Robert Gauldin, Tragic Love and Musical Memory
| Example 8. Motifs and passages which accompany Tristan and Isolde's initial "glance" (after drinking the "love potion" near the end of Act I) and their subsequent illicit "night of love" (in Act II). These motifs form the basis for "musical memories" that the lovers will subsequently recall later in the music drama. Except for a handful of tonally associative themes (see below), most recurrences are freely transposed. |
POTION / GLANCE DEATH / BLISS TRÄUME / DAY SUN CONCEALED / HOLY NIGHT REPOSE / DEATH SONG
| e. | REPOSE motif, which links the first two Ab major Love Duets in Act II, and the DEATH SONG motif, which closes the second Love Duet |