When you’re organising a funeral, there isn’t always a lot of time to investigate lots of options for the service. So, you (and many families like you) may not even realise you can have live music at a funerals service. And that applies to the songs you and your loved one enjoyed, not just the hymns.

So, why would you choose to have live music? Here’s five reasons that families have told us.

​Singing at funerals across southern England does ensure we sing in many different types of venues. The contrast in venues is sometimes very marked, but as professional opera singers we're able adjust our voices to suit each venue accordingly.

Unchained Melody was originally written for ‘Unchained’, a 1954 movie about life in prison. In the movie an inmate sings about time passing so slowly when you’re locked up wanting to be with the girl you love.  

This song has surprised us by being a popular request for funerals. Not usual for opera.
Lascia ch'io pianga (Let me weep)

One of the skills you learn at music college as a student of singing is to suit your voice to the music, and that includes volume. Singing a song with piano is obviously different to singing an aria with orchestra, for example. However, it;'s only experience that teaches you the art of self-regulating and adjusting your voice to different spaces as well. And it's not always about the size of the space either.

One of our favourite funeral hymns is 'And did those feet in ancient times', otherwise known as 'Jerusalem'.

Throughout the years we've been singing for funerals, no pattern for bookings has emerged. However, over the last months, one has emerged - bookings for the middle Friday of the month.

​Whilst all our singers enjoy singing hymns at funerals services, we are also increasingly conscious of a trend we call "internet verses overload"! 

This is a new favourite of ours, a great funeral poem set to wonderful music. We knew of the poem, but the musical setting only came to our notice last year.