Procession to the Cathedral

From Wind Repertory Project
Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner (trans. Merlin Patterson)


Subtitle: Gesegnet soll sie schreiten: From Lohengrin


General Info

Year: 1846-48 / 1997
Duration: c. 6:55
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra and choir
Publisher: TRN Music Publisher
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $70.00   |   Score Only (print) - $20.00


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Chimes
  • Crash Cymbals
  • Triangle


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Like many musicians who received their training and education in the “band world,” I became familiar with Wagner's (Elsa’s) Procession to the Cathedral not in its original operatic form, but through the standard band arrangement, an arrangement so widely performed over the last fifty years as to become something of a “sacred cow.” So when my friend Eddie Green, conductor of the wind ensemble at The University of Houston, asked me to write a new transcription of the work, I knew I would be faced with a unique challenge: to write a “more transparent and colorful” setting (as specified by Mr. Green), one that would retain the power and grandeur of the original and be more faithful to Wagner's own wind scoring and overall orchestration, yet one that would also be accepted by the thousands of band musicians who know and love the standard arrangement.

Upon examining the operatic full score, I was surprised to find that the first third of the piece was scored by Wagner for winds alone. I decided to retain this “orchestral” wind ensemble and gradually and carefully layer in the other instruments. The vocal writing, originally utilizing two choruses staged antiphonally (to represent the people of Antwerp), has been scored for various instrumental choirs within the band. The result is one long, massive crescendo, thus creating the effect of the procession starting from afar, but gradually getting closer and closer. The entrance of the full ensemble and the pealing of the church bells signifies Elsa's arrival at the cathedral.

- Program Note by transcriber


Media


State Ratings

  • Louisiana: V
  • North Carolina: VI
  • Texas: V. Complete


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • University of Texas, Arlington, Symphonic Winds (Christopher Evans, conductor) - 20 November 2022


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources

  • Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble. Volume I: L-Z. Galesburg, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 324. Print.
  • Lohengrin. Wikipedia Accessed 8 August 2023
  • Wagner, R.; Patterson, M. (1997). Procession to the Cathedral: Gesegnet soll sie schreiten: from Lohengrin [score]. TRN Music Publisher: Ruidoso, N.M.