Wedding Ceremony/Mass Music

[spiritualwrrior]

Hello everyone,

Recently my wife asked me why the Catholic Church doesn’t allow particular wedding songs, like the popular “Here Comes the Bride” song, in a wedding Mass or Ceremony? I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I did not, but I thought it may have to do with the fact that it’s not a liturgical song?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chatter163]

The Catholic Church has no such prohibition; I have heard “Here Comes the Bride” at many Catholic weddings. Many bishops and pastors have such a rule because they prefer to avoid the use of theatre music in church at a liturgical function, as you suggested.

 

[JGMendes4049]

The “Bridal Chorus,” from the opera Lohengrin, composed by Richard Wagner, commonly known as Here Comes the Bride, was actually a march sung after the wedding in the opera between Elsa and Lohengrin. To be more specific, it is sung as Elsa is being escorted to the bridal chamber. How ironic that it is used at the beginning of so many weddings. Therefore, notwithstanding its origin in opera, it has connotations inappropriate for the procession of the bride to the sanctuary in a Catholic wedding, or any wedding, for that matter.

 

[YoungTradCath]

Simply because much wedding music nowadays is secular in origin and theme, and secular music is inappropriate in a Catholic liturgical ceremony.

 

[Sarabande]

Hello everyone,

Recently my wife asked me why the Catholic Church doesn’t allow particular wedding songs, like the popular “Here Comes the Bride” song, in a wedding Mass or Ceremony? I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I did not, but I thought it may have to do with the fact that it’s not a liturgical song?

Thanks in advance.

It’s mainly because much of the music that is not permitted is secular. The way I learned it when I worked at our cathedral basilica as a musician, which was very “strict” in terms of following all liturgical musical guidelines, was that music such as Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” (aka “Here Comes the Bride”) and Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” were completely secular due to the fact that they come from an opera and a ballet. Exceptions were made for what is called “absolute music” in which the instrumental music has no secular or sacred connotation. ie. was never written for a play, opera, musical, rock band, ballet, etc. OR was not written specifically for liturgy. ie. instrumental preludes or postludes or other instrumental music.

Now, there are individual parishes that do allow this music because often times the priests don’t have a problem with it. Priests have told me that they pick their fights with things like this or that they actually don’t even mind, especially if it is for the processional or recessional.

The lines are blurred, though, with vocal music, especially if the music appears “religious” in nature. Some pastors will allow anything as long as there is mention of God or something religious in it, no matter if it came from a secular show or was a popular song from the secular realm. Others won’t be as permissive. For instance, some parishes I’ve cantored for weddings do not permit the popular song, “The Prayer”. But other parishes will. And then still others will permit music in another language because the pastor or the music director don’t actually know what the translation means. Along with that, technically, you really shouldn’t allow a religious piece of music written for an opera, for instance, due to the fact that it is from a secular piece of music. Verdi’s aria “Ave Maria” sung by Desdamona from his opera “Otello”. It’s a prayer to the Blessed Mother, but completely inappropriate for liturgy, yet, I do know priests who have allowed things similar to that because it is a “prayer”.

 

[beckers]

Hello everyone,

Recently my wife asked me why the Catholic Church doesn’t allow particular wedding songs, like the popular “Here Comes the Bride” song, in a wedding Mass or Ceremony? I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I did not, but I thought it may have to do with the fact that it’s not a liturgical song?

Thanks in advance.

My church specifically excludes it in their wedding guidelines. All music has to be pre approved and nothing secular is allowed. The music should be appropriate to the space. We also have guidelines for the photographs as they can’t go past the last pew during the mass and no one stands for pictures beyond the altar rails.

Btw I would never recommend a bride have the Wagner here comes the bride as their entrance song. it’s sung as the bride goes to her wedding chamber where her new husband kills another man. Then he tells her who is and her brother comes back but her husband leaves and I believe she dies. I have no idea why that would be something brides want in their wedding. I think it become famous after a queen or someone else used it in their wedding

 

[Sarabande]

Btw I would never recommend a bride have the Wagner here comes the bride as their entrance song. it’s sung as the bride goes to her wedding chamber where her new husband kills another man. Then he tells her who is and her brother comes back but her husband leaves and I believe she dies. I have no idea why that would be something brides want in their wedding. I think it become famous after a queen or someone else used it in their wedding

I also don’t recommend it more because of the fact that in the story, Lohengrin and Elsa never consummate the marriage due to the fact that Elsa is persuaded by another character, Otrud, to break her promise to Lohengrin by asking him his origins, so the marriage starts off on broken promises. (Lohengrin has to kill Telramund because he and his cohorts attack Lohengrin, hellbent to murder him.) Because Lohengrin has to now reveal that he is a Knight of the Holy Grail, and his wife has broken her promise, he must return from whence he came, basically abandoning Elsa, to which she dies of grief. It really isn’t something a bridal couple should want for their wedding knowing the background story, and often times, when I explain the story, they decide not to go with it.