FelixMendelssohn: War March of the Priests
When it comes to war marches, the first thingsthat might come to mind are the hail of bullets and thunderous drumbeats on thebattlefield. However, Felix Mendelssohn’s “War March of the Priests”seems quite different. Don’t be fooled by the title, it has little to do withactual warfare, yet it offers us another perspective on understanding"war" and "music": staging a battle is also a form of war.
Mendelssohn was one of the few Romantic-eracomposers who maintained a rational and moderate style. Unlike Liszt, who aimedto electrify audiences, or Wagner, who pursued grandeur and drama, Mendelssohnwas more a calm cultural middleman: skillfully blending German classical traditionswith emerging Romantic sensibilities. “War March of the Priests” wasn’tborn from a sudden burst of inspiration at home; rather, it was part of themusic he composed for the play Athalia. Based on the Old Testament of the Bible,the play tells the story of how priests protected a young king under despoticrule and eventually launched a "palace coup" to reclaim power.Although the story is set in ancient Judea, its structure is very much that ofa political thriller. Mendelssohn’s march captures the priests’ solemn yetpowerful entrance, resembling a bloodless "ritualistic war."
The music itself is quite intriguing. It lacksthe typical rhythm of a military march or the explosive force of brassinstruments, focusing instead on ceremonial gravitas and an underlying sense oftension. The low strings provide a steady rhythm, followed by the brassentering like a solemn yet unexaggerated warning: Attention, Justice is coming!As you listen, it brings to mind a group of priests in ancient robes, holdingmysterious torches, step by step advancing into the heart of a power struggle.This is not a fighting peace, but rather a march of wisdom and faith.
In 19th-century Europe, this combination of"religion + politics + war + music" was actually quite popular. Onthe surface, people might have been sipping afternoon tea and enjoying salon music,but in their minds, they had plenty of thoughts on topics like"justice" and "power transitions." The widespreadpopularity of this piece further solidified Mendelssohn’s identity as a"cultural elite": one who commands respect not through loudness orspectacle, but through dignified composure.
From the perspective of war, “War March ofthe Priests” is indeed not a piece that reflects the chaos of battle. Yetit reminds us: there are many forms of warfare, not all of which involve swordsand violence. The struggle between religion and politics, the narrativeconstruction on stage, and even the understated solemnity in music can all beexpressions of "war." And in this context, music serves as both atool and a language, articulating those unspoken conflicts and aspirations forus.