Who is here comes the bride by

In the opera, it is sung as members of a wedding party escort the bride and groom to their bridal chambers. The story ends in tragedy, however, as the bride dies of grief after the groom is forced to leave her. Strange that a song with this history would become attached to weddings forever, right?

While the tune is still popular at weddings today, although slightly less common than it used to be, there has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding it. In addition, the composer of the song is known for his anti-Semitic views.

The Jewish Virtual Library details the controversy around Wagner, and why the bridal chorus is often not used in Jewish weddings. They include the fact that Wagner was of the opinion that people of the Jewish faith lacked the ability for elegant and sophisticated musical expression. The groom and groomsmen enter, the family is seated.

The bridesmaids walk in one after the other. The flower girls prepare the way by spreading flower petals in the aisle. All of it leads up to one magnificent moment. While there is wide variety nowadays in what brides choose for their entrance song, there is a traditional entrance march, I still hear it a few times every season. Here Comes the Bride , or its official name, the Bridal Chorus is a standard wedding march played as the bride walks down the aisle. It is usually played on an organ with no vocal accompaniment, but in Wagner's opera, there were lyrics that went along with it.

At any wedding you attend, you will hear someone at some point sing their version, "Here comes the bride, all dressed in white;" not even close to the actual lyrics.

The takes place not at the wedding ceremony, rather it is sung as the bride and groom enter the bridal suite and the wedding party prepares them for their first night together. The song is not really about a wedding ceremony, It is about the honeymoon. Ironically, the whole story of two star-crossed lovers ends in tragedy rather than in a happily ever after. Elsa and Lohengrin do not end up together.

Besides the fact that it is a part of an opera that ends poorly for the couple, there is an issue with the composer. Wagner was notoriously anti-Semitic. And her marriage is a near-immediate failure. So this songs' position as the musical accompaniment for walking down the aisle is a departure from Wagner's original intent. Nevertheless, the Bridal Chorus has become a mainstay of traditional European and American weddings. While Wagner wrote lyrics for this musical piece in his opera, the Bridal Chorus as its performed at weddings today is usually played on an organ, without any lyrics.

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