David Clegg, Angus Davidson, Jonathan Arnold, Ben Davies, Kirsty Hopkins, Jeremy Budd (tenor), George Pooley

The Sixteen, The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers

Handel: Coronation Anthem No. 1, HWV258 'Zadok the Priest'
Byrd: O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth
Britten: Choral Dances from Gloriana, Op. 53. Fourth Dance - Country Girls, Fifth Dance - Rustics and Fishermen, Sixth Dance - Final Dance of Homage
Gibbons, O: Great King of Gods
Purcell: O sing unto the Lord, Z44. Symphony - O Sing Unto The Lord, Sing Unto The Lord and Praise His Name
McDowall, C: O Lord, Make Thy Servant Elizabeth
Tippett: Dance, Clarion Air. Excerpt
Byrd: The sweet and merry month of May
anon.: This day day dawes
Britten: Jubilate Deo in E flat major (1934)
Purcell: Welcome, vicegerent of the mighty king, Z340
Tallis: Miserere nostri, motet for 7 voices, P. 207
Handel: Coronation Anthem No. 3, HWV260 'The King Shall Rejoice'
Tallis: Sing and glorify heaven's high majesty

Coronation – Music for Royal Occasions spans 500 years of royal music – for celebration, for prayer and for commemoration – varying in scale from private devotion to full state coronation. The collection, featuring Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell, Tippett and Britten, looks forward to the coronation of Charles III, and back to the ancient rituals of royal ceremonial. It also presents a new work, commissioned by the Genesis Foundation, from celebrated composer Cecilia McDowall commemorating the life of Queen Elizabeth II and celebrating her remarkable reign. Of course no such collection would be complete without examples from the four anthems Handel wrote for the coronation of George II at Westminster Abbey in 1727, of which Zadok the Priest has been performed at the coronation of every British monarch since. Much has changed since their first performance almost 300 years ago. Yet their dramatic impact and grandeur, underlined by mighty choral acclamations and regal trumpets and drums, remains supremely fit for the coronation of a new king.