# Queen Elizabeth II's funeral - the music



## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

I'm guessing many of us saw the funeral service from Westminster Cathedral live on TV.
What are your thoughts about the choir and organ music performed during the service?

I personally have trouble appreciating the stringent treble sound of a boy's choir, but that's just me. And I half-expected a symphonic orchestra being present for a full requiem mass, but I guess that shows my unfamiliarity with the particular setting of an Anglican service.


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## StevenOBrien (Jun 27, 2011)

What on earth was going on with the performance of the Bach fantasia at the end?


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

I never heard "Odes to the death of Queen Mary" or the Canzona or maybe I missed them because I did not see it all


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

I looked up the program for the funeral and indeed the first royal funeral I have seen without Purcell's Queen Mary music and no Canzona for the most solemn portion.
A lot of modern stuff like Vaughan Williams and Maxwell Davies


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

StevenOBrien said:


> What on earth was going on with the performance of the Bach fantasia at the end?


I was wondering as well, it sounded like a terribly discordant mess to me.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

bagpipers said:


> A lot of modern stuff like Vaugh Williams and Maxwell Davies


I can see that Davies would be regarded as modern, but Vaughan Williams?


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

Did anybody else spot V.William's Romanza from the 5th Symphony pre-service? One of my all time fave pieces by VW and deeply moving for me. I held up until the end when the lone bagpiper walked slowly away and the sound diminished. I thought the MacMillam piece was effective too, anyone know if that was a commission or an existing piece?


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Art Rock said:


> I can see that Davies would be regarded as modern, but Vaughan Williams?


Sure in a music tradition where music made in the 15,16,1700's is still popular ,yes Williams born 1872 died 1958 ,yes that is very modern.
I was also addressing there being no Purcell ,the royal funeral staple and Purcell was late 17th century so yes Vaughan Williams is modern.
Bartok is considered modern and he died I think in 1945.

I would call any composer born after 1870 and died after WWI modern
You may talking about more post modern


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

If someone asked who is my favorite modern composer I'd answer Bartok and Bartok lived and died within the life of Ralph Vaughan Williams.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

bagpipers said:


> . . . modern stuff like Vaughan Williams . . . .


_"modern stuff like Vaughan Williams"_ 

Vaughan Williams died in 1958. I suspect that the most recent of his music would be over 70 years old.


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## clachat (11 mo ago)

A requiem mass at Westminster Cathedral would have been funny.


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

pianozach said:


> _"modern stuff like Vaughan Williams"_
> 
> Vaughan Williams died in 1958. I suspect that the most recent of his music would be over 70 years old.


Yea ,died in 1958 ,yea I'd call that pretty modern for classical music ,Bach died in 1750,Mozart in 1791 and Beethoven in 1827.I'dc call dying in 1958 modern for sure.

Like I said my favorite modern composer is Bela Bartok,died 1945


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Any work composed after or near or around world war one is modern I would say,living composers are post modern.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

bagpipers said:


> Any work composed after or near or around world war one is modern I would say,living composers are post modern.


I'd say that the last 40 years is modern, at a stretch. Vaughan William's music isn't even modernist, let alone modern.


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## Mister Meow (10 mo ago)

bagpipers said:


> I looked up the program for the funeral and indeed the first royal funeral I have seen without Purcell's Queen Mary music and no Canzona for the most solemn portion.
> A lot of modern stuff like Vaughan Williams and Maxwell Davies


Henry Purcell's _Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary_ (listing Z.860) is one of my favorite funeral pieces, not that I have a lot of favorites. And I didn't even see the service for Queen Elizabeth. 🤷‍♂️


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Anyone have a link to the listing of music performed?
I saw one mentioned on Instagram but was busy at the time. Now I can't find it.


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Mister Meow said:


> Henry Purcell's _Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary_ (listing Z.860) is one of my favorite funeral pieces, not that I have a lot of favorites. And I didn't even see the service for Queen Elizabeth. 🤷‍♂️


I know and that's what I was saying


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

eljr said:


> Anyone have a link to the listing of music performed?
> I saw one mentioned on Instagram but was busy at the time. Now I can't find it.


Google ,music program queen funeral ,it pops up


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Op.123 said:


> I'd say that the last 40 years is modern, at a stretch. Vaughan William's music isn't even modernist, let alone modern.


I respect your opinion ,I'd say anything from Ravel and Debussy forward is modern in my opinion.Classical music is an ancient tradition,anything post WWI is modern.

I'd agree Vaughan Williams would be old time in a Jazz/Blues/Rock context


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

eljr said:


> Anyone have a link to the listing of music performed?
> I saw one mentioned on Instagram but was busy at the time. Now I can't find it.











Queen Elizabeth's funeral: Order of service at Westminster Abbey


The service pays tribute to the Queen's "remarkable reign", Buckingham Palace says.



www.bbc.com


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Op.123 said:


> I'd say that the last 40 years is modern, at a stretch. Vaughan William's music isn't even modernist, let alone modern.


"Modern" is a marvellously woolly term, meaning different things to different people in different contexts (a bit like the word "classical"). It seems to me perfectly reasonable to apply the term to VW if we're merely talking about a historical timeline for CM that stretches back 500 years. If we're talking about musical style or musical philosophy, that's a different ball game.

Never mind that. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the sub-organist playing the Romanza from VW's 5th Symphony at the start of proceedings.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Byrd or Britten would’ve been great.


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

1. Westminster ABBEY not Cathedral. Westminster does have a Catholic cathedral nearby
2. There wouldn't be a Catholic requiem mass in an Anglican service.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

bagpipers said:


> Sure in a music tradition where music made in the 15,16,1700's is still popular ,yes Williams born 1872 died 1958 ,yes that is very modern.
> I was also addressing there being no Purcell ,the royal funeral staple and Purcell was late 17th century so yes Vaughan Williams is modern.
> Bartok is considered modern and he died I think in 1945.
> 
> ...


Vaughan Williams belongs to the modern era of music. He fits into that period of change going on in British music between Elgar and Britten. In terms of aesthetics, modernism goes beyond purely technical matters and includes the composer's outlook, approach, thinking.

His interest in authentic folk music puts him alongside the likes of Bartok. Along with others, Vaughan Williams was part of creating that trend, which was an important aspect of music of the period. His interest in modal music also had parallels to what was going on at the time. I think that works like the Tallis Fantasia must have sounded quite strange to its first audiences - no one had done anything similar before. There's also the impact of French impressionism and he produced a few challenging scores, even though they weren't typical of his output (e.g. fourth symphony).


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Sid James said:


> Vaughan Williams belongs to the modern era of music. He fits into that period of change going on in British music between Elgar and Britten. In terms of aesthetics, modernism goes beyond purely technical matters and includes the composer's outlook, approach, thinking.
> 
> His interest in authentic folk music puts him alongside the likes of Bartok. Along with others, Vaughan Williams was part of creating that trend, which was an important aspect of music of the period. His interest in modal music also had parallels to what was going on at the time. I think that works like the Tallis Fantasia must have sounded quite strange to its first audiences - no one had done anything similar before. There's also the impact of French impressionism and he produced a few challenging scores, even though they weren't typical of his output (e.g. fourth symphony).


Thank you for someone finally agreeing with me


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

bagpipers said:


> I looked up the program for the funeral and indeed the first royal funeral I have seen without Purcell's Queen Mary music and no Canzona for the most solemn portion.
> A lot of modern stuff like Vaughan Williams and Maxwell Davies


I believe the Queen was actively involved in the choice of music for her funeral - so maybe she, and her closest family will be content with the music played on the day.


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## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Malx said:


> I believe the Queen was actively involved in the choice of music for her funeral - so maybe she, and her closest family will be content with the music played on the day.


I'm sure this is the case. Does anyone really think that the Queen had music foisted on her that she didn't want played at her funeral?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

bagpipers said:


> Thank you for someone finally agreeing with me


No problem. I think people here are conflating modern and postmodern. The exact boundaries between them can be debated, but in the case of Vaughan Williams, I don't see him as being much of a borderline case.

Incidentally, Vaughan Williams provided three pieces for Elizabeth II's coronation:

_Ralph Vaughan Williams arranged the well-known All people that on earth do dwell, outrageously convincing Westminster Abbey Director of Music William McKie to include the hymn for the whole congregation to participate in (upon the future Queen's approval). In addition, Vaughan Williams wrote a motet of his own, the elegant O taste and see, and the Credo and Sanctus from his Mass in G minor also featured in the ceremony.

...Along with six others, Bax, Tippett and Vaughan-Williams were also invited to contribute to the commemorative choral collection A Garland for the Queen. Their music was set to words by living British poets, and meant as a counterpart to Thomas Morley's 1601 volume of madrigals for Queen Elizabeth I, The Triumphs of Oriana. _

Source: A Life Lived With Grace: The music composed for Queen Elizabeth II - ABC Classic


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

Malx said:


> I believe the Queen was actively involved in the choice of music for her funeral - so maybe she, and her closest family will be content with the music played on the day.


It was part of operation "London Bridge" I suspect,the plan that would automatically happen should the Queen die unexpectedly


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)




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