I am no longer bitter,

but every now and then I stumble across the one thing I ever did that was hands down the most under-received and appreciated. The story goes like this:

Back in the early to mid nineties (being a true "guy" that's close enough) my little sister and her boyfriend decided to get married. Now Jeff (obviously the one not my sister) had this vision of getting married in a church with stained glass windows and after much research found the place. But -- there was a catch. The church believed the traditional wedding march (Here Comes the Bride) was overused and commercialized so they would not allow it to be played. Additionally, they had a serious aversion to any "showtunes". So I chimed in with the perfect solution -- my friend Ken and I would compose the wedding music. We had been working together for years, including the instrumental arrangement of "On the Wings of Love" which was used and properly butchered by the Maid of Honor at my brother's wedding (but that's another story). I knew Ken and I could do this, and how many brides get to boast that their wedding music was composed specifically for them?

Without a backward glance off to the races Ken and I went, spending the better part of our free time for months to produce the best music he and I ever collaborated on. An early attempt at a regal march style theme (think the medal ceremony at the end of Star Wars) was shot down as being "too bouncy", so we re-worked the melody and came up with a sonata that encompassed the bridesmaids' entrance, the bride's processional, and the recessional. Composed entirely on synthesizers with full orchestration, I was beaming to give this to my sister. The reaction? Well, Jeff really wanted to hear the church's huge pipe organ and the church didn't have a sound system for playing the composition (something no one bothered to tell me and Ken). So we were basically pushed off to the side much like the little kid trying to help in the kitchen when Mom's taking the cake out of the oven.

I have long since forgiven my sister (and the other decision makers) for this slight, but the real crime is that the music was and is very good, and I am not trying to be boastful. I sincerely think had this played on that day as it was intended I would've given my sister the best wedding present I could think of.

I found the rare tape of this sonata and have digitized it and cleaned it up. I want you (my readers) to hear this music.

Sections 1 and 2 are the individual melodies, first for the bridesmaids (originally titled "The Bridesmaids and The FlowerGirl" by Ken and I), then Cheryl's Theme. Per Cheryl's request, they were designed to be simple and elegant.

Section 3, the recessional, was supposed to be the celebration. It starts off sounding just like the beginning, then picks up a pop feel. We took the first two themes and interwove them with a fully orchestrated sound, with a coda written by Ken to wrap the whole thing up with the same grace and elegance which started the piece. It should be noted all compositions were performed entirely by Ken.

The music files are streaming from an FTP server, so once you click the button it might take a few seconds to cache before it plays. Please be a little patient. Copyright © 1993 - 2006 Ken Rapadas, Roger Clark - All rights reserved.




Section 1 - The Bridesmaids and The Flower Girl





Section 2 - Cheryl's Theme





Section 3 - Paradise (Part two)


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