Non-Mass wedding, groom non-Catholic: music suggestions?
  • ElizabethS
    Posts: 47
    Hello All,

    I will be singing for a wedding in a few months. The bride is Catholic, but the groom is not, so they will be having a wedding outside of Mass. Myself and the organist are trying to think of music suggestions for them. Several of the old standbys (Panis Angelicus, any Ave Maria) seem like not the best options given the circumstances, so we are looking for other options. Any suggestions would be most welcome! (Or if there is another thread on this already that you can point me to.)

    Thanks so much!
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    Elizabeth,

    20+ years ago, I was in the position of the groom you describe.

    Let me make a guess: this is an OF wedding, outside of Mass?

    If that's true, the reason Panis Angelicus won't work is that there's no reception of the Holy Eucharist and no public devotion to Our Lord within the context of the wedding.

    As to other possibilities, avoid anything with secular feel or secular intent (so a text from Tobit isn't impossible, but the secular setting of it should be avoided).

    Discover how seriously the bride and groom take both their own faiths and the faith of the intended-spouse. We had a real treat a four or five years ago (and I say this without any hint of irony or sarcasm) because the priest at a wedding preached against contraception. He hammered the point home, but his audience wasn't the bride and groom, who now have two children, thanks be to God, but one set of parents. It made this set of parents unhappy and uncomfortable, but it reflected that this couple clearly intended to live their Catholic lives without compromise. Choose music with the same idea in mind.

    Please, again without any trace of silliness) avoid Schubert's     Ave Maria by offering an alternative. If you have to sing a solo, use one of the chant settings.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    http://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/7485/seeking-psalm-33-now-with-recording-of-melofluents-setting#Item_18

    http://youtu.be/SIiuoHrUCm4
Add a Comment