Roger Scruton's book is now the best compact introduction to Tristan and Isolde, the myth and the opera. But it is much more than an introduction; it is a searching and passionate meditation on myth, death and eros, as musically literate as it is philosophically acute. It is not merely a study but a defence of high art. It is hard to imagine any reader interested in music, philosophy or aesthetics not being interested in this profound little book. Just as Wagner himself was deeply influenced by a number of philosophers, so in turn he has himself fascinated philosophers. Bryan Magee has written a book about Wagner. Bernard Williams often wrote on the same subject. When Scruton writes about Tristan and Isolde, the implications are as far reaching and profound as if he were writing about The Divine Comedy. Scruton argues that the opera has profound religious meaning and remains as relevant today as it was to Wagner's contemporaries. He offers keen and provocative insight into the nature of erotic love, the sacred qualities of human passion and the peculiar place of the erotic in our culture.
His argument touches on the nature of tragedy, the significance of ritual sacrifice, and the meaning of redemption.
- ISBN10 0826473350
- ISBN13 9780826473356
- Publish Date January 2003
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Out of Print 11 November 2004
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 304
- Language English