Transcriptions of Wagner

Liszt's transcriptions of excerpts from Wagner's stage works may be seen as part of his campaign to bring Wagner's work to the notice of a wider audience. The four transcriptions from Wagner's Lohengrin include Elsas Brautzug zum Münster (Elsa's Bridal Procession to the Cathedral) [1], published with a transcribed excerpt from Tannhäuser in 1853. The mysterious knight Lohengrin has championed Elsa, defeating her enemy Friedrich von Telramund, who has accused her of killing her brother and usurping the dukedom of Brabant. Elsa is pledged not to question the knight as to his name, but, prompted by her enemies, does so. He reveals himself as Lohengrin, son of Parsifal, and dedicated to the Holy Grail, now bound to leave her. Before he goes, he restores Elsa's brother to human form, breaking the spell cast on him, and Elsa falls dead in her brother's arms. The bridal procession of the second act accompanies Elsa's progress to the cathedral, soon to be interrupted by the challenge of Ortrud, Telramund's wife. Liszt ends the excerpt with a short coda, marked Lento assai.