Horsing Around with Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries
The Listen Guide
Ride of the Valkyries, WWV 86B
I'm Richard Wagner, and I'm happy to welcome you to the listen guide for my Ride of the Valkyries. You'll learn to follow the gathering of the eight Valkyrie sisters on their mountain peak, four already waiting and four arriving, all within roughly eight minutes of galloping music. Here on this site my fellow composers and I teach you to recognize our pieces when you hear them, so put yourself to the test whenever you like.
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Ears Open, Seatbelts Optional
Let me tell you how I'd listen to this piece if I were sitting next to you, because you don't need any training for it. Follow the big galloping tune first: the orchestra carries it, and once you can hum it you won't lose your way. Then listen to the colors underneath, from the piccolo and flutes at the top down to the trombones and tuba below, with timpani and percussion adding the thunder. You may already know the music from Apocalypse Now in 1979 or from the cartoon What's Opera, Doc? in 1957, but I'd like you to hear it as I meant it, as the start of a scene.Why I Named It After a Gallop
The title tells you who is coming and what they're doing: the Valkyries, Brünnhilde's sisters, are riding to a mountain peak. In German it's Walkürenritt, one long word that packs the sisters and the riding together, which I rather like. The music gallops, so the word "ride" felt honest, and the rhythm does most of the explaining. I wrote it as the prelude to the first scene of Act 3 of Die Walküre, part of my Ring cycle, and not as a separate concert piece, so the title points at the story rather than at a concert hall.Not a Sonata, Not a Rondo, Just a Gathering
Choosing the form was an adventure in itself, and I'll be honest with you: I didn't squeeze this music into a sonata or a rondo. It's a prelude to a scene, so it follows what happens on the mountain instead of a textbook pattern. I hear four stages: layers building up, the curtain rising, the rest of the sisters arriving, and a famous war cry coming back. I'll take them one at a time in the next paragraphs, and I think you'll enjoy the exploration.Section 1: The Kettle Before the Whistle
I begin with layers of accompaniment that pile up one on top of another, and the energy rises with each new layer. Nothing is on stage yet, so all you hear is the orchestra, and the mood is of something big drawing near. It's a bit like a kettle slowly coming to the boil, where you know the whistle is on its way. Listen for how each layer adds weight, so that by the end of this stretch the music feels too full to stay behind a curtain.Section 2: Curtain Up, Mountain Included
Then the curtain rises on a mountain peak, and for the first time you can see what the music has been talking about. Four of Brünnhilde's eight Valkyrie sisters are already standing there. The mood changes from anticipation to an open, windswept excitement, as if the music has stepped outdoors. Keep your ear on the main tune here, because it's the thread I keep pulling through the rest of the piece.Section 3: The Other Four Join the Party
Next the remaining four sisters arrive, and the stage fills up just as the sound does. The orchestra carries the main tune while the Valkyries sing their battle-cry above it, and this is the heart of the whole Ride. That's unusual in the Ring, because apart from the Rhinemaidens' song in Das Rheingold, this is the only ensemble piece in the first three operas. So enjoy the sound of all those voices together, since you won't meet it often in those operas.Section 4: Brünnhilde Gets a Word In
Finally I bring back Brünnhilde's war cry from Act 2 and combine it with the Valkyries' theme, so the music remembers what came before. By now the whole orchestra is at full stretch, and the brass and percussion give the sound its weight. In the opera the Ride takes about eight minutes, while as a standalone concert piece it can be as short as three. Either way, what stays with you is the feeling of a battle-cry still echoing across the mountain.Your Turn, Hit Play
Now it's your turn to hear my Ride of the Valkyries for yourself. Press play, sit back, and let the sound carry you. As you listen, try to catch the layers building, the curtain rising, the sisters arriving and the war cry returning. I hope the journey feels as thrilling to you as it did to me when I was creating it.---
Did you enjoy this listen guide to my Ride of the Valkyries? I hope it gave you a few new things to listen for the next time those galloping strings and brass come rushing in. When I wrote this music, it was only one small part of Die Walküre, the second of my four Ring music dramas, so it sits inside a much larger story. That means there's still plenty to explore about Ride of the Valkyries, from the world it comes from to the many places it has turned up since. If you're curious, please click on the links provided here and keep exploring. I'd be glad to have you back, and I hope the music sounds a little richer to you each time you hear it.