''Coronation Ode'', Op. 44 is a work composed by Edward Elgar for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, chorus and orchestra, with words by A. C. Benson. It was written for the

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

and

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...

in 1902, and dedicated "by Special Permission, to His Most Gracious Majesty King Edward VII", but the Coronation was postponed due to the King's sudden illness. The first performance was not until 2 October 1902 at the Sheffield Festival, by the Sheffield Choir, soloists Agnes Nicholls,

Muriel Foster Muriel Foster (22 November 187723 December 1937) was an English contralto, excelling in oratorio. '' Grove's Dictionary'' describes her voice as "one of the most beautiful voices of her time". Muriel Foster was born in Sunderland in 1877. She w ...

, John Coates and David Ffrangcon Davies, with Elgar conducting. The parts are inscribed "Composed for the Grand Opera Syndicate, for the state performance at Covent Garden on June 30th, 1902" and the first London performance was at Covent Garden on 26 October 1902. The first performance attended by the King and Queen was almost a year later in London on 25 June 1903, at a concert organised by Lady Maud Warrender.

Structure

The ode has six parts: :I – Introduction: "''Crown the King''", for soloists and chorus :II – (a) "''The Queen''", for chorus; (b) "''Daughter of ancient Kings''", for chorus :III – "''Britain, ask of thyself''", for bass soloist and men's (tenor and bass) chorus :IV – (a) "''Hark, upon the hallowed air''" for soprano and tenor soloists, followed by (b) "''Only let the heart be pure''", for soprano, contralto, tenor and bass soloists :V – "''Peace, gentle peace''", for soprano, contralto, tenor and bass soloists and unaccompanied chorus :VI – Finale: "''

Land of hope and glory "Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902. Composition The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below ar ...

''", contralto soloist, with chorus In section V, the chorus performs unaccompanied, but the section is introduced by pairs of clarinets, bassoons, and horns plus strings; those instruments also accompany the solo quartet in the middle of the section.

History

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

died in January 1901 and preparations for the coronation of her son

were soon under way. Late that year the Covent Garden Grand Opera Syndicate commissioned Elgar to write a work to be premiered at a Royal gala on the eve of the Coronation which was planned for June of the following year. Elgar himself invited A. C. Benson (perhaps at the instance of the King) to provide the libretto: Benson was a musician as well as a writer, and the collaboration was close and successful. The King suggested to Elgar that words could be provided to the ''Trio'' section of the first Pomp and Circumstance March, which he liked: Elgar took up the King's suggestion and asked Benson to provide words so that the tune could form the climax of the ''Ode''. Elgar began writing in February 1902 and by the end of March he had finished the vocal score, which at that time consisted of parts I, III, IV, V and VI. Benson then realised that there needed to be a song referring to

, and added ''Daughter of ancient Kings'' which Elgar reluctantly placed after ''Crown the King'', as he had wanted to follow that with ''"Britain, ask of thyself"''. In June of that year, Elgar prepared the Ode for a State performance, with a choir rehearsal in Sheffield followed by an orchestra (with military band) rehearsal in London at Covent Carden. He took Melba, Kirkby Lunn, Ben Davies and David Ffrangcon-Davies through their solo parts. But the planned performance on 30 June never took place, for the Coronation, planned for 26 June, was cancelled only two days before due to the King suddenly being taken ill with appendicitis, which required an operation. The Ode was not performed in the royal presence until a year later, to mark the anniversary of the Coronation. It was the last item in a gala concert, in the presence of the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales, on 25 June 1903, at the Royal Albert Hall. It was organised by Lady Maud Warrender in aid of the

Union Jack Club The Union Jack Club is an Armed Forces Club in central London, England, for enlisted members and veterans of the British Armed Services and their families. Located near London Waterloo railway station, the club has over 260 rooms for accommodatio ...

. The chorus was the 400-strong choir of the Leeds Choral Union, with the augmented Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by Sir Henry Wood, and the Band of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

. The Ode was conducted by Elgar. who was afterwards presented to the King. The soloists were Mme Albani,

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt, (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and imp ...

, Ben Davies and Andrew Black. The concert opened with Elgar's arrangement of ''God Save the King'' for singers and orchestra. The publishers, Boosey & Co., realising its popularity, asked Elgar to revise ''

'' so it could be produced as a separate song, and this was in fact sung by Clara Butt with great success at a "Coronation Concert" a week before the ''Ode'' was first performed in London. The Ode was used again for the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. The chorus for the Danish-born Queen Alexandra ''Daughter of ancient Kings'' in 1902 was unsuitable to refer to Queen Mary, and was replaced by a new chorus ''True Queen of British homes and hearts'' (called simply ''The Queen'') with lyric again by Arthur Benson. The other (ominous) change was the omission of ''Peace, gentle Peace'' which had been the preface to ''Land of hope and glory.'' There is a part for a military band. This was desired by Elgar: 'Edward made the tonic key E-flat: he wanted to add a military band to the orchestra and organ.' This is shown in the first edition of the complete score as a two-stave condensed score above which are written two staves for the band percussion. The band plays on occasions in sections I, III, and VI, only, including fanfares which are also cued in the orchestra parts where necessary. The work was published for five royal occasions: *the Coronation of

in 1902 – ''"Daughter of ancient Kings"'', personal to

, was only used for this occasion – used parts I, II (b), III, IV (a & b), V and VI *the Coronation of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

in 1911 – ''"The Queen"'' replaced ''"Daughter of ancient Kings"'', and the prayer ''"Peace, gentle peace"'' was omitted – used parts I, II (a), III, IV (a & b) and VI *the Jubilee Edition for King George V in 1935 used parts I, II (a), IV (a & b) and VI only *the Coronation of King George VI in 1937 used parts I, II (a), IV (b) and VI only *the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 – ''"Crown the King"'' became ''"Crown the Queen"'' – used parts I, II (a & b), III, IV (a & b) and VI only

Lyrics

"Crown the King"

I – ''"Crown the King"'' – Introduction ''Soloists and Chorus''

(a) "The Queen" (b) "Daughter of ancient Kings"

II – (a) ''"The Queen"'' – ''Chorus'' II – (b) ''"Daughter of ancient Kings"'' – ''Chorus'' "A Greeting to Her Gracious Majesty, Queen Alexandra"

"Britain, ask of thyself"

III ''"Britain, ask of thyself"'' – ''Solo Bass and Chorus (Tenor and Bass)''

(a) "Hark, upon the hallowed air" (b) "Only let the heart be pure"

IV (a) ''"Hark, upon the hallowed air"'' – ''Soli (Soprano and Tenor)'' IV (b) ''"Only let the heart be pure"'' – ''Quartet (S.A.T.B.)'' The last line, previously "Crown ''your'' victories with peace!", was changed for the 1911 edition.

"Peace, gentle peace"

V ''"Peace, gentle peace"'' – ''Soli (S.A.T.B.) and Chorus unaccompanied''

"Land of hope and glory"

VI – ''"Land of hope and glory"'' – Finale ''(Contralto Solo and Tutti)'' The third line, previously "How ''may'' we extol thee," was changed for the 1911 edition.Note in the 1911 edition orchestral score

Notes

References

* *

Recordings

Teresa Cahill Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...

(soprano), Anne Collins (contralto),

Anthony Rolfe Johnson Anthony Rolfe Johnson (5 November 1940 – 21 July 2010) was an English operatic tenor. Early life Anthony Rolfe Johnson was born in Tackley in Oxfordshire. As a boy, he demonstrated musical ability and sang as a boy soprano, making a record ...

(tenor),

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...

and Choir, Sir

Alexander Gibson (conductor) Sir Alexander Drummond Gibson (11 February 1926 – 14 January 1995) was a Scottish conductor and opera intendant. He was also well known for his service to the BBC and his achievements during his reign as the longest serving principal conducto ...

. Chandos CHAN 6574 * Dame

Felicity Lott Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...

(soprano), Alfreda Hodgson (contralto), Richard Morton (tenor), Stephen Roberts (bass), Cambridge University Musical Society,

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Col ...

, Band of the

Royal Military School of Music The Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) trains musicians for the British Army's fourteen regular bands, as part of the Royal Corps of Army Music. Until August 2021, the school was based at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, however it moved to HMS ...

Kneller Hall Kneller Hall is a Grade II listed mansion in Whitton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It housed the Royal Military School of Music, training musicians for the British Army, which acquired the building in the mid-19th century. I ...

conducted by Sir

Philip Ledger Sir Philip Stevens Ledger, CBE, FRSE (12 December 1937 – 18 November 2012) was an English classical musician, choirmaster and academic, best remembered as Director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge in 1974–1982 and of the Royal Scot ...

, recorded at Chapel of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, February 1977 EMI CLASSICS 5 85148 2

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Edward Elgar British patriotic songs 1902 compositions Choral compositions