Is Canon in D Dead?

Over the past few years, I  have noticed a startling trend amongst BISQ clients: Canon in D may be dying. This is not a sudden death, more a gradual fade.   What was once a wedding staple  has been excluded from nearly every wedding ceremony we have played in the last few years. There was once a time where couples would eagerly inquire about performing this wedding classic for their ceremony but it seems to have been left behind replaced by songs like Here Come The Sun, Your Song, and sometime this October, the Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion anthem WAP. So what does Cardi B have that Pachabel doesn’t? 

With this question in mind I dove into the wedding list archives. Armed with years of wedding set lists and a notebook in hand, I had one question in mind, does anyone request Canon in D anymore?   Once all the tallies were made, I found that it is in fact true,  more often than not, you will not hear Canon in D played by Boom Island String Quartet.   In fact, only five times in the last four years has a couple requested Canon in D as part of their ceremony, and only as a processional.  That being said it drowns the competition in terms of repeat requests, with the Elvis classic Can't Help Falling in Love winning the processional spot three times. 

But how could this have happened? For 50 years nothing has said  “turn around and look at the people walking down the aisle” quite like Canon in D.  When I first noticed the trend I suspected that personal meaning may have something to do with it. The songs people request include themes of love, or have sentimental value to the couple. When given the opportunity to have your own theme music for 30 seconds,  people are looking for that special song, not a wedding stereotype.  To confirm my hypothesis I decided to ask some real life married people to ask them about their journey to selecting a wedding processional, and let me tell you, they had some thoughts. 

I spoke with one bride who initially requested Canon in D for the processional, then demoted it to prelude/postlude, and then completely removed it from her setlist replacing it with more modern love songs.  She shared that she selected “God Bless the Broken Road” instead as it was a reflection of her relationship with her husband.  Another responded “I didn't want to stick with something predictable, but rather something that felt right for the moment.” For one groom, it never even crossed his mind. 

Some people were not quite as kind. One bride responded “I’ve never liked canon in D. It’s boring, everyone has heard it a thousand times and most importantly - I feel like it lacks emotion. There are so many other pieces that really capture the feeling I wanted. A blend of love, joy, and optimism is what I was going for, and Canon in D lacks all of those, in my opinion.”  What an absolutely brutal tear down.  One groom responded with a list of reasons he did not select Canon in D: 

I did not choose Canon in D because

1. It's cliche 

2. It's rather dull 

All that being said,  Canon in D seems to be losing its majority stake in wedding music performances. To some, including my college roommate who ranked it as her favorite song, Canon in D is a beautiful piece with beautiful lush strings. To others, it needs a long rest. Is it dying? Maybe. But after this investigation, I think I”ve drawn an alternative conclusion. Canon in D’s role in the wedding ceremony may no longer be an obligatory one, rather an intentional selection based on sentimental value and feeling.