#WednesdayWagner Another Wednesday, another time for Wagner leitmotifs! After talking about 'Ring' and 'Curse' leitmotifs, let's approach another related one: the 'Valhalla' leitmotif. This is the one shown below:
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#WednesdayWagner Again, the core of the idea is the same than in the 'Ring' leitmotif: a series of descending 3rds. The chord is almost the same than in the 'Ring' leitmotif, but this case the 5th of this chord (F) is a perfect 5th #StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner

#WednesdayWagner Note that the upper line of 'Valhalla' leitmotif is the same, from the beginning to the end, to the 'Ring' leitmotiv. Even the passing tone at the end appears in both ones. The rhythmic pattern is also quite similar #StayHome #COVID19 #TwitterCultural #TeamWagner

#WednesdayWagner What's the big difference? Of course, harmony. Now, the 'Valhalla' leitmotif is in a major key and is formed only by 3-note chords that result to be the I, IV and V of the key (D flat major in this case)
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#WednesdayWagner Thus, the 7th chord of the 'Ring' leitmotif (the melodic line) is treated here as two separate chords that are the two stable ones amongst the tonal functions: I and IV
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#WednesdayWagner The global harmony is the classic one to properly define a key: I-IV-I-V-I. That is, the concatenation of a Plagal and a Perfect cadence both in Root Position. Pure stability for the Gods at Valhalla! 
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#WednesdayWagner This harmony leads us again to the melody: if Wagner would have chosen the same melody as the 'Ring' leitmotif (i.e. with F flat), the Valhalla leitmotif would have been in minor mode. Not desired for the Gods! 
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#WednesdayWagner Another point of stability is achieved when Wagner considers all the pitches as 'real tones' of the chords previously mentioned. So the passing tone in the 'Ring' leitmotif is now a real pitch within the Dominant Chord (Eb)
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#WednesdayWagner And a last point of stability is given by rhythm: the binary subdivision gives allows to perceive more regular beat pattern than the ternary subdivision (as happen in the 'Ring' leitmotif)
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#WednesdayWagner And that is how Wagner links together the Ring, the Curse and Valhalla. The different compositional procedures for the same organic material is what give each leitmotif its own character. Trully magical!
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