compared with final versions of the scores. Modifications are dated and ana-
lyzed. Bibliography of works consulted, name index.- Magee, Elizabeth. Richard Wagner and the Nibelungs.New York: Oxford
U.P., 1991. 230p. ISBN 0-19-816190-5. ML410 .W25 M34.
A useful account of the mythological sources and Wagner’s adaptations of
them. His reading was voluminous, of the stories themselves and of contempo-
rary scholarship about them. The result was an interpretation that blended his
views with the romantic train of thought in Germany. With 211 footnotes to
support all aspects of the study, minor bibliography, expansive index. - Bailey, Robert. “The Structure of the Ringand Its Evolution.” 19thCM1-1
(July 1971): 48–61.
A fine account of the composer at work. Consideration of tonal planning in
terms of associative keys and macrostructure, presenting an anti-Lorenzian
approach. An earlier contribution by Bailey, “Wagner’s Musical Sketches for
Siegfrieds Tod,” in Studies in Music History: Essays for Oliver Strunk,ed.
Harold Powers, 439–494 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton U.P., 1968), clarifies the
relation between sketches and the final version of Siegfrieds Tod—Wagner’s
early name for the Ring—and parallel segments of the Ring sketches and last
version. One of Bailey’s observations—about the time interval between
Siegfriedand Götterdämmerung—inspired a most interesting study by Ken-
neth G. Chapman: “Siegfried and Brünnhilde and the Passage of Time in Wag-
ner’s Ring,” Current Musicology32 (1981): 43–58. - Deathridge, John. “Wagner’s Sketches for the Ring: Some Recent Studies.”
Musical Times118 (May 1977): 383–389.
Primarily a commentary on the work of Westernhagen (#2043), with attention
to analyses by Robert Bailey and others. He faults Westernhagen for claiming
to have examined all the sketches, observing that certain categories were omit-
ted. Deathridge had made a useful contribution in this regard by defining the
diverse types of drafts and sketches in the Wagnerian sources. See his article,
“The Nomenclature of Wagner’s Sketches,” PRMA101 (1974–1975), and his
book on Rienzi(#2033). He concludes that no study has yet presented a totally
convincing account of how the Ringevolved. - Corse, Sandra. Wagner and the New Consciousness: Language and Love in
the “Ring.” Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson U.P., 1990. 209p. ISBN 0-
8386-3378-1. ML410 .W25 C82.
Corse’s deconstructive approach to the text is effective: she demonstrates that
“Wagner’s ideology of the annihilation of the self for the good of all remains
unconvincing.” Trying to create a hero to exemplify the power of love, Wagner
fell into “patriarchical stereotypes of male self aggrandizement. So the last part
of the Ringremains a confusing work.” Backnotes, minor bibliography,
expansive index. - Shaw, George Bernard. The Perfect Wagnerite: A Commentary on the
Niblung’s [sic] Ring. London: Richards, 1898. xviii, 151p. MT100 .W25 S53.
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