and wow... such different attitudes.
Thank you for explaining about Tristan chord! I really enjoy your video!
Wow! That was fun! I wish it was longer! I can tell you love exploring and sharing your findings--and it's contagious!
Thank you for this. I just watched this opera in Seattle yesterday as it's one of those "You Must See This Before You Die" type shows and honestly, I was struggling to understand it's significance. This was extremely informative!
Tristan und Isolde is the best opera of all times.
Seen the 'Book of Mormon'?
Stimmt
*laughs in wozzeck*
@@Breakbeat90s LANGSAM!
@@threethrushes what?
My thoughts are that it makes for a great doorway into the relationship of classical music to Opera , this/your , video that is . I mean it's all to easy to think of Opera as simply an extension or sister if you like , of the classical music genre . But in itself it has a multitude of interesting benefactors to the world perfermoance art . Inspiring video thanks .....
Beethoven's 18th Sonata, Clair de lune, cake walk, gymnopedie attract me years and years, but I couldn't realize the resemblance to the theme of Tristan und Isolde.
Thank you very much for the analysis.
It would be fantastic if you can explain how the theme changes and develops in the entire opera.
Your videos are so great! Thanks for posting. Greetings from LA CA USA.
Bernard Herrmann was clearly influenced by this chord in his Vertigo score.
The Wagner chord ......... still haunts me to this day ... 58 years later..... but it's not the chord but the way Wagner mesures every sentiment .... but hey.... I don't need to tell my grandmother to suck eggs ..... Great job !!
It's a pleasant surprise to see your face after so long of only voiceovers.
I play the low whistle. I mean, I'm from the other side and all. Jig, real and hornpipe but I have to say... this is SO interesting! Thank you so much!
dude i love this sm
Youâre presentation is informative and enjoyable. Youâre an excellent instructor. Do keep it up.
Wonderfully done! Bravo.
Speaking of scores, it's worth noting that the outstanding Lars von Trier movie Melancholia starts out with a legit 8-minute-long overture, set to the prelude from Tristan and Isolde. It's visually amazing, on top of this great (and important!) music. (It's available here on CZcams. Play it loud.)
Are there other movies that feature Tristan and Isolde?
Harlan Harris Ivanâs XTC.
Excalibur circa 1981 ish
It's worth looking at Liszt's Faust Symphony, which provided a harmonic and melodic inspiration for some of Wagner's Tristan, as well as some themes in The Ring
The Tristan chord is already introduced by Wagner in the Wesendonck Liedern in "Im Treibhaus" - Heinz
Thank you for a great analysis. A fascinating subject. I didnât start studying music until later in life and first heard about this 2 years ago. So glad to hear your thoughts on it here
This is so helpful. I'm just reading Daniel Barenboim's book "Everything Is Connected". He refers to the connection between sound and silence, in the course of which he highlights what he calls 'the Tristan Chord' - you've explained it, thanks.
And the chord goes for 4 hours and is resolved in Der Verklaerung (transfiguration) section, better known as the Liebestod. It almost resolves midway through Act 2 before King Marke interrupts the lovers which is marked by a brutal dissonance.
I would like to point out that this was posted on November 16th - my birthday. It is also important to note that my favorite orchestral piece is the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde.
Proof that the entire universe revolves around you, Lynn.
Happy Birthday.
I think that chord is also used in the song Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday. I listen to Wagner's Ring cycles every night before bed . It takes about a week and a half to get through the whole opera. I don't know much german but that does not matter as long as the orchestrasin is good .
Thanks. I had heard of this, but never saw it presented audibly in any way.
Thank you for this. I am so touched about it.
Also used by Manuel de Falla in Nights in the Gardens of Spain, in one of its climax moments.
Thank you. Insightful and wonderfully relayed
Thanks for this video about the greatest composer! Cheers
Lol I was actually just learning about this chord in my music history class!!! Perfect timing!!!
thanks for your effort / this video brings me more close to Tristan and Isolde
from Hong Kong
a non-musical person who likes classical music
Transmiting enthousiasm and love for the great music! Thx!
Fascinating. You are a gifted teacher.
Also, CĂ©sar Franck's violin Sonata in A minor has the same beginning as Debussy' song.
Thank you for your analysis.
No teacher has ever explained to me like this! Thank you!
Youâre very handsome! Keep showing your face in your awesome videos!
Brilliant as usual!
I found this video because, although Iâve seen Tristan in the theater a few times, Iâve been on a recent kick to hear many interpretations. If youâre going to be on a kick, itâs probably better to choose something less than four hours!! Of course you can write books about Tristan, and many already have, but thereâs a lot to discover just by watching and listening. Actually, Isoldeâs Curse does resolve, but not the actual Tristan Chord, and the desolation of the end of Act 2 and beginning of Act 3 is beyond sadness. The love duet, honestly I donât know how the tenor and soprano can even find the correct pitch, itâs so unmoored from tonality, and there are few cues from the orchestra. Anyway, your analysis is fascinating.
So happy I found this channel.