ceremony musicians help

lmw4253

Ok, I am a little confused on ceremony music. I am having my ceremony in a Catholic church (not sure if we are having a full Mass, might skip Eucharist). I have been playing with the idea of a string duo/trio and trumpeter but I am not sure if I NEED an organist and or vocalist in addition. The church allows outside music so thats not an issue. I am assuming the vocalist is not necessary but is an organ needed for the Mass or can the others (strings/trumpet) do it on their own? I want to come up with a good combo that fits in my budget. If I went with strings,say a duo or trio, do they know parts of the Mass and can a vocalist go with them without the organ? Is the music loud enough without an organ for a medium size church with about 150 pp?Thanks, Lauren -->

ring_pop

If you hire outside musicians, there is no guarantee that they will know the parts of the mass, or even when to play them (especially if they're not Catholic). You may need to supply them with the music, and finding ensemble arrangements isn't always easy. Some musicians are willing to arrange it themselves.That being said, if you're not having Eucharist, then they don't really need to know the parts of the mass anyway. They can skip the sung Gospel Acclamation. Even for a mass, the parts can all be read by the priest and spoken by the congregation.You can try talking to the resident organist to see if they can recommend any other instrumentalists who have done Catholic weddings before.You need a vocalist if you want the psalm sung; otherwise it can be read. If you have a mass, you will probably need a vocalist to sing the parts of the mass, unless most of your guests are from your parish and you're certain that they will sing. Check with your church about their rules regarding hymns - some require participatory hymns, meaning that you'll need a vocalist to lead them. A vocalist can certainly sing with a string duo or string/trumpet trio.It's hard to answer your question about whether the music will be loud enough without knowing more about the acoustics, but I did attend an outdoor wedding with about 100 guests that had a violin/viola duo and the volume was just fine.Really, all of these questions are best directed to your priest or church music director, as the policies do differ from parish to parish. Hope this helps.

tnspight

A vocalist wouldn't be necessary if you're not having singing.  The only ? I can think of is the responsorial psalm after the first reading.  I think that the pp addressed that though.  You shouldn't need an organ if you have strings.  I was told that a trio is good for 150 ppl.  More than that you should get a quartet.  If you have a trio and trumpet though that might be enough.  I would think that an experienced group would have performed at a Cath wedding b4 but make sure to ask them.  Ask your church's music coordinator to suggest some groups for you.  HTH

pirogoeth

Are there any musicians at the church who play those instruments?  I play trumpet at mine and there are two other guys who play trumpet as well.  And we've also got string players.  As long as you want it to be instrumental, string duo/trio and trumpet would sound beautiful!