Thus, We Begin...

I'm not too familiar with classical music. I couldn't tell the difference between Handel and Bach if my life depended on it. So when watching Malick's "The New World" for the first time, I had no idea who wrote this wonderfully moving piece of music that was used at three very specific times during the film, and it was driving me nuts. I was becoming obsessed with this overture that was so simple, but when used in conjunction with Malick's imagery, nearly brought me to tears. 

Thanks to the wonder of IMDB, I found out that this piece of music was the Prelude to Wagner's opera "Das Rheingold." My friend Andy's dad described Wagner as, "real German music," and after listening to the opera, I would say he's absolutely correct. I don't know if I've ever heard music so bombastic, so epic, so humorless. I had no idea what the story was about (you can discover for yourself here), but I could immediately feel the mythic quality of the music, and it rocked me to my core.  

Here's a really bizarre animated adaptation of "Das Rheingold" for your viewing pleasure. 

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three: