The Language Of Music In Mozart S The Magic Flute

Christoph Peter appreciates music as complete and perfect in every human being. It richly expresses our vitality, feelings and strivings. The goal of The Magic Flute is "the right union of the Papageno world of our natural origins with the world of Tamino, our striving spirit." The path of love and obedience is pictured in the Sun-realm of Sarastro and the temple of wisdom. The opposite pole is the realm of night, exemplified by the Queen of the Night and her vassals. Peter finds life's polarities pictured in the fairy-tale text and in Mozart's music - achieved wisdom and natural instinct, spirit and nature, life and form, urgency and rest, light and dark, love and hate... Like the human being, music always stands between polar forces. We experience ourselves, losing or finding ourselves again in a living, musical process of breathing, in the rise and fall of melody, in long and short notes, in major and minor, in the dynamics, indeed even with instruments, with the intervals or in the phrasing (Chr. Peter). The universal law of polarity necessitates a third factor: the transition or threshold between two antagonistic forces. This is directly portrayed, both on the stage and in Mozart's music. Linking up with other scholars (notably Abert), the author presents his vision in concrete musical terms: Mozart's music portrays inner time, inner space and inner centring. The perennial path of transformation, the "middle way" - named "T A O" in Far-Eastern tradition - becomes music. "The background of the mysteries in The Magic Flute - which people mostly seek in the text), can be found in the musical realm" (Chr. Peter). A largely unknown Mozart, who places his elements very simply and sensitively, emerges with his inclusive vision of human concerns. This definitive study of Mozart's most sublime work is also a comprehensive study of music's creative language; a companion for the musical artist and music lover of the twenty-first century. Musical studies have been enriched by a book of most unusual, probably unique significance. It should be read by everyone who loves The Magic Flute. In truly masterly thoroughness and sympathetic understanding, the author helps the musician and music lover to rediscover this work. Mozart's opera, sadly misunderstood especially today, according to Wilhelm Furtwangler, is "the most profound and unfathomable musical work in the whole world. Hermann Pfrogner in Die Kommenden

A comprehensive guide to Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE, featuring insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis, a complete, newly translated Libretto with German/English translation side-by side, and over 30 music highlight examples.

Kyra Teis's adaptation of Mozart's opera contains all the classic fairy tale elements. Prince Tamino must save Princess Pamina from her evil mother, the queen. To help him on his quest, three lovely ladies give him a magic flute that will charm both animals and humans. With the help of his flute and the companionship of his jovial friend, Papegno, Prince Tamino overcomes the trials of Silence, Patience, and Courage and thereby wins Princess Pamina's hand in marriage. Share this wonderful edition with a child. The book includes a parent-teacher guide.

Few operas have had more written about them than The Magic Flute, yet few are as often exposed to misguided comment - or to idiosyncratic productions. This book sets out to provide a straightforward account of Mozart's last opera, exposing the half-truths and legends that have proliferated since its first production in 1791. In the first chapter a hitherto unsuspected source for the opening scene is presented and Branscombe reveals the complex relationship between the stories, essays and stage-works on which the plot is based. The second chapter studies the intellectual background, with special attention to Freemasonry. A detailed synopsis follows, then the history of the composition, based on documentary evidence and, in the case of the autograph score, the paper-types used. Chapter 5 examines the identity of the librettist and the qualities of his work, and chapter 6 is a detailed study (by Erik Smith) of Mozart's music and more generally of his late style. Chapter 7 covers the first performance, the cast, early reception, and then the rapid growth in the opera's fame; an outline history of productions concludes the chapter. Anthony Besch discusses the nature of the challenge to the director presented by Die Zauberflöte and suggests how the problems can be overcome. The book contains illustrations, a synopsis, bibliography and discography and will be of interest to music students, scholars and opera-goers.

Expertly arranged vocal score from "The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte)," An Opera in Two Acts with German and English text.

The Story Orchestra: The Magic Flute is a beautiful retelling of the famous opera set to the sound of Mozart's music.

Die Zauberflöte had its premiere at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna on 30th September 1791, less than ten weeks before Mozart's death. It has proved to be one of the most enduringly popular of all his works and has enchanted generations of opera-goers of all ages. In a fairy-tale allegory imbued with serious philosophical concerns, the opera combines ethereal music with earthy comedy to convey a message of hope for a better world.In this guide, Nicholas Till writes about the background and genesis of the opera, locating it on the cusp of the Enlightenment and the beginnings of German Romanticism. Julian Rushton provides a detailed analysis of the score with numerous musical examples highlighting its many delights, and Hugo Shirley surveys the different and often bizarre permutations that the opera has undergone on stage since some of its very earliest performances through to the present day.The guide contains the complete German libretto with a new English translation by Kenneth Chalmers and incorporates all the dialogue so frequently cut in performances. There are sixteen pages of illustrations, a musical thematic guide, a discography, a bibliography and DVD and website guides. The guide provides a perfect companion to opera-goers wishing to extend their understanding and increase their enjoyment of this much beloved work.