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Here follows suggestions and tips that will help you determine the ideal
programme for your Wedding day. A String Quartet can provide music for every
stage of your Wedding.
First of all, we have the Brides breakfast. If you are hiring the services of a
String quartet for the whole day, you may be able to arrange for one or two of
the players to come along for this early stage of the wedding at reasonable
extra cost. A single string instrument, such as the cello, can provide gentle
background music with Schubert's Ave Maria or the solo suites by Bach. It is
considered good form to invite the musicians to have a meal with your guests,
especially if there is a long interval between wedding stages.
Next follows the Prelude. This is the stage when your guests arrive at the
actual venue where the ceremony will take place. This is often a different
venue from where the Brides breakfast and / or Reception takes place. You
should allow enough time for the musicians to arrive at the wedding venue
before your guests! By this stage, the full quartet (all 4 players) will need
to be on site for the main part of the ceremony, so it makes sense to take
advantage of their presence and ask them to play for the Prelude as well. The
Pachelbel Canon is an ideal piece of music for this purpose. As this stage is
probably the longest (with exception of the reception), the quartet will need
to have a substantial repertoire of peaceful arrival music in order to avoid
repitition. Selections such as the Flower Duet from Delibe's Lakme and The Swan
by Camille Saint-Saens are perennial favourites. A good string quartet will be
aware of these requirements, and should be able to assure you that their
repertoire is varied, extensive and appropriate. Allow up to 30 minutes for
this stage.
Now comes the big moment of your Wedding day, the Processional (walking down
the aisle!) This is when you'll be very pleased that you hired a String
Quartet. The actual music for the infamous 'Here comes the bride' is the Bridal
Chorus by Richard Wagner. If your prospective ensemble doesn't know this piece
(and it's proper title), walk away! They most likely will of course. If you
have your heart set on something else, you must make sure that the quartet
either already has it in their repertoire, or has the resources to acquire it.
More obscure musical requests may need to be written specially for quartet.
Arrangements of most show tunes etc. should be within the grasp of the quartet
musicians themselves. You should however, expect to pay an additional fee for
this service. A good arrangement takes time.
The Signing of the register is the next stage of the Wedding which requires
music. The Andante Cantabile by Tchaikovsky or Alexander Borodin's Quartet no.2
are both very appropriate for this stage of the wedding, as they are relaxing
and soothing pieces of music. Bach's Air on the G string is also wonderfully
effective. This allows everyone in the room to have a bit of a breather and
will help to release any tension in the room! You should ensure that the
quartet you have hired has the entire selection prepared, and not just
excerpts, again to avoid endless repetition of 'the famous bits'.
That's it, you've done it, you're married! All that's left for you to do is to
walk back down the aisle, the Processional. Unless you have very strong
feelings about an alternative piece of music, it is advisable to stick with the
Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn. Everybody expects to hear it, it suits the
occasion perfectly and is a fantastic piece of music perfectly matched to the
sound of the String Quartet.
It's party time! The reception follows the processional, and often takes place
at a different location from the wedding ceremony. In order to ensure that the
musicians arrive before the guests, it is advisable that you allow them to
leave the ceremony immediately following the conclusion of the processional.
There is a huge amount of very good Quartet repertoire which is suitable for a
Wedding reception. It would be possible to satisfy the needs of your reception
with the music of Mozart alone! Of course, an experienced quartet should have a
balanced repertoire. Even so, It is worth checking that the musicians have
certain pieces in their arsenal. Make sure that they have on hand all the
well-known baroque and classical masterpieces by Mozart, Haydn and Handel, some
light music classics, jazz standards, show tunes and arrangements of other
popular songs. You should expect to hear Ein Kleine Nachtmusic (a little
night-music) by Mozart, Boccherini's Minuet and The ragtime music of Scott
Joplin to name but a few.
About the Author
Warren Zielinski is a top Professional violinist and musician. As Chief
co-creator of the comprehensive and useful
musicians-anytime.co.uk website, Warren has an enviable
reputation amongst live classical wedding music specialists in the UK and
abroad. Musicians-anytime specialises in providing the best young professional
string quartets and ensembles for all types of events, parties and ceremonies.
info@musicians-anitime.co.uk
Reprinted from ArticleCity.com