Richard Wagner - THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES (Classical Music Video)

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THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES
WWV 86 by Richard Wagner

(Ritt der Walküren in German)
(La Chevauchée des Walkyries in French)

From Act 3 of “Die Walküre,” the second in a series of four operas by Richard Wagner collectively called Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelungen), written in the 1850s.

The Nibelungenlied is an anonymous epic poem, written sometime in the 1200s, writing down the long oral traditions of Germanic mythic-history. Der Ring des Nibelungenlied, a four-opera series, also includes epic poems and oral traditions of Nordic mythic-history. It’s a HUGE work, and The Ride of the Valkyries is one piece everybody knows, mostly due to the awesome shock value of its use in the disturbing 1979 movie, “Apocalypse Now.”

Valkyries are battle maidens who have ascended to Valhalla, the Nordic equivalent of “heaven” or “eternal reward.” They are fearsome females, but they also bring comfort and joy to those who have fallen in battle or noble conflict: they are there to bring you to Valhalla. They are mostly associated with winged or regular horses and eagles, but not exclusively.

Most people don’t know that this is a SONG, let alone that it comes from an opera. Wagner not only wrote all the music for Der Ring des Nibelungen, he wrote all the words too; the lyricist in opera is referred to as a librettist.

Despite the fact that commercialism and cheap sentiment have trivialized its use by advertising and entertainment, if you sit and just listen to this, you will find you feel quite differently from when you sat down. Psychological studies show that Music has a powerful effect on all creatures.

TURN IT UP LOUD AND ENJOY.

The imagery is mythic and semi-mythic feminine power: Amazons, Valkyries, the Angel of Death, the Greek goddess of battle, Athena, and historical Boudic(c)a, Queen of the Iceni Celts of first century Britannia.

Interestingly, even artists of ancient times had to overly-sexualize portraits of warrior women and powerful goddesses. Only because our time is so extreme in its polarization of the sexes and misogyny do we get art that reflects it. In my anthropology classes, I always said that through a people's technology we learn about their minds, through their art, we learn about their souls.

My YouTube channel is a not-for-profit channel, and the music videos I make are to enjoyably inspire or enhance appreciation for music, poems and other literature, photography, and art.


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