What works based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the "Nibelungenlied" were first organized into a studio recording by John Royds Culshaw OBE
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John Culshaw John Royds Culshaw OBE (28 May 192427 April 1980) was a pioneering English classical record producer for Decca Records. He recorded a wide range of music, but is best known for masterminding the first studio recording of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen", begun in 1958.
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Der Ring des Nibelungen Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the "Nibelungenlied". The composer termed the cycle a "Bühnenfestspiel" (stage festival play), structured in three days preceded by a " " ("preliminary evening"). It is often referred to as the Ring Cycle, "Wagner's Ring", or simply "The Ring".
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Orkneyinga saga The Orkneyinga saga (also called the History of the Earls of Orkney) is an historical narrative of the history of the Orkney Islands, from their capture by the Norwegian king in the ninth century onwards until about 1200. The saga has "no parallel in the social and literary record of Scotland".
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Weltliche Chorwerke (Bruckner) Throughout almost all his composing life, Anton Bruckner composed about thirty Weltliche Chorwerke (secular choral works) and seven Wahlsprüche (mottoes) on German-language texts, the first in 1843 and the last in 1893. Many of these works including the mottoes, often with a patriotic slant, were written for "Liedertafel" (men's choral societies), above all "Frohsinn" and "Sängerbund". Others were composed for private occasions, such as weddings, funerals, birthdays or name-days, being dedicated to friends and acquaintances of the composer. The large majority of these works are set for men's choir, sometimes with soloists. Only two choral works (WAB 64 and WAB 66) and one motto (WAB 95.1) are set for mixed choir.
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Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis The Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis ("Catalogue of Wagner's Works"), usually shortened to WWV, is an index and musicological guide to the 113 musical compositions and works for the stage of Richard Wagner compiled by John Deathridge, , and Egon Voss.
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Nitida saga Nitida saga (medieval manuscript spelling) or Nítíða saga (normalised Old Norse and modern Icelandic spelling) is a fictional late medieval Icelandic romance saga thought to have been composed in Iceland in the fourteenth century. This saga is about a maiden-king named Nitida, who rules over France, and who is pursued by kings and princes from such faraway places as Constantinople, India, and a place the saga calls the Land of the Saracens. It is thought to be a direct response to "Klári saga": in "Klári saga", the main female protagonist, Serena, is brutally punished for her initial refusal to marry the hero Klárus, whereas the heroine of "Nitida saga" is portrayed much more favourably. Ethnicity, travel, and geography play important roles in the saga, and questions of gender and power, while magic, trickery, and deception are also prominent.
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Welsh mythology Welsh mythology consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. Like most predominately oral societies found in the prehistoric Britain, Welsh mythology and history was recorded orally by specialists such as druids (Welsh: "derwydd" ). This oral record has been lost or altered as result of outside contact and invasion over the years. Much of this altered mythology and history are preserved in medieval Welsh manuscripts which include the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. Other works connected to Welsh mythology include the ninth century Latin historical compilation "Historia Brittonum" ("History of the Britons") and Geoffrey of Monmouth's twelfth-century Latin chronicle, "Historia Regum Britanniae" ("History of the Kings of Britain") as well as later folklore such as the 1908 "The Welsh Fairy Book" by William Jenkyn Thomas.
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The Red Shoes (fairy tale) "The Red Shoes" (Danish: "De røde sko") is a fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen first published by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen 7 April 1845 in "New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Third Collection. 1845." ("Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Tredie Samling. 1845."). Other tales in the volume include "The Elf Mound" ("Elverhøi"), "The Jumpers" ("Springfyrene"), "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" ("Hyrdinden og Skorstensfejeren"), and "Holger Danske" ("Holger Danske").
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Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ] ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas (or, as some of his later works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Weber and Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionised opera through his concept of the "Gesamtkunstwerk" ("total work of art"), by which he sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. He described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen" ("The Ring of the Nibelung").
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Manfred (Schumann) Manfred: Dramatic Poem with Music in Three Parts (Opus 115) [German: "Manfred. Dramatisches Gedicht in drei Abtheilungen"], is a work of incidental music by Robert Schumann. The work is based on the poem "Manfred" by Lord Byron and consists of an overture, an entracte, melodramas, and several solos and choruses.
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Ask and Embla In Norse mythology, Ask and Embla (from Old Norse "Askr ok Embla")—male and female respectively—were the first two humans, created by the gods. The pair are attested in both the "Poetic Edda", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the "Prose Edda", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, three gods, one of whom is Odin, find Ask and Embla and bestow upon them various corporeal and spiritual gifts. A number of theories have been proposed to explain the two figures, and there are occasional references to them in popular culture.
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Líf and Lífþrasir In Norse mythology, Líf (identical with the Old Norse feminine noun meaning "life, the life of the body") and Lífþrasir (Old Norse masculine name from "líf" and "þrasir". "Lexicon Poëticum" defines this name as ""Livæ amator, vitæ amans, vitæ cupidus"", "Líf's lover, lover of life, zest for life"), sometimes anglicized as Lif and Lifthrasir—female and male respectively—are two humans who are foretold to survive the events of Ragnarök by hiding in a wood called Hoddmímis holt, and after the flames have abated, to repopulate the newly risen and fertile world. Líf and Lífþrasir are mentioned in the "Poetic Edda", compiled in the thirteenth century from earlier traditional sources, and the "Prose Edda", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholarly theories have been proposed about the underlying meaning and origins of the two names.
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Nanna (Norse deity) In Norse mythology, Nanna Nepsdóttir or simply Nanna is a goddess associated with the god Baldr. Accounts of Nanna vary greatly by source. In the "Prose Edda", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, Nanna is the wife of Baldr and the couple produced a son, the god Forseti. After Baldr's death, Nanna dies of grief. Nanna is placed on Baldr's ship with his corpse and the two are set aflame and pushed out to sea. In Hel, Baldr and Nanna are united again. In an attempt to bring back Baldr from the dead, the god Hermóðr rides to Hel and, upon receiving the hope of resurrection from the being Hel, Nanna gives Hermóðr gifts to give to the goddess Frigg (a robe of linen), the goddess Fulla (a finger-ring), and others (unspecified). Nanna is frequently mentioned in the poetry of skalds and a Nanna, who may or may not be the same figure, is mentioned once in the "Poetic Edda", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources.
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Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. (Danish: "Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling.") is a collection of nine fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. The tales were published in a series of three installments by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark between May 1835 and April 1837, and represent Andersen's first venture into the fairy tale genre.
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Oldest Saga of St. Olaf The Oldest Saga of St. Olaf or the First Saga of St. Olaf is one of the kings' sagas. It is the earliest Norse biography of King Óláfr Haraldsson. Early scholars judged it to be among the very first sagas written, perhaps around 1160, but later scholarship has moved the date up to the end of the 12th century. One fragment with a hagiographic flavour was once thought to belong to the saga but more recent research indicates that it is from another text. Like other kings' sagas the "Oldest Saga" cites old skaldic poetry to decorate and verify the narrative.
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Fennimore and Gerda Fennimore und Gerda (subtitled "Two Episodes from the Life of Niels Lyhne in Eleven Pictures") is a German-language opera with four interludes, by the English composer Frederick Delius. It is usually performed and recorded in English, as Fennimore and Gerda in a translation by Philip Heseltine. The German libretto, by the composer himself, is based on the novel "Niels Lyhne" by the Danish writer Jens Peter Jacobsen. In neither German nor English is the libretto highly regarded; rather, the work is considered an "orchestral opera," limited in its dramatic appeal but voluptuous and engaging in its instrumental texture.
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Neun Welten Neun Welten (meaning Nine Worlds in German, which relates to the nine worlds of Norse mythology) is a German music group primarily incorporating instrumental acoustic, traditional folk and dark folk in their music.
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Wuthering Heights (1951 opera) Wuthering Heights is the sole opera written by Bernard Herrmann. He worked on it from 1943 to 1951. It is cast in a prologue, 4 acts, and an epilogue that repeats the music of the prologue. The opera was recorded in full by the composer in 1966, but it had to wait until April 2011, the centenary of the composer's birth, for a complete theatrical performance (there was an abridged stage production in 1982 and a concert version in 2010).
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Songs and Proverbs of William Blake Songs and Proverbs of William Blake is a song cycle composed by Benjamin Britten (191376) in 1965 for baritone voice and piano and published as his Op. 74. The published score states that the words were "selected by Peter Pears" from "Proverbs of Hell", "Auguries of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience" by William Blake (17571827). It was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival in June 1965 by the German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (19252012) and the composer. The critic William Mann thought that the cycle would be judged "Britten's deepest and most subtle song-cycle"; and John Warrack wrote in "The Daily Telegraph" that Britten "has, I feel, here come to terms with the darkness and sense of cruelty that has always stalked his art".
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Sága and Sökkvabekkr In Norse mythology, Sága (] , possibly meaning "seeress") is a goddess associated with the wisdom Sökkvabekkr (] ; "sunken bank", "sunken bench", or "treasure bank"). At Sökkvabekkr, Sága and the god Odin merrily drink as cool waves flow. Both Sága and Sökkvabekkr are attested in the "Poetic Edda", compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the "Prose Edda", written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess and her associated location, including that the location may be connected to the goddess Frigg's fen residence Fensalir and that Sága may be another name for "Frigg".
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Dalit Warshaw Dalit Hadass Warshaw (born August 6, 1974) is a New York-based composer, pianist, thereminist. Previously on the composition and music theory faculty of Boston Conservatory, she currently serves on the composition faculty at CUNY-Brooklyn College. Her works have been performed by dozens of orchestral ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras (Zubin Mehta conducting), the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Y Chamber Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony and the Albany Symphony Orchestra. In April 2006, her piece "After the Victory" for orchestra and chorus, was premiered by the Grand Rapids Symphony and the North American Choral Company. Her first recording, entitled "Invocations" was released by Albany Records in 2011. Her first piano concerto, "Conjuring Tristan," was commissioned by the Grand Rapids Symphony in 2014. The work was inspired by Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde," as well as by Thomas Mann's novella "Tristan." The piece received its world premiere in January 2015, with Warshaw as the soloist.
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Norse mythology in popular culture The Norse mythology, preserved in such ancient Icelandic texts as the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and other lays and sagas, was little known outside Scandinavia until the 19th century. With the widespread publication of Norse myths and legends at this time, references to the Norse gods and heroes spread into European literary culture, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain. In the later 20th century, references to Norse mythology became common in science fiction and fantasy literature, role-playing games, and eventually other cultural products such as Japanese animation.