Ave Maria sung at wedding

  • Thread starter Thread starter CyrilSebastian
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
CyrilSebastian said:
Have you attended a Catholic Wedding Mass where the Ave Maria was sung?
Click to expand...
I have been cantoring for weddings for about 15 years and have done it for almost every single Catholic wedding… as well as Protestant weddings. The Schubert is the most well-known. The Bach-Gounod is next. I’ve done the Caccini as well, along with the Arcadelt. For my wedding we chose one composed by Gabriel Faure because I love his music and find it very prayerful, although we had our cantor sing the Schubert before the wedding mass due to our mothers and grandmothers wanting to hear it.

I have absolutely no problem with the two more popular ones. It’s just overdone, but there is something to be said about it. From how people describe it to me, they are very touched, spiritually, especially when the singer does it well and does it without ego… as a prayer. It makes them cry because they are feeling God’s love through the music. So, those comments have always given me pause for thought and consideration whenever I feel like it is done too much, especially when I sing it every weekend. It makes me more aware and conscientious that whenever I sing it, I endeavor to put as much prayer and reverence into it as possible.

Some previous comments and remarks seem to assume that all soloists are using it as an opportunity to show off. If they really knew devout Catholics or other Christians who take the music seriously, they would never make that kind of assumption. They use the gifts God gave them to sing to the best of their ability as a prayer to God and to help others to prayer. For musicians, music is their best form of prayer. I have never used that as an opportunity to “show off” and I know many others who also do not. That is not to say there are soloists out there who do, but they are usually hired as outside soloists who have no connection to the Church or to God at all. But you can’t always tell who is showing off and who is not. Sometimes you can, but most of the time you can’t. The composition, itself, calls for a well-trained voice. Otherwise, it is painful to listen to and very hard to pray to. A well-trained voice does not automatically equal a show-off, either.
 
Phemie said:
Not generally at my parish. Hard to accompany that one with a guitar and tambourine.
Click to expand...
😦 That said, if you have a classically-trained guitarist, it can be quite beautiful and reverent. I’ve done it a few times with one. The first time was due to the fact that the organ was broken and they had no other instruments to use, so a classical guitarist and violinist were brought in.
 
Hans_W said:
I beg to disagree. The Schubert one is artistically on a higher level and also more demanding to play (and to sing, I guess).
This is not to criticise Bach, of course. Gounod turned that simple C-major prelude into a schmaltzy song. But it is effective.
Click to expand...
Schubert is definitely harder to play. It is harder to sing as well, at a certain level, because you need a lot of breath control. Also, more non-musician singers, or sloppy singers will never sing the rhythms quite correctly.

The Bach-Gounod can be difficult to sing, depending on how well the singer’s technique is. It can be difficult for a less-seasoned singer to navigate to the “high” note at the end without cracking or becoming to strident. It also gives more tasteless singers and opportunity to be a bit schmaltzy and cheesy. Some mean well, but they were never taught what was appropriate for mass, singing-wise.
 
Sarabande said:
😦 That said, if you have a classically-trained guitarist, it can be quite beautiful and reverent. I’ve done it a few times with one. The first time was due to the fact that the organ was broken and they had no other instruments to use, so a classical guitarist and violinist were brought in.
Click to expand...
How about a “I’ve taught myself a few chords and I can strum guitarist”?
 
Phemie said:
How about a “I’ve taught myself a few chords and I can strum guitarist”?
Click to expand...
Oh, gosh. That would be quite a problem. It’s better to not have it played at all. (Excuse the sad/worried smiley from my other post. I typed it from my Nook. I didn’t realise my finger touched it until now.)
 
Joannm said:
I also don’t particularly like either of those Ave Maria’s. It’s just an opportunity for the soloist to show off. I bet you most of the guests don’t even know it’s the Hail Mary.
Click to expand...
Prayer is efficacious no matter whether people understand what it is they are hearing, and regardless of whether a soloist is “showing off” and I am personally offended by that kind of judgemental dismissal of someone using her talents for the Lord and Our Blessed Mother.
 
Elizium23 said:
Prayer is efficacious no matter whether people understand what it is they are hearing, and regardless of whether a soloist is “showing off” and I am personally offended by that kind of judgemental dismissal of someone using her talents for the Lord and Our Blessed Mother.
Click to expand...
This is very true, Elizium. I can’t tell you how many times people have described how spiritually touched they were when they heard an Ave Maria sung beautifully… or any beautiful sacred composition, for that matter. It was often to the point that they were brought to tears, that it was spiritually healing or something that made them feel closer to our Lord and to the Blessed Mother. I feel that if the musician has accomplished that, something good occurred where the Lord used the instrument (in this case the voice and the person who humbly and lovingly used the talents our Lord gave them) to “speak” to those who were listening.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top