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Being crowned King of a whole country is a proper main-character moment. And what is a main-character moment without a soundtrack?
Music is set to play a pretty significant role throughout King Charles’s coronation weekend. We’ve got Katy Perry and Lionel Richie performing at a special coronation concert and even an official playlist featuring some British faves. There’ll also be plenty of tunes accompanying tomorrow’s big religious ceremony.
RECOMMENDED: Here’s the full schedule for King Charles’s coronation
But if you were hoping for a rendition of ‘I Kissed A Girl’, you’ll have to wait until Sunday’s gig. The musical line-up for the coronation itself is looking a little more high-brow. Here’s what we know.
What music is being played at King Charles’s coronation?
The King has personally commissioned 12 new pieces of music, casting a spotlight on leading British composers and performers. They include a new coronation anthem called ‘Make a Joyful Noise’ written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which will play after the crowning of Queen Camilla, and the first Welsh-language work to be performed at a coronation.
Charles also requested Greek Orthodox music to be played in honour of Prince Phillip, who was born in Corfu and was a Prince of Greece.
Elsewhere there will be music from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century British composers, along with traditional coronation anthems. Of course, there will be several hymns thrown in for good measure, too.
Fanfares proclaiming the new king will also sound out, played by trumpeters from the Royal Air Force and Household Cavalry and military bands are likely to accompany the King’s Procession.
Who will the performers be?
A gospel choir will feature in the coronation ceremony for the first time, singing a new two-part composition by Debbie Wiseman, while the Byzantine Chant Choir will perform the Greek songs.
Soloists include famous baritone Roderick Williams, South African soprano Pretty Yende and Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel (who will also appear at the coronation concert).
Throughout the ceremony there will also be voices from the choir of Westminster Abbey, the choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, the Monteverdi Choir, St James’s Palace and girl choristers from Belfast’s Methodist College and Truro Cathedral Choir.
Read more: here’s everything you need to know about the King’s coronation.
And: the coronation concert line-up has finally been revealed.