Wedding Music
As classical musicians, what music would you like/did you have performed at your wedding? I am personally bothered by traditional classical wedding music like Pachabel's Canon or Bach's Air (from Orchestral Suite No. 3...but more commonly known as "on the G String"), because it is so overplayed, and mostly because it seems that nonmusicians might have it played simply to give their wedding a formal atmosphere with "high" music, rather than out of any deep love for the music itself. However, I know other people feel very strongly about timeless traditional pieces.
Just a few beautiful and less-often heard pieces I can think of: Adagietto from Mahler 5, Mozart Serenade for Winds, Mozart Clarinet Concerto 2nd mvt, Rachmaninoff 18th Variation on a Theme of Paganini or Piano Concerto No. 2 2nd mvt, Strauss Violin Sonata 2nd mvt, Brahms Violin Sonata No. 1 1st or 2nd mvt or Sonata No. 3 2nd mvt, Schubert lieder...I am not as familiar with opera, but if I were, I'm sure there'd be an additional string of arias that would also work beautifully...
Replies (45)
at the reception, I would want to have a piano trio playing stuff like Mendelssohn and Schubert. That would be classy. I agree that Brahms 1 is a lovely piece for weddings.
I would have Mozart's Requiem mass, and the Bach Chaccone.
Two friends played violin/guitar duets at my wedding ten years ago (4/22/95). I was too distracted to know what all they played, but the violinist did prepare and play a piece from the Bach E major partita (loure or gavotte, I can't remember for certain which) at my request.
Ceremony was conducted by the god of hellfire, Arthur Brown. He must have done something right as we are still together and still happy.
Ed,
the Requiem at a wedding?
Oh this is a wedding topic. Right. I seem to mix the two quite easily :P
I haven't given the matter any thought, but since I read the question, Tchaik's Romeo and Juliet has been playing in my head.
I often associate a piece of music with someone important in my life. I almost married a man who took me to a symphonic concert on our first date. For wedding music, we might have chosen something from that concert. BTW, I still can not listen to CDs that were his or certain music that he loved.
Personally, I would want the Mendelssohn Bridal March, as Mendelssohn is my favourite composer :)
And I think my girlfriend has the waltz picked out already...
I had always wanted to have all-Mozart at my wedding. Anything except for "Eine Kleine Nachtmusic," which is a great piece, but is up there with the Pachelbel Canon in popularity. Mozart's music (well, Requiem?)to me is pure joy, which is what I'd want a marriage to be! When the time came, I ended up with Beethoven Piano Sonatas. I think that was my Dad's choice. They were nice.
second movement of the bruch...
Well, since I'm planning a wedding right now, I guess I may as well put my two cents in...
We were thinking about arranging "Ah Tutti Contenti" and the wedding music from _Le Nozze di Figaro_ for the ceremony. I personally would love to have the Hallelujah chorus for the recessional, because after all this planning, if the wedding works at all, it'll be a miracle.
There's a Venezuelan song that Evelyn wants to have in the ceremony which I can't remember offhand. As far as I'm concerned, as long as there's no Pachelbel, Water Music or Trumpet Voluntaries involved, I'll be happy. :-)
Ed, your comment reminds me of - oh, I can't remember who said it, but it sounds like a Wildeism: 'I prefer funerals to weddings; it's easier to get excited about a ceremony one has an outside chance of being involved in.'
Although I have the dress, ring and flowers all figured out, I keep changing my mind about a) the groom, and b) the music. Last time I thought about it, I decided it would be cool to have a Glenn Miller-style big band; anyone who's seen the wedding scene in Love Actually will know what I mean. I suppose if push came to shove I could bear to downsize to a jazz trio; Nature Boy's a favourite. And the first dance would be Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On - sexy!:P
I'm like Sue. I had better find a husband before I plan the wedding. This situation reminds me of an old French recipe for rabbit stew: First, catch the rabbit. ;-)
Personally, the sound of Pachelbel's Canon makes me break out in hives. How about the slow movement from Bartok's Divertimento?;)
I would want the barber concerto 2nd movement, the slow movements of the rachmaninoff piano concertos, and maybe some of the well known jazz tunes on violin that Joshua Bell recorded like "Embraceable You" hehehe...
no idea what I'd march to.. but I think Pachelbel's canon is too "normal" for a musician's (my) wedding.
I always thought it would be kinda neat to have the fourth movement of the Pines of Rome. The bridesmaids and groomsman could walk out during the mysterious part and then, when it build up and the brass comes in and it begins to sound very grand, the bride doors could open and the bride could come in.
Uh, not to be negative or anything, but bear in mind that whatever music you get married to has the potential to be ruined forever should the marriage not work out for whatever reason. Most of my former 'our songs' are now forever coloured by the aftertaste of the relationship in question. A friend of mine married to Vaughan Williams' Thomas Tallis, and now can't bear to listen to it; what a piece to lose!
Having said that, my parents are still happily married, so they remain enamoured with Pachelbel's Canon:)
Along these lines, I just recieved a request to play for a wedding, and the list I got today included Mussorgsky's Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition as bridal music. The instrumentation will be violin and piano. The bride did not indicate which of the several promenades (main theme) she wants played. Also, it may be just me, and I'm just as tired of cliché wedding music as the next person, but promenade? I always thought it was famous for its pentatonic-ness.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned The Bartered Bride yet...
Yes Sue, I would hate to lose the Tallis Fantasia, one of the most beautiful pieces ever. Another pretty one is Tallis' own "Spem in Alium.' But how did they fit two string orchestras and a quartet into her wedding? Must have required a large hall.
While my wife walked down the aisle I played Mediation from Thais. I'm glad she wasn't familair with what that part of the opera represents.
My mother-in-lw, a cellist, played The Trout (theme) while people were leaving. It was also on the reception menu.
Alan,
Actually, the "Mediation from Thais" seems to me like an exceptionally appropriate piece for a wedding, especially if there's no pre-nup.
On the other hand, the "Meditation from Thais" is something else again.
I don't even remember what music we used for the bridal march -- it was some sort of trumpet sonata, I think, played on the organ (we had a fantastic organist, and she suggested that one). I thought it was lovely, and I was very glad to *not* have the wedding march. :)
The recessional was an organ piece (I don't remember the composer) called "Les Cloches", which simulates church bells. I didn't actually get to hear much of it, since I was walking out of the church at the time and the video camera followed me. :P However, what I did hear of it was quite cool. One of these days I'll ask the organist to play it for me. :)
We also had hymns during the ceremony, which I thought was very cool -- it got the guests to sing instead of having a performer.
The pre-wedding music was all Latvian folk songs (on the organ), since my husband's family is Latvian.
I was pretty happy with it, all in all.
Two lovely pieces I'd consider if I was feeling civilised are Bach's Arioso and the second movement of Telemann's trumpet concerto.
My husband and I were married last July. It was a second marriage for both of us and well... we're not youngsters. :) So... we had a 4th of July party/jam... and were married there. We jammed with friends all afternoon... then were married and after the very short ceremony we played Planxty Fanny Power for our guests... then everyone jammed on into the evening. We chose Fanny Power because it's a lovely waltz and we liked the idea of sharing a "planxty" with our friends in thanks for being there with us on our special wedding day. (Have to laugh that we decided to be married on "Independance" day! :)
(Another quick story... A friend in the Keys asked us to share a wedding gig with him. It was on a Key West beach dock... nice wedding...kind of relaxed atmosphere. We played a variety of music... tunes and waltzes. Since we had had fun the few days before with our friend turning fiddle tunes into waltzes... and we actually kind of do like "Flop eared Mule" as a waltz... we played it as part of our list of tunes at the wedding! No one knew! :) 'cept us! We considered playing it as the mothers walked in... but didn't dare go that far! :) Anyway.. it was fun and we didn't get caught!
Have fun with your music... and definitely choose wedding music that you love and has meaning for you! :)
Katie
Hi Katie, your wedding sounds great! About Planxty Fanny Power, although I have no idea what a planxty is, the name made me chuckle; anyone who knows the meaning of fanny here in the UK will catch on, I'm sure...;)
Hi Sue,
Here's some info on Planxty Fanny Power
This beautiful melody (a "planxty") has survived for three hundred years! Its composer, Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan, named it for a girl and her kind family who supported him as patrons for a time in his life.
Planxty: the name refers to a tune composed for a patron, particularly associated with O'Carolan
Sue,
Tsk tsk...
Carl.
For my wedding (1997) I couldn't choose which string players I wanted so used the church organist, who was actually very good. For the recessional we chose The Great Gates of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition. It was AWESOME. Whenever I hear or play that piece I'm immediately whisked back in time...
:-)
After Emil's recent blog entry I was interested in what other musicians have chosen for their own weddings, but like a good V.commer, I searched the archives for a relevant thread first. :)
Here's what I used:
Bridesmaids/groomsmen processional - Handel's "Largo" from Xerxes
Bride processional - Prince of Denmark's March by Clarke
Vocal solo - "Panis Angelicus" by Franck
Cello solo - "Arioso" from that Bach Cantata (can't remember the number now)
Recessional - "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" by Handel
Fairly traditional, but I managed to avoid the overplayed Wagner/Mendelssohn marches and the dreaded Pachelbel. I'm a little puzzled by some of the previous responses, e.g. the Bach Chaconne. Beautiful piece, but I don't see it working as a processional or recessional, though it would be lovely incidental music. And a requiem---now that's cynical. ;)
We used the church organist, though I did hire a string quartet for the dinner part of the reception that included my former private violin teacher on first violin and my former orchestra director on viola. I sat in with them briefly to play the first movement of "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", which turned out to be a little stressful because it was during a period in my life when I wasn't playing violin seriously, and I'd also been growing my nails for the requisite "ring pictures" which made left hand work difficult. Still, the impromptu performance was a big hit with my guests.
My husband is a violinist also, so our rule was nothing we taught or played before. We used a professional recorder quartet and had pieces from about 1400-1600.
Me, being cheesy, had the traditional...
Canon and Wedding March. My wedding was a very small get together on the beach and I had a friend of mine play cello. Since I am a violinist, I didn't want one to play at my wedding. I think it would have been odd...
I played Salut D'Amour by Elgar as v.commie Emil Chudnovsky gazed lovingly into his bride's eyes. I think that piece works. Or, 2nd movement of Winter...if you hate the inlaws, try a movement of the Shostakovich concerto.
"if you hate your in-laws,try a movement of the Shostakovich concerto"- my word,Andrew,that was nice!
Anisha
Well, my circumstances have changed, so at the moment, I'm thinking 4'33" by Cage
Hey, I've always wanted to have Mendelssohn's Octet at my wedding and the 2nd mov. of Prokofiev vln con no.2, it's so gorgeous!!!
By the way everyone check out this site,
www.davepearceorchestra.co.uk
Marianne
For a garden wedding on a sunny day, we helped a couple with the bride's processional - it was theme from Ladies in Lavender - a beautiful rendition by Joshua Bell from he soundtrack. It was also used in church for another couple's wedding. It's really great - check it out!
For a recessional, try the theme from Korngold's Kings Row - a mixture of grandeur and also musical & romantic touches in the tunes.
A friend's daughter wished the soberingly noble and lush 3/4 melody from Jupiter. Easy arrangement was made, and we've used it quite often since. Can be easily tailored to the distance the bride must traverse. Taking the orchestral score literally almost does the trick, with a few enhancements here and there.
Hi Jessica,
I also thought a lot about this subject.
I really love the second movement of the 2nd Shostakowich Piano Concerto. It's really really beautiful.
And about opera, I remembered one time I played the opera Kat'a Kabanova (Janacek). Between acts, the choir sang some amazing ortodox chorals that they were just sublime. At that moment I thought I'd love that music for my wedding! These chorals are not included in the opera itself, and I think they're not by Janacek, but that production (from the Salzburg Festival) thought it could be nice to include them between acts.
Music for the ceremony (and thankfully I have a friend who arranged a lot of this music for me!):
~Prelude: Brahms' "Romanze" arr. for 2 violins, piano, flute
~Processional (bride): Rachmaninoff's 18th variation on a theme by Paganini (violin and piano)
~Unity Candle: "Only Hope" - Switchfoot, arr. for voice, violins, piano, and flute (had to get my pop in there)
~Recessional: I think I told the pianist to make it up...I think he played an up-tempo "On Eagle's Wings"
Ah, the joys of being only a couple of years out of college is that you still have tons of musician friends and don't have to hire any. :)
Cheng Hoi...I agree, I absolutely love the "Ladies in Lavender" theme. How does it work as a processional, though? Perhaps I'm stuck in the notion that a processional has to be some sort of march, or at least have a consistent beat, which that lyrical and very beautiful piece does not.
My friends played the first movement of Borodin quartet in D (with the cello solo). It was nice.
Janacek "Intimate Letters", anyone? ;)
BTW, congrats Emil!! I loved the pictures! :)
Karin, The Ladies in Lavender does not have a firm or obvious beat but when the music starts, the flower girls, page boy, maid of honour move toward the altar. When the climax of the piece is reached, the bride and father move toward the altar. Then time it so that when the music fades, the bride and father reach the altar. Hope this helps. Cheng Hooi
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April 16, 2005 at 05:30 PM · I would love to have string quartet or even a massive orchestra (if I could afford it) at my wedding...ok I'll stop daydreaming now...
I think I would like music that you could do easy ball room dancing to like a waltz. The blue danube by strauss, katachurian's masquerade suite and of course the wedding march!
Maybe having some romantic music would be nice like Tchakovsky's overture 1812
Those are my thoughts :)
One-Sim