Your perfect wedding
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,499
    Let's say a couple comes to you with no pre-conceived notions. There is no limit to the budget. The wedding is a Mass, OF. The priest is laissez-faire. What will be the final program?
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Ah, Kathy, I love "Pop Quiz, Hotshot!"
    With just your criteria, I'd advise:
    "Joanie, Chachi, donate your wedding ceremony budget to whatever local Catholic charity of choice. I'll make sure that Monsignor, who really chants the collects beautifully, is celebrant at the Sunday morning 10am Schola Mass; we'll reserve enough pews for your family in the front, center sections; can your bridesmaids and groomsmen greet parishioners and guests as they enter the church? Good. The choir will sing the Introit proper with a beautiful renaissance choral setting as both of you enter with Monsignor and the ministerial crew. They'll also sing the Communion proper with another beautiful choral setting. And as you process the gifts to the altar, after exchanging vows and rings and now being husband and wife, the congregation can either sing a beautiful hymn, Hyfrydol with a wedding blessing text, or the choir can sing something like "Tota pulchra est." Do you like Palestrina or Casals? Or there's some lovely choral motets set to other portions of the Song of Solomon, such as "Set me as a seal upon your heart." And after the Communion Prayer, should you want to venerate our Blessed Mother, the choir can sing the Victoria "Ave Maria", or Joanie, since you're such an iconoclast, they know Stravinsky's beautiful setting if you want! And then our wonderful organist, E. Power Biggie Smalls will raise the roof at the dismissal procession with a rousing tocatta and fugue of your choice. Do you like Bach? Widor? Langlais? Saint-Saens? I'll send you some mp3's.
    And we'll all sing the Missa de Angelis for the Mass ordinary because you two are beautiful souls who want to share your sacramental commitment with your parish community as well as your family and friends.
    By the way, any of your folks you're considering to read the scriptures happen to sing well?....."

    ;-)
  • rich_enough
    Posts: 1,032
    I had that situation a few years ago - for my own wedding! (Well, maybe the budget was not unlimited.) But I did hire an eight-voice polyphonic choir.

    Here's the program for the EF mass. Let's just say I got my money's worth:

    PRELUDE MOTETS
    Ave Maria . . .Virgo serena — Josquin des Prez (c. 1450-1521)
    Nigra sum sed formosa — Jehan L’Heritier (1480-1552)
    Ave Maria — Robert Parsons (1530-70)
    Ave Maria . . . Virgo serena — Jean Mouton (1459-1522)

    Maid of Honor’s Processional
    Air pour l’Amour from Camus et Hermione — Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-87)

    Bride’s Processional
    Air “Pour une si belle victoire” from Alceste — Lully

    PROPERS: Gregorian Chant
    ORDINARY: Missa Sine Nomine — yours truly

    OFFERTORY MOTET
    Ave virgo sanctissima — Francisco Guerrero (1528-99)

    COMMUNION MOTETS
    Ave Maria - yours truly
    Ego flos campi a 7 — Clemens non Papa (1510-1556)

    Prayer to Our Lady after Communion
    Salve Regina — Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)

    POSTLUDE MOTETS
    Surge, amica mea — Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina (c. 1525-94)
    Ecce sic benedicetur — Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500-53)

    Unfortunately I was late for my own wedding and so missed most of the prelude music.

    Sam Schmitt
  • rich_enough
    Posts: 1,032
    Sorry, you wanted ideas for an OF mass. I just couldn't resist . . .
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    Sounds fantastic, Sam! And I suspect the whole thing could be done for an OF Mass as well.
  • Daniel Bennett PageDaniel Bennett Page
    Posts: 833
    Here's the music from an actual OFwedding I directed for earlier this summer:
    [The ideal would be an EF Nupial Solemn High Mass with chant/polyphonic propers, and polyphonic Ordinary and not much else]

    Prelude:
    Sicut cervus (Palestrina)
    Ubi caritas (Durufle)
    Trio Sonata I, movements 1 and 2 (JS Bach)

    Procession of Priest and Groomsmen:
    Introit: God in his Holy Habitation/Deus in loco sancto (Gregorian, in English)

    Bridal Procession(s)
    Canon in D (Pachelbel)
    Te Deum Prelude (Charpentier)

    Hymn:
    Come down, O Love divine (Down Ampney)

    Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus:
    Missa super Dixit Maria (Hassler)

    Gloria:
    Missa de Angelis (congregational)

    Gradual: Thy wife/Uxor tua (Gregorian, in English)
    Alleluia: Mittat vobis Dominus (Gregorian, in Latin)

    Offertory:
    Beatitudes (2-part Znamenny chant, in English) (groom is Eastern Rite)
    Hymn: Love divine, all loves excelling (Hyfrydol)

    Memorial Acclamation:
    Mortem tuam (Sacramentary chant)

    at Communion:
    O sacrum convivium (Viadana)
    Anima Christi (by a bridal attendant who is also a professional musician)
    Hymn: Let all mortal flesh (Picardy)
    Ave Maria (Schubert)
    Salve Regina (simple melody, sung by all)

    Recessional:
    Trio Sonata I, last movement (JS Bach)
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