 |
 Parsifal's fanfare (Ludwig Weber and
Wolfgang Windgassen; ogg format) |
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| The first example (A) shows the
Parsifal motif as it accompanies
his first appearance: a fanfare introducing a carefree
huntsman. It is a bold and brash theme, that on closer
examination is seen to have developed from an added-sixth
chord composed of the first four notes of the Grundthema (#1). This indicates that the
respective destinies of Parsifal and the Grail Knights are
linked; which is confirmed by the opening notes of the
Prophecy motif almost hidden at
(b). Wagner was true to his sources (especially, in this context, Wolfram) in so far as Parsifal tells the story of an individual's development. The Parsifal motif develops a little at each appearance, until it finally blazes forth in its final form (B) as Parsifal enters the Hall of the Grail with the recovered Spear. |
 Above: Bayreuth postcard showing the arrival of Parsifal with the healing spear (act three). |
The notes shown in red (a) are the germ cell from which the music of the Good Friday Meadows will develop. Note that the fragment (c) has been absorbed from the Riding motif.
Richard Wagner's Parsifal can be regarded, as it was
by Cosima Wagner, as the summation and recapitulation of his
achievements. Theodor Adorno
considered it to be more like an echo, composed in a style that
is typical of old age: This character is revealed by a
comparison between the sombre and, as it were, toned-down fanfare
motive in Parsifal and the motive associated with
Siegfried: it is as though the former motive were already a
quotation cited from memory.