The Complete Opera Book Part 29

"Are not even the beasts here sacred?" she retorts, but harshly, and not as if pleading for sufferance. The other _Esquires_ would have joined in hara.s.sing her had not _Gurnemanz_ stayed them.

"Never has she done you harm. She serves the Grail, and only when she remains long away, none knows in what distant lands, does harm come to us." Then, turning to where she lies, he asks: "Where were you wandering when our leader lost the Sacred Spear? Why were you not here to help us then?"

"I never help!" is her sullen retort, although a tremor, as if caused by a pang of bitter reproach, pa.s.ses over her frame.

"If she wants to serve the Grail, why not send her to recover the Sacred Spear!" exclaims one of the _Esquires_ sarcastically; and the youths doubtless would have resumed their nagging of _Kundry_, had not mention of the holy weapon caused _Gurnemanz_ to give voice to memories of the events that have led to its capture by _Klingsor_.

Then, yielding to the pressing of the youths who gather at his feet beneath the tree, he tells them of _Klingsor_--how the sorcerer has sued for admission to the Grail brotherhood, which was denied him by _t.i.turel_, how in revenge he has sought its destruction and now, through possession of the Sacred Spear, hopes to compa.s.s it.

Prominent with other motives already heard, is a new one, the =Klingsor Motive=:

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During this recital _Kundry_ still lies upon the ground, a sullen, forbidding looking creature. At the point when _Gurnemanz_ tells of the sorcerer's magic garden and of the enchantress who has lured _Amfortas_ to his downfall, she turns in quick, angry unrest, as if she would away, but is held to the spot by some dark and compelling power. There is indeed something strange and contradictory in this wild creature, who serves the Grail by ranging distant lands in search of balsam for the _King's_ wound, yet abruptly, vindictively almost, repels proffered thanks, and is a sullen and unwilling listener to _Gurnemanz's_ narrative. Furthermore, as _Gurnemanz_ queried, where does she linger during those long absences, when harm has come to the warders of the Grail and now to their _King_? The Knights of the Grail do not know it, but it is none other than she who, changed by _Klingsor_ into an enchantress, lures them into his magic garden.

_Gurnemanz_ concludes by telling the _Esquire_ that while _Amfortas_ was praying for a sign as to who could heal him, phantom lips p.r.o.nounced these words:

By pity lightened The guileless fool; Wait for him, My chosen tool.

This introduces an important motive, that of the =Prophecy=, a phrase of simple beauty, as befits the significance of the words to which it is sung. _Gurnemanz_ sings the entire motive and then the _Esquires_ take it up.

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They have sung only the first two lines when suddenly their prayerful voices are interrupted by shouts of dismay from the direction of the lake. A moment later a wounded swan, one of the sacred birds of the Grail brotherhood, flutters over the stage and falls dead near _Gurnemanz_. The knights follow in consternation. Two of them bring _Parsifal_, whom they have seized and accuse of murdering the sacred bird. As he appears the magnificent =Parsifal Motive= rings out on the horns:

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It is a buoyant and joyous motive, full of the wild spirit and freedom of this child of nature, who knows nothing of the Grail and its brotherhood or the sacredness of the swan, and freely boasts of his skilful marksmanship. During this episode the Swan Motive from "Lohengrin" is effectively introduced. Then follows _Gurnemanz's_ n.o.ble reproof, sung to a broad and expressive melody. Even the animals are sacred in the region of the Grail and are protected from harm.

_Parsifal's_ gradual awakening to a sense of wrong is one of the most touching scenes of the music-drama. His childlike grief when he becomes conscious of the pain he has caused is so simple and pathetic that one cannot but be deeply affected.

After _Gurnemanz_ has ascertained that _Parsifal_ knows nothing of the wrong he committed in killing the swan he plies him with questions concerning his parentage. _Parsifal_ is now gentle and tranquil. He tells of growing up in the woods, of running away from his mother to follow a cavalcade of knights who pa.s.sed along the edge of the forest and of never having seen her since. In vain he endeavours to recall the many pet names she gave him. These memories of his early days introduce the sad motive of his mother, =Herzeleid= (Heart's Sorrow) who has died in grief.

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The old knight then proceeds to ply _Parsifal_ with questions regarding his parentage, name, and native land. "I do not know," is the youth's invariable answer. His ignorance, coupled, however, with his nave n.o.bility of bearing and the fact that he has made his way to the Grail domain, engender in _Gurnemanz_ the hope that here at last is the "guileless fool" for whom prayerfully they have been waiting, and the _King_, having been borne from the lake toward the castle where the holy rite of unveiling the Grail is to be celebrated that day, thither _Gurnemanz_ in kindly accents bids the youth follow him.

Then occurs a dramatically effective change of scene. The scenery becomes a panorama drawn off toward the right, and as _Parsifal_ and _Gurnemanz_ face toward the left they appear to be walking in that direction. The forest disappears; a cave opens in rocky cliffs and conceals the two; they are then seen again in sloping pa.s.sages which they appear to ascend. Long sustained trombone notes softly swell; approaching peals of bells are heard. At last they arrive at a mighty hall which loses itself overhead in a high vaulted dome, down from which alone the light streams in.

The change of scene is ushered in by the solemn =Bell Motive=, which is the basis of the powerful orchestral interlude accompanying the panorama, and also of the scene in the hall of the Grail Castle.

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As the communion, which is soon to be celebrated, is broken in upon by the violent grief and contrition of _Amfortas_, so the majestic sweep of this symphony is interrupted by the agonized =Motive of Contrition=, which graphically portrays the spiritual suffering of the _King_.

This subtly suggests the Elegiac Motive and the Motive of Amfortas's Suffering, but in greatly intensified degrees. For it is like an outcry of torture that affects both body and soul.

With the Motive of the Sacrament resounding solemnly upon the trombones, followed by the Bell Motive, sonorous and powerful, _Gurnemanz_ and _Parsifal_ enter the hall, the old knight giving the youth a position from which he can observe the proceedings. From the deep colonnades on either side in the rear the knights issue, march with stately tread, and arrange themselves at the horseshoe-shaped table, which incloses a raised couch. Then, while the orchestra plays a solemn processional based on the Bell Motive, they intone the chorus: "To the last love feast." After the first verse a line of pages crosses the stage and ascend into the dome. The graceful interlude here is based on the Bell Motive.

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The chorus of knights closes with a glorious outburst of the Grail Motive as _Amfortas_ is borne in, preceded by pages who bear the covered Grail. The _King_ is lifted upon the couch and the holy vessel is placed upon the stone table in front of it. When the Grail Motive has died away amid the pealing of the bells, the youths in the gallery below the dome sing a chorus of penitence based upon the Motive of Contrition. Then the Motive of Faith floats down from the dome as an unaccompanied chorus for boys' voices--a pa.s.sage of ethereal beauty--the orchestra whispering a brief postludium like a faint echo.

This is, when sung as it was at Bayreuth, where I heard the first performance of "Parsifal" in 1882, the most exquisite effect of the whole score. For spirituality it is unsurpa.s.sed. It is an absolutely perfect example of religious music--a beautiful melody without the slightest worldly taint.

_t.i.turel_ now summons _Amfortas_ to perform his sacred office--to uncover the Grail. At first, tortured by contrition for his sin, of which the agony from his wound is a constant reminder, he refuses to obey his aged father's summons. In anguish he cries out that he is unworthy of the sacred office. But again ethereal voices float down from the dome. They now chant the prophecy of the "guileless fool"

and, as if comforted by the hope of ultimate redemption, _Amfortas_ uncovers the Grail. Dusk seems to spread over the hall. Then a ray of brilliant light darts down upon the sacred vessel, which shines with a soft purple radiance that diffuses itself through the hall. All are on their knees save the youth, who has stood motionless and obtuse to the significance of all he has heard and seen save that during _Amfortas's_ anguish he has clutched his heart as if he too felt the pang. But when the rite is over--when the knights have partaken of communion--and the glow has faded, and the _King_, followed by his knights, has been borne out, the youth remains behind, vigorous, handsome, but to all appearances a dolt.

"Do you know what you have witnessed?" _Gurnemanz_ asks harshly, for he is grievously disappointed.

For answer the youth shakes his head.

"Just a fool, after all," exclaims the old knight, as he opens a side door to the hall. "Begone, but take my advice. In future leave our swans alone, and seek yourself, gander, a goose!" And with these harsh words he pushes the youth out and angrily slams the door behind him.

This jarring break upon the religious feeling awakened by the scene would be a rude ending for the act, but Wagner, with exquisite tact, allows the voices in the dome to be heard once more, and so the curtains close, amid the spiritual harmonies of the Prophecy of the Guileless Fool and of the Grail Motive.

Act II. This act plays in _Klingsor's_ magic castle and garden. The _Vorspiel_ opens with the threatful Klingsor motive, which is followed by the Magic and Contrition Motives, the wild Kundry Motive leading over to the first scene.

In the inner keep of his tower, stone steps leading up to the battlemented parapet and down into a deep pit at the back, stands _Klingsor_, looking into a metal mirror, whose surface, through his necromancy, reflects all that transpires within the environs of the fastness from which he ever threatens the warders of the Grail. Of all that just has happened in the Grail's domain it has made him aware; and he knows that of which _Gurnemanz_ is ignorant--that the youth, whose approach the mirror divulges, once in his power, vain will be the prophecy of the "guileless fool" and his own triumph a.s.sured. For it is that same "guileless fool" the old knight impatiently has thrust out.

_Klingsor_ turns toward the pit and imperiously waves his hand. A bluish vapour rises from the abyss and in it floats the form of a beauteous woman--_Kundry_, not the _Kundry_ of a few hours before, dishevelled and in coa.r.s.e garb girdled with snake-skin; but a houri, her dark hair smooth and l.u.s.trous, her robe soft, rich Oriental draperies. Yet even as she floats she strives as though she would descend to where she has come from, while the sorcerer's harsh laugh greets her vain efforts. This then is the secret of her strange actions and her long disappearances from the Grail domain, during which so many of its warders have fallen into _Klingsor's_ power! She is the snare he sets, she the arch-enchantress of his magic garden.

Striving as he hints while he mocks her impotence, to expiate some sin committed by her during a previous existence in the dim past, by serving the brotherhood of the Grail knights, the sorcerer's power over her is such that at any moment he can summon her to aid him in their destruction.

Well she knows what the present summons means. Approaching the tower at this very moment is the youth whom she has seen in the Grail forest, and in whom she, like _Klingsor_, has recognized the only possible redeemer of _Amfortas_ and of--herself. And now she must lure him to his doom and with it lose her last hope of salvation, now, aye, now--for even as he mocks her, _Klingsor_ once more waves his hand, castle and keep vanish as if swallowed up by the earth, and in its place a garden heavy with the scent of gorgeous flowers fills the landscape.

The orchestra, with the Parsifal Motive, gives a spirited description of the brief combat between _Parsifal_ and _Klingsor's_ knights. It is amid the dark harmonies of the Klingsor Motive that the keep sinks out of sight and the magic garden, spreading out in all directions, with _Parsifal_ standing on the wall and gazing with astonishment upon the brilliant scene, is disclosed.

The _Flower Maidens_ in great trepidation for the fate of their lover knights rush in from all sides with cries of sorrow, their confused exclamations and the orchestral accompaniment admirably enforcing their tumultuous actions.

The Parsifal Motive again introduces the next episode, as _Parsifal_, attracted by the grace and beauty of the girls, leaps down into the garden and seeks to mingle with them. It is repeated several times in the course of the scene. The girls, seeing that he does not seek to harm them, bedeck themselves with flowers and crowd about him with alluring gestures, finally circling around him as they sing this caressing melody:

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The effect is enchanting, the music of this episode being a marvel of sensuous grace. _Parsifal_ regards them with childlike, innocent joy.

Then they seek to impress him more deeply with their charms, at the same time quarrelling among themselves over him. When their rivalry has reached its height, _Kundry's_ voice--"Parsifal, tarry!"--is wafted from a flowery nook nearby.

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"Parsifal!" In all the years of his wandering none has called him by his name; and now it floats toward him as if borne on the scent of roses. A beautiful woman, her arms stretched out to him, welcomes him from her couch of brilliant, redolent flowers. Irresistibly drawn toward her, he approaches and kneels by her side; and she, whispering to him in tender accents, leans over him and presses a long kiss upon his lips. It is the lure that has sealed the fate of many a knight of the Grail. But in the youth it inspires a sudden change. The perilous subtlety of it, that is intended to destroy, transforms the "guileless fool" into a conscious man, and that man conscious of a mission. The scenes he has witnessed in the Grail castle, the stricken _King_ whose wound ever bled afresh, the part he is to play, the peril of the temptation that has been placed in his path--all these things become revealed to him in the rapture of that unhallowed kiss. In vain the enchantress seeks to draw him toward her. He thrusts her from him.

Maddened by the repulse, compelled through _Klingsor's_ arts to see in the handsome youth before her lawful prey, she calls upon the sorcerer to aid her. At her outcry _Klingsor_ appears on the castle wall, in his hand the Spear taken from _Amfortas_, and, as _Parsifal_ faces him, hurls it full at him. But lo, it rises in its flight and remains suspended in the air over the head of him it was aimed to slay.

Reaching out and seizing it, _Parsifal_ makes with it the sign of the cross. Castle and garden wall crumble into ruins, the garden shrivels away, leaving in its place a sere wilderness, through which _Parsifal_, leaving _Kundry_ as one dead upon the ground, sets forth in search of the castle of the Grail, there to fulfil the mission with which now he knows himself charged.

Act III. Not until after long wanderings through the wilderness, however, is it that _Parsifal_ once more finds himself on the outskirts of the Grail forest. Clad from head to foot in black armour, his visor closed, the Holy Spear in his hand, he approaches the spot where _Gurnemanz_, now grown very old, still holds watch, while _Kundry_, again in coa.r.s.e garb, but grown strangely pale and gentle, humbly serves the brotherhood. It is Good Friday morn, and peace rests upon the forest.

_Kundry_ is the first to discern the approach of the black knight.

From the tender exaltation of her mien, as she draws _Gurnemanz's_ look toward the silent figure, it is apparent that she divines who it is and why he comes. To _Gurnemanz_, however, he is but an armed intruder on sanctified ground and upon a holy day, and, as the black knight seats himself on a little knoll near a spring and remains silent, the old warder chides him for his offence. Tranquilly the knight rises, thrusts the Spear he bears into the ground before him, lays down his sword and shield before it, opens his helmet, and, removing it from his head, places it with the other arms, and then himself kneels in silent prayer before the Spear. Surprise, recognition of man and weapon, and deep emotion succeed each other on _Gurnemanz's_ face. Gently he raises _Parsifal_ from his kneeling posture, once more seats him on the knoll by the spring, loosens his greaves and corselet, and then places upon him the coat of mail and mantle of the knights of the Grail, while _Kundry_, drawing a golden flask from her bosom anoints his feet and dries them with her loosened hair. Then _Gurnemanz_ takes from her the flask, and, pouring its contents upon _Parsifal's_ head, anoints him king of the knights of the Grail. The new king performs his first office by taking up water from the spring in the hollow of his hand and baptizing _Kundry_, whose eyes, suffused with tears, are raised to him in gentle rapture.

Here is heard the stately =Motive of Baptism=:

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