This song has surprised us by being a popular request for funerals. Not usual for opera.
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Lascia ch'io pianga (Let me weep)

The composer is George Frederick Handel, and I never thought that a Handel aria would prove such a hit with people. I think it goes to prove if you have a great tune, then it doesn't matter when it was written it appeals to people.

Choosing music for a Humanist or Civil Funeral can be a daunting task. You can have almost any type of music you wish, and there are no legal restrictions.

Singing at funerals across southern England does ensure we sing in many different types of venues. The contrast in venues is sometimes very marked, but as professional opera singers we're able adjust our voices to suit each venue accordingly.

Kevin Mayhew of Kevin Mayhew Publishing has started a debate on Hymn singing and the keys they are sung in. He says that many people say ‘We can’t sing up there’, and states that research shows the human singing voice has dropped over the last century.

Choosing funeral songs can be difficult, and even more so if you're choosing for a Roman Catholic Funeral.

One of the great joys of singing at funerals is hearing the eulogies - and discovering some amazing lives. We genuinely enjoy hearing of lives well lived, whether across the UK, abroad or within 5 miles of their final resting place. Of families raised, careers and jobs, and retirements enjoyed.  Of battles fought both personal and medical, and not always won.

Statistics do make interesting reading, whether it's the number of votes politicians receive, or the number of songs we've sung at funerals!

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.

When choosing hymns for a funeral service it's often difficult to know where to start, as there are so many hymns to choose from. We've sung at many Catholic funeral masses and funeral services, so here's some help for choosing funeral hymns.

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.