German neurologists have revealed that repetitive migraines lie at the heart of "Siegfried," the second part of Richard Wagner's "Ring" trilogy of operas.
Both the action and the music of "Siegfried" reflect the rhythms and visual disturbance from migraines that used to haunt the composer, they say.
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic disorder characterized by headache, nausea, vomiting or sensitivity to light and sound.
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Wagner, in his memoirs and private correspondence, confided he was almost crippled by migraines, suffering pounding headaches that were often accompanied by a shimmering, which doctors call an aura.
"Wagner deeply interwove his migraine attacks and auras into his music and libretti," the trio, led by Carl Goebel of the Kiel Headache and Pain Centre in northern Germany, report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Thursday.
![Headache / Cephalgia]( "Headache / Cephalgia")
A headache literally means 'pain in the head'. It is a common complaint that may occur frequently in some
They analysed a pulsating piece of music in Act 1, scene 3 of "Siegfried," when a character complains of "loathsome light... flaring and flashing, glittering and whirring."
Wagner scored this passage for string instruments to play at double-fast time -- 16 demisemiquavers per bar.
"This corresponds to (a frequency) of 16 Herz at an assumed tempo of 120 beats per minute, close to the experimentally determined rate of flicker during a migraine aura," the letter says.
Source: AFP
Headache / Cephalgia
A headache literally means 'pain in the head'. It is a common complaint that may occur frequently in some
Advertisement
They analysed a pulsating piece of music in Act 1, scene 3 of "Siegfried," when a character complains of "loathsome light... flaring and flashing, glittering and whirring."
Wagner scored this passage for string instruments to play at double-fast time -- 16 demisemiquavers per bar.
"This corresponds to (a frequency) of 16 Herz at an assumed tempo of 120 beats per minute, close to the experimentally determined rate of flicker during a migraine aura," the letter says.
Source: AFP
Biofeedback Treatment for Anxiety, Migraine and Blood Pressure
Biofeedback is a feedback system where changes in physiology are detected and controlled. It helps in treatment of many disorders, especially psychosomatic ones.
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