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A leitmotif or Leitmotiv [1] (/ ˌ l aɪ t m oʊ ˈ t iː f /) is a "short, recurring musical phrase" [2] associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of idée fixe or motto-theme . [ 2 ]
Thematic transformation (also known as thematic metamorphosis or thematic development) is a musical technique in which a leitmotif, or theme, is developed by changing the theme by using permutation (transposition or modulation, inversion, and retrograde), augmentation, diminution, and fragmentation.
Arguably Beethoven achieved the highest elaboration of this technique; the famous "fate motif" —the pattern of three short notes followed by one long one—that opens his Fifth Symphony and reappears throughout the work in surprising and refreshing permutations is a classic example.
This motif also appears in measures 6, 10, and 12, several times later in the work, [clarification needed] and at the end of the last act.. Martin Vogel [] points out the "chord" in earlier works by Guillaume de Machaut, Carlo Gesualdo, J. S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, or Louis Spohr [1] as in the following example from the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18:
Wagner frequently used the chord for dramatic and expressive effect. (The chord that opens Tristan und Isolde (1859) is the best known and most-discussed example.) [8] However, in his final opera Parsifal (1882), the composer used the half-diminished seventh to colour a leitmotif that conveys how its hero develops as the story progresses. In ...
For example: Jazz musicians use the term "lead" or "head" to refer to the main melody, which is used as a starting point for improvisation . Rock music , and other forms of popular music and folk music tend to pick one or two melodies ( verse and chorus , sometimes with a third, contrasting melody known as a bridge or middle eight ) and stick ...
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This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 20 December 2024. American composer and conductor (born 1932) This article is about the composer. For other people named John Williams, see John Williams (disambiguation). John Williams Williams in 2024 Born John Towner Williams (1932-02-08) February 8, 1932 (age 92) New York City, U.S. Occupations ...