{"id":25855,"date":"2023-03-24T18:01:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T17:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=182253"},"modified":"2023-03-24T18:33:44","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T17:33:44","slug":"orb-and-sceptre-a-guide-to-waltons-coronation-march","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/orb-and-sceptre-a-guide-to-waltons-coronation-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Orb and Sceptre: a guide to Walton\u2019s coronation march"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was first heard at Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1953, and may also feature in King Charles’s own Coronation. How much do you know about Walton’s coronation march, Orb and Sceptre? <\/p>

By Steve Wright\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 24 March 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

It\u2019s a famous march written for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. And we may well hear it again at King Charles\u2019s Coronation<\/strong><\/a>. Here\u2019s all you need to know about the grand, rousing Orb and Sceptre<\/em>.<\/p>\n

King Charles\u2019s Coronation \u2013 learn all about the composers, performers, music and more<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>What is Orb and Sceptre<\/em>?<\/h2>\nOrb and Sceptre<\/em> is a march for orchestra written by the 2oth-century English composer William Walton. It was written for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II<\/strong><\/a> in Westminster Abbey, London, on 2 June 1953. It\u2019s one of the best coronation marches and anthems<\/strong><\/a> from down the centuries.<\/p>\n
It was one of three Walton compositions played at Elizabeth\u2019s Coronation. Crown Imperial<\/em>, first composed for the Coronation of the Queen\u2019s father, George VI, in 1937, also featured, as did Walton\u2019s Te Deum<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Get to know the lives and works of hundreds of composers on our website<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nLike other concert marches by Walton (for example, Crown Imperial<\/em>) and his predecessor Edward Elgar<\/strong><\/a>, Orb and Sceptre<\/em> consists of a relatively fast opening section. This is followed by a slower melody in the middle (trio) section. Finally, we return to the livelier opening theme as the piece draws to a close.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Who composed Orb and Sceptre<\/em>?<\/h2>\nOrb and Sceptre<\/em> was composed by William Walton, a 20th-century composer who wrote a number of works for royal and ceremonial occasions. However, Walton proved himself a very skilled composer of non-programmatic music too.<\/p>\n<ul><li><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-william-walton\/"\">The best recordings of William Walton<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><h2>What else did William Walton compose?<\/h2>\nWalton\u2019s <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/waltons-viola-concerto-guide-best-recordings\/"\">Viola Concerto<\/strong><\/a> is one of the very finest for that instrument in the repertoire. His <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/waltons-cello-concerto\/"\">Cello Concerto<\/strong><\/a> is, similarly, a much-admired 20th-century string concerto, while Walton\u2019s Violin Concerto was taken up by the supremely gifted violinist <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/jascha-heifetz-2\/"\">Jascha Heifetz<\/strong><\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Walton:\" bratschenkonzert=\"\" hr-sinfonieorchester=\"\" antoine=\"\" tamestit=\"\" manfred=\"\" honeck=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P23GdaDcPkU?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/waltons-symphony-no-1\/"\">Walton\u2019s Symphony No. 1<\/strong><\/a> is also a major landmark in 20th-century orchestral writing. Written at around the same time as Vaughan Williams\u2019s Symphony No. 4, the Walton work has a similar sense of tension and drama. There\u2019s a landmark recording of it made by Andr\u00e9 Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1967.<\/p>\nLast but not least, Walton\u2019s Belshazzar\u2019s Feast<\/em> is a <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-is-a-cantata\/"\">cantata<\/strong><\/a> for baritone, orchestra and chorus. Using text from the Bible, the work is dedicated to Walton\u2019s friend and benefactor Lord Berners and remains one of the composer\u2019s best loved creations.<\/p>\nExplore more great British composers:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul><li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/benjamin-britten-composer\/"\">Benjamin Britten<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/william-byrd\/"\">William Byrd<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/henry-purcell\/"\">Henry Purcell<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/t\/"\">John Tavener<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/ralph-vaughan-williams\/"\">Ralph Vaughan Williams<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was first heard at Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1953, and may also feature in King Charles’s own Coronation. 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How much do you know about Walton's coronation march, Orb and Sceptre?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25855"}],"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:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}