The Kaisermarsch (Imperial March) is a patriotic march composed by Richard Wagner in 1871 in order to exalt the foundation of the German Empire after the victorious Franco-Prussian War.
Contents
History
The victory in the Franco-Prussian War and the consequent proclamation of William I, King of Prussia, as German Emperor spurred patriotism and incited several German composers to write patriotic music dedicated to the nation and the new empire. Johannes Brahms, for example, wrote his Song of Triumph (op. 55) in 1871.
Wagner, already known for his musical patriotism in several of his operas, hence composed the Kaisermarsch which entailed both positive and negative reviews but did not succeed in attaining a more prominent status with regard to official ceremonies celebrating the newly achieved victory. Wagner wrote:
After the return of our victorious army, I made private inquiries in Berlin whether, in case a grand ceremonial in honor of the fallen soldiers were projected, I could be permitted to provide a piece suited to such a solemn occasion. But I was told that it was not considered desirable to make special provision for painful impressions to accompany the joyous return of the army. I proposed, still privately, another piece, which was to accompany the entrance of the army, and into which, at the close, — say in defiling before the victorious monarch, — the excellent vocal corps of the Prussian army might join with some popular melody. But this would have necessitated serious changes in the arrangements that had been completed long before, and I was dissuaded from my project. Consequently I arranged my Kaisermarsch for the concert-hall, for which let it be adapted as well as may be.
Text
The text of the march did not become popular and is thus hardly sung when the Imperial March is performed nowadays. The main reason for this is the low quality of the text which emanates from the fact that it was written after the composition of the tune, and did thus have to be ″trimmed″ in order to fit the melody.
Patriotic Wagnerian Music
Another patriotic piece by Wagner is Hans Sachs′s final monologue in Die Meistersinger when he warns his fellow Germans to protect German culture from foreign influence:
In the third act of Lohengrin, King Henry praises the Germans of Brabant and their will to defend the Empire against Hungarian attacks: