When Their Majesties King Charles III & Queen Camilla are crowned at Westminster Abbey next month, the service, and pre-service music, will be exclusively recorded and released by Decca Records the very same day. The Official Album of the Coronation, to take place on Saturday 6th May 2023, will include all music and spoken word from the global event and will feature an official photograph from the day as cover art. This marks the first time ever a recording of a Coronation ceremony – a tradition which can be traced back more than 1000 years – will be available globally to stream and download on the day of the service itself, thanks to advances in modern technology. This will be an unprecedented event in both recorded music and British royal history.
The complete album, to be available digitally on the day, will be over 4 hours long. The physical version of the album (featuring the entire service and all new commissions) will then be available in stores globally from 15th May. A special Deluxe Collectors CD and vinyl will follow later in the year.
This major ceremonial occasion is to feature a range of musical styles and performers blending tradition, heritage and ceremony with the new musical voices of today, all reflecting The King’s life-long love and support of music and the arts. Amongst the performances are 12 newly composed pieces of music, showcasing talent from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. His Majesty The King has commissioned the new music and shaped and selected the musical programme for the Service.
Six orchestral commissions, five choral commissions and one organ commission, have been specially written by world-renowned British composers whose work includes classical, sacred, film, television and musical theatre. Between them, the 12 composers have over 80 BAFTA, Oscar, Grammy, Tony, Olivier, Golden Globe, Emmy, World Soundtrack Award and ASCAP awards and nominations. Many have written for film and television – titles as diverse as Harry Potter, Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Emoji Movie, Wolf Hall, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and Ladies in Lavender, as well as for international fashion houses such as Burberry, the Eurovision Song Contest, and the 2012 Olympics.
Included in these commissions is the ‘Coronation Anthem’, a brand new work composed for the occasion by Lord Lloyd Webber, entitled ‘Make A Joyful Noise’. A separate studio recording of this work will be released on 6th May, as well as the live recording from the ceremony itself. The studio recording features The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Choir of Westminster Abbey, The Fanfare Trumpeters of the Royal Air Force and the Abbey sub-organist Peter Holder, conducted by organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey, Andrew Nethsingha. (See ‘Notes to Editors’ below for further information on commissioned works)
The Official Coronation Album will be produced by one of the world’s finest classical record producers, Anna Barry, who has produced over 500 recordings of distinction over 35 years, including the wedding of The then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011 and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018, previous works by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and recording projects from artists such as José Carreras, Elina Garanča, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Andrea Bocelli, the Sistine Chapel Choir, Lorin Maazel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE and many more.
The multi-Grammy-nominated producer, Anna Barry, says of the Coronation recording, “This will be a truly historic recording, capturing a glorious range of music from across centuries and continents, reflecting the world-wide interest in our traditions, covering multiple locations in the wonderful acoustic of Westminster Abbey, and involving an unprecedented technical plan to present the entire experience to the world on the day itself. Balance engineer Mike Hatch, I and the team are honoured and excited to be a part of this.”
Decca Records – part of Universal Music Group– has previously released commemorative albums such as Her Majesty The Queen Mother’s 100th Birthday Celebrations (2000), as well as the Royal Wedding of The then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (2011), the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (2012) and the Royal Wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (2018). This new recording will be the next in a historic line marking major milestones for the royal family, and as such it will enter the homes of millions across the globe.
Co-Presidents of Decca Label Group, Tom Lewis and Laura Monks add, “Coronation services have been taking place since the 11th century. Never before has a complete recording been made available to global audiences to stream and download on the same day. Decca have a longstanding and proud association with the British royal family and we are delighted to be once again making recorded music history together.”
For more information on the New Music Commissions for the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey please go to: www.royal.uk/coronation-music-commissions