# Elizabeth Regina



## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

On June 2nd 1953, 60 years ago this past Sunday, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of the House of Windsor was crowned *Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan*, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth, then aged 26, ascended the thrones of these countries upon the death of her father, King George VI almost 16 months earlier - the coronation was held over a year later in-keeping with the tradition that a festival such as a coronation was inappropriate during the period of mourning that followed the death of the preceding sovereign.







Television was not yet a year old in Canada at the time of the coronation, and film of the ceremony was flown by RCAF jet to Toronto so that it could be broadcast in Canada _the same day_. Here is archival footage, which includes some additional shots of Canadian dignataries…

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categori...w-queen/coronation-of-queen-elizabeth-ii.html

The director of music for the coronation was the organist and master of the choristers at Westmionster Abbey, *William McKie*, who had been in charge of music at the royal wedding in 1947. The choir for the coronation was a combination of the choirs of Westminster Abbey, Saint Paul's Cathedral, the Chapel Royal, and Saint George's Chapel, Windsor. The final complement of choristers comprised 182 trebles, 37 male altos, 62 tenors, and 67 basses. Together with a full orchestra, the total number of musicians was 480.

McKie convened an advisory committee with *Arnold Bax *and *Sir Ernest Bullock*, who had directed the music for the previous coronation (that of Elizabeth's father, George VI).

When it came to choosing the music, tradition demanded that *Handel*'s "Zadok the Priest" and *Parry*'s "I was glad" were included amongst the anthems. Other choral works included were the 16th century "Rejoice in the Lord alway" and *Samuel Sebastian Wesley*'s "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace".

Among the new compositions commissioned for the ceremony were *Ralph Vaughan Williams* new motet "O Taste and See", *William Walton* composed a setting for the "Te Deum" and a coronation march ("Orb and Sceptre"), Canadian composer *Healy Willan* wrote an anthem "O Lord our Governor", *Arthur Bliss* composed "Processional" and *Arnold Bax*, "Coronation March".

The Podcast Vaaut montage includes some of these selections, as well as other music "fit for a coronation" by the likes of *Tchaikovsky*, *Mozart *and *Meyerbeer*. And let's not forget an *Elgar *_Pomp and Circumstance_ March...

*ITYWLTMT Podcast Montage #55 - The Crown
(Originally issued on Friday, May 18, 2012)​*
*Pyotr Ilich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)*
Festival Coronation March in D Major, TH 50
Cincinnati Pops
Erich Kunzel, conducting

*George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)*
_Zadok the priest_, HWV258 (Coronation Anthem no. 1)
Michael Chance, Countertenor
Charles Daniels, Tenor
Paul Smy, Treble
Gerald Finley, Bass
David Briggs, Organ
John Butt, Harpsichord
King's College Choir, Cambridge
English Chamber Orchestra
Sir Philip Ledger, conducting

*Sir William WALTON (1902-1983)*
_Coronation Te Deum_, C 58
Richard Pierce, organ
BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis, conducting

_Orb and Sceptre_ (coronation march), C 59
Eastman-Rochester Pops Orchestra
Frederick Fennell, conducting

*Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)*
Piano Concerto no.26 in D Major, K.537 ('Coronation')
Salzburg Mozarteum Camerata Academica
Géza Anda, piano & conducting

*Sir William WALTON (1902-1983)*
_Crown Imperial_ (coronation march) (1937, rev. 1963) 
(arr. for wind band, W. J. Duthoit)
USAF Tactical Air Command Band
Lowell Graham, conducting

*Giacomo MEYERBEER (1791-1864)*
Coronation march from Act 4 of _Le prophète _(1849)
London Symphony Orchestra
Richard Bonynge, conducting

*Sir Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)*
_Pomp and Circumstance_ March in G Major, op. 39, no. 4
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Yehudi Menuhin, conducting


Original Bilingual Commentary: http://itywltmt.blogspot.com/2012/05/montage-55-crown-la-couronne.html

Detailed Playlist: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/120203984/pcast055 Playlist

Podcat Link (Internet Archive): http://archive.org/details/TheCrown_245


*June 7 2013, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will feature a new podcast "Pelléas et Mélisande" at its Pod-O-Matic Channel . Read more June 7 on the ITYWLTMT Blogspot blog.*


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