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
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 music 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 | |
| Nocturne from Act 3, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" | Felix Mendelssohn | Victoria | |
| "Jupiter" from "The Planets" | Gustav Holst | 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.