Suggestions for Marian music for a wedding

JosquinGetEnough

Hi all!
I am planning the music for my own wedding next month and I am looking for suggestions for music during the presentation of flowers to Mary. I have a very good organist and a professional octet at my disposal, so we're thinking a motet rather than a hymn. You all have amazing taste so I thought I'd see what you might suggest! I am a new Catholic and not entirely sure what texts are appropriate for this, and I don't want to keep pestering my organist about it.
Thank you so much!

Liam

A Magnificat would be most suitable text IMO; a canticle of praise after receiving Grace. You have many choices at your disposal.

Arthur Connick

One of my favorites - Ave Maria (Francisco Guerrero).
On YouTube: Ave Maria
On CPDL: Ave Maria (Francisco Guerrero)

M. Jackson Osborn

One could hardly better the suggestions given above. It occurred to me, though, that since this is for the bestowal of flowers on the image of the BVM, Healey Willan's 'What is This Lovely Fragrance' might be a fitting touch.

PaxTecum

So many great marian motets based on the following chants:

Ave Maris Stella
Sub Tuum Praesidium
Salve Mater Misericordiae
Tota Pulchra Es

Byrd, Palestrina, Anerio, Perosi... lots of great stuff. Check out CPDL

canadash

So many great ideas!

A Magnificat is a wonderful idea. I love Gibbon's setting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkudmOa6iKI

Speaking of the Willan another suggestion is his "Rise Up My Love"...

What else are you having at your wedding?

Liam

http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/images/9/96/Magnificat_Short_Gibbons.pdf

http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Magnificat

Incardination

Wide range of possibilities - many beautiful options listed above. Some of my personal favorites:
** Ave Maria (Cottone) – relatively short and certainly easy enough for your octet. Provides a very nice alternative to some of the more “normative” versions of Ave Maria.
** Ave Maris (Victoria) – I typically alternate the polyphonic verse as an antiphon against remaining verses in chant – antiphon + 2 verses, antiphon + 2 verses, ending with antiphon. This has an advantage in that it can be longer or shorter depending on your needs. Very straight forward polyphony. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d5WdJIQkYE
** Ave Virgo Sanctissima (Guerrero) – I do like the Ave Maria by Guerrero that was previously mentioned, but the Ave Virgo is one of my favorites. This is 5 voice, but again, certainly within the capability of a professional octet. A bit longer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e-X_UFVGLQ
** Sub Tuum (Zelenka) – if you are looking for something with a bit more oomph, it would be this. Although written with orchestration, I tweaked a version to be a capella (or you could have organ). It would be more challenging, but quite beautiful. It would also lend itself to a degree of flexibility time-wise, as it has one or two potential stopping points. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaVd8mo5-tI

Jeffrey Quick

Re the Mauro-Cottone (I assume you meant) Ave, is there one for mixed voices, and do you have access? The only one I know is TTBB (It's in Caecilia 1934/6)

Incardination

Here is a Mauro-Cottone Ave Maria SATB...

StimsonInRehab

Josquin, you need to postpone your wedding until the CMAA Colloquium. And then get VIP treatment!!!

Antonio

Last wedding we played P. Dandrieu 'Joseph est bien marié' rondeau variations at the end of the Matrimony, before the votive-like TL Mass. If you have good singers at your disposal, maybe you can try to find or do it yourself a choir arrangement to sing some verses between the Dandrieu variations as organ versets. Dandrieu music and verses are both great catholic music/text.

Antonio

Some links (and versions) for the lyrics of the french chanson I have told about:

http://www.chansonsdenoel.fr/index.php?param1=NO0329.php
http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/french/josephes.htm
http://www.mldb.org/song-191839-joseph-est-bien-marie.html

Incardination

If you are soliciting for additional music as well... For the wedding of one of my schola members, we sang the Palestrina Surge Propera Amica Mea. In the wedding booklet that was put together, the full text from that section of the Canticle of Canticles was written out. The context was truly moving. The Surge is 5 voice (SATTB).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEoshBWQExU

JosquinGetEnough

Thank you all so much!! These are wonderful suggestions. :) Also, we are almost certainly incorporating the Palestrina Surge somewhere...I sang it a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. (I really wanted to use his Osculetur me but I feel like that text might be a little too much.)

Chaswjd

I had always thought the Monteverdi Ego Flos Campi would be nice at a wedding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-3WP1ZXCi8

Vilyanor

Carpenter's "Sub Tuum Praesidium" is incredible.

monscarmeli

This Ave Maris Stella was used at my own wedding, at that same part of the Mass. It may be a bit much to learn in a month, though, depending on the octet's capabilities:

https://soundcloud.com/user-650194262/ave-maris-stella

CHGiffen

My own SATB Ave Maria should fit well for the presentation of flowers to Mary, and it both quite singable and effective. See this thread which has the PDF score and an MP3 simulated performance. It comes in at about 3 minutes or even a little less.

Given your evident fondness for Josquin, his Ave Maria ... Virgo Serena is also quite lovely, although it may be a little longer than you wish (at 5-6 minutes). CPDL has score of my edition & MP3 simulated performance.

JosquinGetEnough

Thought I would bump this to let you all know that after I offered many of your suggestions to my now-husband, he insisted that we use the Arcadelt Ave Maria, haha. At the time I was kind of annoyed because there were so many amazing things to choose from and the Arcadelt is so simple, but it wound up being beautiful, so that's that, I guess.

Incardination

Congratulations and many happy returns of your anniversary. Blessings and prayers!

The Arcadelt is always a favorite for sure!

StimsonInRehab

It's good advice for a marriage, musicians as well - sometimes, simple is the most beautiful.

Cantus67

I don't know if anyone has suggested this but there's always these? And I'm sorry if I'm too late.

Dufay - Ave Maris Stella
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4L7cTmcIRVEUHpMTmhFdUNMWUE/view?usp=sharing

Hassler - Dixit Maria
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4L7cTmcIRVESEhmMDFUTXBWcTg/view?usp=sharing

Palestrina - 5 Part Ave Maria (my new favourite)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Wo0VIul2bwuBYrS82ZLZgxnPwCuRBI9/view?usp=sharing

Here's a great recording of this one. https://youtu.be/uWN-2b6ErgI

Blessings and happy wedding.

Maureen

Weddings are such a high-stress time that sometimes it's better to stay simple.

Congratulations, btw!

JosquinGetEnough

I promise this is the last time I'll post in this thread, but when I was looking for music I searched the forum a few times and I wanted to just put a list of what we wound up doing in case other brides/grooms/musicians come across it later when they're looking for ideas.
My wedding was not a full Mass because my husband isn't Catholic, so a few of these things probably wouldn't work for everybody (i.e. one of the procession pieces is secular) and there wasn't a mass setting.

Choral prelude:
Love bade me welcome - David Hurd
Ego flos campi - Clemens non Papa
Osculetur me - Palestrina

Introit:
Deus Israel conjungat vos - new chant setting by Peter Latona

Bridal party procession:
Rondeau from Abdelazer - Purcell

Bridal procession:
Grand Dialogue in C - Marchand

Opening hymn:
Christ is Made the Sure Foundation (with the descant from the 1982 hymnal because I was Episcopalian before I was Catholic, haha)

Psalm:
O taste and see - new setting by Peter Latona (it sounds like Byrd and it was awesome)

Anthem after homily:
I sat down - Bairstow

Hymn after exchange of rings:
May the Grace of Christ our Savior

Marian devotion:
Ave Maria - Arcadelt

Closing hymn:
O God Beyond All Praising

Liam

For reference of future seekers along similar lines, who perhaps have a schola line up for their nuptials, one modern gem of an Ave Maria to keep in mind is Stravinsky's setting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlmiiK8fPko

Your schola might enjoy singing that as a gift, as it were.

mmeladirectress

JosquinGE - my prayers for your marriage. :)
+ ad multos annos

canadash

Josquin: Your wedding sounds like it was divine! Congratulations!

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