The traditional “Here Comes the Bride” bridal chorus is steadily disappearing from weddings as couples opt for more contemporary services.
The New York Times reported this week that wedding musicians began to notice the decline in the 1990s.
The Wedding Chaplain website says some people also stopped using it because of the controversial views of the composer and some churches regarded it as inappropriate for a religious service.
The Bridal Chorus appears in Act III of Richard Wagner’s 1850 opera Lohengrin.
It took off as a wedding standard after the 1858 wedding of Queen Victoria’s daughter (also called Victoria) and Prince Frederick of Prussia.
The New York Times article says that couples are now shifting to songs that “tell their unique stories”.
It cites Spotify data showing that of the more than 26 million wedding-themed playlists created, more than 75 percent of the most recurring songs were released in the last 30 years.
The Wedding Chaplain website (weddingchamplain.com) says not only was the Bridal Choras associated with an opera that ends poorly for the couple, the composer, Wagner, was “notoriously anti-Semitic”.
“Some churches and denominations refuse to play Wagner’s chorus due to its secular nature,” the site says.
“Also, the song does not depict an actual wedding ceremony or processional to an altar in the opera. Its popular use for many made it not seem to fit into a worship service. And for those who simply know the views of the composer, they choose to leave it alone.”
