Classical Music | Music for Duo

Recorded on 04/08/2009, uploaded on 06/16/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Following a successful performance of Sophecles’s Antigone in 1841 with music composed by Mendelssohn, King Frederick William IV of Prussia commissioned him to do the same for a production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sixteen years had lapsed, yet Mendelssohn began his incidental music with the concert overture he had composed in 1826. Thirteen numbers follow the overture; some, instrumental works serving as intermezzos between the plays acts; others, melodramas which were performed during certain scenes and designed to enhance Shakespeare’s text. Mendelssohn’s music received its premiere with a production of the play in Potsdam on October 14^th, 1843.

Undoubtedly, the most famous number from Mendelssohn’s incidental music is the intermezzo between Acts IV and V—better known as the “Wedding March.” In C major and rondo form, the March begins with an introductory fanfare in the trumpets after which comes one of classical music’s most oft-performed melodies. Perhaps unknown to many, two episodes accompany and separate the statements of the March theme. The first, in G major, is dominated by a lively dotted-eighth rhythm in the strings; the second, in F major, presents a lyrical tune accompanied by expectant tremolos in the middle voices. After a final embellished statement of the March theme, a coda with brilliant trills and triumphal chords brings it to a close.

In Western countries, Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” is the most popular choice as a recessional in weddings, though usually stripped of its two episodes. The performance which has led to this tradition was the marriage between Victoria, The Princess Royal and Prince Frederick William of Prussia in 1858. Victoria was the daughter of Queen Victoria, an admirer of Mendelssohn’s music and for whom Mendelssohn had performed during his visits to London.       Joseph DuBose