Furman University

Wedding Music

Processionals and Recessionals Prelude Music

Organ Processionals and Recessionals

Click on the titles to hear an excerpt of that selection

Processionals ("Walking In Music") for Attendants:

1. Air (from Water Music) - G.F. Handel
2. St. Anthony Chorale - Johannes Brahms
3. Canon - Johann Pachelbel
4. Andante (from Sonata IV) - Felix Mendelssohn
5. Andante (from Symphony I) - Johannes Brahms
6. March (from Judas Maccabeus) - G.F. Handel
7. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - J.S. Bach

The above selections also work well for seating music (grandparents, mothers).

Processionals for the Bride:

8. Trumpet Tune in D - Jeremiah Clarke
9. Trumpet Voluntary in D - Jeremiah Clarke
10. Trumpet Tune in D - John Stanley
11. Trumpet Tune in D - Marc-Antoine Charpentier
12. Andante maestoso (from Sonata III) - Felix Mendelssohn
13. Prelude in E-flat - J.S. Bach
14. Allegro maestoso - Felix Mendelssohn
15. Wedding March - Richard Wagner

Recessionals ("Walking Out Music"):

16. Toccata (from Symphony V) - Charles-Marie Widor
17. Hornpipe (from Water Music) - G. F. Handel
18. Rondeau - Jean-Joseph Mouret
19. The Heavens Declare the Glory of God - Bendetto Marcello
20. Wedding March - Felix Mendelssohn
21. Rigaudon - André Campra
22. Allegro maestoso e vivace (Sonata II) - Felix Mendelssohn

Organ Prelude Music for Weddings

The following list provides a representative sampling of organ prelude music that is appropriate for weddings at Daniel Chapel. Specific pieces available to be played will depend on the repertory of the organist playing for your wedding.

• Hymn preludes by composers such as John Ferguson, Wilbur Held, Hal Hopson, Paul Manz, and others on appropriate hymns, such as:

  • "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee"
  • "Simple Gifts"
  • "Be Thou My Vision"
  • "Now Thank We All Our God"
  • "Holy, Holy, Holy"
  • "For the Beauty of the Earth"

• Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, such as:

  • "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"
  • "God, My Shepherd, Walks Beside Me"
  • "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Wake, Awake, A Voice is Calling")

  Selected preludes, fugues, sonata movements, and others

• Classical organ music by a variety of Baroque, Romantic, and Contemporary compsoers. Typical examples include:

  • Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D major
  • Voluntaries by 18th-century English composers such as John Stanley and William Boyce -Felix Mendelssohn: Movements from the Six Sonatas
  • Johannes Brahms: Chorale Preludes from Opus 122
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams: Prelude on "Rhosymedre"
  • Dan Locklair: "The Peace May Be Exchanged" (from Rubrics)
  • Jean Langlais: "Song of Peace"

You are welcome to request specific individual pieces for your prelude, and your organist will honor such requests when possible. Please bear in mind that, because the prelude normally includes some 30 minutes of music, the bulk of the music performed will need to come from the organist's regular repertory.

Examples provided by Dr. Charles Tompkins, organist. Professor Tompkins recommends that you choose two or three possible pieces from each category before meeting with your organist. For more information about Daniel Chapel’s Fisk organ, Opus 121, please contact Dr. Charles Tompkins at 864-294-2969 or at charles.tompkins@furman.edu.