I assembled this list for the final session of my Legacy Writing course, because the participants wanted to plan their own funerals. Surprised at how hard it was to find a list of recommended musical selections, I decided to prepare one myself, with the help of friends. You'll find the same list on a whole website about dying and grief, the result of the same compulsive collecting of useful information and links, a follow-up to my anthology about death and grieving: Dying: A Book of Comfort. Order the book from my website and you get a lovelier edition that you will get from Amazon.com, at the same price (but with free shipping).

Titles are grouped loosely as classical, religious or inspirational, patriotic or military, and secular or popular (especially nostalgic) music. Most items that fit two categories are listed only in one, to save space. You can find many beautiful hymns for organ music under Bach (classical), for example. Links are provided for websites where you can hear song clips from many selections listed (Amazon.com and other sites also provide music clips).

Classical music for funerals and memorial services

I am deeply grateful to John S. Rigney for correcting my many original errors (all that remain are still mine). Let me know if there's anything else I should add or subtract (for example, one piece by Handel which was more appropriate for a wedding than a funeral is no longer listed).

· Albinoni Adagio (composed as Adagio in G Minor for Strings and Organ by Remo Giazotto, based on a fragment of a tune by Albinoni found in the ruins of the Dresden State Library, destroyed in World War II)
· *Bach, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, lyrics by Dame Myra Hess (to a melody from Bach's Cantata BWV 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben)
· Bach (see more Bach organ music under hymns)
· Bach, Prelude 1 from The Well Tempered Clavier
· Bach, Toccata & Fugue in D Minor (there are two pieces by that name, so ask for it by its Schmeider number, BMV565)
· Bach, G Major Sarabande (Suite No. 1 for Cello in G Major, BMV1007)
· *Barber, Samuel: Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 (moving)
· Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, , Op. 55 (Eroica, a long symphony, the second movement from which is a funeral march)
· Berlioz, Requiem (John Rigney recommends the fifth of the ten movements, the elegant Quaerens Me--"Seeking Me"--which in the midst of this grand orchestral mass is sung a capella, and is quite moving)
· Brahms: German Requiem: Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, on the CD Choral Masterpieces, Robert Shaw. (Notes JR: the Brahms German Requiem is NOT a requiem mass like the well-known requiems of Mozart, Fauré, and Verdi. And some readers may know this selection by its English translation, "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place.")
· Brahms: O Welt, ich muss dich lassen (Oh, World, I Must Leave Thee) from Brahms' Chorale
· Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Opus 90, Third Movement [Deutsche Grammophon 410 083-2, track 3] [7:04] (Leonard Bernstein conducting the London Philharmonic)
· Brahms: Variations on St. Michael's Chorale
· Chopin: Preludes Op. 28, no 4 or 20
· Chopin: Funeral march from Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, op. 35
· Elgar, “Nimrod” from Enigma Variations
· *Fauré, Requiem: “In Paradisum” and “Pie Jesu”
· Gluck: “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from Orfeo ed Euridice
· Grieg: “The Last Spring” from Two Elegaic Melodies (Op 34, No. 2)
· Handel, “Largo” from Xerxes
· Mahler, “Das Lied von der Erde” (written after death of his 4-year-old daughter); the sixth movement, Der Abschied (The Farewell) is the one most suited to
a funeral
· Mahler, “Kindertotenlieder (songs on the death of children)
· Mahler, Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection” (first movement)
· Mendelssohn, Quartet No. in F Minor for Strings (“for the dead Fanny”)
· *Mozart: Dona Nobis Pacem (“perhaps the most perfect short choral work ever written,” says MR) (on the CD Choral Masterpieces, Robert Shaw ). To which comment John Rigney notes: "I suspect that every composer who wrote a mass wrote a Dona Nobis Pacem, and two of Mozart’s finest are those in his Missa Brevis and
Coronation Mass. But as far as I can tell, the one on the Robert Shaw CD Choral Masterpieces is the one from Bach’s B Minor Mass"
· Mozart Requiem: Lacrimosa
· Pachelbel, Canon in D
· Puccini, an aria from Tosca, "E lucevan le stelle" (“farewell to life"?), sung by Jussi Bjorling, from a CD of music sung by the tenor (because R's father played it endlessly). Lots of tenors sing it, probably just as beautifully.
· Purcell, “Thou Knowest Lord,” “When I Am Laid in Earth” (Dido’s Lament)
· *Saint-Saens, "Le Cygne" from Carnaval des animaux
· Schubert, “Ave Maria”; Scherzo from “Death and the Maiden” String Quartet. Notes JSR: Schubert never actually set the words of the Ave Maria to music. He wrote a piece called Ellen’s dritter Gesang (Ellen’s third song) which others adapted the Ave Maria to, years later.
· Taverner, John, “Funeral Ikos” and “Song for Athene”
· Shostakovich: "Prelude and Fugue #24 in D minor"
· Vaughn Williams, Ralph, “The Lark Ascending” (orchestral, or solo violin) or selection from Oboe Concerto
· Verdi: Dies irae from the Requiem Mass [Deutsche Grammophon 415092-2, track 2] [Down and under...]
Verdi: Requiem: Sanctus [Deutsche Grammophon 415093-2, track 2] [Down and under...]
· Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, Liebestod [Telarc CD-80379], Isolde's heartbreaking farewell to life

[Go Top] Hymns and inspirational music for funerals and memorial services

· A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
· Abide with Me
· Alison Krause, Down in the River to Pray (Oh Brother where art thou soundtrack among others)
· All People That On Earth
· All Things Bright and Beautiful
· Alleluia, Sing To Jesus
· Amazing Grace
· As The Deer Longs (Psalm 42)
· Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun (ends with Doxology)
· Be Not Afraid (Dufford)
· Be Thou My Vision
· Because He Lives
· Blessed Assurance
· By Name I Have Called You
· Children of the Heavenly Father
· Come Labor On
· Come Ye Disconsolate
· Down By the Riverside
· Draw Us In Thy Spirit's Tether
· Eye Has Not Seen
· For All The Saints - Williams
· Gift of Finest Wheat
· God of Our Fathers
· God So Loved the World
· Going Home
· Great Is Thy Faithfulness
· Guide Me, O My Great Redeemer
· He Who Would Valiant Be (played at the funeral of a son of missionaries)
· Here I Am Lord (Schutte)
· Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty
· Hosea (Norbet)
· I Am the Bread of Life (Toolan)
· I Call to Thee Lord Jesus Christ (Bach, organ music)
· I Have Loved You (Joncas)
· I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
· I’ll Fly Away from Here
· I’ll Walk With God
· If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee
· If You But Trust in God to Guide You
· Immortal Love
· In Heavenly Love Abiding
· In Paradisum
· In Quiet Joy (Dupre, organ music)
· In Thee Is Joy (Bach, organ music)
· In the Garden
· It Is Well with My Soul
· Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
· Joyful, Joyful We Adore You
· Just a Closer Walk With Thee
· Laudate Dominum (Mozart)
· Let There Be Peace on Earth
· Lift Every Voice and Sing
· Morning Is Breaking, Like the First Morning
· My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
· Nearer, My God, to Thee
· Now the Day Is Over
· O God, Our Help in Ages Past
· O strength and stay
· Old Rugged Cross
· On Eagle’s Wings (Joncas)
· Once to Every Man and Nation (rousing, James Russell Lowell)
· One Bread, One Body (Foley)
· Panis Angelicus
· Prayer of St. Francis (Sebastian Temple)
· Precious Memories
· Redeemer
· Saviour Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise
· Shall We Gather at the River
· Sheep May Safely Graze
· Softly and Tenderly
· Song of Farewell
· Supper of the Lord (Rosania)
· Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
· Taste and See (Moore)
· The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended
· The King of Love My Shepherd Is (this has two tunes, one a trad. Irish melody; listen to links below)
· The Lord Is My Shepherd
· The Lord’s My Shepherd (two tunes; listen to links below)
· The Last Mile of the Way
· Thine Be the Glory
· Though I May Speak (first line, “Though I may speak with bravest fire”—from folk song, O Waly Waly)
· To Be a Pilgrim
· Turn To Me (Foley)
· We Shall Overcome
· What Wondrous Love
· Will the Circle Be Unbroken
· You Are Mine (Haas)

Anthems (see link “On funeral hymns and anthems”)
· Agnus Dei
· Ave Verum Corpus
· Funeral Ikos (John Taverner)
· God Be in My Head (Walford Davies)
· God So Loved the World (Stainer)
· Nunc Dimittis
· The Lord Is My Shepherd
· Thou Knowest Lord, the Secrets of Our Heart
[Go Top]

Patriotic and military music
· Aloha Oe
· America the Beautiful
· El Capitan March
· Stars and Stripes Forever (U.S. Marine Corps)
· Taps (for a military funeral)
· The Air Force Song
· The Navy Hymn
· Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
· Waltzing Matilda

And of course any emotionally suggestive music from whatever country, state, or region a person is from--Red River Valley, for example, for someone from the Midwest who used to feel nostalgic when he heard that tune.

[Go Top]
Popular secular music for a funeral or memorial service

Often nostalgic, reflecting the life of the person by or for whom the title was suggested):

· Age of Aquarius (nostalgic)
· Aloha Oe, a hymn (for someone who lived in Hawaii)
· Amazing Grace - Early American
· Annie, sung by John Denver
· Ashokan Farewell (one version is Larry Ungar's soundtrack for PBS Civil War series)
· Autumn Leaves
· Bang the Drum Slowly
· Barbara Streisand, Somewhere
· Beatles songs have a lot of resonance for many of us, in particular : Blackbird; Good Day, Sunshine; Hey Jude; Imagine; Let It Be; All You Need Is Love; Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds; With a Little Help from My Friends
· Bette Midler, Wind Beneath My Wings
· Big Rock Candy Mountain
· Bob Dylan, Death Is Not the End
· Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, The Prayer
· Diana Ross, Ain't No Mountain High Enough
· Do You Hear What I Hear? (the Christmas Carol)
· Elton John, Candle in the Wind (for Princess Di)
· Elton John, Funeral for a Friend/​Love Lies Bleeding
· Enya: May It Be, Only Time, A Day Without Rain
· Eric Clapton, Tears in Heaven (after the death of his son, who fell from window)
· Falling in Love Again (nostalgic)
· Frank Loesser, Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
· George Winston, Jesus, Jesus Rest You Head, Some Children See Him
· Gershwin, They Can't Take That Away from Me
· Go Rest High on the Mountain (Vince Gill)
· Green Day's Good Riddance (Time of your Life)
· Greensleeves
· Hall and Oates, She's Gone
· Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Moon River
· Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain, I’ll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places
· Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/​What a Wonderful World; other good versions of Somewhere Over the Rainbow include Jane Monheit
· Jimmy Cliff, Many Rivers to Cross
· John Denver,The Gift You Are, The Wings That Fly You Home, On The Wings of a Prayer, Country Roads
· Johnny Cash, Unchained; Cross Over Jordan; We'll Meet Again, Don't Know Where, Don't Know When
· Joy to the World (Three Dog Night), upbeat rock, for recessional
· Mamas and the Papas, California Dreamer (nostalgic)
· Marvin Gaye, I Heard It Through the Grapevine (nostalgic)
· Mavis Staples, I’ll Fly Away
· Memory (from Cats)
· Monty Python's Flying Circus, Always Look On the Bright Side of Life (nostalgic)
· On Eagles Wings (Joncas), various performers
· Sarah Brightman, Deliver
· Scent of a Woman (nostalgic)
· Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Waters
· Shebeg Shemor (traditional Irish waltz)
· Terry Jacks, Seasons in the Sun
· The Band, Knocking on Heaven's Door
· The Doors, The End
· The Monkees, The Porpoise Song (nostalgic)
· The Saints (oh when the Saints come marching in)
· The theme from Wings
· The Way We Were (nostalgic)
· Those Were the Days
· Tim McGraw, Live Like You Were Dying
· Time after Time, Miles Davis
· Tom Waits, Come on Up to the House
· Vera Lynn, We’ll Meet Again
· We’re Off to See the Wizard (of Oz)
· When the Saints Come Marching In
· Whitney Houston, The Greatest Love of All
· Will the Circle Be Unbroken
· You’ll Never Walk Alone

[Go Top]
Steve Taravella's proposed selections

Music With Lyrics (repeated while guests are entering, before service starts):

· Is That All There Is? by Peggy Lee
· Someone to Watch Over Me by Lena Horne
· The Same Old Tears on a New Background by Art Garfunkel
· I Remember You by Chet Baker
· You Stepped Out of a Dream by Peter Cincotti
· You're Beautiful by James Blunt
· Life Is by Karen Akers

Music Without Lyrics (long pieces for background during the service while people are speaking):

· The Goldberg Variations (Bach) by Glenn Gould (piano only)
· Les Parapluies de Cherbourg by Michel Legrand
· Theme from "Last Tango in Paris" by Gato Barbieri

At End of Service and While Guests Linger (to help guests leave on an upbeat note):

· We Are Family by Sister Sledge (subtly encourages mourners to share a bond)
· The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston (in the 80s, something of an anthem at AIDS memorial services)
· This Is My Life by Shirley Bassey
· If I Could Turn Back Time by Cher
· Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross
· Take Five by Dave Brubeck
[Go Top]