Sunday 30 June 2013
30 June, 2013 - 19:30 Exeter College Chapel
This June sees the sixtieth anniversary of the coronation, and to mark this the Cherwell Singers presents the second of a pair of concerts consisting of music from royal services. In the first half of the concert four “full anthems” written specifically for four coronations from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries will be performed with strings. For the coronation of James II comes Purcell’s “My heart is inditing, for that of George I “The Lord is a sun and a shield” by Croft, Handel’s “Let thy hand be strengthened” for George II and Boyce’s “The King shall rejoice” for George III. All of these works take advantage of the lavish musical resources available at coronations, and are part of the rich musical heritage bequeathed to us through monarchical patronage.
In the second half of the concert we include three pieces written for the coronation of 1953 from leading English composers of the time, showing that the tradition of royal patronage is alive and well. The major works here are the coronation march “Orb and sceptre” (with which we have chosen to name this concert), and the Coronation Te Deum, both by William Walton. Organist Steven Grahl will be playing for both of these, and the organ in Exeter College Chapel is triumphant enough to recreate the pomp and majesty required.
Directed by: James Brown