Crown Imperial

A Royal Celebration

7:30pm Saturday 21st May 2022

St Mary’s Chapel
St Mary's University
Waldegrave Road
Strawberry Hill 
Twickenham 
TW1 4SX

Tickets

Royal Platinum Jubilee website


About the Concert

Join Surrey Brass to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee in a programme of Royalty-inspired music with a historical narrative. Our programme starts during the Renaissance in 1386, and includes words and music written during the reign of many of our notable Kings and Queens, ending with music written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Shakespeare fans will appreciate a complete performance of the spectacular "Henry V" suite, words by William Shakespeare, music by Sir William Walton, as made famous in the epic film featuring Lawrence Olivier. Unfortunately Olivier was not available for the performance tonight, so in his place we are delighted to welcome the most excellent Phil McDermott, who is appearing with Surrey Brass for the first time. The words are generally recognised to be amongst the most rousing ever written in the English Language, and we can't wait to hear them alongside the equally inspiring music from William Walton.

The programme contains many more gems with a Royal connection. Since Surrey Brass always puts on innovative and entertaining programmes, we decided not to perform the pieces of music that will be heard this Jubilee, but to bring out a programme of powerful and memorable music that works particularly well for brass, containing a mix of well-known and less familiar pieces. Narrator and Storyteller Phil McDermott  will intersperse short speeches and poems that illustrate the life and times of the monarchs, bringing it all to life.

Walton's "Crown Imperial" is definitely one of the most stirring pieces of patriotic music ever written and it forms a fitting finale to our programme. But before we get to that point, there are spectacular Royal Fireworks to enjoy (no doubt there will be many others throughout the weekend too!). For this concert, the standard 10-piece Surrey Brass line-up will be considerably boosted by additional musicians in order to create a truly magnificent sound to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.


Programme

Piece Composer Soloist Who was on the Throne
when this was composed?
Royal Salute Traditional Bugle Call    
Henry V William Walton and William Shakespeare Phil McDermott Henry V
INTERVAL   
"Pastyme with Good Company" aka "The Kynges Balade"  Henry VIII   Henry VIII
Overture from the "Royal Fireworks Music"  George Frederic Handel   George II 
"The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna" (1817) Charles Wolfe Phil McDermott George IV
Nocturne from Act 3, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"  Felix Mendelssohn   Victoria
"The Windhover" (1885) Gerard Manley Hopkins Phil McDermott Victoria
"Jupiter" from "The Planets" Gustav Holst   George V
"Adlestrop" (1917) Edward Thomas Phil McDermott George V
"Crown Imperial" William Walton   George VI
 The National Anthem Gordon Jacob   Elizabeth II

 Surrey Brass plans to perform the advertised programme but reserves the right to make changes without notice.


You are listening to the opening Fanfare from Gordon Jacob's arrangement of the National Anthem, performed at the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The final piece on our programme, recorded live in St.Mary's Chapel.