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Wedding Guitar at Lyme Park: A Special Performance for Jessica’s Father
Posted on: 23 May 2014
When Jessica booked me for her wedding at Lyme Park in Cheshire on 23 May 2014, she had a wonderfully varied musical programme in mind. Pachelbel and Beethoven would sit alongside Jamiroquai and Stevie Wonder, with jazz, flamenco and some of my own compositions later in the day.
But the moment I remember most clearly was a performance of “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” for her father. It was a piece I knew well, although its place in the ceremony came as something of a surprise.
A beautiful setting at Lyme Park
Set on the edge of the Peak District, Lyme Park is a beautiful place for a wedding. The estate was home to the Legh family for nearly 600 years, with successive generations altering and extending the house. Its Elizabethan core was transformed in the eighteenth century by the Italian architect Giacomo Leoni, whose work helped give Lyme its grand appearance today.
For me, there was another reason to enjoy playing there: the wonderful acoustics for solo guitar. A room’s sound becomes part of the performance, especially in quieter, more expressive pieces. Lyme Park was a lovely setting in which to let those details be heard.
From the wedding show to the wedding day
Jessica and I first met at the National Wedding Show, where she heard me play. We stayed in touch afterwards, and she booked me to provide music for the ceremony, drinks reception and wedding breakfast.
In the weeks before the wedding, she sent a thoughtful outline of the music she wanted. At the end, she asked whether it was too prescriptive, explaining that she hadn’t done this before.
It certainly wasn’t. Knowing which pieces matter to a couple, and where they imagine them fitting into the day, gives me something personal to work with. There can still be plenty of room to choose other music around those requests.
Canon in D for the entrance
Jessica chose Pachelbel’s Canon in D for her aisle walk. It is a beautiful piece for a wedding entrance: the repeating harmony gives it a steady foundation, while the melody gradually unfolds above it.
On solo guitar, the challenge is to bring those different musical lines together while keeping the whole arrangement flowing. There is a gentle sense of movement that suits a procession particularly well, with space to adapt the phrasing to the bride’s arrival.
Her classical requests also included Romanza and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, with Bach’s Air on a G String requested for the photographs around the signing. A friend was to perform “Songbird” before the signing, adding another personal contribution to the ceremony.
Recuerdos de la Alhambra: a moment for her father
Among Jessica’s requests was Francisco Tárrega’s “Recuerdos de la Alhambra”, a piece she particularly wanted her father to hear.
The earlier email had grouped it with the music before the ceremony, if time allowed. In my mind, I had expected to play it as part of the surrounding music, perhaps during the drinks reception. When I arrived, however, Jessica explained that she would announce a dedicated solo performance during the ceremony, after the signing.
That changed the nature of the moment completely.
There is a particular shift in concentration when a room stops to listen to an announced performance. During drinks or dinner, the music shares the space with conversation and movement. In a dedicated solo, everyone follows the piece from its opening notes to its final silence. The phrasing, expression and shape of the performance become the centre of attention.
For me, that brings the same sense of responsibility I would feel on a concert platform at somewhere like the Purcell Room or Cadogan Hall. The setting may be a wedding, but the musical commitment is just as strong.
Fortunately, “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” had been in my repertoire for years. Its tremolo creates the impression of a continuous singing melody above the accompaniment, and keeping that line even and expressive takes considerable control.
I was very glad to have it ready. Jessica wrote afterwards to say how much she had loved the performance for her father. What I had expected to be one request among many became a distinct, personal moment in the ceremony.
A change of pace for the drinks reception
After the classical ceremony programme, Jessica wanted a popular mix for the canapés. Her requests ranged from “Midnight at the Oasis” and “Virtual Insanity” to “Wonderful Tonight”, “Fields of Gold” and “How Deep Is Your Love”.
There were also “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, “Your Song” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”.
That combination offered plenty of scope to change the pace. The more rhythmic songs brought some energy to the reception, while the ballads left room for a gentler atmosphere between them. “Virtual Insanity” is a particularly enjoyable contrast to the classical repertoire, asking the guitar to carry a strong rhythmic feel as well as the melody.
For the wedding breakfast, the brief moved again, towards jazz, flamenco and my own compositions. Across the day, the guitar took on several roles: accompanying an entrance, holding everyone’s attention for a special dedication, and providing music as guests talked and celebrated.
Of all those moments at Lyme Park, the performance for Jessica’s father is the one that has stayed with me. A familiar piece became something quite different because of who it was being played for—and because everyone had been invited to stop and listen.
