"I was glad" is a choral introit which is a popular piece in the musical repertoire of the Anglican church. It is traditionally sung in the Church of England as an anthem at the coronation of the British monarch.
John Milford Rutter is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music.
William Croft was an English composer and organist.
Judith Weir is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office.
A coronation anthem is a piece of choral music written to accompany the coronation of a monarch.
Martin Gerard James Neary LVO is an English organist and choral conductor.
James Anthony O'Donnell is a British organist, choral conductor and academic teacher who has been a professor of organ at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in Connecticut, United States of America, since 2023.
Sir William Neil McKie was an Australian organist, conductor, and composer. He was Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey 1941–1963 and noted for his direction of the music for the marriage of Princess Elizabeth in 1947, and later her Coronation in 1953.
"Song for Athene" is a musical composition by British composer John Tavener with lyrics by Mother Thekla, an Orthodox nun, which is intended to be sung a cappella by a four-part choir. It is Tavener's best known work, having been performed by the Westminster Abbey Choir conducted by Martin Neary at the funeral service of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 6 September 1997 as her cortège departed from Westminster Abbey.
Psalm 42 is the 42nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, often known in English by its incipit, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 42 opens the second of the five books (divisions) of Psalms, also known as the "Elohistic Psalter" because the word YHWH is rarely used and God is generally referred to as "Elohim".
The coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. The coronation was held more than one year later because of the tradition of allowing an appropriate length of time to pass after a monarch dies. It also gave the planning committees adequate time to make preparations for the ceremony. During the service, Elizabeth took an oath, was anointed with holy oil, was invested with robes and regalia, and was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon.
Psalm 121 is the 121st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help”. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 120. In Latin, it is known as Levavi oculos meos in montes.
Psalm 86 is the 86th psalm of the Book of Psalms. It is attributed to David. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 85.
On 30 March 2002 at 15:15 GMT, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, widow to King George VI and mother to Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 101 at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The death of the Queen Mother set in motion Operation Tay Bridge, a plan detailing procedures including the dissemination of information, national mourning, and her funeral. Representatives of nations and groups around the world sent condolences to the Queen, the British people, and citizens of the Commonwealth. Flowers and messages of condolence were left by the public at royal residences, with members of the royal family publicly paying tribute to the Queen Mother in the days after her death. Her funeral, held on 9 April 2002 at Westminster Abbey in London, attracted 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom and cost £5.4 million.
"Praise, my soul, the King of heaven" is a Christian hymn. Its text, which draws from Psalm 103, was written by Anglican divine Henry Francis Lyte. First published in 1834, it endures in modern hymnals to a setting written by John Goss in 1868, and remains one of the most popular hymns in English-speaking denominations.
Matthew Jorysz is an English organist and pianist. He currently serves as assistant organist at Westminster Abbey.
Songs of Farewell is a set of six choral motets by the British composer Hubert Parry. The pieces were composed between 1916 and 1918 and were among his last compositions before his death.
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Concert was an Australian concert held on 6 August 2022 at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane that celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The concert was directed by composer Alexander Voltz and organist Andrej Kouznetsov.
On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at the age of 96. Her death was publicly announced at 18:30. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
"Who shall separate us?" is a composition for an eight-part choir a cappella by James MacMillan, setting a passage from the Epistle to the Romans to music. It was commissioned for the state funeral of Elizabeth II, and was first performed at Westminster Abbey on 19 September 2022 by choirs conducted by James O'Donnell.
