Music

Nearly all funeral services include music and it is so important to get the right choice.  Traditionally, an English funeral service would include one or a number of hymns and there is, of course, a wide selection of much loved hymns to choose from. See below for a list of popular and appropriate ones. If you have asked us to engage the services of an organist it is often the case that he or she would play appropriate music on entry to and exit from the church/chapel.

If you don’t feel it appropriate to sing a hymn it is perfectly possible to include recorded music in the service. As well as music on entry and exit we often include a piece to be played during the service. People can use this time to sit quietly with their memories. This music for reflection would usually be two to three minutes long.

Whatever your choice of music for the crematorium, we can almost certainly arrange for it to be to be available for your loved one’s funeral. Both Hastings and Eastbourne Crematorium use the Wesley Music System. Wesley Music is a company which provides music to crematoria. We contact them with your choice and they download it to the crematorium to be available on the day. We can liaise with them for you or put you in touch with them if you wish to talk to them yourself. You can even listen to different tracks before making a final decision. There is no additional fee for using the Wesley Music System.

There are, of course, many gifted musicians who offer their services to play at funerals. We are often asked to engage the services of professional musicians to play all manner of instruments: organ, bagpipes, classical guitar, violin and soloists. We have even been asked to provide a ten piece jazz band. Whatever your request we will try our hardest to accommodate it.

Click here to read an article written by local organist Valerie Gibbs on the importance of music in a funeral service.

There are some suggestions below for suitable music and hymns.

A music consultancy service is available free of charge through the funeral directors and an experienced musician would be only too happy to help you find your way through the maze of music that will hopefully enhance the funeral/memorial service for your loved one.