Liebestod (tr Bainum)

Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner (trans. Glenn Bainum)

Subtitle: From Tristan und Isolde

General Info

Year: 1856 / 1964
Duration: c. 6:15
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Neil A. Kjos Music Company
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $50.00   |   Score Only (print) - $10.00

For additional availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Condensed Score
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra-Alto Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet
F Horn I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion (3 players), including:

• Bass Drum
• Crash Cymbals
• Snare Drum

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

In December 1856, when Wagner was at work on the first act of Siegfried, he became obsessed with a melodic idea he associated with the legend of Tristan and Isolde. He subsequently broke away from his work on the Ring Cycle until his opera based on Tristan and Isolde was completed. The Prelude and Liebestod (or Love-Death) constitutes the very beginning and end of the opera, in an orchestral combination that was sanctioned by the composer as a separate entity for performance in its own right. The Prelude depicts the unvoiced longing of Tristan and Isolde for one another, and with the Liebestod comes the fulfillment of that longing in their death together, their immortal love being voiced by Isolde as she stands over Tristan’s corpse, contemplates his transfigured soul, and joins it by taking her own life. The work is widely considered among the most powerful and emotionally gripping music ever written.

- Program Note by the Saitama Sakae Wind Orchestra

Commercial Discography

None discovered thus far.

State Ratings

• Alabama: Class A
• Florida: V
• Georgia: V
• Kansas: V
• Louisiana: IV
• Maryland: V
• Michigan: Senior High AA
• North Carolina: V
• Tennessee: V

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) Wind Symphony (David Blackinton, conductor) – 6 March 2020
• Carmel (Ind.) High School Wind Symphony (Michael Pote, conductor) – 21 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 North Central Division Conference, Chicago, Ill.)
• New England Conservatory (Boston) Junior Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble (James Markey, conductor) – 20 May 2019
• Snow College (Ephraim, Utah) Wind Symphony (David Fullmer, conductor) – 1 March 2016

Works for Winds by this Composer

• Awake (arr. Houseknecht) (1868/1957)
• Chor der Junger from "Das Liebesmahl der Apostel" (arr. Pohler)
• Die Meistersingers, Excerpts from the Opera (arr. Eric Osterling)
• Die Meistersinger Overture (tr. Hindsley) (1868/197-?)
• Die Meistersinger, Prelude (arr. Moses-Tobani/H.R. Kent) (1904/1948)
• Die Meistersinger von Nurnbürg (tr. Hindsley) (1868/196-?)
• Elsa's feierlicher Zug zum Münster (tr. Nefs) (1848/2017)
• Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from "Lohengrin" (tr. Bourgeois)
• Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from "Lohengrin" (tr. Cailliet)
• Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (arr. Godfrey) (1869/1906)
• Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (arr. O'Neill) (1869/1930)
• Evening Star (arr. Barnard) (1845/1927)
• Festmusik (arr. Seifert-Kressbronn) (1843-1982)
• Fest Marsch from "Tannhäuser" (tr. Rumbelow) (1845/1997)
• The Flying Dutchman (tr. Hindsley) (1843/197-?)
• Flying Dutchman Overture, The (arr. Godfrey) (1843/1955)
• Gathering of the Armies (arr. Friedman) (1850/1995)
• Homage March (ed. Bourgeois)
• Huldigungsmarsch (ed. Reed) (1864/2002)
• Huldigungsmarsch (ed. Schaefer) (1864/1971)
• Italian Polka (arr Leidzen) (arr. Leidzen) (1941)
• Kaisermarsch (tr. Godfrey) (1871/1912)
• King Heinrich’s Call (tr. Bourgeois) (1850/1983)
• Invocation of Alberich from "Rheingold" (arr. Cailliet) (1869/1940)
• Liebestod (arr. Shishikura) (1856/2014)
• Liebestod (arr. Bainum) (1856/1964)
• Lohengrin (arr. Tamanini) (1850/2005)
• Lohengren: Introduction to Act III (arr. Drumm) (1850/1937)
• March from "Tannhäuser" (arr. Lake) (1926)
• March on, America
• Nibelungen March (arr. Stretton) (c.1874/1909)
• Overture to Rienzi (arr. Grabel) (1842/1933)
• Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Geese) (1845/2009)
• Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Musser) (1845/)
• Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Musser; ed. Rapp) (1845/2009)
• Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Reed) (1845/1991)
• Prelude to Act I of "Die Meistersinger" (trans. Kreines) (1862/2012)
• Prelude to Act III from "Lohengrin" (tr. Hindsley) (1850)
• Prelude to Act III from "Lohengrin" (tr. Brand) (1850/2001)
• Procession of the Knights of the Holy Grail from "Parsifal" (arr. Houseknecht) (1964)
• Ride of the Valkyries (tr. Patterson)
• Ride of the Valkyries (arr. Laurendeau) (1870/1908)
• Ride of the Valkyries (tr. Longwood) (1870/2000)
• Ride of the Valkyries (arr. Hernandez) (1870)
• Rienzi Overture (arr. Meyrelles) (1842/1892)
• Selections from Act III of "Die Meistersinger von Nurnbürg" (arr. Hanna) (1868/2015)
• Seigfried Fantasie (arr. Seidel) (1876/1893)
• Siegfried Idyll (1870)
• Siegfried's Funeral March (tr. Tanick) (1876/)
• Siegfried's Funeral Music (arr. Paul Whear)
• Siegfried's Funeral March from "Gotterdammerung" (tr. Bourgeois)
• Tannhäuser (arr. Lake) (1845/1926)
• Tannhäuser Grand March (tr. McAlister) (1845/2005)
• Tannhäuser March (arr. E. Fall) (1845)
• Tannhäuser Overture (arr. Fall) (1845/1936)
• Tannhäuser Overture (tr. Safranek) (1845/1913)
• Tannhäuser Overture (arr. Sousa) (1845/)
• Tannhäuser Overture (arr. Winterbottom) (1845/1903)
• Tannhäuser Selection (arr. Lake) (1926)
• Trauersinfonie (ed. Votta/Boyd) (1844/1924/1994)
• Trauersinfonie (tr. Leidzen) (1844/1924/1949)
• Tristan und Isolde (tr. Janssen) (1862/2015)
• Vorspiel und Liebestod (arr. Godfrey) (1865/1909)
• Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music from "Die Walküre" (arr. Lake) (1874/1937)

Resources

• Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble: Volume 2 L-Z. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 326. Print.
• Liebestod, Wikipedia Accessed 20 May 2019
• Wagner, R.; Bainum, C. (1964). Liebestod : From Tristan and Isolde [score]. N.A. Kjos Music Co.; Park Ridge, Ill.