Music at a Catholic wedding

hoffse

Hi ladies,

Random question- nobody I've spoken to seems to know the answer, but I thought somebody on here might.  My FI is a freelance classical composer in his spare time, and he wants to write my bridal march as a gift to me, as well as some of the mass parts for our cantor to sing, since there are so few options to choose from now that the words have changed.

Does this break any rule that you know of?

We also want to use a few songs that are traditionally protestant... Catholics will know the tune, but the words are different in Protestant churches than in Catholic ones.  As I understand it, Catholics changed the words as a way to "claim" it as theirs, but honestly I love the original, Protestant words more.  Specifically, we're thinking of Simple Gifts, which is a Shaker hymn and Hymn to Joy as the exit.  Would this be ok?

lalaith50

Honestly, it is COMPLETELY up to the church you are getting married in. Different priests/music directors, even within the Church, can have very different ideas of what is ok. Those ideas sound ok with *most* churches I've ever heard of, but there could be someone who is more strict.

If you haven't already, the best thing to do would be to set up a meeting or email whoever the organist/music director is. (If you're bringing in your own musicians, that does change the procedures a bit, but otherwise, checking with the church itself is the first place to start.)

bibliophile2010

I agree that the only way to get a clear answer is to talk to the music director at your parish as well as the people doing the music at your wedding. They would need to learn the new songs, which may be a bigger committment than they had planned on making.

I'd also like to point out that Catholics don't just change the words of hymns to "claim" them, but often change them to be theologically accurate. Depending on the hymn, I would double check the lyrics you want to use with a knowledgable music director.

hoffse

The thing is, I've played music at my church for years - FI and I met through music - and one of my best friends is playing the organ for me.  The music at our church is pretty casual.  We don't have a "director" per se, but my friend's mom does have a set of keys to the organ.  That's basically the extent of it.  She's happy to learn some new stuff (she even asked me if we could please play something different than standard-issue wedding music), so I don't think it's going to be an issue from the musician's standpoint.  I'm really just wondering if it will make the priest angry or whatever... but then again, he seems sort of clueless about music in general.

bibliophilia, yes Catholics change the words to make them more liturgically "appropriate" if you will, but there's nothing inappropriate about the Protestant words, etiher.  Simple Gifts got changed to "Lord of the Dance" and Hymn to Joy got changed to "Alleluia, Alleluia."  The Catholic version of both songs are about the resurrection, so you really only hear them at Easter.  This was an effort to bring some familiar tunes into the church because, to be frank, the other more contemporary resurrection music just isn't that great.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm all about Catholic music if it's the original stuff, and one of my favorite memories of Rome is hearing the chant come up from the floor of St. Peter's - it gave me chills.  But unless you have a large male choir who can read gregorian notation (we don't, and most other churches don't either) then chant isn't really going to sound right.  Hence looking to other influences for hymns and things that a congregation can follow, and protestant hymns have memorable tunes and melodic lines because they were written later than chant.  That's what I meant by Catholic musicians reclaiming Protestant hymns.  But yeah... I want to use the original words.  They're beautiful and appropriate for any time of the year, not just Easter.

lalaith50

Based on what you're saying, I dobut the priest would have a problem with anything that you're proposing. I mean, we're not talking about you trying to incorporate anything by Kei$ha or whoever...

I think it comes down to, if they don't have an approval process in place, then they really can't get mad at you, especially if you're not doing anything blatantlly secular.

professorscience

Bibli didn't say the Protestant versions were "inappropriate"...