FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847)
Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny grew up immersed in the plays of William Shakespeare, frequently staging home performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream in their Berlin household. In 1826, at the astonishing age of seventeen, Mendelssohn composed his brilliant overture to the play. Seventeen years later, in 1842, King Frederick William IV of Prussia commissioned Mendelssohn to supply a complete score of incidental music (Op. 61) for a grand new production of the play at the royal palace in Potsdam, premiered in October 1843, seventeen years after the overture.
The famous "Wedding March" serves as Movement No. 9 in the score, acting as a grand processional accompanying the Act V royal nuptials of Duke Theseus of Athens and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, alongside the reconciled lover couples Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius. Announced by a blazing trumpet fanfare in bright C major, the main theme marches forward with triumphant joy and noble dignity. A lyrical, contrasting middle section in G major provides a gentle interlude before the ringing brass fanfare returns.
Popularized as a wedding recessional after it was chosen by Victoria, Princess Royal, for her marriage to Prince Frederick William of Prussia in 1858, Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" quickly became a global musical tradition—an iconic celebration of marital joy that remains as vibrant today as when it first echoed through the royal palace of Potsdam.