Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral

When he completed his opera Lohengrin in 1846, Richard Wagner felt very little of the score could be transplanted to an instrumental ensemble. He made an exception, however, for the stately processional featured in Act II, Scene 4, and recommended the section as “an effective piece for military band.” The resulting excerpt was titled Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral, and became an enduring part of the repertoire for symphonic wind ensembles and brass bands (the descendants of those “military bands” to which Wagner referred). Lohengrin tells the story of a...