Songs and hymns for a burial or graveside committal
A burial ends somewhere a church service does not: outdoors, at the grave, with no organ and often no shelter. This guide covers the music for the committal and how it follows the service in church or the cemetery chapel.
What songs are sung at a burial? Short pieces that voices can sing without an instrument: a verse or two of Abide with Me or The Lord’s My Shepherd, the Nunc Dimittis, the Russian Kontakion of the Departed, or a folk song such as The Parting Glass. The choir sings once the committal words are said, and the mourners join in a last hymn verse at the end.
Abide With Me, sung by our full choir. Hear more recordings.
What happens at a committal
The committal is the moment the bearers lower the coffin into the grave and the minister or celebrant says the words of farewell. In the Church of England those words include “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust”.
Most burials follow a service in a parish church or a cemetery chapel. The mourners follow the coffin to the grave, on foot across a churchyard or by car to a cemetery, and the part at the grave is short: a sentence of scripture, the committal, prayers, and a blessing. At a Catholic funeral, after the Mass, the Final Commendation often ends with the antiphon In paradisum, or a hymn, as the coffin leaves the church, and the priest leads the Rite of Committal at the grave.
Some families hold the whole funeral at the graveside. The music then has to make a complete service: a hymn to open, a piece after the committal, and a hymn to close. A humanist burial follows a similar shape, with a celebrant, and songs or readings in place of hymns. For the music at a church service before the burial, see our guide to planning funeral music.
Churchyard, cemetery, or natural burial ground
A churchyard is the simplest for the singers. They sing in the church, follow the coffin out, and stand at the grave a few minutes later. On a short walk a choir can lead the procession, as the Book of Common Prayer has the priest and clerks go before the coffin “towards the grave”.
A cemetery often means a drive. West Norwood Cemetery and Tottenham Cemetery have chapels of their own, so the service and the burial take place on one site. When the service is in a parish church and the burial at the City of London Cemetery or Edmonton Cemetery, the singers travel ahead of the cortège and are in place before the family reaches the grave.
A natural or woodland burial ground has no organ and often no chapel; some hold the whole service among the trees. Paths can be long and rough. Ask the burial ground whether it sets any rules about music, and tell us what it has. If the family is still choosing between burial and cremation, our guide to music at a crematorium covers the other route.
Choral pieces for voices alone
No organ reaches the grave, so the music has to work unaccompanied. Short pieces in four-part harmony suit it, and so do melodies the mourners know. Two or three minutes of singing is plenty.
Hymns the mourners know
Abide with Me. Words by Henry Francis Lyte (1847), tune Eventide by William Henry Monk (1861). At the grave a choir might sing the first verse and the last, which ends on Lyte’s prayer for company “in life, in death”. See our guide to Abide with Me.
The Lord’s My Shepherd. Psalm 23 from the Scottish Psalter of 1650, sung to Crimond, a tune most hymn books credit to Jessie Seymour Irvine (1872). Mourners can sing it without a book. More in our guide to The Lord’s My Shepherd.
Amazing Grace. John Newton wrote the words in 1772 and published them in Olney Hymns in 1779; the tune New Britain joined them in 1835. People sing it from memory, which helps in the rain. Our list of popular funeral hymns has others that work as a single verse.
Canticles and chant
The Nunc Dimittis. The Song of Simeon, from St Luke’s Gospel (2:29–32), sung at evensong for centuries and listed in the Church of England’s Common Worship among the canticles for funerals. Simeon asks to be let go in peace, which fits the moment after the committal. A choir sings it to an Anglican chant.
The Kontakion of the Departed. A Russian Orthodox funeral chant, translated by William John Birkbeck, with the Kiev melody edited by Sir Walter Parratt for The English Hymnal of 1906. It was sung at the funerals of Prince Philip in 2021 and Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. Its words name the grave itself (“weeping o’er the grave we make our song”).
In paradisum. The plainsong antiphon from the Latin Requiem, asking the angels to lead the dead into paradise. In older practice the procession sang it on the way to the graveyard. A single line of chant needs no instrument, so it suits a walk to the grave.
Songs and folk tunes
Some Catholic parishes suggest keeping secular songs for the graveside rather than the Mass, so the burial can be the place for a song the person loved.
Going Home. William Arms Fisher, a pupil of Dvořák, wrote the words in 1922 to the theme of the Largo from the New World Symphony (1893). It sounds like an old spiritual, and its slow melody sits well in close harmony.
The Parting Glass. A traditional Scottish song, long sung in Ireland too, for the end of an evening among friends. The singer is the one leaving, so as the last piece at the grave it says goodbye on the dead person’s behalf.
Danny Boy. Frederic Weatherly wrote the words in 1910, and they were set to the Londonderry Air in 1913. The lyric ends at a grave.
A recorded song on a speaker
When the person’s own music belongs in its original recording, a family member can play it at the grave on a portable speaker. Ask the funeral director and the cemetery first, and test the volume outdoors. We agree with the funeral director whether the choir sings before or after the track.
A running order at the graveside
The minister or celebrant decides the order, and we agree it with them and the funeral director before the day. A common shape:
- The procession. The bearers carry the coffin to the grave. In a churchyard the choir can go ahead singing In paradisum or a psalm. At a cemetery the singers take their places first and wait in silence while people gather.
- The committal. The minister reads the opening sentences and says the committal words as the bearers lower the coffin.
- The choir’s piece. At the committal or straight after it: the Nunc Dimittis, the Kontakion, or a verse of Abide with Me.
- Prayers and the blessing.
- A last hymn verse. Everyone sings one verse with the choir leading. Then people drop earth or flowers into the grave and leave in their own time.
Singing outdoors: the practical side
Weather and footing. Our singers come in dark coats and flat shoes that grip on wet grass, with music in folders that close. In rain they keep umbrellas up between pieces and lower them to sing.
Where they stand. The funeral director shows them a place a few metres back from the grave, on firm ground clear of the boards and matting, where the family can see them without turning away from the coffin. Where they can, the singers stand upwind of the family so the wind carries their voices towards the grave.
Giving the note. With no organ, one singer sounds the starting note on a tuning fork held close to the choir. For the last hymn verse the choir sings the first line on its own, and the mourners join once they have the tune.
Timing. The cortège may run late. The singers take their cue from the funeral director and the minister, and short pieces fit whatever time is left.
One voice or four at the graveside
At a small family burial a soloist is enough. Where many mourners gather, or they will join a last hymn verse, four voices in harmony carry further over open ground and give everyone a full sound to sing with.
Church and graveside in one booking
A Small Choir of four costs £1,150 in Greater London. That covers up to two hours, including a rehearsal, so the same four singers can lead the hymns in church and then sing at the committal. If the cemetery is a long drive from the church, or the burial follows a long gap, we quote the extra time upfront.
An organist for the church service adds £250 (Small Choir and organist, £1,400). Outside Greater London we add travel, and there is no VAT to add. For a small family burial at the graveside alone, a soloist costs £275. Our funerals page explains how we work with funeral directors, and the pricing page lists each size.
Frequently asked questions
Can a choir sing at the graveside?
Yes. We sing at churchyards, cemeteries, and natural burial grounds, with voices alone because no organ reaches the grave. A Small Choir of four (£1,150 in Greater London) can lead the hymns in church and then sing a short piece at the committal, such as the Nunc Dimittis or a verse of Abide with Me.
When is music sung at a burial?
Once the committal words are said, or straight after them, the choir sings a short piece. A last hymn verse for everyone often ends the burial. While people gather at the grave, the singers wait in silence. On a short walk across a churchyard, the choir can lead the procession with In paradisum or a psalm.
Can the same singers sing in church and at the burial?
Yes. A booking covers up to two hours in Greater London, including a rehearsal, so the same singers can sing the church service and then go on to the grave. If the cemetery is a long drive away or the burial follows a long gap, we quote the extra time upfront.
How do singers find the note without an organ?
One singer sounds the starting note on a tuning fork held close to the choir, and the choir begins together from there. The singers tune to each other, so the pitch holds through an unaccompanied verse, and the mourners have a full sound to follow when they join the last hymn.
Can we play a recorded song at the graveside?
Yes, on a portable speaker, if the cemetery or burial ground allows it. Ask the funeral director first and test the volume outdoors, because a small speaker sounds thinner in the open. The choir can sing before or after the track, and we agree the order with the funeral director.
Talk to us about music for a burial
Tell us where the service is and where the burial will be. We will suggest pieces for both and plan the singers’ time between the church and the grave.
Ask about a choir for the burial
Text us on WhatsApp for the fastest reply, or email office@londonchoralservice.com.