My Promise - Music for All Weddings
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No choral wedding CD would be complete without This Marriage, Eric Whitacre’s very beautiful and reflective gift of song to his wife, Hila, on the occasion of their seventh wedding anniversary. The text is by the 13th-century Persian poet, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, more commonly known in the Western world as Rumi, an ecstatic mystic, philosopher and Sufi poet.
The way you look tonight is a timeless classic by Jerome Kern, first made famous in 1936 by Fred Astaire in the film Swing Time and subsequently covered by many of the biggest names in music. The first of two charming folksongs on this album, My love is like a red red rose was written in 1794 by Robert Burns based on melodies he had collected to preserve the traditional music of Scotland. The words of the song declare an everlasting love in each of four verses. |
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Take That topped the UK charts in 2008 with Greatest Day, their eleventh No. 1 single. The song is one of the most popular requests at civil ceremonies, with its uplifting message and soaring harmonies.
Richard Allain composed the title track of this album, My Promise, for a civil partnership, setting an apparently anonymous secular text chosen by the wedding couple. It is the third 'wedding piece' by Allain following the great success of his Ubi Caritas on Classic FM radio, and Cana's Guest from ‘Choirbook for the Queen’.
Made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Moon River is Henry Mancini’s classic song, here arranged in a lilting setting by Clare Wheeler. Many famous stars have since covered the multi-award winning song.
Contemplative music can be appropriate for both weddings and funerals as it often reflects on the nature of relationships and time, and inevitable end, but from a perspective of hope and anticipation or retrospection of a long and happy life. Two pieces premiered on the CD were adaptations and re-writes of earlier choral pieces, both having been written originally for funerals; This Love by Chris Roe and i carry your heart by Ronald Corp, a setting of a text by E.E.Cummings and dedicated ‘to the memory of Robert Presley’, who was himself a solo singer. It was first performed in 2013 in a version for piano and choir.
Edward Elgar’s Chason de matin is a very popular orchestral piece with a highly romantic melody, perfectly paced to walk down the aisle to. It has been expertly arranged for voices by Sanjay Manohar, with a new text by James Davey adapted from the ‘Song of Songs’.
Registrars reported that Kissing You, Des’ree’s love song from the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet, was one of the most requested tracks at civil ceremonies. Here it is, specially arranged for this album by composer Jonathan Wikeley.
Marriage to My Lady Poverty by Bob Chilcott, one of the most widely performed composers of choral music in the world. It is a setting of a text by Charles Bennett based on a painting by the artist Sassetta (Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, ca.1392–1450). The painting is one of a series on the life of St. Francis who had a deep love of the natural world, and it depicts a mystical marriage to a female virtue interpreted as Poverty. Bennett’s text speaks to spiritual aspects of secular experiences such as marriage, though is not primarily religious.
Richard Allain composed the title track of this album, My Promise, for a civil partnership, setting an apparently anonymous secular text chosen by the wedding couple. It is the third 'wedding piece' by Allain following the great success of his Ubi Caritas on Classic FM radio, and Cana's Guest from ‘Choirbook for the Queen’.
Made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Moon River is Henry Mancini’s classic song, here arranged in a lilting setting by Clare Wheeler. Many famous stars have since covered the multi-award winning song.
Contemplative music can be appropriate for both weddings and funerals as it often reflects on the nature of relationships and time, and inevitable end, but from a perspective of hope and anticipation or retrospection of a long and happy life. Two pieces premiered on the CD were adaptations and re-writes of earlier choral pieces, both having been written originally for funerals; This Love by Chris Roe and i carry your heart by Ronald Corp, a setting of a text by E.E.Cummings and dedicated ‘to the memory of Robert Presley’, who was himself a solo singer. It was first performed in 2013 in a version for piano and choir.
Edward Elgar’s Chason de matin is a very popular orchestral piece with a highly romantic melody, perfectly paced to walk down the aisle to. It has been expertly arranged for voices by Sanjay Manohar, with a new text by James Davey adapted from the ‘Song of Songs’.
Registrars reported that Kissing You, Des’ree’s love song from the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet, was one of the most requested tracks at civil ceremonies. Here it is, specially arranged for this album by composer Jonathan Wikeley.
Marriage to My Lady Poverty by Bob Chilcott, one of the most widely performed composers of choral music in the world. It is a setting of a text by Charles Bennett based on a painting by the artist Sassetta (Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, ca.1392–1450). The painting is one of a series on the life of St. Francis who had a deep love of the natural world, and it depicts a mystical marriage to a female virtue interpreted as Poverty. Bennett’s text speaks to spiritual aspects of secular experiences such as marriage, though is not primarily religious.