Music for the Entrance of the Bride.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    I'm doing the music for a friend's wedding. We've sorted just about everything out, but we're stuck on what to do for the entrance of the bride. She doesn't want to do the typical Pachelbel Canon in D (because just about every wedding any of us have attended have all had this piece). However, with the wedding only 4 weeks away, we need to find something, and fast!

    Any suggestions? Something that is fairly simple, stately and importantly, can be learned quickly and be played on this instrument: (link goes to web-page).

    I would have loved a reed stop, any reed stop, as my main interest in the past couple of years has been English Trumpet Voluntaries. Alack, I have no reeds. (Mind you, 90% of my work is on a 3-rank single manual instrument with 20 pedals!)

    GREAT
    8' Open Diapason
    8' Claribel
    8' Dulciana (gvd bass)
    4' Principal
    2' Harmonic Piccolo
    Swell to Great

    SWELL
    8' Violin Diapason (unenclosed wood bass)
    8' Clarionet Flute
    8' Salicional (gvd bass)
    4' Wald Flute
    Tremolo
    Super Octave

    PEDAL
    16' Bourdon
    Great to Pedal
    Swell to Pedal
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v3XOtrpCaM

    http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/b/be/IMSLP133945-WIMA.0df5-Zipoli_15.Toccata_Offertorio.pdf
    Thanked by 1Dan F.
  • Paul_D
    Posts: 133
    The Air from Handel's Water Music can be stately and classy for a bridal procession. Often it is played on the fast side, but works well at a relaxed tempo.
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    I had a wedding last summer where the procession was the minuet from the Water Music Suite 1 in F; at a slow temp it sounds rather stately: starts at 5:25. I believe there is a keyboard version at IMSLP.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDgw3t3UuCs

    BTW, lovely little church; nice to see the work of a Pugin student.
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    Yep, there is; follow the link.

    http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/1/16/IMSLP104313-PMLP11283-Watermusic-Handel-Pittman.pdf
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    Wagner. ;)
    Thanked by 1MHI
  • MarkThompson
    Posts: 768
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ui5_MP3Vws
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700
    As much as I love the Charpentier, I don't think it's the right choice for the organ described.
  • MarkThompson
    Posts: 768
    Oh, I see what you mean. I hadn't looked that closely at the specifications. I like to suggest the Charpentier because it is, at least nominally, originally part of a piece of sacred music.
  • Fr. Jim Chepponis
    Posts: 220
    If you're looking for something stately that has sort of a processional feel, perhaps an organ transcription of G.F. Handel's "Largo" (from "Xerxes") would work, if not played too largo! I think it would sound fine, considering your pipe organ's stoplist.

    Hopefully, folks won't know that the original lyrics to this music dealt with the beauty of a tree!

    Here's a link to a free keyboard score of the piece that I found:
    http://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=8202
  • ClergetKubiszClergetKubisz
    Posts: 1,912
    You could use "Thaxted."
    Thanked by 1Ben
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    The proulux arrangement is very stately, and could work well.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    In the case of the Proulx concertato, Ben, you'd be lucky to get just the organ (and brass) introduction in as Miss Bride reaches the end of the nave. Perhaps the intro and vs.1, or the intro and the interlude.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,980
    We had a wedding recently where the bride requested "Thaxted" as the processional. It sounded good and worked well.
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    We used "Thaxted" as the processional for the priestly ordination of our parochial vicar.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    We had a wedding recently where the bride requested "Thaxted" as the processional. It sounded good and worked well.

    Was she old enough to remember Princess Di's wedding?
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,980
    I don't think so.
  • Earl_GreyEarl_Grey
    Posts: 904
    Any chance of getting a real trumpet player?

    Hopefully, folks won't know that the original lyrics to this music dealt with the beauty of a tree!


    I know the original words, but I used to sing opera! Oddly enough one of our priests frequently references St. Augustine comparing marriage to a tree--needing to be pruned and watered etc. I've never looked up the original quote, but I always chuckle a bit when I play the Largo, which ties in nicely to the homily.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    I did suggest Thaxted to the bride, but she declined the choice since she didn't like the association with "I Vow to Thee, My Country." Thanks to you all. I was looking at the Xerxes Largo movement, and I shall investigate these other suggestions.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    she didn't like the association with "I Vow to Thee, My Country."

    Ah: some concerns only arise in certain countries.
  • AP23AP23
    Posts: 119
    Have you tried the very popular Wagner's Bridal March from Lohengrin which I have seen used at most weddings?:
    http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/da/IMSLP207038-WIMA.a926-Wagner_Hochzeitsmarsch.pdf
  • R J StoveR J Stove
    Posts: 302
    What about something by Louis Couperin? His Chaconne in G Minor is reasonably well known - there are several organ performances of it accessible on YouTube - and should be available in sheet-music format for free online, I'd imagine, since it's out of copyright. There's a Chaconne in F Major by the same man, which Rollin Smith included in his Easy Organ Classics collection for Dover. Neither work is exactly simple to sight-read, but neither is overwhelmingly difficult; and both would surely be effective in a wedding context.
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    I don't know if anyone mentioned this already, but what about "Prince of Denmark March"?
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    Wagner's Bridal March? - Cliche. I wouldn't even suggest it, and I doubt that any bride with a modicum of musical taste these days would ask for it.
    Thanked by 2ClergetKubisz francis
  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,798
    While Handel's Largo always makes me think of Our Town (whose stage directions call for it), in German-speaking countries it has an especially strong association with funerals. Since there's no solo trumpet, maybe a Mendelssohn's sonata or Fanny Hensel's own wedding march would be a good fit for the instrument at hand.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,980
    Of course, you could take the money and play what the bride wants. ;-)
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    CPDL has a few editions of Ombra mai fu (George Frideric Handel) from Serse (Xerxes). The most recent (2009) is my own edition, complete with string parts, as well as a full score, and a voice/continuo score (realizing the string accompaniment). Additionally, it includes the opening recitative Frondi tenere before the aria.

    The aria itself could be played by a solo instrument, such as an oboe or English horn (I've played it on both instruments and could supply an E.H. part for the solo).

    The voice/continuo score is attached, for convenience.
    Serse Act 1 Scene 1 - Voice and Continuo.pdf
    138K
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    The bride has not decided yet and I'm hoping to find something I either already know or I can learn quickly.
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 783
    Wait, has anyone suggested Wagner's Bridal March yet?
    Thanked by 5Andrew Motyka Aristotle Esguerra MHI tomjaw francis
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Well, trying and succeeding to avoid all wedding gigs, I think one could suggest any decent reduction of anyone's setting of "Tota pulchra est," don't offer translation. I say this based upon the current trend in no strap/spaghetti tight bodice fashions that the ladies seem to prefer these days. If there were a groom's entrance, I'd say "Low Rider" by Malo.
    Thanked by 2CharlesW Wendi
  • AP23AP23
    Posts: 119
    Wait, has anyone suggested Wagner's Bridal March yet?

    I did. hartleymartin, the original poster of the thread said
    Wagner's Bridal March? - Cliche. I wouldn't even suggest it, and I doubt that any bride with a modicum of musical taste these days would ask for it.


    I don't really agree with that.
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 783
    AP23 - actually, before you even suggested it, a previous poster, Gavin, had already done so...
  • AP23AP23
    Posts: 119
    Yes.
  • Ally
    Posts: 227
    AP23 perhaps you are misunderstanding that others are jesting about the Wagner, since it is widely thought to be inappropriate for Catholic weddings, though brides will often ask. (Also the purple font color above is to show that it is not intended to be taken seriously).
    Thanked by 1irishtenor
  • Marc Cerisier
    Posts: 537
    I would highly recommend Mendelssohn's 'Allegro Moderato Maestoso'. You can hear it on YouTube. Very stately, and very well suited to the organ at hand.
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    Is there an opus number or catalogue number I can use to look it up?
  • R J StoveR J Stove
    Posts: 302
    I don't think Mendelssohn assigned the Allegro Moderato Maestoso an opus number (not much of his music saw print during his lifetime). It appears to be from the collection 19 Miscellaneous Pieces, and to be in C major. Alas, it doesn't turn up in the standard Mendelssohn organ editions which contain just the six sonatas and the canonical preludes and fugues. And a brief search online didn't lead me to any non-copyright free edition of the sheet music. So one might need to track this miniature down in either the Bärenreiter collected edition or the Novello one (serious money would be involved for either edition unless you have an obliging campus library near to hand). Meanwhile, here's a YouTube performance of its rather stirring strains, in which the key-action threatens to obscure the actual music:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBvH5YdBZdI
    Thanked by 1Earl_Grey
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,980
    I wouldn't mind having the sheet music to this, at all. If anyone finds a source, please post it.
  • R J StoveR J Stove
    Posts: 302
    I've just done a second and more leisurely search for a free online edition of the piece, but alas, no cigar this time either. So I suspect you're stuck with needing to seek out either Novello's Mendelssohn edition or Bärenreiter's.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    Not going to help. The wedding is in 3 weeks and I also have a Mathematics Paper, Latin Exam and 4-day conference before then!

    Sorry if I sound like I'm complaining, but I need options FAST.

    Now I know why organists are always complaining about weddings...
  • PennyPenny
    Posts: 9
    How about Coronation Anthem from Zadok the Priest?
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • jpal
    Posts: 365
    My favorite processional, adaptable to just about any length, is Bach's Fantasia in G Major, BWV 572. I ignore the toccata section at the beginning and start instead at the Gravement. At the end of the Gravement, play a G major chord instead of the deceptive C# diminished, and do not continue with the Lentement.

    Here is how you adapt it to any length: when you have a minute or so left, skip to the last page of the Gravement and look at the last long ascending scale in the pedal (from D to d') and jump to an appropriate place in it. For instance, if you are coming from a measure that has a G in the pedal, you could probably jump to a measure with either G or A in the pedal. It does take some adaptation and experimentation to make it sensible musically, but with a little practice this can be done seamlessly.

    (Of course, if it is appropriate, you could play the toccata sections at the beginning and the end, particularly for a non-liturgical situation that needs a little extra flair. I think I have heard this done that at a graduation before.)
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • Musicteacher56
    Posts: 621
    I sometimes use Ave Maris Stella from Zefferelli's "Romeo and Juliet". The brides have loved it
  • Protasius
    Posts: 468
    It seems that Mendelssohns Allegro Moderato Maestoso has the number MWV W 44. I haven't found it either, but perhaps someone else will do.
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,798
    W 44 may not be public domain; it appears in Vol. 3 of the 1987 Novello edition. It's pleasant but forte and strikes me as a recessional, and if the instrument can make a cheerful bright chorus effect there's little reason not to do Op. 65 No. 3 (or BWV 572!) instead. After interminable processions of bridesmaids and families there's nothing like a fanfare rhythm followed by a solemn, hushed and easily recognizable march to get everyone's attention, though ;-)

    Btw, you do all know about the IMSLP wishlist, yes?
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • R J StoveR J Stove
    Posts: 302
    Well, I didn't know about the IMSLP wishlist; I can't, of course, speak for others.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    Well, I didn't know about the IMSLP wishlist

    Nor did I.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    CPDL doesn't have a wishlist per se, but it does have a Request system.
    Thanked by 2R J Stove tomjaw
  • Unda_Maris
    Posts: 53
    If your practice time is limited for this wedding, look at some of the "35 Miniatures" -- Flor Peeters. There is one in D Major, two pgs. in length with a dynamic marking of "FF". If played slightly under tempo, it could make a grand wedding processional. If you have a few weeks before the wedding for some solid practice, look at "Grand Choeur in A" -- Guilmant. Not overly difficult, and very impressive. I used to use this during the entrance of the bridesmaids. When the bride made her entrance, I switched to the Purcell "Trumpet Voluntary". Many brides liked the idea of having a different march for them than what the bridal party had. (No reason you couldn't play the Purcell using the Gt. Diapason at perhaps 8, (4,) 2, as your solo stop, against the Violin Diap. and 4' flute accompaniment.) The balance may not work for your instrument, but doesn't hurt to try.
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    I think the bride has settled on Largo from Xerxes by Handel. She decided that she wanted something soft, sweet and pretty.

    She's got good taste in music. After only a handful of emails and a couple of consultations:

    Entrance of the Sacred Ministers: "Laudate Nomen Domini" - Christopher Tye
    Entrance of the Bride: Organ Solo, Largo from Xerxes - Handel
    Kyrie: Missa O Quam Gloriosum - Victoria
    Offertory: "Sicut Cervus" - Palestrina
    Pater Noster: English AECL Chant setting
    Sanctus: Chant Mass XVIII
    Agnus Dei: Missa O Quam Gloriosum - Victoria
    Communion: Gregorian Chant Antiphon
    Thanksgiving: "Soul of My Savour" sung in 4-part harmony
    Signing of the register/Consecration: Bach/Gounod Ave Maria on Organ and Violin
    Recessional: "All Creatures of Our God and King" sung in 4-part harmony
    Postlude: Doesn't really care, as long as I play something nice.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    It's fascinating (and indicative of something, I'm sure) that someone with such excellent taste in music, and who clearly has no issues with Latin, with non-habitual "wedding music," and non-congregational song would:
    -not use the actual Nuptial propers for the Introit and Offertory.
    -not structure the Processional as intended by the ritual books.

    It kinda reminds me of certain "High Church" Episcopalians who want all the music to sound sacred, but don't seem to know or care how the texts are supposed to work.
    Thanked by 3Gavin MHI tomjaw
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