Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of October 7, 1880

Overview

R. felt rested but irritable about the dreary weather welcoming W., and the visit to San Rocco left him overwhelmed by the crowded drama of Tintoretto’s Crucifixion. That evening Pepino sang, then music from Tristan and Parsifal prompted a reflective exchange in which poetry was set against music as concealment against emotional eruption.

Content

Thursday, October 7:

R. slept well, but he is annoyed by the bad weather which greets W. We visit the Scuola di San Rocco; for him there is too much going on in the picture, Tintoretto's Crucifixion.

In the evening Pepino sings to us, then comes the first “Picture” from Tristan and the Prelude to Parsifal; to Tristan's yearning question Parsifal seems to me to be the answer!

This morning, when I quoted “She who kept silent pledges me to silence,” R. said, “That is the realm of poetry, where everything has to be wrapped in cotton wool; the other, where it all bursts out, is music.”