Thanks to the advance of television, the general public were able to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. We take a look at the music they would have heard <\/p>

Music is an integral part of any coronation, a central element that adds splendour and solemnity to a majestic occasion in Westminster Abbey. And it was no different in 1953, when the music for Elizabeth II\u2019s coronation played a key part in helping to lift the mood of a post-war generation and celebrating the dawn of a new \u2018second Elizabethan\u2019 era.<\/p>\n

King Charles has chosen music for his coronation<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
King Charles\u2019s Coronation Concert: what music will be played at the Windsor concert?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
What music was played at Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s coronation?<\/h2>\n
Walton<\/strong>\u2019s \u2018Orb and Sceptre\u2019<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/walton-william\/"\">Walton<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s \u2018Orb and Sceptre\u2019, inspired by Elgar\u2019s equally grandiose\u00a0<em>Pomp and Circumstance Marches<\/em>, was written for Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s coronation in 1953.<\/p>\n<p>Its joyous exuberance and swagger set the scene for the day of celebrations, performed before the official service at Westminster Abbey. It was performed alongside the\u00a0<em>Crown Imperial<\/em>\u00a0march that Walton composed for the coronation of King George VI \u2013 Elizabeth\u2019s father \u2013 in 1937. Its title refers to the Orb and Sceptre that are presented to the monarch during the coronation ceremony.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\""1-elgars-pomp-and-circumstance-marches-cce627d4"\">Elgar\u2019s Pomp and Circumstance Marches<\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""16)\" queen=\"\" elizabeth=\"\" ii=\"\" coronation=\"\" live=\"\" e.=\"\" elgar=\"\" pomp=\"\" and=\"\" circumstances=\"\" n=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1H0uW3oDMw4?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>With these bright and blazing marches,\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/five-essential-works-elgar\/"\">Elgar<\/a><\/strong> encapsulated the sense of self-assured militarism that helped to define early twentieth-century England. \u2018I have something of the soldier in me,\u2019 he said in a 1904 interview with The Strand. Destined to become synonymous with British pageantry, they played a key part in several coronation ceremonies, including that of George V, George VI as well as Elizabeth II.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\""howells-behold-o-god-our-defender-8d89403e"\"><strong>Howells \u2013 Behold, O god Our Defender<\/strong><\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""3)\" queen=\"\" elizabeth=\"\" ii=\"\" coronation=\"\" live=\"\" h.=\"\" howells=\"\" behold=\"\" o=\"\" god=\"\" our=\"\" defender=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CtOhLSjouf8?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>When looking back at the list of composers who were invited to compose works for the Queen\u2019s coronation, it is a veritable roll call of great 20th-century British composers. Herbert Howells wrote this quiet and reflective introit on Christmas Day 1952. On the day of the Coronation it signalled the start of the solemn ceremony that transformed a Princess into a Queen.<\/p>\n<div class=\""ad-placement"\" data-count=\""1947"\">\n<h3 id=\""vaughan-williams-o-taste-and-see-5f6642c0"\"><strong>Vaughan Williams \u2013 O Taste and See<\/strong><\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""11)\" queen=\"\" elizabeth=\"\" ii=\"\" coronation=\"\" live=\"\" r.=\"\" vaughan=\"\" williams=\"\" o=\"\" taste=\"\" and=\"\" see=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sTNv3ba8s8E?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/ralph-vaughan-williams\/"\">Vaughan Williams<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was commissioned to write this new <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-motet\/"\">motet<\/a> for the coronation by the director of music of Westminster Abbey, William McKie (see below). It is still regularly sung today. However, this was not Vaughan Williams\u2019s only contribution to the ceremony. He also persuaded McKie to include a hymn with which the congregation could join in, complete with fanfare accompaniment \u2013 written by him.<\/p>\n<p>Though this may not seem like a controversial idea today, it was considered such a breach of tradition that it had to be approved by the Queen herself before McKie would agree to it. Luckily she agreed, and The Old Hundred (\u2018All people that on earth do dwell\u2019) has since become one of the countries best-loved hymns.<\/p>\n<div class=\""ad-placement"\" data-count=\""1700"\">\n<h3 id=\""all-people-that-on-earth-do-dwell-fd2b4dac"\">All People that on Earth do Dwell<\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""10)\" queen=\"\" elizabeth=\"\" ii=\"\" coronation=\"\" live=\"\" all=\"\" people=\"\" that=\"\" on=\"\" earth=\"\" do=\"\" dwell=\"\" arr.=\"\" r.=\"\" vaughan=\"\" williams=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hOGBSfAP7ds?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-are-the-lyrics-to-all-people-that-on-earth-do-dwell\/"\">words to \u2018All People that on Earth do Dwell\u2019<\/a><\/strong>are an arrangement of Psalm 100 (also known as \u2018The Old Hundredth\u2019), by Elizabethan churchman William Kethe.<\/p>\n<p>For the Coronation, no less a composer than Ralph Vaughan Williams set Kethe\u2019s translation to music \u2013 for all four vocal parts, plus organ, orchestra and congregation.<\/p>\n<h3>I Vow to Thee My Country<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p>Could there be a more appropriate hymn for a coronation?\u00a0The music, famously, is from the Jupiter section of Gustav Holst\u2019s orchestral suite, The Planets. The words to\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/i-vow-to-thee-my-country-lyrics\/"\">\u2018I Vow to Thee My Country\u2019<\/a><\/strong>, meanwhile, originate in a poem by the Edwardian diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice.<\/p>\n<h3><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/when-was-handels-coronation-anthem-zadok-the-priest-first-performed\/"\">Zadok the Priest<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/george-frideric-handel\/"\"><strong>Handel<\/strong><\/a> wrote this high-impact <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/coronation-marches-and-anthems-10-of-the-best\/"\">coronation anthem<\/a> <\/strong>for the <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/when-was-handels-coronation-anthem-zadok-the-priest-first-performed\/"\">coronation of King George II in 1727<\/a><\/strong>. It has been performed at every coronation since then, thanks to its majesty and capacity to evoke a sense of occasion<\/p>\n<h3 id=\""2-parrys-i-was-glad-bd4e8eb2"\">Parry\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/i-was-glad-lyrics\/"\">I was Glad<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Several composers \u2013 from\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/guide-purcell-dido-and-aeneas-best-recordings\/"\">Henry Purcell<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/7-notable-masters-of-the-queens-kings-music\/"\">William Boyce<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 have written musical settings of Psalm 122 for the Anglican church. There\u2019s an obvious reason why\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/hubert-parry\/"\">Hubert Parry<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s is the most famous: from the jubilant introductory fanfares and ecstatic first choral harmonies, this anthem bathes us in sunshine, utterly embodying the psalm\u2019s opening line.<\/p>\n<p>Did you know \u2018I was Glad\u2019 has been sung at every coronation since King Charles I\u2019s in 1626?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Among the other hymns and anthems played before and during the Queen\u2019s coronation in 1953 were:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chaconne from\u00a0<em>King Arthur<\/em>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/henry-purcell\/"\">Henry Purcell<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(arranged Herbage)<br\/><em>Trumpet Tune<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Jeremiah Clarke<br\/><em>Crown Imperial<\/em>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/walton-william\/"\">William Walton<\/a><\/strong><br\/>\n\u2018Jupiter\u2019 from\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-holsts-planets\/"\"><em>The Planets<\/em><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/gustav-holst\/"\">Gustav Holst<\/a><\/strong><br\/>\nRegalia procession: \u2018Oh most merciful\u2019 \u2013 Charles Wood<br\/>\nRegalia procession: Litany for 5 voices \u2013 Thomas Tallis<br\/><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/greensleeves-lyrics\/"\"><em>Greensleeves<\/em><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams<br\/>\n\u2018<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/a-guide-to-nimrod-from-elgars-enigma-variations\/"\">Nimrod<\/a><\/strong>\u2019 from\u00a0<em>Enigma Variations<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Edward Elgar<br\/><em>Music for the Royal Fireworks<\/em>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/george-frideric-handel\/"\">George Frederic Handel<\/a><br\/><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/angels-we-have-heard-on-high-gloria-in-excelsis-deo-lyrics\/"\">Gloria in Excelsis<\/a> <\/strong>\u2013 Charles Villiers Stanford<br\/>\nProcessional \u2013 Arthur Bliss<br\/><em>O taste and see<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Vaughan Williams<br\/><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/te-deum-lyrics\/"\">Te Deum<\/a> <\/strong>\u2013 William Walton<br\/>\nCoronation March \u2013 Arnold Bax<\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-queen-funeral-what-music-was-played-at-the-funeral-of-queen-elizabeth-ii\/"\">The Queen\u2019s Funeral: what music was played at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/queen-elizabeth-ii-music\/"\">The music of Queen Elizabeth II<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/queens-favourite-hymns\/"\">What were the Queen\u2019s favourite hymns?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/queen-classical-music\/"\">The Queen\u2019s contribution to classical music<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/music-for-royal-funerals-what-music-is-likely-to-be-played-at-prince-philips-funeral\/"\">What music was played at Prince Philip\u2019s funeral?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <div class=\""ad-placement"\" data-count=\""1947"\">\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Thanks to the advance of television, the general public were able to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. We take a look at the music they would have heard <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Thanks to the advance of television, the general public were able to watch the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. We take a look at the music they would have heard","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25022"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

What music was played at Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s coronation?<\/h2>\n