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Wedding Music from The Twilight Saga

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Twilight-The MovieFans of The Twilight Saga have become increasingly interested in having music from the film as a featured element in their wedding (especially after the latest installment). Four Strings has several exclusive arrangements sure to please every Twi-Hard! Because of the complexity of the music, the string quartet is really a must, though a couple of the songs are available for the string trio as well.

Bella’s Lullaby (Carter Burwell) — Quartet, Trio
Featured in the first film of the series, Bella’s Lullaby is a song composed by Edward Cullen for Bella Swan. Carter Burwell’s interpretation is by turns unsettled, passionate, brooding, and sweet. We have performed an excerpt as a Bridal Processional, though it is suitable for any part of the prelude or ceremony.

Clair de Lune (Claude Debussy) — Quartet, Trio
Also featured in the first film, Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasque is one of the most beloved pieces of classical music ever written. In the film mythology, the piece is a personal favorite of Edward Cullen, as well as Bella’s mother. The song is suitable for prelude music, and the first portion could be excerpted as a somewhat unusual Bridal Processional.

A Thousand Years (Christina Perri) — Quartet, Trio
Although the song is only featured in the ending credits of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years has proven to be a smash hit worldwide. In a wedding ceremony, it would be particularly suited as a Recessional.

River Flows in You (Yiruma) — Quartet
An interesting story underlies this piece and its inclusion on the list. River Flows in You, by Japanese pianist Yiruma, does not actually appear in any of the Twilight films or inspired-by soundtracks, but developed a widespread fan following as the piece that should have been Bella’s Lullaby. It has a quality similar to the Pachelbel Canon in D, and could be used in any portion of the ceremony except perhaps Recessional, or played in full during the Prelude.

Planning your Wedding Music: Recessionals

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The wedding recessional is an important part of any ceremony, as it serves as a bridge from wedding to reception, in both formality and mood. The music is joyful, upbeat, and loud! For a classical music wedding, there are many choices. Here are some of the most popular, as well as a few unusual alternatives.

Mendelssohn – Wedding March from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
The war-horse of the wedding recessional, it became a wedding staple after its use in the 1858 wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter to Prince Frederick William of Prussia. Quite lengthy if played in full, it can easily serve as a combined recessional and postlude.

Handel – Hornpipe from ‘Water Music Suite 2 in D’
Second in popularity only to the Mendelssohn, Handel’s original prominently featured trumpets and horns. First heard in 1717, this music was not composed for a wedding, but rather as entertainment for George I of England and his friends as they floated down the Thames on a barge!

Handel La Réjouissance from ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks’
Another popular choice from the music of Handel, La Réjouissance (literally, ‘The Rejoicing’) was premiered in 1749 at a somewhat disastrous outdoor concert celebrating the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The piece is not very long, and is most suitable for shorter recessionals, as it can become somewhat tedious if repeated too many times.

Stanley – Trumpet Voluntary in D
Sometimes heard as a processional as well, this is actually one of many “trumpet voluntaries” by English baroque composer John Stanley. Though frequently performed on trumpet, it was not actually composed for trumpet at all. The piece is one movement from a longer work for organ (called a Voluntary). In this particular section, the composer calls for the right-hand melody to be played using the ‘trumpet stop’ on the organ – hence a trumpet voluntary!

Clarke – Duke of Gloucester’s March
Jeremiah Clarke is best known for two common processionals that for many decades were erroneously attributed to Henry Purcell – the famous Trumpet Tune and equally famous Prince of Denmark’s March. The Duke of Gloucester’s March was one of many pieces written in honor of the child prince William, Duke of Gloucester. It was recently featured as the bridal processional in the 2010 wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

Planning Your Wedding Music: Ultra-Traditional

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English: View at Lucerne, water color by Felix...

Choosing wedding music can be a daunting challenge, but if you are planning a very traditional ceremony, you may also simply want to use traditional music. While there is no “official” or historic list, the four pieces below represent the music you are most likely to hear in movie, soap opera, and royal weddings. There have been years when these pieces represented 75% or more of the ceremonies we performed. While tastes are changing, this set remains a popular choice for traditional brides.

Seating of Honored Guests

Bach – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

A famous chorale movement from the Cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (BWV 147) of J.S. Bach, featuring a melody by Johann Schop, this popular piece is more atmospheric than processional, making it a favorite for seating of mothers and other honored guests.

Processional of the Bridal Party

Pachelbel – Canon in D

A piece which needs no introduction, and which begins with perhaps the recognizable 8 note sequence in all of classical music. While possibly composed for the wedding of J.C. Bach in 1694, the piece was not well known until its republication in 1919, and the first commercial recording was issued in 1940. In spite of its near ubiquity, it is really a ‘modern traditional’.

Bridal Processional

Wagner – Bridal Chorus from ‘Lohengrin’

Another of the most recognized melodies in Western music, in Wagner’s opera it is actually sung after the wedding, as a processional from the altar to the bridal chamber, with the wedding party singing:

Faithfully guided, draw near
to where the blessing of love shall preserve you!
Triumphant courage, the reward of love,
joins you in faith as the happiest of couples!
Champion of virtue, proceed!
Jewel of youth, proceed!
Flee now the splendour of the wedding feast,
may the delights of the heart be yours!

This sweet-smelling room, decked for love,
now takes you in, away from the splendour.
Faithfully guided, draw now near
to where the blessing of love shall preserve you!
Triumphant courage, love so pure,
joins you in faith as the happiest of couples!

Recessional

Mendelssohn – Wedding March from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1842 as part of a suite of incidental music for a production of Shakespeare’s play, it quickly became a wedding favorite. Its appearance in the 1858 wedding of the daughter of Queen Victoria to Prince Frederick William of Prussia ensured an early entrance into the traditional wedding playlist.

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