Trippin in Tristan Part 2 /2: Siegfried Jerusalemâs Brilliant Blunder (and why it is so precious)
alright fellow nerds, this is something Iâve been wanting to share for a long time. *cue powerpoint*
This event happens in the filmed 1995 Bayreuth Tristan, and it involves other key players Waltraud Meier and Daniel Barenboim.Â
We are at the climax of the love duet. The second to last one, to be precise. Just a few minutes prior, Jerusalem already made several slips. He repeated a lyric thrice. He took a hasty breath in the middle of a phrase, leaving out a note. Not like anyone really cares. He sounds great. Meier sounds great. Their voices go really well together.Â
This is the original score(piano transcription for easier readability).Â
Everyoneâs attention is on Meier as she does her âendlosâ drop (5th down) followed by a breathtaking leap(octave up) upwards to âewigâ. But wait.Â
Tristanâs lyric order should have been âendlos, ewig, ein-bewusstâ. Instead of the open vowel of âendlosâ, Jerusalem hit the right note but on the closed vowel in âewigâ. Now heâs stuck on the wrong lyric, thinking about what to do.Â
He could flip the first two lyrics and keep the notes intact. âendlosâ and âewigâ have the same amount of syllables. But in the moment, he decides to both flip the lyrics and improvise.  Â
He holds âewigâ until the right chord changes in the orchestra. Now, he does the unexpected(or is it the expected?).Â
He sings âendlosâ with the same rhythm and interval pattern as Meier.Â
Well, nearly. Being the experienced musician that he is, he chooses the same notes as the chord in the orchestra. Instead of the octave jump, he aims a little higher to land at the right note heâs supposed to hit(itâs a 9th).Â
All the while, clever Barenboim in the pit is holding the orchestra out, waiting for him to hit the high âein-â in the next word. Meier too holds just a tiny bit longer on her note.Â
Jerusalem hits his note. The orchestral wave is unleashed right after, and Meier shifts a note down as written to harmonize. Everyone is in bliss, and everything goes back to normal.Â
But hold on. Hold your horses. We need to rewind that mistake a million times.Â
Here is the incorrect version, starting from the beginning of the final build-up:Â https://youtu.be/lQNcTYVlcEg?t=2260
Here is what the climax is supposed to sound like with the same two singers and conductor:Â https://youtu.be/Q14GHL1C21o?t=407. (ignoring Jerusalemâs voice crack at the very end if you listen long enough)
This recording of the duet was the first one I heard in its entirety. When I looked for other versions of this duet, I was confused why the ending didnât sound right. I eventually realized that Jerusalem made a mistake. *shocked pikachu face*
I love it though. *cries in the corner because thereâs only one recording*
So what makes the mistake+improv so good imo? âIâve got a little listâ
1. Itâs cute. Heâs basically following Meierâs lead.Â
2. Itâs extremely satisfying to our ears and brains. Isoldeâs high jump is already amazing, and now we get Tristanâs high jump too? Heck yeah.Â
3. It makes the entire climax more powerful. It really reminds me of a beat drop. Thereâs a last second push to the top that was not there in the original score. Even Barenboim realizes this and does some rubato so the wave comes after Jerusalemâs high note instead of directly on top of it.Â
And now we come to the most important reason.Â
Let us zoom out to the big picture. Tristan, Isolde, and the orchestra are three players in this drama. In this moment, what does the orchestra represent?Â
There is no right answer here. My personal interpretation is that it is waves of desire, waves of tragic narrative that T&I are treading water in. When they drown, they give up the battle, succumbing to nature and the storytellerâs whim. Â
Notice how in the original score, it is only Isolde who leads the buildup and breaks free from the waves at the climax, jumping an octave. All of Tristanâs notes hide lower within the waves, functioning more as harmony than an independent melodic line. When he does get his high note, it is exactly when the orchestral wave reaches its peak, so he never quite escapes.Â
This is not normal. For the past half hour, weâve been watching Tristan und Isolde singing together. Their vocal lines overlap, dancing circles around each other. When one person calls, the other person answers. To have Isolde and Tristan separated at such a crucial moment is jarring. Â
To me, this is foreshadowing.Â
Perhaps it means that they will not die together. Perhaps it means Tristan will die first. Perhaps it means only Isolde will get a Liebestod.Â
It is clear though that there is a border that separates Tristan and Isolde during the climax. They are not meant to be.Â
Now letâs think about Jerusalemâs improv version.Â
Isolde escapes first. Tristan joins her with his own high note. Â
They are floating together, watching the giant wave of orchestra about to crash and envelop them. Even if itâs for a split second, Wagnerâs foreshadowing language tells all. Â
To put it plainly,
4. It paints a non-existent happy ending.Â
And thatâs what makes it beautiful.Â














