Church Music Song Problems

Mar Bear

Has anyone had any issues in the Catholic church?  Mine won't allow me to walk down the aisle to "Here Comes the Bride" based on this CRAZY explaniation!!

I make it a policy not to do the Wagner "Bridal Chorus" or the "Wedding March" from Midsummer Night Dream. Both pieces come from sources that undermine the relationship between husband and wife. In the source for Wagner's "Bridal Chorus", a.k.a. "Here Comes The Bride", the wedding ceremony is used as a scene for murder... i.e the groom and in the other source, the character of the groom is portrayed as a donkey.

Laurms15

I've heard of that before. I know some Catholic Churches won't allow it. I know mine did and many will so I would say those are in the minority.

mbcdefg

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_church-music-song-problems?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:5b0d5c88-a1e0-4717-9734-892916bdf63cPost:5baaed6b-9725-4bc8-99bf-b0610a42e7c5">Church Music Song Problems</a>:
[QUOTE]Has anyone had any issues in the Catholic church?  Mine won't allow me to walk down the aisle to "Here Comes the Bride" based on this CRAZY explaniation!! I make it a policy not to do the Wagner "Bridal Chorus" or the "Wedding March" from Midsummer Night Dream. Both pieces come from sources that undermine the relationship between husband and wife. In the source for Wagner's "Bridal Chorus", a.k.a. "Here Comes The Bride", the wedding ceremony is used as a scene for murder... i.e the groom and in the other source, the character of the groom is portrayed as a donkey.
Posted by Mar Bear[/QUOTE]

Yes, I know that many Catholic churches do not allow the Bridal Chorus. It's a secular song, it's from an opera where the characters do not have a happy marriage, and it was composed by an anti-Semite who was affiliated with the Nazis.  

You should still have a ton of choices. We used "Morning Has Broken" for our processional. Ask on the Catholic Brides board for suggestions, if you feel limited by your church's examples. Or maybe the music director will schedule a meeting with you and will play some samples for you.

37 Butter Knives

Your church is doing you a favor. The Bridal Chorus makes me wretch (as does the Wedding March and Canon in D - so overdone). Use this opportunity to pick distinctive music!

You may want to check out weddingmusicunveiled.com , which focuses on music for church weddings. Maybe your church will let you use classical music that, while not religious per se, is distinguished and doesn't carry questionable connotations. Typically, baroque music composed for dancing in a royal court (i.e., Campra's "Rigaudon") is acceptable because it didn't come from a theatrical/operatic work where a story was assigned to it.

JoBell123

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_church-music-song-problems?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:5b0d5c88-a1e0-4717-9734-892916bdf63cPost:69c01479-1654-41f0-8c36-01b10e4ec0ca">Re: Church Music Song Problems</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Church Music Song Problems : Yes, I know that many Catholic churches do not allow the Bridal Chorus. It's a secular song, it's from an opera where the characters do not have a happy marriage, and it was composed by an anti-Semite who was affiliated with the Nazis. 
Posted by mbcdefg[/QUOTE]


I was going to say that my cantor said we cannot use the song due to Wagner being anti-semitic, but never heard that the Catholic church didn't use it either.