He wins his bride, but he will have nothing to say to the
Mastersingers and their pedantry, until Hans Sachs has shown him that in
them lies the future of German art.
Although it contains comic and even farcical scenes, 'Die Meistersinger'
is in fact not so much a comedy as a satire, with a vein of wise and
tender sentiment running through it. It has also to a certain extent the
interest of autobiography. It is not difficult to read in the story of
Walther's struggles against the prejudice and pedantry of the
Mastersingers a suggestion of Wagner's own life-history, and if
Beckmesser represents the narrow malice of critics who are themselves
composers--and these were always Wagner's bitterest enemies--Sachs may
stand for the enlightened public, which was the first to appreciate the
nobility of the composer's aim. It is not surprising that 'Die
Meistersinger' was one of the first of Wagner's mature works to win
general appreciation. The exquisite songs, some of them easily
detachable from their context, scattered lavishly throughout the work,
together with the important share of the music allotted to the chorus,
constitute a striking contrast to 'Tristan und Isolde' or 'Der Ring des
Nibelungen.' It has been suggested that this was due to a
half-unconscious desire on Wagner's part to write music which should
appeal more to the popular ear than was possible in 'Tristan und
Isolde.
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