Creating an Individual Funeral

One of the great pleasures of attending so many funerals as a singer is that you get to experience a wide variety of service styles. While we can probably quote the standard crematorium service word for word by now, we are finding more and more that families are personalising the services with readings, poems, eulogies and, of course, their own choice of music, whether sung live or recorded.

As funeral historian Dr Julian Litten noted in a recent report*

"The funeral is our one opportunity to publicly express our individuality. … 
In today’s multi-cultural and increasingly secular society, new trends are constantly being added to our established customs. This is to be welcomed, for it is in this way that these traditions are allowed to develop."

At Singers for Funerals, we're happy to sing any music that's suitable for a classically trained or theatre-trained voice, sung without microphone. We are just as happy singing "My Way" as "Ave Maria" or "You Raise Me Up", and often we can suggest music that tie in with people's hobbies or interests. We're also quite honest about what we don't do; we always say that if your loved one loved Freddie Mercury or Frank Sinatra, play a cd. If, however, they loved the song "My Way", why not have it sung live, for a special touch.


* "The Ways We Say Goodbye: A study of 21st century funeral customs in the UK" published by Co-operative Funeralcare.