- Parsifal - To find the Ultimate Expression -

Recently I read an account of a lecture attempting to explain Wagner's
Parsifal strictly in terms of Catholic doctrine.  Several people expressed
scepticism, this is true for me as well.  In fact I myself am more that
sceptical to interpretations of Parsifal that are purely Christian.
Wagner, beside Christianity, was influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche,
and Oriental Religions, mainly Buddhism, and Wagner had even since at
least 1842 plans for Parsifal, which laid beside plans for other operas.
One topic was for instance about Fet-Mats who was conserved in the copper
mine in Falun, oneother plan was to make an opera about Jesus ("Jesus
from Nazareth"), and yet another, which was the most outdrafted plan; "The
Victors", which was supposed to deal with the life of Buddha.  All those
different stories saying about the same thing, and Wagner was searching the
right expression for his ideas.  One might then wonder if "Parsifal" was
the ultimate expression for these ideas.  The opera as it came to be is
more than manifold, and it requires a lot of work, thinking and imagination
to grasp.  And some things insinuate that even Wagenr wasn't fully
satisfied with what he created, and in 1883, he sat, heartsick, writing on
a Buddhistic opera, although he must have had strong doubts he should ever
succeed in finishing it.  But where on the table the cup now stands, to me
perhaps most fascinating is the enormous inpact "Parsifal" has actually
had on other composers.  Thats worth to notice as it is often forgotten
with words like; "I wished Wagner had composed 'Gurrelieder' instead of
'Parsifal' etc.  Several works by Scriabin, Strauss, Puccini and Schonberg,
which are directly derivata from "Parsifal", spring to mind.  Especially
around the turn of the siecle it can be found in many works.  Last I
found traces from both Akt II of Parsifal as well as Akt II of Tristan
in Bantock's Sapphian song cycle.  Not to mention Rimsky-Korsakoffs
instrumentation, especially as it rings in his operas, like "The
Golden Cockerel", and he even gave Mussorgskijs "Boris Godunov" that
transcendental echo of the "klaenge" in Parsifal, though his version
of "Boris Godunov" might be misturned (and when it comes to myself I
prefer Sjostakovitjs version, or even the authentic Mussorgskij).  For
transcendentalism (what not has with teethmoving to do), the word is not
choosen by a random.  "Parsifal" is Wagners most distinctly symbolical
drama, where the characters almost looses their root in human shape, and
become symbols - just symbols.  And the music is therefore by intended to
ring out from a world "above the humane sphere", and perhaps Klingsors
ultrachromatic motif from Akt II can be seen as the last and highest peak
of 19th century archromanticism.  I recall having read that Wagner himself
stated that the he knew himself that the Romantisicm here had come to an
end, and that the music after "Parsifal", would be 'lighter' -
'swifter'...More about the music downunder.

Just a few spread comments to give some new perspectives:

"Tannhaeuser" is interesting when talking about "Parsifal" as is
"Lohengrin", "Tristan und Isolde" and in large parts the "Ring des
Niebelungen".  Wagner was a very intelligent person, and has a sensitive
mind, which reacted on and reflected over his time, its problems and
pholisophical streams.  There is Hegel, in Wagner, who took up his
dialectics, and there also a line to Karl Marx.  There is Schopenhauer, and
there is religious ideas, everything mixed up with some Wagner and melted
the the great meltingpot - Wagners sharp brain - into a whole philosophy
that is his very own.  I see Wagners full production as a progressive
development where new insights and ideas are added on the journey, but not
as loose fragments they are hanging there, but they come to be intergrated
in each other in the end making a more and more elaborate "Weltanschauung".
Sometimes, there is a step back, sometimes a step to the side, but the walk
continues.

But it is important not to fix ones wiew on one of those elements.  To
interpret "Parsifal" as a evil mass of racehatred and racism only is not
better than interpret it as a Christian mysteryplay either.  Then that
Parsifal blesses the knights on the Good Friday, is equal to that (Goethes)
Faust signs the contract with Mephistopheles on the Good Friday in "Faust
I"

Wagner had found Chrestian de Troyes French knightstory "Perceval" from ca
1250 in early 1840ies, and already then he made some prosascisses, which he
later revised under the influence of his very close friend Ludwig II of
Bayern.  The first drafts so came to birth at the same times as his first
ideas to the Ring, inspired by Bakunin.  So his protocommunist ideas set
a seed to his vision, then he took his long walk, where he picked up a lot
of influences, until he finally found an elborate on his original thought,
just enriched with Schopenhauer, Hegel et al, in Buddhism.  Thats the first
point but let us come back to it downunder.

I start up anew:  Wagner had left his drafts for "Parsifal" lying,
meanwhile having his thoughts occupied by other projects, but when he met
Ludwig II of Bayern, he started to think over "Parsifal" again, but first
when he had finished The Ring he thought the time was in to deal with what
he called "My last and most holy work".

On different roads, the Graal, the charl with the blood of Jesus, had come
to the Castle "Montsalvat" in Spain together with the holy weapon, the
spear with which a Roman soldier had wounded the crucifixed Jesus, and the
Graalknights are, as all know, the guardians of those relics.  Once a year,
on the Good Friday, the knights pick out the holy Graal from where it is
stored, and conduct a worship service in which the first knight hold the
Graal over his head.  Then a white pigeon (white as the Swan Parsifal
kills) ascends and hoover over the Graal, and with that the knights are
blessed and win strength.  Amfortas has once betrayed Graal, and damadged
the knights honour.  At that occasion he had put aside his spear so it
could be stolen by Klingsor, a man who had been kicked out from the
Graalknighthood.  This Klingsor has become the representant of neopaganism
on Earth, and in his service he has the mysterious Kundry, who is Wagners
most complicated character of all his operas.  Klingsor has not just stolen
the spear from Amfortas, but also wounded him in the side, och the wound
has showed up to be unhealable and very painful.  Every "Karfreitag" (=Good
Friday"), when Amfortas shall lead the worship ceremony, the wound opens
and causes him horrible pains ("Oh, Wehe, des hoechsten Schmerzentags!").
Only with being ontouched with the tip of the holy spear, dipped in the
blood of Christ, he can be healed and bleesed from sins, and in a vision he
has got to know that this act can only be executed by:  "Ein reiner Tor,
durch Mitleid wissen".

To chime in something about the music:  I see it as built upon two
contrasts; the Good vs.  the Evil.  The first and the thrird acts are
mainly diatonic composed, with teh accent on the almost with naive easiness
outworked "Parsifalmotif" and the statuaric uplifted and in the choirs
liturgic ringing themes, which represent the world of the Graal.  The
second akt on the other hand, is dominated by Klingsors chromatically
upbuilt motif ("Klingsormotif"), and this heavy chromatism is also to
be found in the pains motif ("Schmerzenmotif") from the first akt.  This
is important to note as that makes the relationship between Klingor and
Kundry on one hand, and on the other the relation between Amfortas and the
Graalknights.  Kundry on the other hand, who is called by Klingsor with
"Dein Meister ruft Dich, Namenlose Urteufelin!  Hoellenrose!", canm be said
to stand in textual relationship with Venus in "Tannhaeuser" from Dresden
1845, but musically in relationship with the lovegodness of "Tannhaeuser"
in Parisversion of 1861.  Meanwhile she has connections to Herodias in the
Bible who temptates John the Baptist, and with the legends Ahasverus, who
teases the suffering Christ, and the New Testaments salvatory Magdalena,
and is with this Wagners most complicated (Female) character.  Wagner has
tried to catch her nature in tones, for example where she in the second akt
makes her long speech for Parsifal.  Several different segements are there
hold together with one "Kundrymotif".

So, Wagners "Parsifal" can in regard to Wolfram von Eschenbachs translation
be interpreted as a christian mysteryplay with the Chatolic passionsplays.
But now it was not so easy:  Wagner was influenced by Buddhistic thought,
and that is very obvious in "Tristan und Isolde", och the composer had in
the 1850ies made several attempts to produce a Buddhistic drama, but failed
to do so.  When he then wrote "Parsifal", these ideas came to influence the
early drafts, and some of it is still left to the final version.  The "pure
fool" (Fal Parsi=Pure Fool in Arabic language by the way) is a passive
hero, not like Siegfried in the Ring who handies a weapon, but breakes his
bow when he realizes what he has done to the shot swan.  Neither he uses
the spear in fight.  Buddha said, that race, origin and social belonging
had no relevance in an universe where man was to underwent the resurection
of soul - the ultimate change of all materia.  Therefore they should strive
to through selfcontrol try to reach a Nirvana, a condition free from all
earthly demands and in peace with all living.  Wagner failed in creating
his Buddhistic drama but there are influences in "Parsifal".  At one
occasion, on commenting a speech from one of the armourers that Kundry
is a pagan, Gurnemanz quoth:

   "Ja, eine Verwuenschte mag sie sein.
   Hier lebt sie heut' -
   vieleleicht erneut,
   zu buessen Schuld aus frueh'rem Leben
   die dorten ihr noch nicht vergeben.

   Uebt sie nun Buss in solchen Taten,
   die und Ritterschaft um heil geraten,
   gut tut sie dann und recht sicherlich,
   dienet uns - und hilft auch sich!"

My rotten translation follows:

   "To the doomed she surely belongs.
   Maybe she is -
   newborn here,
   too expiate her sins in past times,
   and be free from guilt with the time.

   Now she works as servant,
   and we are helped by this (woman),
   she makes good to us thereby
   serves us - and regains peace herself!"

So, to round things up; Wagner is such a rich well to dig in, and there are
many more influences I would like to tell about, and I could do to larger
extent than Mr Lampson has bandwitdh for, so let me just say some final
words.

It was said in the debate that "The Ring ends w/ the first note of
Parsifal".  I would change that to; "The Ring is set in elaboration in
the first note of "Parsifal"".  For they are actually saing the same
things, just with the different words.  Then one might add, that the
success Wagners Ring had after his death is built on misunderstandings,
misinterpretations and pure falsifications.  One could well claim, to
return to the beginning of my post, and make this my opus cyclic as
well ;-) that Wagenr in the Ring showed how the man falls in the trap of
Capital; he demonstrates how Woutans powermongering creats an ailenated
system, which just not means disaster for himself, but also means the same
for the "free" man Siegfried.  But in "Parsifal", Wagner goes further, and
let us come aware of another system, found on brotherhood and love.
Therewith he marked distance to the aggressive powermonging military states
of his time, but as his criticism of society in the Ring and even more in
Parsifal, is expressed in mythological likenesses, it was easy for the
Junkers of State to ignore them.  As the Rings parts were cut out of
their right comprehansion, and were performed in a shortened form and
undisatisfying, the whole meaning of it was corrupted.  "Das Rheingold" for
example, was almost never performed, as it was considered boring.  That it
is essential to understand the following happenings was ignored.  People
took up highlights from the other three parts, and ignored the drama as a
whole.  Therefore the message was transmuted into its opposite, and Wagners
opuses were misused like Beethovens "Eroica" or "Fidelio".  With the German
Nazis rule the misuse reached its peak, because the Rings and "Parsifals"
and other Wagnerworks as well, condemnation of powermongering and violence,
was not possible to fit in the fascist scheme of violence and terror.  Some
parts here and there were cut out to make an impression of logic unity, but
this took every meaning away from them.  Siegfired, for example, by Wagenr
intended to be a model for the citizen of the new world he wanted to
create, was transformed into the conquering man.  Wagners split relation
TO the Jews, which can be seen in his writings but not in the dramas,
was a well for the nazis.  His peculiar antisemitism was rooted in the
small-bourgeoise "true socialists" opinions, which were heavily critizised
by Marx and Engels.  In a sad way the capitalism was set in equal with
Jewry, and the latter was held responsibility for the putrefaction of
society.  Lack of knowledge of the rules for development of societies
led to classfraction, and this was mis-seen as a raceconflict.  Wagners
"answer" to this issue, is rooted in his utopic ideas from 1848 and has
nothing to do with the criminal actings of the nazis.  In the pamphlett
"Ueber das Judentumk in der Musik" in Juni 1851, he wants, like the
nobility, the jews to "give up their religion" to "together with us become
real citizens".  This history now, but as the nazis succeeded in shading a
dark light over Wagner and his music, it is so more important to *go back
to the sources* to understand the work.  To end this conclusion I would
like to quote Thomas Mann.  I choose the Zuerichlecture from the nazitime
 [1937] (my translation again, sorry):

   "The incredible - one can even say planetary - success, which the
   bourgeoise world then made for this art, thanks to certain sensous,
   nervous, and intellectual temptations which it had to offer, is a
   tracicomical pardox and mustn't let us forget that it was intended
   for a completely different audience and socialectically strived above
   all [...] bourgeoise order to a brotherly humane world, free from
   powerillusions [...], founded on justice and love".

But say what you want about "Parsifal", had the composer never met hs
friend Ludwig II of Bayern, it had never been.

Finally, let me draw your attention to the Naxos Historical series, which
offer some Wagnerrecordings - "Tristan", "Goetterdaemmerung", "Parsifal" -
(without libretto alas!) to their price.  I am right now listen to their
Metropolitan "Tristan".  The new Trans-fer-technique has made wonders for
these recordings.

More follows.....

Mats Norrman
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