We broke from the moving to listen to some pieces our organist Ginny had kindly prepared for us. She was nice enough to call our descriptions for what we wanted “unique.” After hearing a lot of compositions, we froze for a minute in fear of (to us) the unknown. We don’t to want to play more unfamiliar stuff just for the sake of being different, yet we don’t want to axiomatic and dead to beautiful possibilities either. Neither one of us has been exposed to enough Baroque or Romantic Era music, so, in truth, a lot of the pieces sounded a bit the same. But slowly, deliberately, the music did eventually speak to us.

For the Prelude:

Felix Mendelssohn’s Oh! For The Wings Of A Dove

This was one of many of Mendelssohn’s smaller-scale sacred works for organ and choir. It is a section from his most famous of such work, Hear My Prayer. As such, it is a particular favorite for choirboys, and has perhaps been recorded more than any other treble solo. We’ll just have organ though.

For the seating of the mother and the entrance of the bridesmaids:

Georg Philippe Telemann’s La Grace from 3 Airs in D in his suite Musique Heroique.

Georg Philipp Telemann was four years Sebastian Bach’s senior and went on to outlive Bach by some seventeen years and his output would span at least two style periods. A master musician, Telemann was famous for his ability to play a number of instruments exceptionally well. One of the most prolific composers of his generation, Telemann left behind 1046 Church cantatas, more than 40 Passion settings, dozens of operas and countless works for chamber ensembles and orchestra: he is listed in the GBoWR as “The Most Prolific Composer.”

The Processional (or The Procession of Me, as Steph put it):

Mendelssohn’s Sonata 3 in A major -- Con Moto Maestoso

The Sonata No. 3 in A major uses a march theme that Mendelssohn had originallly written for the wedding of his sister Fanny in 1839. He was struck ill and unable to complete it before she was wed. There is a beauty and drive in this piece that certainly reminds me of Stephanie.

The Recessional:

Charles-Marie Widor’s Toccata, from his Symphony for Organ No. 5,

Widor’s best-known single piece is often played as a recessional at wedding ceremonies. I can understand why! It sparkles with lightness and joy. This piece is simply known as “Widor’s Toccata” although he wrote others. It is first of the toccatas characteristic of French Romantic organ music. Apparently, Widor was pleased with the world-wide renown this single piece afforded him, but he was unhappy with how fast many other organists played it. It is something of a test piece for organists to show off their dexterity I suppose.

Of course, after all this, the real music starts. Sorry Ginny