{"id":43067,"date":"2024-05-08T13:58:55","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T11:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c46c76cf-91da-4756-bfea-306c45caf574"},"modified":"2024-05-08T15:40:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T13:40:01","slug":"best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Best wedding songs: 10 of the best of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 08 May 2024 at 11:58 AM<\/p>

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So you’ve got the ‘walking-down-the-aisle’ music sorted for your wedding, but how about some songs for the big day? Here are ten of the best wedding songs in history.<\/p>

Best wedding songs<\/h2>

Thomas Tallis: If Ye Love Me<\/strong><\/h3>
This anthem by the English composer Thomas Tallis<\/strong><\/a> was first published in 1565 during the reign of Elizabeth I. Four and a half centuries later, it\u2019s still one of the most elegant, beautifully simple and moving musical expressions of devotion. So all credit to Harry and Meghan for including it in their wedding ceremony in 2018.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/whats-the-best-music-for-wedding-ceremonies\"><strong>Wedding music: the best classical music for wedding ceremonies<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-leo-delibes-flower-duet-from-lakme\"><strong>L\u00e9o Delibes: Flower Duet from <em>Lakm\u00e9<\/em><\/strong><\/h3><p>British Airways might have appropriated it for not-entirely-romantic purposes. But, objectively speaking, this duet from the first act of Delibes\u2019s tragic opera <em>Lakm\u00e9 <\/em>is certainly beautiful and joyous enough to be a wedding song.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Delibes: Lakm\u00e9 - Duo des fleurs (Flower Duet), Sabine Devieilhe & Marianne Crebassa\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C1ZL5AxmK_A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-wedding-hymns-10-of-the-most-popular-for-your-ceremony\"><strong>Best Wedding Hymns: 10 of the most popular for your ceremony<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-claudio-monteverdi-pur-ti-miro\"><strong>Claudio Monteverdi: Pur ti Miro<\/strong><\/h3><p>No moment in opera is more morally ambiguous than the end of<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/claudio-monteverdi\">Monteverd<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/claudio-monteverdi\">i<\/a>\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/five-essential-works-monteverdi\"><strong>Il Coronazione di Poppea<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, where Poppea has just fulfilled her ruthless ambition of marrying the megalomaniacal emperor Nero. Indifferent to the collateral damage they have left in their wake, Poppea and Nero sing this ecstatic love duet, whose words translate as \u2018I adore you, I embrace you, I desire you.\u2019 But while the narrative context may be dodgy, the song itself is exquisite, which is why I included it in my own wedding ceremony (don’t worry, my husband is nicer than Nero).<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Claudio Monteverdi - "Pur ti miro" (L'incoronazione di Poppea)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AjlIwv0ljX8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-music-did-prince-charles-and-princess-diana-have-at-their-wedding\"><strong>What music did Prince Charles and Princess Diana have at their wedding?<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-laudate-dominum\"><strong>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Laudate Dominum<\/strong><\/h3><p>Although it\u2019s part of a much larger work, the ‘Vesperae solennes de Confessore’, KV 339, composed for Salzburg Cathedral, \u2018Laudate Dominum\u2019 is often performed as a standalone piece. Tranquil and celestial, with a soprano rising ethereally into the stratosphere, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/introduction-mozart\"><strong>Mozart<\/strong><\/a> masterpiece has dignified many a funeral. But its lightness and purity is just as well suited as a wedding song.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mozart: Laudate Dominum \/ Harnisch \u00b7 Abbado \u00b7 Berliner Philharmoniker\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X60OGd4co-Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-funeral-music\"><strong>Best classical music for funerals<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-louis-armstrong-wonderful-world\"><strong>Louis Armstrong: Wonderful World<\/strong><\/h3><p>Ah come on, who hasn\u2019t cried like a baby listening to this song? Yes, I\u2019ve been there. Odds are, you have too. It\u2019s hard to imagine a piece of music more suffused in childlike optimism and wonder, which is exactly the right kind of vibe for a wedding song.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VqhCQZaH4Vs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/best-jazz-singers-ever\"><strong>Best jazz singers ever: our top 15<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-more-best-wedding-songs\"><strong>More best wedding songs<\/strong><\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-eva-cassidy-somewhere-over-the-rainbow\"><strong>Eva Cassidy: Somewhere over the Rainbow<\/strong><\/h3><p>Judy Garland made this song famous, but I love the gentle version by Eva Cassidy. Unlike some artists, Cassidy holds back because she was always much too classy to score cheap points. And it makes for so much more emotional impact. The perfect wedding song.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eva Cassidy - Over The Rainbow\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2rd8VktT8xY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/sad-songs\"><strong>Sad songs: 10 of the most melancholy melodies<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-edith-piaf-hymne-de-l-amour\"><strong>\u00c9dith Piaf: Hymne de l’amour<\/strong><\/h3><p>The iconic French singer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/who-was-edith-piaf\"><strong>\u00c9dith Piaf<\/strong><\/a> wrote \u2018Hymne \u00e0 l\u2019amour\u2019 in 1949 for the love of her life: the married French boxer, Marcel Cerdan. The two had a year-long affair before he was killed in a plane crash en-route to visit her .<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/the-history-of-french-art-song\">The history of French art song<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-french-composers-ever\">The 25 best French composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/most-famous-french-singers-of-all-time\">The most famous French singers of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>You could say there was something eerily prophetic about the song\u2019s last verse: ‘If one day life tears you away from me\/If you die and are far from me\/It does not matter if you love me.\u2019 But that doesn\u2019t take away from the fact that it is one of the most passionate love songs ever written.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Edith Piaf - Hymne \u00e0 l'amour ( "Paris chante toujours")\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QYgVDXUIAuo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/most-famous-french-singers-of-all-time\"><strong>The most famous French singers of all time<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-george-frideric-handel-eternal-source-of-light-divine\"><strong>George Frideric Handel: Eternal Source of Light Divine<\/strong><\/h3><p>There\u2019s a reason why Meghan walked down the aisle to this one in 2018: it\u2019s gorgeous. Written by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/george-frideric-handel\"><strong>Handel<\/strong><\/a> for Queen Anne\u2019s birthday on February 6 C.1713, it praises the Queen\u2019s virtues as peacemaker with music of ethereal purity and serenity. <\/p><p>Over the years it has been sung by many sopranos, but I personally like to hear it performed by a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-countertenor\">countertenor<\/a><\/strong> (as in the clip below). And preferably one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/countertenor-iestyn-davies-listening-to-sad-music-is-like-looking-at-a-soap-opera-or-car-crash-on-tv\"><strong>Iestyn Davies<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s calibre, given that this song responds less kindly than some to out-of-tune singing.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/jakub-jozef-orlinski\">Meet the breakdancing countertenor, Jakub J\u00f3zef Orli\u0144ski<\/a><\/strong> <\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/reginald-mobley\">Who is Reginald Mobley, the countertenor who sang at the Coronation?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Thomas Dunford, Jupiter, Lea Desandre, Iestyn Davies \u2013 Handel: "Eternal Source of Light Divine"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ecWhsHO9pw8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-countertenor\"><strong>Countertenor singers: their vocal range, style and the famous countertenors in history<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-robert-schumann-widmung\"><strong>Robert Schumann: Widmung <\/strong><\/h3><p>The day before their wedding, in September 1840, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/robert-schumann\"><strong>Robert Schumann<\/strong><\/a> presented his beloved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/clara-schumann-6\"><strong>Clara<\/strong><\/a> with a collection of songs. The first of these was \u2018Widmung\u2019, whose great flurries of passion, optimism and rapture perfectly conveys what Schumann must have felt on being finally being allowed to marry Clara after years of opposition from her father. I\u2019d recommend this to anybody as a wedding song – as long as you can find a half-decent soprano to sing it.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SCHUMANN Widmung - Amy Broadbent, soprano - 2014\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/r9ZV6uZWXzk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/who-were-clara-and-robert-schumann-s-children\"><strong>Who were Clara and Robert Schumann’s children?<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-johann-sebastian-bach-charles-gounod-ave-maria\"><strong>Johann Sebastian Bach\/Charles Gounod: Ave Maria<\/strong><\/h3><p>Originally published in 1853 as \u2018M\u00e9ditation sur le Premier Pr\u00e9lude de Piano\u2019 by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/bach-beginners-recordings-help-you-discover-bach\"><strong>Bach<\/strong><\/a>,<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/ave-maria-lyrics\"><em>Ave Maria<\/em><\/a> <\/strong>has been hugely popular ever since the French Romantic composer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/charles-gounod\"><strong>Charles Gounod<\/strong><\/a> snazzed up the melody. Given its religious nature, it\u2019s not everyone’s perfect choice of wedding song. Still, its sense of tranquility does strike the right note for anyone embarking on (hoping for?!) a life of nuptial bliss.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Luciano Pavarotti - Ave maria by Charles Gounod\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/570GMKGryIk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Wednesday, 08 May 2024 at 11:58 AM So you’ve got the ‘walking-down-the-aisle’ music sorted for your wedding, but how about some songs for the big day? Here are ten of the best wedding songs in history. Best wedding songs Thomas Tallis: If Ye Love Me This anthem by the English composer Thomas Tallis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":43068,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time.jpg",640,496,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time-300x233.jpg",300,233,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time.jpg",640,496,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time.jpg",640,496,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time.jpg",640,496,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/05\/best-wedding-songs-10-of-the-best-of-all-time.jpg",640,496,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Wednesday, 08 May 2024 at 11:58 AM So you’ve got the ‘walking-down-the-aisle’ music sorted for your wedding, but how about some songs for the big day? Here are ten of the best wedding songs in history. Best wedding songs Thomas Tallis: If Ye Love Me This anthem by the English composer Thomas Tallis…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/43067"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}