Twelve newly commissioned pieces of music will be played at the coronation of Great Britain King Charles in Westminster Abbey in May, including Greek Orthodox music, Buckingham Palace said, with the 18th century “Priest Zadok” also to be featured.
Six orchestral works, five choral works and one organ commission have been composed for the occasion, the palace said on Saturday, including a new coronation song by musical theater impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber.
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“A range of musical styles and performers blend tradition, heritage and ceremony with new musical voices of today, reflecting the King’s lifelong love and support of music and the arts,” the palace said in a statement.
It also said Charles requested that Greek Orthodox music, which can be traced back to the Byzantine period, be included in the service as a tribute to his father, Prince Philip, who was born on the Greek island of Corfu. He died in 2021.
Fanfare will be played by The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and The Fanfare Trumpeters of the Royal Air Force, the palace said.
One of the liturgical parts of the ceremony will also be performed in Welsh to reflect Charles’ “long and deeply held relationship and connection with Wales”, according to the statement.
Music by classical composers including George Frideric Handel, Edward Elgar, Hubert Parry and Ralph Vaughan Williams, some of whom have historically been in the service for 400 years, will be included in the programme, along with the music of the living Welsh composer Karl Jenkins.
Music by Elgar, Parry and Williams was also performed at the coronation of Charles’ late mother, Queen Elizabeth II1953.
Handel’s coronation song “Zadok the Priest”, composed for the coronation of King George II in 1727, will be played at the ceremony, according to the palace.
“I have done it for the Westminster Abbey choir and organ, ceremonial brass and orchestra. I hope my anthem reflects this joyous occasion,” composer Lloyd Webber said of his coronation song in the statement.
(Reporting by Muvija M and Michael Holden; Editing by Kate Holton and David Holmes)