What are the trending requests in chuppah songs you’ve been getting these days?
Chuppahs are seeing the addition of special songs such as “Shaarei Shamayim” — Pinchas Bichler’s composition that Zanvil Weinberger and Naftali Kempeh put on the charts, often sung after “Mi Bon Siach.” For the past year and a half, since the war broke out, some circles also add a tefillah for the chayalim.
Things don’t move so fast in the world of chuppah music. There’s a set of songs that are still the go-to songs for the majority of chuppahs. These include the Alter Rebbe’s “Daled Bovos,” “Kah Echsof” by Rebbe Aharon Hagadol MiKarlin, Chaim Banet’s “Machnisei Rachamim,” “Shaarei Shamayim” by Pinchos Bichler, and some of Moshe Goldman’s niggunim, such as “Ani Maamin,” “Pnei Le’elbon,” and “Maskil LeDovid.” For “Im Eshkacheich,” we’re singing Carlebach, Shwekey, or Rechnitz every night.
I’m being asked to play “Shaarei Shamayim,” Miami’s “Tefillas Chuppah,” “Ana Melech” by TAI (Tai Gerszberg), “La’asos Retzoncha” by Yaakov Rosenblum, Shmuel’s “Tein Li Tefillah,” and “Basi Legani,” which was written by Eli Klein and performed by Yonatan Shainfeld.
I don’t see any major changes in chuppah song requests this season specifically. Of course, here and there a chassan and kallah mention that they want a song that isn’t typically sung, either because they really like it, or because they heard it somewhere and were inspired. For myself, if I don’t get specific song requests, I try to be a little creative so it’s not a repeat of the same every night. I recently used Rechnitz’s “Im Eshkacheich” tune for “Mi Adir.” Another idea I got from a friend was to sing “Mi Bon Siach” to the vintage “Racheim Bechasdecha.” When he suggested it, I said, “No, come on, that’s a typical Friday night song!” But he convinced me to try it, and I have to admit I gained a new perspective on the song. When you reach the high part, it’s so hartzig, maybe even more than on a regular Friday night.
Create a free account to keep reading.
