Choral Music for Weddings
  • Heath
    Posts: 966
    I think a thread on wedding choral music in general would be helpful (please give your suggestions), but I have a particular request: I have a bride getting married soon who would like a "flashy" choral piece for her interest. Any thoughts? At this point, I'm open to whatever . . . acappella, w/organ, etc.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,481
    "flashy" choral piece


    Dancing Queen, as sung by the A-teens...?
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    Flashy choral piece to me is on the order of the Franck Psalm 150.
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Just don't have them sing "Dixit Maria." ;-p
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    You are bad!!! LOL.
  • rich_enough
    Posts: 1,048
    I've sung Viadana's "Exsultate Justi" for weddings - pretty flashy for a Renaissance motet, though the text is not geared particularly toward the wedding mass:

    http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/images/sheet/via-exsu.pdf

    Suggestions from St. Clement's Church in Philadelphia (Anglo-Catholic):

    http://www.stclementchurch.org/userFiles/pdfs/Choral.pdf

    and from CanticaNova Publications:

    http://www.canticanova.com/planning/other/p_wed.htm

    Also, a helpful discussion here about choral music at weddings (Extraordinary Form):

    http://musicasacra.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=42&page=1

    Sam Schmitt
  • JL
    Posts: 171
    If the choir is capable of an 8-parter, I recommend Giovanni Gabrieli's "Jubilate Deo" (http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/images/sheet/gabg-jub.pdf), which can be done with or without organ continuo. Even cooler would be to double parts with sackbuts and cornetti... As I understand it, the piece was written for Venice's annual "wedding with the sea" ceremony, so there is ample nuptial content.
  • dad29
    Posts: 2,232
    JL beat me to it. 8-part, with trumpets and trombones!
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    From more contemporary sources:

    Settings of “Set Me as a Seal Upon Your Heart”
    William Walton- High Anglican
    Rene Clausen- not “flashy,” but accessible and lush
    David Childs- similar to Clausen, but use of the French Horn obligato punctuating choral sections is a nice touch within the context of the Song of Solomon text of “my love is as a stag…”
    Rommereim- very interesting setting in Hebrew.
    Speaking of which: Eric Whitacre’s “Five Hebrew Wedding Songs” SATB/String Quartet

    A secular piece that is stunningly beautiful, and not wholly unsuitable for a sacramental wedding: Z. Randy Stroope’s “Amor de mi alma” (Spanish text.)

    In that same genre, William Hawley’s “Vita de la vita” from a 16c.Tasso text
  • don roy
    Posts: 306
    this may seem odd but several choruses from saint seans christmas oratorio especially Tollite Hosteas and the Gloria in excelsis Deo. Especially suited around Christmas
  • don roy
    Posts: 306
    The choral version of marcellos psalm XIX (I saw a performance on Youtube)
  • Maureen
    Posts: 678
    Re: Dancing Queen

    The sad thing is that you can actually sing the verses of Dixit Maria and the chorus of Regina Coeli Jubila to that song. If you want to. :)
  • JL
    Posts: 171
    Also Healy Willan's "Rise up, my love, my fair one"-perhaps not suitably flashy, but beautiful. And I both the Walton and Clausen "Set me as a seal" settings.
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