Bridget (Funeral) 7 Jul 2025
10/10
Our father died aged 91 recently and as classical music had been his absolute joy throughout his life, we knew that we had to make it part of his small and very intimate funeral. How lucky (and delighted) we were to find through lastminutemusicians that a professional, Miriam, lives locally and that she would like to be part of this celebration of his long life. Miriam could not have been more helpful or sensitive in helping us to choose and adapt four very special pieces and she played them beautifully, especially as unlike a wedding there was so little time for preparation. We shall never forget the sound of her playing her arrangement for cello of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Five Variants of 'Dives and Lazarus' as my father's coffin was lifted and borne out of the chapel, and continuing to hear it as we followed it to his final resting place. It was the one piece that he had ever mentioned as wishing to include at his funeral, and it meant a huge amount to have it played live by someone who cared very much about her role in the service. He would have loved to have heard it, and who knows, perhaps he did. Our heartfelt thanks, Miriam.