Mendelssohn's Wedding March and Rodin's The Kiss as expressions of love

Art

Music and Art

This music piece by Mendelssohn is the "Wedding March from a Midsummer Night's Dream," and it begins with the traditional fanfare "Wedding March" that is used as the last piece of music when the bride and groom turn and face their friends and loved ones after the ceremony, in most weddings in the United States and many around the world. It is played on an organ, and has a very stately and melodic quality about it that is dignified and romantic at the same time. You cannot hear this music and not think of weddings, love, and commitment, it simply is not possible. It is so traditional, that it is also difficult to imagine a wedding without it, although many people stray from the traditional and no longer find the need to use it as they "march" down the aisle, newly committed to each other.

A chose Rodin's "The Kiss" to go with this piece of music for obvious reasons. The music is some of the most romantic and well-known for weddings, and Rodin's work embodies the physical elements of love perfectly. When two people marry, they celebrate their love and commitment to each other, and seal these vows with a kiss. Later, they share a kiss on their wedding night, and even more, as this statue implies. The statue embodies the love and physical relationship that comes with marriage, while the music embodies the very origins and roots of that relationship. Thus, the two go perfectly together. One leads to the other, and back again, in a perfect circle. Without love, there is usually not marriage, and without marriage for many people at least, there is no physical relationship.