1897 The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner - * 1897 RE-BOUND BY YMCA LIBRARY City of NY * RARE FIRST EDITION *

1897 The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner and His Festival Theater in Bayreuth, by Albert Lavignac ... Translated from the French by Esther Singleton, with illustrations and diagrams.

Publisher: Dodd, Mead & Co., NY.] 511p. with Foldouts, Scores. Decor cloth, [Staten Island, NY, U.S.A.] Illustrated, Musical Examples. 515pp., 8vo,

Preface: "In writing the thousand and first book on Richard Wagner and his work, I do not pretend to accomplish anything better than has yet been done. My aim has been something different,- a real practical guide to Bayreuth for the French which will answer the needs and satisfy the curiosity of those of our nation who have not yet taken that little journey, which is so easy and attractive. I have also desired to indicate in what state of mind it should be undertaken and what seductive preliminary studies are necessary to the complete enjoyment of the trip; finally, it has been my desire to present the Wagnerian style in its own proper light, by dissipating the clouds with which it has been enveloped by certain of its commentators, who, far from smoothing the way , have made it bristle with difficulties

First published in 1897, this was among the earliest works about Wagner and his works to come from outside Bayreuth and presented careful and probing analyses of both the poems and the music, touching for the first time on the essential themes and questions of Wagner's life and work, the use of the leit-motif and the universe of his creative work. Contains all of the original illustrations. A work explaining and interpreting Wagner and his music, which is extremely valuable for the French point of view which it presents. This title is cited and recommended by Books for College Libraries and the Catalogue of the Lamont Library, Harvard College.

Alexandre Jean Albert Lavignac (21 January 1846 – 28 May 1916) was a French music scholar, known for his essays on theory, and a minor composer. Lavignac was born in Paris and studied with Antoine François Marmontel, François Benoist and Ambroise Thomas at the Conservatoire de Paris, where later he taught harmony. Among his pupils were Henri Casadesus, Claude Debussy, Vincent d'Indy, Amédée Gastoué, Philipp Jarnach, Henri O'Kelly, Gabriel Pierné, and Florent Schmitt.
In March 1864, at the age of eighteen, he conducted from the harmonium the private premiere of Gioachino Rossini's Petite messe solennelle. His condensed work, La Musique et les Musiciens, an overview of musical grammar and materials, continued to be reprinted years after his death. In it he characterised the particular characteristics of instruments[1] and of each key,[2] somewhat in the way Berlioz and Gevaert (Traité d'orchestration, Gand, 1863, p. 189) had done.

~ Bought at auction when library was closed in the early 1900's ~

***TERMS OF SALE***
1) Buyer responsible for PayPal Fees & Shipping costs.
2) MEDIA MAIL/TRACKING/INSURED [USA ONLY]
3) ASK ABOUT COMBINED SHIPPING
4) NOTE: I will not ship to certain "high risk" countries. ASK before you buy/bid.
5) Subject to prior sale on other sites, forums, & blogs
6) If you have received NEGATIVE FEEDBACK YOU MAY NOT BID/BUY.
7) NO RETURNS ON SEALED LP’s FOR ANY REASON
8) !! ASK ABOUT FEE FREE OPTIONS !!

*** AURALIC AUDIO FULL LINE DEALER ***
*** RYAN HAND-CRAFTED SPEAKERS - FULL LINE DEALER ***

~ WE BUY LP COLLECTIONS ~

Thank you for looking.