Walton: Orb and Sceptre

The potential of music as a means of adding dignity and grandeur to state occasions has surely been lost on a few rulers in history. Portraits of antique kings and queens are more often admired (or the reverse) for their artistic qualities, as opposed to the enhancement in the status of their subjects they were originally intended to confer. Similarly, the appeal of ceremonial music from former ages is for modern listeners primarily aesthetic.

This 75-minute collection brings together music heard at a staggering variety of British royal occasions. Zadok the Priest has been included in every coronation service held in that building ever since the coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline in Westminster Abbey on 11 October 1727. There is music for the coronation of King James II in 1685 (Purcell’s I was glad), and a later setting of the same verses by Parry for the coronation of Edward VII in Westminster Abbey on 9 August 1902.

Of course, there’s music for Queen Elizabeth II – Walton’s Coronation Te Deum and Orb and Sceptre for the coronation on 2 June 1953 and Bliss’s march Welcome the Queen, which commemorated the return of the monarch from her Commonwealth tour in 1954.

The British national anthem hardly needs an introduction. Benjamin Britten’s distinctive arrangement was first performed in Leeds on 7 October 1961 and has been heard countless times since.

A collection of music by great British composers, including Elgar - Land of Hope and Glory, Enigma Variations; Holst – The Planets; Walton – Crown Imperial; Orb & Sceptre and Parry – Jerusalem. Full of highly recognisable themes, this album captures and celebrates the great British spirit.

Released in time for the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Katherine Middleton, which takes place on the 29th April 2011. With street parties up and down the isle and a national bank holiday, the biggest Royal event since the Marriage of Prince Charles to Princess Diana is set to be celebrated in style.

Recording locations: Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, UK, July & August 1954 (Façade); Kingsway Hall, London, UK, April 1953 (Orb and Sceptre, Bax), October 1954 (Siesta, Scapino, Portsmouth Point); Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, UK, May 1957 (Bliss)

Returning Decca’s pioneering recording of Façade to the catalogue, this generous collection of English music includes further gems from the Decca catalogue of orchestral pieces by Walton and two marches, by Bax and Bliss, respectively, to mark royal occasions in connection with Queen Elizabeth II. The liner notes include one written by Dame Edith Sitwell herself for the first LP issue of Façade and the cover illustration, especially commissioned for this reissue, takes its title from one of Façade’s numbers: “Something lies beyond the scene”.

A truly magnificent and stirring release of British Fantasies and Fanfares by John Cook, Herbert Howells, Percy Whitlock, York Bowen, Edward Bairstow, Paul Spicer, Edward Elgar and Willian Walton. Nigel Potts is currently Organist & Choirmaster of Christ & St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in New York City and Artist-in-Residence at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Bay Shore, NY. On this recording he plays the Schoenstein Organ of St Paul’s Parish, Washington DC.

'They're changing the guard at Buckingham Palace...' and this is what they might play: a superb mix of marching tunes and popular songs, played here by a mighty tour de force of virtuoso bandsmen chosen from amongst the best bands from Her Majesty's Armed Forces.

David Briggs, Keith John, Adrian Partington, Adrian Lucas, Thomas Murray, Ian Tracey and Malcolm Archer

Recorded at Henry Wood Hall, London on 7 & 8 March 2012.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra takes part in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June as part of the 1000 boat flotilla celebrating the Queen’s 60th anniversary. Its musicians will play works chosen for their association with British history and London landmarks, recorded here to capture the spirit of the occasion and to serve as a memento of a unique day.

Highlights of the music include Percy Grainger’s Country Gardens, Jupiter from Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Thomas Arne’s Rule, Britannia!, the James Bond Theme, The Dam Busters by Eric Coates and two works by Elgar – Nimrod from Enigma Variations and Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1. The CD closes out with a performance of the National Anthem.