Who is a funeral for?

Who exactly is a funeral for? This may seem an obvious question, but the answer isn't quite so straightforward. We believe a funeral service should celebrate a life well lived, offering the family and those who attend the chance to remember, to reflect as well as say goodbye. Therefore, the choice of music, readings and tributes should reflect their choices.

However, it can be a difficult juggling act to please everyone involved, including family, relatives, and even clergy. Some people attending the funeral may have known the person all their lives, others for a shorter time. Some members of the family may prefer a more traditional approach with religious content, younger relatives a more humanist approach. Some clergy may insist on a certain service format and content, others be more flexible.

So, we can find ourselves at the centre of discussions and with a changing set of quests for music. That's where we find our audio samples to be of most use to families, helping different people hear what we sound like. Equally, different members of the family can listen to hymns and solo music suggestions online, particularly useful when families may live many miles, even continents apart.

We've now created a SoundCloud account that allows us to send our repertoire suggestions as a playlist, making listening quicker and easier in any timezone.

You can hear all our audio samples on our webpage, see some videos at our YouTube account, or hear over 50 hymn tunes at our sister site, Songs for Funerals.