Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II: All music played during the service

September 19, 2022, 1:55 p.m.

As the nation bids a final farewell to Her Majesty, here is a full program of all the music that featured at her funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday September 19, 2022.

The service for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, with music sung by choristers from Westminster Abbey Choir and Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal Choir.

Westminster Abbey Organist and Master of Choristers James O’Donnell conducted the choirs and Abbey Sub-Organist Peter Holder and Assistant Organist Matthew Jorysz played the organ during service.

The service included three hymns, two hymns and two new works composed for the ceremony by Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan and the King’s Master of Music, Judith Weir.

Other featured musicians include the Household Cavalry State Trumpeters, led by Trumpeter-Major Julian Sandford, the Household Division Bands Band Team, led by Lieutenant Colonel David Barringer MBE, commanding groups of the household division, and the Queen’s Piper, adjutant. Class 1 (pipe major) Paul Burns, who played the serve.

The Queen’s coffin is now being transported to Windsor Castle for a televised burial service – here’s all the music you’ll hear at St George’s Chapel.

Read more: Queen’s funeral: How music will play a part in Westminster Abbey service

What music was played on the organ at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral?

Before the ceremony began, Westminster Abbey assistant organist Matthew Jorysz played the following music.

• Fantasy in four parts – Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) Organist of Westminster Abbey 1623–25
• Romanza (Symphony No. 5 in D) – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) arranged by Robert Quinney (b. 1976)
• Reliqui domum meum – Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016)
• Meditation on ‘Brother James’s Air’ – Harold Darke (1888–1976)
• Prelude on ‘Ecce jam noctis’ Op.157 No.3 – Healey Willan (1880–1968)
• Psalm Prelude Set 1 No.2 – Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
• In the Country Op.194 No.2 – Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
• Fantasy on ‘O Paradise’ – Malcolm Williamson (1931–2003)
• Elegy Op.58 – Edward Elgar (1857–1934) arranged by Matthew Jorysz (b. 1992)

Westminster Abbey sub-organist Peter Holder then played the following works by Edward Elgar before the procession of religious representatives moved to their places in the nave and sacrarium for the funeral.

• Andante espressivo (Sonata in G Op.28)
• Sospiri Op.70

At the end of the service, Holder performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fantasia in C minor BWV 562 as the coffin and procession left the abbey.

Read more: The music for the Queen’s engagement service at St. George’s Chapel

What did the choir sing at the entrance to the coffin procession?

As the coffin procession passed through the Abbey, the Westminster Abbey Choir sang The Funeral Sentences.

• I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord – John 11:25-26
• I know that my Redeemer lives – Job 19:25-27
• We brought nothing into this world – William Croft, 1 Timothy 6:7; Job 1: 21
• You know, Lord, the secrets of our hearts – Henry Purcell, The Book of Common Prayer (1549)
• I heard a voice from heaven say to me – William Croft, Revelation 14:13

What hymns were sung at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral?

The congregation was asked to sing three hymns during the funeral ceremony at various times during the service. These hymns were

• The day you gave, Lord, is over
• The Lord is my Shepherd
• Divine love, all loves excel

The first hymn, ‘The day you have given to the Lord is over’, was sung after the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle MBE, Dean of Westminster, gave the bidding. This anthem was notably performed as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, in 1897.

The second hymn, “The Lord is my Shepherd”, was one of Her Majesty’s favorite pieces of music, having featured in a list of the late Queen’s Top 10 Music Pieces revealed in 2016. This hymn was sung after the second reading, read by the Right Honorable Elizabeth Truss MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”, was sung after the Lord’s Prayer. The anthem was written by prolific hymn writer, Charles Wesley, who wrote over 6,500 hymns, including Hark! The herald angels sing.

Read more: ‘Love Divine, all Loves Excelling’ – lyrics to Charles Wesley’s beloved hymn

What choral music was played at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral?

Two new pieces of music have been specially composed for the ceremony by notable living British composers.

The first, “Like as the Hart”, is an unaccompanied setting of Psalm 42 from the Book of Common Prayer by British composer and King’s Music Master, Judith Weir CBE.

The composer explained before the ceremony that “Her Majesty’s strong faith and support for Anglican worship was an inspiration” when setting the psalm to music.

Weir has written new music for many national and royal occasions, including most recently for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral. She says her music has always been graciously, and often personally, acknowledged by the late Queen.

Speaking to Moira Stuart for the third series of Moira Stuart Meets… on Classic FM the day before Her Majesty’s funeral, Weir told Stuart the ceremony would be “a beautifully interpreted occasion… even as a musical experience “.

Read more: Who is the current Master of the King’s Music, and what does his title mean?

The second specially composed piece is the hymn of the service, a setting to music of a text from the New Testament Epistle to the Romans by Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan.

The choir also performed a hymn by Hubert Parry, “My soul, there is a country”, which is one of the six motets that make up the composer’s music. farewell songs. Parry is a favorite of King Charles III, and in 2021 the then Prince of Wales presented a film about Parry’s life titled, The Prince and the Composer.

A setting to Psalm 34 by Ralph Vaughan Williams, “O taste and see how gracious the Lord is,” which was composed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, was sung after the prayers.

What instrumental music was played at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral?

The Last Post was sounded by the Household Cavalry State Trumpeters from the steps of the Lady’s Chapel, led by Trumpeter-Major Julian Sandford.

A two-minute silence, heard across the UK, followed, ending with a sound of The Reville by the State Trumpeters.

Following this, the congregation sang the national anthem, “God Save The King”. The Sovereign’s Piper of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Paul Burns, then played the traditional lament, ‘Sleep, dearie, sleep’.

What music will be played at Queen Elizabeth II’s burial ceremony?

Her Majesty’s burial service will take place at 4 p.m. at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The service will be sung by the St. George’s Chapel Choir, conducted by James Vivian, Music Director. The organ will be played by Luke Bond, Deputy Director of Music.

Before the start of the ceremony, Bond will play a selection of pieces for the organ, including works by Dame Ethel Smyth and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.

Two hymns will be sung during the service; the first, ‘All My Hope on God is Founded’, will follow the service auction, and the second, ‘Christ is made the sure foundation’, with music by English composer Henry Purcell.

The Queen’s piper, Pipe Major James M. Banks, will once again play a lament before the end of the service, which will be followed by a rendition of Britain’s national anthem, ‘God Save the King’. The ceremony will end with the same volunteer as the previous funeral, Prelude and Fugue in C minor BWV 562 by Johann Sebastian Bach.