The "Bridal Chorus" "Treulich geführt", from the 1850 opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 Lohengrin

Lohengrin (opera)

Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...

, by German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 composer Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...

, is a march played for the bride's entrance at many formal wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

s throughout the Western world

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

. In English-speaking countries it is generally known as "Here Comes the Bride" or "Wedding March" (though actually "wedding march" refers to any piece in march tempo accompanying the entrance or exit of the bride, notably Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...

's "Wedding March

Wedding March (Mendelssohn)

Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" in C major, written in 1842, is one of the best known of the pieces from his suite of incidental music to Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream...

").

Its usual placement at the beginning of a wedding ceremony is not entirely in accordance with its placement in the opera. In the opera, the chorus is sung after the ceremony by the women of the wedding party, as they accompany the heroine Elsa to the bridal chamber. In addition, the marriage between Elsa and Lohengrin is an almost immediate failure.

The "Bridal Chorus" is seldom played at Jewish wedding

Jewish wedding

A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish law and traditions.While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketuba signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy , a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a...

s. This is often because of cultural objections, due to Wagner's well-documented and public reputation

Wagner controversies

The German composer Richard Wagner was a controversial figure during his lifetime, and has continued to be so after his death. Even today he is associated in the minds of many with Nazism and his operas are often thought to extol the virtues of German nationalism...

 as an antisemite. It is also opposed by many pastors of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...

 because of pre-First World War Lutheran opposition to the theater and to the pagan elements of Wagner's operas. The Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 generally does use the "Bridal Chorus"; one diocese's guidelines regarding the piece states that the chorus is a secular piece of music, that it is not a processional to the altar in the opera, and especially that its frequent use in film and television associate it with sentimentality rather than worship.

Text

Although at most weddings the chorus is usually played without vocal singing (usually on an organ

Organ (music)

The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

, if there is any), in Lohengrin the wedding party sings these words at the beginning of Act Three:

Treulich geführt ziehet dahin, wo euch der Segen der Liebe bewahr'! Siegreicher Mut, Minnegewinn eint euch in Treue zum seligsten Paar. Streiter der Tugend, schreite voran! Zierde der Jugend, schreite voran! Rauschen des Festes seid nun entronnen, Wonne des Herzens sei euch gewonnen! Duftender Raum, zur Liebe geschmückt, nehm' euch nun auf, dem Glanze entrückt. Treulich geführt ziehet nun ein, wo euch der Segen der Liebe bewahr'! Siegreicher Mut, Minne so rein eint euch in Treue zum seligsten Paar.

Faithfully guided, draw near to where the blessing of love shall preserve you! Triumphant courage, the reward of love, joins you in faith as the happiest of couples! Champion of virtue, proceed! Jewel of youth, proceed! Flee now the splendour of the wedding feast, may the delights of the heart be yours! This sweet-smelling room, decked for love, now takes you in, away from the splendour. Faithfully guided, draw now near to where the blessing of love shall preserve you! Triumphant courage, love so pure, joins you in faith as the happiest of couples!

Eight women then sing a blessing to a separate melody.

Wie Gott euch selig weihte, zu Freude weihn euch wir. In Liebesglücks Geleite denkt lang’ der Stunde hier!

Eventually, the chorus returns with these words, gradually proceeding offstage:

Treulich bewacht bleibet zurück, wo euch der Segen der Liebe bewahr'! Siegreicher Mut, Minne und Glück eint euch in Treue zum seligsten Paar. Streiter der Tugend, bleibe daheim! Zierde der Jugend, bleibe daheim! Rauschen des Festes seid nun entronnen, Wonne des Herzens sei euch gewonnen! Duftender Raum, zur Liebe geschmückt, nahm euch nun auf, dem Glanze entrückt. Treulich bewacht bleibet zurück, wo euch der Segen der Liebe bewahr'! Siegreicher Mut, Minne und Glück eint euch in Treue zum seligsten Paar.

Faithfully guarded, remain behind where the blessing of love shall preserve you! Triumphant courage, love and happiness join you in faith as the happiest of couples. Champion of vitrue, remain here! Jewel of youth, remain here! Flee now the splendows of the wedding feast, may the delights of the heart be yours! This sweet-smelling room, decked for love, has now taken you, away from the splendour. Faithfully guarded, remain behind where the blessing of love shall preserve you! Triumphant courage, love and happiness join you in faith as the happiest of couples.

Media

• DGG Richard Wagner, Lohengrin, Act 3 - "Treulich geführt ziehet dahin"

External links

• Richard Wagner - Operas - Libretti and leitmotifs for some Wagner operas.
• Audio of "Bridal Chorus" performed on a virtual organ