Harp Music - Tanah Haney, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

Harp Music For Weddings (& Other Special Occasions)

Due to the special nature of the Celtic (lever) harp, I prefer to do an eclectic blend of Celtic/traditional, baroque, and a few early classical pieces when I play for wedding ceremonies. Below you will find a list of my favourite tunes to play at a typical wedding ceremony. (See below for notes on the most popular "wedding standards"). (Note: "Interlude" includes signing the registry).
If any of the titles below appear as a link, you can click on them to hear a midi version of the tune (Note that midi files are electronically synthesized files, and as such will sound like a synthesizer rather than a real harp; they are there to provide the listener with an idea of what each melody sounds like, but will not give an accurate representation of a proper harp sound). Click here for MP3 demo tunes of harp with flute, cello, voice and guitar (the MP3 files are live recordings of me playing with various ensembles; my solo harp CD is currently still in the planning stage, but once it is finished I will be able to included solo tracks here as well).

List of Wedding Tunes

Celtic/Folk/Traditional
Planxty Fanny Power - O'Carolan (processional/interlude) Inisheer - trad. (interlude) Lark in the Clear Air with Eleanor Plunkett & Einini - trad. (int.) Last Rose of Summer & Sally Gardens - trad. (interlude) Lord Inchiquin - O'Carolan (proc. or recessional) March of the Kings of Laoise ("Leesh") - trad. (proc.) O'Carolan's Draught & Morgan Magan - O'Carolan (rec.) Planxty Irwin - O'Carolan (proc./rec./interlude) Si Beg Si Mor - O'Carolan (proc./rec./int.) Sparkles on Your Dress - D. Gessner (rec.) Willafjord (rec.) Numerous other traditional tunes are available by request. I can also do a Welsh, Irish, Scottish, or Medieval theme if desired.
Baroque & Early Classical
All in a Garden Green (processional or recessional) Finale from "Music for the Royal Fireworks" - Handel (proc. or rec.) King Willam's March - J. Clarke (processional) Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring - Bach (interlude, proc.) La Volta - W. Byrd (proc.) Lady Laiton's Almain (proc. or rec.) St. Anthony Corale - Haydn (interlude, proc. Theme from "Jupiter" - Holst (interlude, proc.) Trumpet Tune - H. Purcell (proc. or rec.) Trumpet Voluntary(Prince of Denmark's March) - J. Clarke (proc.) Other pieces may be available by request - Please e-mail me for details.

Solo harp demo MP3's will be coming soon. In the meantime, here are some samples of me playing with the Celtic group Clachaig, and with the Stringwood Trio. (click the link to download and play)

My Lagan Love - with Clachaig (Sheri Drozd, Ian Anderson and Ian Craig)

The Blacksmith - with Clachaig

Le Basque - with The Stringwood Trio (with Jessica Lindeman on cello & Sally Wolf on flute)

Largo by Vivaldi - with The Stringwood Trio

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More notes on music for the wedding ceremony
For the prelude (as people are being seated), I usually do a blend of traditional (incl. Celtic) and early music (incl. Baroque). For the signing of the register, I usually do a medley of several slower, evocative tunes.
Other tunes may be available by request, including music for Jewish weddings, or Medieval-themed weddings. A complete set list of all the tunes I play is also available. If you have a particular piece of music in mind, feel free to e-mail me for more details. A small arranging and/or rehearsal fee may apply for learning a brand new tune (not in my repertoire list), depending on the length and complexity of the piece. Also, some tunes may not be compatible with the lever harp, so it is not always possible to grant all requests.

Notes On Several Wedding "Standards":
  "Trumpet Voluntary" by Jeremiah Clarke is also known as "The Prince of Denmark's March".
   What most people refer to as "The Wedding March" (by Mendelssohn) is the march from A Midsummer's Night's Dream, and is typically used as a recessional (as the wedding party leaves the church), not a processional.
   The piece often referred to as "Here Comes the Bride" is properly titled "The Bridal Chorus" (from Lohengrin, by Wagner).

If you think you would prefer a more "classical" theme for your wedding, please visit the website of The Stringwood Trio (click the link to go to the website). The Stringwood Trio will happily play most wedding standards, and have a large classical repertoire, which they usually blend with light Celtic and Baroque tunes.

If you have any questions about harp music for weddings and other special occasions, you can e-mail soloharp@celticharper.com, or phone (705) 748-3750.

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