For something a little different – here's a vicar's blog post about what he'd like to sing at a wedding.
At www.yourchurchwedding.org, the Church of England has done an excellent job in producing an outward-facing website for couples planning their church weddings. A real example to us in the church about how to do something that is based on real listening to people outside the church, rather than just playing to the internal issues that we find so fascinating.
One of their little features is a wedding hymns chooser. Some of my colleagues groan at this, and many of the organists I know do a lot more than groan, resigning themselves to more renditions of All things Bright and Beautiful and Morning has Broken.
Yes I know it's boring for us, to have to sing the same trite things over and over again, when there is a wealth of good music out there, but the reality is that no one outside the church knows about it.
Apart from football matches, people just don't sing in public any more. So it's no good expecting them to be comfortable trying to mumble their way through anything more challenging than Give me oil in my lamp, or Jerusalem if you're lucky. (Well, musically it's good, even if you don't think the words are Christian)
So what are we going to do about it? I reckon we should seek out a few good hymns that people might know, are easy to sing, make you feel good when you sing them, and convey something of the Christian message as well.
Are there any? That's a good question. Here's my suggestions.
10. Great is thy faithfulness
This has the virtue of a having a chorus, which means the tune is easier to learn. It's a hymn about God, not about us, and that's good too. The downsides for me are the words of the verses, where the meaning is obscured by the old fashioned language, and the tune, which is a bit dreary. But the chorus is strong, with a simple idea and a strong rhythm, and at the end of the day, that's what makes it memorable.
9. Jerusalem
Well, what can I say? It's got nothing to do with weddings, nothing to do with Christianity particularly. What it does have going for it is evoking the most wonderful feeling. What church can offer, that nothing else in my experience can, is the ability to celebrate in solemnity. Have you ever read a funny book in a library? The fact that you can't laugh out loud makes the jokes even funnier. The fact that you're singing celebratory things, but with that control and solemnity just intensifies the feeling. And the music does it too – the climax comes in the penultimate line, and then it finishes each verse with a slightly lower intensity, all combines to heighten the feelings.
Do it – people will feel right when they're singing it, even if they're not thinking what you might want them to think.
8. Make me a channel of your peace
St Francis' famous words are timeless, and this gentle tune sets them off perfectly. It's not the easiest to pick up if you don't know it, and it's one of those tunes that doesn't know how to finish. But there's some sentiments in there that are very appropriate for a wedding.
The rest of the top 10 will follow in the next couple of days.
What do you think? Anything I should include?
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