What famous ceremony made Mendelssohn's Wedding March globally iconic? Learn!
Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Op. 61, is a remarkable work with several interesting aspects:
Inspiration from Shakespeare: Mendelssohn was only 17 years old when he first read William Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream." He was so captivated by the play that he immediately started composing incidental music for it.
Overture: The famous overture, often performed as a standalone piece, was composed separately from the rest of the incidental music. Mendelssohn wrote it when he was just 17, making it one of his earliest major works.
Unique Scoring: The incidental music is scored for a relatively small orchestra, reflecting Mendelssohn's ability to create a rich and colorful sound with a limited ensemble. It includes woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings.
Notable Movements: In addition to the overture, the incidental music includes a series of movements for various scenes in the play. Some notable movements include the lively "Scherzo," the ethereal "Nocturne," and the playful "Wedding March."
Compositional Challenges: Mendelssohn faced challenges in composing the music due to the numerous scene changes and the need to capture the whimsical and fantastical elements of Shakespeare's play. His ability to convey the magical atmosphere is widely praised.
Revival of Interest: While the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" has been a popular subject for artistic interpretation over the centuries, Mendelssohn's music contributed to a renewed interest in the play during the 19th century. The success of his incidental music helped to establish the play as one of Shakespeare's most beloved works.
Long-Term Impact: The "Wedding March" from the incidental music has become one of the most iconic pieces of wedding music. It gained widespread popularity when it was selected for the wedding of Princess Victoria, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, to Prince Frederick William of Prussia in 1858.
Mendelssohn's Affection for the Work: Mendelssohn maintained a lifelong fondness for "A Midsummer Night's Dream." He revisited the composition later in his life, creating additional movements and revising some of the existing ones. The final version, which combines the original 1826 composition with the later revisions, is the one commonly performed today.
Mendelssohn's incidental music for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" stands as a testament to his precocious talent and his ability to capture the essence of Shakespeare's magical world through music.