Editing Charles Baudelaire (section)

===Richard Wagner===
Baudelaire had no formal musical training, and knew little of composers beyond [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] and [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]]. Weber was in some ways [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s precursor, using the [[leitmotif]] and conceiving the idea of the "total art work" ("Gesamtkunstwerk"), both of which gained Baudelaire's admiration. Before even hearing Wagner's music, Baudelaire studied reviews and essays about him, and formulated his impressions. Later, Baudelaire put them into his non-technical analysis of Wagner, which was highly regarded, particularly his essay "Richard Wagner et Tannhäuser à Paris".<ref name="yhkyza">Hyslop (1980), p. 68.</ref> Baudelaire's reaction to music was passionate and psychological. "Music engulfs (possesses) me like the sea."<ref name="yhkyza"/> After attending three Wagner concerts in Paris in 1860, Baudelaire wrote to the composer: "I had a feeling of pride and joy in understanding, in being possessed, in being overwhelmed, a truly sensual pleasure like that of rising in the air."<ref>Hyslop (1980), p. 69.</ref> Baudelaire's writings contributed to the elevation of Wagner and to the cult of [[Wagner controversies|Wagnerism]] that swept Europe in the following decades.