Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral (tr Bourgeois)

Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner (trans. John R. Bourgeois)

General Info

Year: 1850 / 1997
Duration: c. 6:40
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Wingert-Jones Publications
Cost: Score and Parts - $80.00 | Score Only - $15.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II-III
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II-III
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III (I and II div.)
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III (I div.)
B-flat Trumpets I-II-III-IV (on stage)
B-flat Trumpets I-VI (off stage)
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Harp
Organ
Timpani
Percussion, including:

Bass Drum
Crash Cymbals
Snare Drum

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral, with its medieval color and pageantry, prefaces her betrothal to Lohengrin, mystic Knight of the Holy Grail, who comes to deliver the people of Brabant (Antwerp) from the Hungarian invaders.

In the operatic presentation, a large double chorus (representing the people of Antwerp) adds its song of solemn praise to that of the orchestra. It is in this music, mystic yet powerful, that we find Wagner striking out with those new and intense musical thoughts that were to culminate in Tristan, The Ring, and Parsifal. Not quite emancipated from the musical speech of his operatic contemporaries, one finds in the Lohengrin score those unmistakable flights into musico-dramatic magnificence transcending all that preceded it in idiom and musical adventure.

Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral has been a treasured icon in the wind band repertoire. It is a wedding procession from Richard Wagner’s tragic opera Lohengin, where Elsa, Duchess of Brabant, is about to marry her knight in shining armor, Lohengrin, Keeper of the Holy Grail, who has appeared in a boat, magically drawn by a swan. However, keeping Lohengrin’s identity a secret -- to Elsa and to everyone in the country -- has been a condition upon which the marriage was contingent. Shortly after the marriage, Elsa succumbs to her curiosity, sown by the antagonist duo: Ortrud, a sorceress who put a spell on Elsa’s brother Gottfried, but accused Elsa of his murder; and Teiramund, the knight defeated by Lohengrin who has accused him of sorcery. Lohengrin reveals his identity to all, kills his accuser, and then bids eternal farewell to Elsa. As Lohengrin disappears, his swan magically turns into Lohengrin’s friend and Elsa’s brother, Gottfried. Elsa, falls, lifelessly into Gottfried’s arms.

- Program Note by the Vista Ridge High School Wind Ensemble

Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (1850) is taken from Wagner's opera Lohengrin. The story takes place in the court of King Henry I, where Elsa is accused of having murdered her brother, Gottfried. The knight Lohengrin arrives on a boat drawn by a swan and offers to defend and marry Elsa on the condition that she never ask his name. The music in this selection, from the beginning of the fourth scene from Act II, is the beautiful, dramatic bridal procession followed by a chorus. A long train of ladies, magnificently attired, proceeds slowly, finally ascending the steps of the church. After the second theme is presented, Elsa appears amid the processional train, and the noblemen respectfully bare their heads as Elsa begins her magnificent journey to the cathedral for her wedding to Lohengrin.

This opera marked the transition from Wagner’s early operas (Rienzi, The Flying Dutchman, and Tannhäuser) to his later masterworks (Ring, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger, and Parsifal).

- Program Notes by University of North Texas Wind Ensemble concert program, 5 November 2015

Media

Audio: Reference recording. University of Florida Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor)
Audio CD: Keystone Wind Ensemble (John R. Bourgeois, conductor) - 2011

State Ratings

Georgia: VI
'Iowa: V
Kansas: V
Tennessee: VI

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of Kansas (Lawrence) Wind Ensemble (Melissa Sawyer, conductor) – 21 November 2022
University of Cincinnati (Ohio) College-Conservatory of Music Wind Ensemble (Thomas Gamboa, conductor) - 6 October 2022
University of Tennessee (Knoxville) Wind Ensemble (Donald D. Ryder, conductor) - 21 April 2022
University of Florida (Gainesville) Wind Symphony (David Waybright, conductor) – 19 April 2022
University of Oklahoma (Norman) Wind Symphony (Shanti Simon, conductor) – 21 February 2020 (CBDNA 2020 Southwestern Division Conference, Norman, Okla.)
Illinois State University (Normal) Wind Symphony (Joe Manfredo, conductor) – 16 October 2019
Concordia University (Chicago, Ill.) University Band (Richard Fischer, conductor) – 28 September 2018
Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge) Symphonic Winds (Denis Llinas, conductor) – 12 October 2017
Dallas (Tex.) Winds (Jerry Junkin, conductor) – 13 September 2016
Timber Creek High School (Gilmer Cty., Ga.) and West Orange High School (Winter Garden, Fla.) Wind Ensembles (Kenneth Boyd and Rhett Cox, conductors) – 18 February 2016 (CBDNA 2016 Southern Division Conference, Charleston, S.C.)
University of Texas (Austin) Symphony Band (Ryan S. Kelly, conductor) – 2 December 2015
University of North Texas Symphonic Band (John R. Bourgeois, conductor) – 5 November 2015
University of California, Santa Cruz, Wind Ensemble (Robert Klevan, conductor) – 2014

Works for Winds by This Composer

Awake (arr. Houseknecht) (1868/1957)
Chor der Junger from "Das Liebesmahl der Apostel" (arr. Pohler)
Die Meistersinger (arr. Milford) (1868/1998)
Die Meistersinger, Excerpts from the Opera (arr. Eric Osterling)
Die Meistersinger Overture (tr. Hindsley) (1868/197-?)
Die Meistersinger, Prelude (arr. Moses-Tobani/H.R. Kent) (1904/1948)
Die Meistersinger Themes (arr. Daehn) (18684/2009)
Die Meistersinger von Nurnbürg (tr. Hindsley) (1868/196-?)
Die Walkure, Act 2, Scene 4 (arr. King)
Elsa's feierlicher Zug zum Münster (tr. Nefs) (1848/2017)
Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from "Lohengrin" (tr. Bourgeois) (1848/1997)
Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral from "Lohengrin" (tr. Cailliet) (1848/1938)
Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral (arr. Cherry) (1848/1999/2019)
Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral. See also: Procession to the Cathedral (tr. Patterson)
Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (arr. Godfrey) (1869/1906)
Entry of the Gods into Valhalla (arr. O'Neill) (1869/1930)
Evening Star (arr. Barnard) (1845/1927)
Festmusik (arr. Seifert-Kressbronn) (1843-1982)
Fest Marsch from "Tannhäuser" (tr. Rumbelow) (1845/1997)
The Flying Dutchman (tr. Hindsley) (1843/197-?)
Flying Dutchman Overture, The (arr. Godfrey) (1843/1955)
Funeral Music from "The Dusk of the Gods" (arr. Godfrey) (1876/1919)
Gathering of the Armies (arr. Friedman) (1850/1995)
Homage March (ed. Bourgeois)
Huldigungsmarsch (ed. Reed) (1864/2002)
Huldigungsmarsch (ed. Schaefer) (1864/1971)
Huldigungsmarsch (ed. Whitwell) (1864/2015)
Italian Polka (arr Leidzen) (arr. Leidzen) (1941)
Kaisermarsch (tr. Godfrey) (1871/1912)
King Heinrich’s Call (tr. Bourgeois) (1850/1983)
Invocation of Alberich from "Rheingold" (arr. Cailliet) (1869/1940)
Liebestod (arr. Shishikura) (1856/2014)
Liebestod (arr. Bainum) (1856/1964)
Lohengrin (arr. Patterson) (1850/2016)
Lohengrin (arr. Tamanini) (1850/2005)
Lohengrin: Introduction to Act III (arr. Drumm) (1850/1937)
March from "Tannhäuser" (arr. Lake) (1926)
March on, America
Nibelungen March (arr. Stretton) (c.1874/1909)
Overture to Rienzi (arr. Grabel) (1842/1933)
Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Geese) (1845/2009)
Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Musser) (1845/)
Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Musser; ed. Rapp) (1845/2009)
Pilgrim's Chorus (arr. Reed) (1845/1991)
Prelude to Act I of "Die Meistersinger" (trans. Kreines) (1862/2012)
Prelude to Act III from "Lohengren" (tr. Hindsley) (1850)
Prelude to Act III from "Lohengrin" (tr. Brand) (1850/2001)
Prelude to Act III from "Lohengrin" (arr. McAlister and Reed) (1850/2006)
Prelude to Parsifal (tr. Bourgeois) (1882/2016)
Procession of the Knights of the Holy Grail from "Parsifal" (arr. Houseknecht) (1964)
Procession to the Cathedral (tr. Patterson) (1846-48/1997)
Ride of the Valkyries (tr. Patterson)
Ride of the Valkyries (arr. Laurendeau) (1870/1908)
Ride of the Valkyries (tr. Longwood) (1870/2000)
Ride of the Valkyries (arr. Hernandez) (1870)
Rienzi Overture (arr. Meyrelles) (1842/1892)
The Ring (arr. Higgins) (1848-1874/2020)
Selections from Act III of "Die Meistersinger von Nurnbürg" (arr. Hanna) (1868/2015)
Seigfried Fantasie (arr. Seidel) (1876/1893)
Siegfried Idyll (1870)
Siegfried's Funeral March (tr. Tanick) (1876/)
Siegfried's Funeral March from "Gotterdammerung" (tr. Bourgeois)
Siegfried's Funeral Music (arr. Whear) (1876/1966)
Tannhäuser (arr. Lake) (1845/1926)
Tannhäuser Grand March (tr. McAlister) (1845/2005)
Tannhäuser March (arr. E. Fall) (1845)
Tannhäuser Overture (arr. Fall) (1845/1936)
Tannhäuser Overture (tr. Safranek) (1845/1913)
Tannhäuser Overture (arr. Sousa) (1845/)
Tannhäuser Overture (arr. Winterbottom) (1845/1903)
Tannhäuser Selection (arr. Lake) (1926)
Trauersinfonie (ed. Votta/Boyd) (1844/1924/1994)
Trauersinfonie (tr. Leidzen) (1844/1924/1949)
Tristan und Isolde (tr. Janssen) (1862/2015)
Vorspiel und Liebestod (arr. Godfrey) (1865/1909)
Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music from "Die Walküre" (arr. Lake) (1874/1937)

Resources

Nicholson, Chad. (2009). Great Music for Wind Band: A Guide to the Top 100 Works in Grades IV, V, VI. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications. pp 113-114.
Wagner, R; Bourgeois, J. (1997). Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral : from the Opera Lohengrin [score]. Wingert-Jones: Kansas City, Mo.