The Arrival 64${6 \atop 4}$ Chord in Wagner's Die Walküre: Types, Function, and Dramatic Meanings

Abstract

This article applies Hatten's (1994) concept of the ‘arrival ’ – a cadential that resolves tonal or thematic instabilities without necessarily proceeding to V(7) – to cadences and cadential gestures in Wagner's Die Walküre. It identifies and describes three essential types of arrival chord: a cadential becoming I and launching a new leitmotivic passage (type 1); one continuing in the cadential progression and initiating a new leitmotivic passage (type 2) and one continuing in the cadential progression and becoming a rhetorical highpoint (type 3). Ultimately, it demonstrates that examples of each type produce an aurally illuminating, ‘marked’ effect within Wagnerian ‘musical prose’ in conjunction with the dramatic circumstances.