One of the many items to deal with at a wedding (not that 3CM the loser has any experience with that, nor will he ever, the way he and his life are - but he digresses, as usual) is choosing the music for the ceremony. It becomes a particularly interesting challenge if you are either Prince William or Catherine Middleton, since your musical selections are to be aired to a worldwide audience. Of course, one advantage of being a member of the Royal Family is that you can hire any size orchestra and chorus to provide your musical accompaniment. You can even commission new music for the occasion.
So what did the Prince and his lady choose musically for the big day? First, according to Rupert Christiansen here in the Telegraph, William's dad had a major hand in the musical choices. The results were....
Befitting the occasionl, the royal couple went all-classical, as you can see from the list here. There were indeed a few new commissioned works from Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (Master of the Queen's Music), John Rutter, and Paul Mealor. In a somewhat more reader-friendly format than the official page, here's the list of musical selection, in actual list form rather than paragraphed text:
Pre-Service:
(a) Organ
1. Johann Sebastian Bach: Fantasia in G (Pièce d'orgue à 5)
2. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (Master of the Queen's Music): Veni Creator Spiritus
3. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford: Prelude on St. Columba, op. 28
4. Sir Edward Elgar: Allegro maestoso and Allegretto from Sonata for Organ, Op. 28
(b) Orchestra:
1. Elgar: Serenade for Strings in e, op. 20 (Allegro piacevole, Larghetto and Allegretto)
2. Benjamin Britten: "Courtly Dance V: Galliard" from Gloriana (Symphonic Suite), op. 53a, no. 7
3. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
4. Maxwell Davies: Farewell to Stromness
5. Frederick Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
6. William Walton: Henry V Suite, "Touch Her Soft Lips and Part"
7. Gerald Finzi: Romance for string orchestra, op. 11
Processional:
1. Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry: March from The Birds
2. Vaughan Williams: Prelude on Rhosymedre (Procession of the Clergy)
3. Parry: 'I was Glad' (Procession of the Bride)
Hymns:
1. John Hughes: "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer" (words by William Williams, translated by Peter Williams et al.)
2. William Penfro Rowlands, "Love Divine All Love Excelling" (words by Charles Wesley)
3. Parry: "Jerusalem" (SNLC'ed here, BTW, where you can find the words for the video below)
Anthem: John Rutter, "This is the day which the Lord hath made"
Motet: Paul Mealor, "Ubi caritas"
The National Anthem, "God Save the Queen"
The Signing of the Registers and the Recessional:
(a) Registers: Parry, "Blest pair of sirens" (text by John Milton)
(b) Fanfare: Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs, Valiant and Brave
(c) Recessional:
1. Walton: Crown Imperial
2. Charles-Marie Widor: "Toccata" from Symphonie V
Post-Service: Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 5
It would be impractical to try to load YouTube videos of all the music featured at the Royal Wedding, not to mention a violation of composer copyright in the cases of the new works. So 2 videos will have to do, but they fit well, the Parry selections:
(a) "I was glad"
BTW, the text:
"I was glad when they said unto me: We will go into the house of the Lord.
Our feet shall stand in thy gates: O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built as a city: that is at unity in itself.
For thither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord: to testify unto Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord.
For there is the seat of judgment: even the seat of the house of David.
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls: and plenteousness within thy palaces.
For my brethren and companions' sakes: I will wish thee prosperity.
Yea, because of the house of the Lord our God: I will seek to do thee good."
(b) "Jerusalem":
Very, veddy different from the more common TV home of "Jerusalem", The Last Night of the Proms, although the wedding is its own UK flag-waving bonanza, of course. Plus, you can watch the whole 3.5 hours of the ceremony at the link before the flip.
While it may seem tacky to use the Royal Wedding as a subject for SNLC, please keep in mind that as tends to be the case with SNLC, the loser is the diarist, not the subject. I, for one, certainly wish Prince William and Catherine Middleton (now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) all best wishes for a wonderful life together. Of course, in many ways, the wedding was the easy part. It's the rest of life, after the wedding, that's the challenge.
In a further demonstration of 3CM's loserness (besides his utter lack of attraction to the female gender), this is yet another autobot posting, i.e. he's not present at the time of posting to mojo comments and keep the chit-chat going. However, in yet another kind act of generosity, the inimitable cfk (no one's idea of a loser, as anyone who can write a DK diary series like Bookflurries is a winner by definition) will be holding the fort until I get back. With that, time for the usual SNLC protocol below, namely your loser stories for the week. Not sure if it's the time of year where weddings may be involved, however.....