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.

Over the last four years, we've started to notice the trends in music played at funerals, with Adele exiting stage left to be replaced by Lilly Allen and others, but some classic pop versions last way beyond their moment in the charts. 

Where do you start when choosing hymns for a funeral service? There are so many hymns to choose from. Having sung at many Anglican funerals we've first hand experience of the various choices people have. Often it's a close run thing with the popularity of hymns as we all have our favourites.