A guide to . . .
Selecting Funeral Music
Comfort and Support
We’re sorry for the loss of your loved one. It’s a difficult time, and you find yourself faced with arrangements to make, including the selection of music for the funeral mass. Thankfully, music has the capacity to help address feelings of loss. Perhaps even the task of considering music for the funeral mass and making final selections will cause you to read and listen to texts that will lend consolation and express hope. This guide provides suggestions for every point at which music can be included at a funeral mass, and provides links for listening to recommended options. Note your choices as you work through the sections in the funeral liturgy below, and use the form on the church’s website to submit your music list directly to the organist and cantor at St. Joseph’s Parish in Needham. When you’re ready, click here to be directed to the funeral planning form.
MUSIC FOR FUNERALS: Ideally, music at a funeral mass should console and express hope in entering into the risen life of Jesus Christ, as well as uplift those gathered in faith and love. Look beyond the deceased’s favorite songs and the music that has become standard “Catholic funeral anthems” in order to achieve this goal. In the celebration of the funeral rite, the Church recalls and participates in the redemption won for humanity by the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The music should create a spirit of hope in Christ’s victory over death and our share in that victory.
APPROPRIATE TEXTS: All music used for the funeral rite must have sacred texts. You can explore the use of secular music at the wake, graveside, or a gathering following the funeral. Other music that is not allowed at St. Joseph’s includes that composed by David Haas. This parish, along with many others, has banned use of his compositions due to multiple, credible allegations of sexual misconduct and spiritual manipulation against him. To see a list of his liturgical works, click here.
ASSISTANCE: If you find that you need assistance in planning the music, you can consult with Daryl Bichel, parish organist. This service is free and can be handled through email or a telephone conversation. Begin with an email and he’ll call or email you to open the discussion.
MUSICIANS: Daryl Bichel, parish organist, and Debbie Geary, parish cantor, provide music for all funerals. In our experience, funeral liturgies are always smoother when our professional musicians are present. Therefore, we do not recommend bringing in others to take their places. If you do wish to do so, their bench fees must still be paid.
If you have an interest in hiring additional musicians, such as one or more instrumentalists or singers, please email the organist directly as soon as possible to allow sufficient time to make appropriate arrangements. While the fees for the organist and cantor are paid directly to the parish, a separate check is required for each additional musician contracted. The cost for each typically ranges from $300-$400.
If you want to invite a guest musician of your choice to play or sing one piece at the funeral, please make arrangements with the organist. If you’d like to have a bagpiper play outdoors prior to and after the liturgy, arrange that through the local funeral homes. If a piper is present, we generally do not offer organ music prior and following the mass in order not to have two types of music being played simultaneously.
SUBMISSION OF CHOICES: Note your choices as your proceed through the sections of the funeral liturgy below, and use the form on the church’s website to submit your music list directly to the organist and cantor. Click here to be directed to the funeral planning form.
For a funeral mass,
the music to be selected is:
An entrance hymn.
A responsorial psalm.
A hymn or vocal solo at the offertory.
Music during communion, usually two hymns or a vocal solo and a hymn.
A brief song of farewell at the commendation.
A closing hymn or vocal solo. At the conclusion an organ piece is also suitable.
What if I want the
usual Catholic funeral music?
Some examples of overused choices that may have become less meaningful are Be Not Afraid, On Eagle’s Wings, Prayer of St. Francis, How Great Thou Art, and Here I Am, Lord. Note that these are not required for Catholic funerals.
Catholic liturgical music by David Haas cannot be used, as noted above. To see a list of titles, click here.
Anything in Breaking Bread is possible, and we will honor your preferences - even if they are not listed below in the suggestions for music.
We encourage you to consider including some “unconventional” choices that may be more relevant and uplifting than the “standards.”
FUNERAL LEAFLET: Unless you are a musician, you likely will not know how to properly list musical selections in the program. A title for a hymn is usually sufficient, and often it is the first line of the first verse. (No composer needs to be acknowledged because hymnbooks typically offer that information for each hymn.) For a solo though, you should list both the title and the composer’s name. A mistake often made in funeral leaflets is referring to a solo as a hymn. That is incorrect.
TO SCHEDULE A TELEPHONE CONSULTATION: Email darylbichel@aol.com.
Daryl Bichel can offer a telephone consultation to assist with your selections. Please email him, providing your name, number, and a few good times to call. He can also review and comment on how you plan to list the music in the program.
Entrance Hymn
Hymns are intended for corporate use, but many who attend funerals seem unaccustomed to singing in church. Despite the fact that a hymn may end up only being sung by the cantor, it is the appropriate choice. The words will still have the effect of offering sentiments of comfort, hope, and faith.
ENTRANCE HYMNS
Responsorial Psalm
The psalm that you select will be sung by the cantor, with a response sung by the assembly. The organist and cantor will provide an appropriate musical setting, so there is no need for you to make a decision about that. But, they need to know which psalm you have chosen..
Psalm 23
Response: My shepherd is the Lord; nothing indeed shall I want..
Psalm 25
Response: To You, O Lord, I lift my soul..
Psalm 27
Response: The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?.
Psalm 63
Response: My soul is thirsting for You, O Lord my God..
Psalm 103
Response: . The Lord is kind and merciful...
Preparation Rite (Offertory)
As the gifts are brought forward to the altar to be consecrated into the Body and Blood of Christ and the altar is prepared with sacred linens and vessels, a hymn or a solo may be sung.
Music During Communion
Usually two pieces of music can be used during the distribution of communion and while the priest conducts purification at the altar following communion. If the funeral will be quite small, only one piece may be needed. Both hymns and vocal solos are options. As it is difficult for individuals to sing a hymn while receiving communion, a solo followed by a hymn is recommended.
HYMNS
Adore Te Devote/Godhead Here in Hiding | Listen
Bread of Angels | Listen
Gift of Finest Wheat | Listen
I Received the Living God | Listen
Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All | Listen
Let Us Break Bread Together | Listen
O Sacrament Most Holy | Listen
Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless | Listen
Spirit and Grace | Listen
Commendation (Song of Farewell)
The commendation at a Catholic funeral is the community’s final prayer of farewell, entrusting the deceased to God’s mercy in the sure and certain hope of resurrection. This occurs at the end of the funeral Mass, where the priest incenses the coffin or cremains as a final blessing. It is a brief but poignant moment in the liturgy, and only a short amount of music is needed. The commendation concludes with a procession to the place of burial or interment, signifying a final act of care for the departed.
SONGS OF FAREWELL
Closing Music
Possibilities for closing music are a hymn, a vocal solo, or an organ piece. Most people select a hymn, which doesn’t entirely make sense as people are actually leaving the church at this point. If you select a hymn, know that you and others may not be able to sing any or much of it. A vocal solo can be very effective at this point. There are some beautiful choices that will bring the service to a perfect close. As well, an organ piece that is quiet and meditative or strong and hopeful can be offered.