When's the last time you read about a piece of organ music in the newspaper?
Wait, never? Now's your chance.
Remember that guy who got fired from Westminster Abbey recently for saying disparaging things about John Rutter? He's in the news too.
. . . the music at weddings lives or dies at the hands of the organist (in my youth I wrecked quite a few with my approximation of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March) and here Will took no chances. Edward Tambling, assistant director of music at Spanish Place, has the most impeccable technique and judgment. As an organ scholar at Westminster Abbey, he got into hot water for using ‘colourful language’ on a Facebook page to describe the nauseating clotted harmonies of John Rutter. Good man!As we took our places, out roared my favourite E-flat major chord — the opening of Bach’s ‘St Anne’ Prelude and Fugue BWV 552. Nothing in Bach’s organ music surpasses the grandeur of this work.
Thompson, Damian. "Wedding music lives or dies at the hands of the organist". The Spectator, London. 20 September 2014.
Labels: Bach, BWV 552, John Rutter, organ music, weddings
On this day, the fifth anniversary of my marriage to my beloved wife, I offer this video as evidence that some combinations are surprisingly delightful.
Already online via "The Royal Channel".
I've embedded two copies of the video below. Each is queued cued up to start at the beginnings of the two newest works.
Rutter This is the day the Lord has made begins at 26:30 (see below)
Mealor Ubi caritas begins at 39:00 (see below)
WARNING After the motet, after the words "let us pray" the sound goes beserk and the picture goes out. If you are wearing headphones, you'll want to take them off before this.
Labels: church music, John Rutter, Paul Mealor, weddings
When . . . you have a choral society in Tokyo dedicated solely to the performance of your music, you don’t have to worry.
Rutter’s music has always been of the easy-listening variety: tuneful, popular, conservative and sweet-toothed. Classic FM as opposed to Radio 3. It’s also music that declares its sources without shame. You hear it and think: ah yes, the Bernstein bit, the Britten, Walton, Faure. But that said, it’s immaculately crafted; it’s loveable (I’d man the barricades for at least one of his Christmas carols, What Sweeter Music which, I’m afraid to say DOES reduce me to tears); he has a gift for melody that most “serious” composers would kill for (if they were honest); and his music touches people’s lives in a way that most contemporary writing doesn’t. It’s no wonder that the musical establishment regards him with suspicion; but then, he hardly needs its accolades. When your international profile is so huge that you have a choral society in Tokyo dedicated solely to the performance of your music, you don’t have to worry. So I don’t suppose it will bother him that the real hit of the wedding music turned out to be another new-ish piece – not a commission – by a little known composer called Paul Mealor.
Few outside the British choral tradition will have heard of him, but he’s fairly young (born 1975 in Wales), teaches at a Scottish university, and writes music less ingratiating than John Rutter’s but still easy to assimilate.
For contemporary church musicians it’s a stroke of luck: a chance to ride a moment when their culture acquires a sudden spotlight.
The Ubi Caritas setting they did this morning had an austere resonance of plainsong that then flowered into the kind of cloudy harmonic suspensions of a Morten Lauridsen or Eric Whitacre: the two figures that seem to define where-it’s-at choral writing at the moment. So, not terribly original, but well put together and effective. And I confidently predict that Mealor will now leap to sudden fame on the back of it. His Ubi Caritas was certainly the closest this wedding got to the nerve-touching John Tavener moment at the last big royal ceremonial that broadcast to the world: Diana’s funeral.
Music at a royal Abbey occasion can’t help having a significance. For future generations it will stand as evidence of past taste: who was in or out of favour. For contemporary church musicians it’s a stroke of luck: a chance to ride a moment when their culture – these days relatively marginal in public consciousness – acquires a sudden spotlight.
White, Michael. "Paul Mealor's Ubi Caritas was the real hit of the wedding music". The Telegraph 29 April 2011
John Rutter’s This is the day wasn’t undignified or poppy, but its easy tunefulness did border on the slick and saccharine - give it some new words, and one could imagine Elaine Paige belting it out at the tear-jerking climax of a West End musical.A young Welsh composer Paul Mealor (not, I confess, someone whose name or work I was previously acquainted with`) contributed a well-crafted motet Ubi caritas et amor. Lachrymose and meditative in mood, it is an exercise in the minimalist school of spirituality, heavily influenced by Tavener, Part and Gorecki, and Classic FM’s favourite Karl Jenkins. Pleasant enough, I thought, but not memorable.
Christiansen, Rupert (Opera Critic). "Royal wedding music: a magnificent Pageant". The Telegraph 29 April 2011.
The two new commissions were "This Is the Day" by John Rutter and a setting of the "Ubi caritas" text by Welsh composer Paul Mealor. The Rutter was, well, Rutter. Pretty enough, easy for amateur choirs to sing, but immediately forgettable. There's nothing wrong with Rutter's compositions per se, it's just that once you've heard one, you've heard them all, so there's very little point to a new commission.Considering the popularity of the lovely "Ubi caritas" setting by Maurice Duruflé, Paul Mealor had big shoes to fill. His music is gently dissonant and reminiscent of Eric Whitacre's work.
Adair, Marcia. "Royal wedding: what the music says about William and Kate" LA Times Culture Monster blog 29 April 2011.
Mealor on his "Ubi caritas"
The composition is for choir and is gentle, delicate and meditative. The ancient, 6th century plainchant of Ubi Caritas is blended with 21st century harmony to create a work that, I hope, is both new and reflective of the past.
Mealor, Paul. "Royal wedding music: a 'delicate and meditative' composition" The Guardian 29 April 2011
Website of Paul Mealor
Labels: church music, John Rutter, Paul Mealor, weddings
The text of the anthem commissioned for the royal wedding tomorrow is available in the service leaflet
This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it. O praise the Lord of heav’n: praise him in the height. Praise him, all ye angels of his: praise him, all his host. Praise him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light. Let them praise the Name of the Lord. For he shall give his angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways. The Lord himself is thy keeper: the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand; so that the sun shall not burn thee by day: neither the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in: from this time forth for evermore. He shall defend thee under his wings. Be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart, and put thou thy trust in the Lord. John Rutter (b 1945) specially commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster for this service Psalms 118: 24; 148: 1–3, 5a; 91: 4a, 11; 121: 5–8; 27: 16b Extract from The Book of Common Prayer, the rights in which are vested in the Crown, is reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Labels: John Rutter, weddings, Westminster Abbey
There must not be less than six policemen present to control the crowd, and prevent injury to the church building . . . To weddings, for which invitations are issued by the family, cards of admission to the church must accompany the invitations; and no one must be admitted to the church who does not present a card, bearing the appropriate date.
from "Rules Governing Weddings in St. Paul's Church . . . By Order of the Vestry", December 12, 1921
Labels: St Paul's (Richmond), weddings
Andrew Brown of the Guardian praises (as I read it) the prayer book wedding:
The great point about completely impersonal ceremonies, whose form is the same for everyone, whether these are religious or entirely civil, is that they remind us that the problems and difficulties of marriage are universal. They come from being human. They can't be dodged just by being our wonderful selves, even all dusted with unicorn sparkle."What's wrong with weddings." Andrew Brown's Blog.
Labels: weddings
The "stereotypical wedding" as seen frequently on television programs and popular films is one of the last remaining opportunities for people to see the "stereotypical organist."
The "stereotypical organist" is female, and slightly beyond middle age.
The music at such an affair would be the "stereotypical" repertoire: Pachelbel, Wagner and Mendelssohn, in that order.
With the continued growth of post-liturgical movement, we are entering an era where even this holy trinity of music by dead white men cannot be assumed.
Also, we find ourselves in an era where organists are violently silenced in the midst of discharging their professional duties. We resent this depiction of organists as unchanging and irrelevant.
Sinden.org would like to take this opportunity to remind you that recorded music is never appropriate in the liturgy, though sometimes it is funny.
For your reference: JK Wedding Entrance Dance 29.3 million views and counting.
Labels: liturgy, television, weddings
The Book of Common Prayer's option for the Officiant at a marriage to inquire, “Who gives this woman to this man?” is an anachronistic, liturgical residue of the erroneous notion that women are property.Clifford, George. "Thoughts on Christian marriage, I" Daily Episcopalian 30 Jan 2009. Emphasis added.
Eww. Sticky.
Today in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer and HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales were married in St. Paul's Cathedral, London.
Included in the proceedings was a new musical setting of Psalm 67 by Welsh composer William Matthias, "Let the People Praise Thee, O God".
And don't forget to watch part 2 of this series where Diana calls Prince Charles (first name Charles) "Philip Charles Arthur George".
Labels: Matthias, St Paul's (London), weddings
I cannot commend enough the Episcopal Diocese of New York Liturgical Commission's document "Concerning Marriage".
It is a great source of clear thinking on the marriage liturgy.
One of the highlights for me was this explanation on why the Wagner and Mendelssohn aren't really appropriate for weddings.
Inevitably, this brings us to the matter of the wedding march from A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelssohn or the "Bridal Chorus" from Wagner's Lohengrin. The weight of secular custom behind these two pieces of music is so immense that we are aware our disapproving note may not be well-received. Clergy should consider, however, that neither of these pieces is, properly considered, sacred music. They are drawn from operatic contexts which are neither appropriate nor encouraging. The Mendelssohn piece occurs at the "wedding" of an ox to an ass, and the Wagner piece precedes the tragic death of the bride who has been unfaithful to her husband. If clergy decide to discourage their use, and we hope they will, it may be necessary to implement such a policy over a long time and in the face of considerable popular opposition.
Is it really wedding season again? Well, not exactly.
Wait -- hold the phone, "wedding season"? Is there a particular season for weddings?
There's hunting season, and there's the holiday season that we just (barely) made it out of. If a fruit or vegetable is readily available at a particularly high quality we would say that it is "in season". In all of these cases the "season" is when the getting (game, gifts, gourds) is good.
So it's a kind of "wedding season" in the sense that couples are trying to get good "venues" for their weddings. And where should these weddings be? Why, how about a church? The couples haven't been to one lately, or ever, but they figure, hey, it's pretty and our parents might like it.
I regularly encounter these couples at the church where I work. According to our wedding policy, many of them are not eligible for a wedding in our church, now matter how pretty it is or how much money they have.
If you want to get married somewhere, great! Try the Motel 6, or the Hilton down the street.
If you want to get married in the context of a worship service, how about the church?
Unlike your blond bimbo bride, the church is not just another pretty face. Nay, it's rather more than that. And expressions of extravagant consumerism really have no place here.
A past rector was once asked what he would like to be paid for officiating at the wedding. His answer? The same as what the bride paid for her dress.
Now, don't get me wrong, there are "faithful" weddings, and not all faithful weddings happen in liturgical churches, or churches at all for that matter.
But the wedding-industrial complex is out of control. Too many churches, it seems, are in the "venue" business. They're happy to profit from a default deistic tendency of the populace, and are poor stewards of the gifts and heritage of the church. Rather than attempt counsel, educate or edify (let alone attempt to construct any kind of meaningful God-centered worship around the hackneyed couple-centered wedding liturgy) with their human resources, these churches simply whore their buildings out to the masses.
Speaking of whoring yourself out to the masses, how about Canon in D?
I'm happy to report that my "Moratorium on Pachelbel's Canon at Weddings" group on Facebook is doing well. Here are some recent highlights from the wall.
Mariah Mlynarek from Michigan writes:
everyone frickin bride says "I really want something different, you know, not traditional........do you know canon in d?" and then I tell them that it is cursed and they will get a divorce if they have it played at their wedding..........it seems to do the trick
Jackie Lo from Australia relates the hate from down under:
when I hear "I've been dreaming about walking down the aisle to this song all my life.. but I can't remember what it is" or "'we need some music to kill some time" I know its coming....... Pachelbel's canon. So frigging lame!!!!! It's the worst song EVER
Kathryn Cooper, from Minnesota State, balked at the Canon she heard at her wedding rehearsal:
I stopped them immediately! I told them that if they want to get payed, they would stop... they all reacted "Thank God!" ha ha
Sarah Field's experience at a beginner flute concert:
The tempo was so slow that it took about 10 minutes to perform, no lie. By that time I was looking for razors.
Sally Hanton speaks on the musical literacy and levelheaded reasoning of wedding couples when she writes:
. . . I was asked to play as a solo cello at a wedding - of course, they wanted Pachelbel! Apparently the concept of "Canon" had escaped them...thankfully the aisle was short enough that I had only got to bar 8 by the time the bride arrived at the front!
Labels: weddings
Except for the sentence following this one, Sinden.org won't be updated for the rest of the month.
Right now I'm
Labels: weddings
At evensong tonight for the Feast of St. Luke we sang Psalm 67.
I'm not sure why we sang 67, but that doesn't metter much to this story. Actually, it makes this story much less effective. It's just that 67 isn't listed in my prayer book, so I'm just not sure where it came from. It is associated with evensong in the 1928 prayer book in as far as it is an alternate to the Nunc after the second lesson.
Anyway, Psalm 67 is also being sung at my wedding, so for me it was a Lukan Psalm convergence at my last evensong as an unmarried man tonight.
May God be merciful to us and bless us, *
how us the light of his countenance and come to us.
Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.
p.s. It's windy outside. It'll be 78º on Sunday.
I got caught in a very small isolated storm system this evening. I was impressed both by its power and by its small size when I scoped it out on the radar at home.
Sunday's forecast seems unchanged.
I've always thought that my own wedding will be one of the easiest weddings I ever do. And this is true of the service (I think), but not of the preparation.
And so begins the storm before the calm.
Looks like a strong storm system will pass through our part of the Midwest on Thursday, but forecast highs for Sunday are up to 78º and sunny. I've even seen one forecast with the high up to 81.
Gee golly.
The projected high is up to 74º the low, 54º.
What was previously a 60% of rain has diminished to 20%.
There seems to be a superstition that precipitation, particularly rain, upon one's wedding day is bad luck. But if you think about how seldom it rains compared to when it does not, it is actually more rare to have rain during one's wedding. Even more so during the wedding liturgy itself (while this understandably could be less than desireable if a couple has elected to hold their wedding outdoors).
Here's hoping.
Thanks to the folks at a major weather website and their 10-day forecast, I'm able to get my first look at the weather for my wedding.
High of 70º, low of 45º, 60% chance of showers.
Sounds like a typical fall day here in the midwest.
Additional data:
- Sunrise: 8:02 a.m.
- Average high: 65º
- Record high: 87º (set in 1908)
- Average low: 42º
- Record low: 25º (set in 1917)
- Sunset: on bachelorhood.
Labels: weddings
On YouTube you can watch bridal processionals from recent decades. It's interesting to note the variety in the processional music.
1999 - Edward and Sophie - Herbert Brewer's "March Heroique"
1986 - Andrew and Sarah - Elgar's "Imperial March"
1981 - Charles and Diana - Clarke's "Trumpet Voluntary"
So why, then, do modern, non-Royal American brides feel that they have but only one option? (At least in my experience. I have never been asked to play anything other than the Clarke.)
Among their myriad tasks, organists unwittingly carry on Diana's memory everytime a Jane Schmoe walks down the aisle in a white dress.
A number of churches choose to publish their wedding customary online:
- All Saints' (Fort Worth, TX) [PDF] - see page 11 for organ music details, including the "nuptial recital" the best name I've seen for the extended organ prelude to wedding.
- All Saints' (Lakeland, FL) - not actually the customary, but a place to request that the customary be snail-mailed to you. Weird. I suggest we all start requesting their customaries multiple times a day. Then, perhaps, they will just put it online like everyone else.
- Advent (Boston, MA) - stricly liturgical.
- Christ Church Cathedral (Houston, TX) [PDF]
- Diocese of New York - Contains a "Simple Wedding Ceremonial" and some common sense thinking about weddings. The reccomendation of "Ave Maria" as choral music is not explained.
- Emmanuel (Athens, GA)
- Palmer Memorial (Houston, TX) [PDF]
- Redeemer (Bryn Mawr, PA) [PDF] St. Andrew's (Canton, NC) - Organist paid only $100 for wedding and rehearsal. Ouch.
- St. George's (York Harbor, ME)
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