Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral

Richard Wagner finished the opera Lohengrin in 1848. It tells the story of Elsa, a princess in Brabant (a province in the north of Belgium and the south of The Netherlands), who is rescued and wedded by a knight in shining armor who insists on remaining nameless. Drama and tragedy ensue, ending with the death of several characters in typical Wagnerian fashion. We all are familiar with the traditional wedding march from the opera, but more honestly, Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral in Act II is the actual wedding march, expressive of our young woman's innocent yearning and growing expectation, as 'a long train of ladies, magnificently attired, proceeds slowly, finally ascending the steps of the cathedral in Antwerp' (cue the pipe organ). Even in its original form, this section is almost a band piece, dominated by winds and percussion.