Music & Rituals

 As a growing musician, I have not played for many rituals such as weddings, funerals, or graduations. However, I have participated in Lessons and Carols, which is a huge tradition at Converse University. After researching many different musical rituals, I finally found one that I found different and interesting: the coronation music for the monarchy of England. 

The piece that was played for numerous upcoming kings and queens of England is "Zadok the Priest". This piece is a British Anthem that was composed by George Frederic Handel for the coronation of King George II in 1727. It became so popular that ever since then it has been used at every United Kingdom coronation up to and including that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and our current King of England. 

Handel wrote four coronation anthems in total, but Zadok was the most popular of the four. This music is written for a chamber orchestra, often used in music of the Baroque era, as well as a large choir. The introduction is very repetitive; you make think that it is ending but it starts up again. Then, the strings begin to build and the trumpets quite literally burst onto the scene with their triumphant or galant sound as the choir starts to sing "God save the King".  This piece is heavily layered and textured throughout its entirety. 



The words are taken from the King James Bible:



Zadok the Priest 

and Nathan the prophet 

anointed Solomon king.

And all the people rejoiced and said:

God save the King! 

Long live the King! 

May the King live forever!

Amen! Amen! Alleluia!



Here is a normal musical recording of Zadok the Priest by George Frederic Handel:



This is the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953: 



Queen Elizabeth II is my favorite Queen of England so far :)

I am glad that this blog project is a thing because without it I probably would have never though to research different musical rituals for different cultures. I specifically find this ritual interesting because I like to keep up with the royal family.  I think that coronations are cool to watch because it causes that country or group of people to come together and watch as the next generation of the royal family become the new monarch. I mean, who doesn't like seeing a  princess or prince come out in their best regalia and graciously accept one of the hardest jobs in the world. I mean seriously, I wonder what their Mondays are like at the office. 




“Zadok the Priest.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zadok-the-Priest. 

“Zadok the Priest.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 21, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadok_the_Priest. 



Comments

  1. Ivana CarlsonJanuary 9, 2023 at 10:59 PM

    Hey Abbey, this blog was so fascinating! I think it is hilarious how the British use Handel's music for the epitome of their national pride when he was actually German. I have heard this piece before, but for some reason I had never linked it to British coronations. I agree that it is highly captivating watching the British royalty participate in really any ceremony, but especially a coronation. Thanks for sharing all this information!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Abby MatulaJanuary 10, 2023 at 4:41 PM

    Hey Abbey! This is a really cool ritual to have researched. I appreciated how you included a traditional recording and a recording from Queen Elizabeth II's coronation so we could compare them. I also wonder what a royal family member's "Monday" looks like lol

    ReplyDelete
  3. Abby MatulaJanuary 10, 2023 at 4:45 PM

    Hey Abbey! This is a really cool ritual to have done research on. I really appreciated that you included a "normal" recording and a recoding from Queen Elizabeth II's coronation so we could compare the two. I also wonder what a member of the royal family's "Monday" looks like lol

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sean FanchetteJanuary 10, 2023 at 6:35 PM

    I actually have never watched a coronation, believe it or not! I knew basically nothing about the music played there until I read this post, so this was very informative and helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JakeJanuary 10, 2023 at 7:37 PM

    I never thought about Lessons and Carols as being a "ritual". An interesting realization. I'm glad we were able to be a part of that Christmas tradition. It was my first time being in Lessons and Carols. Dr. Jones was great.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lauren BellJanuary 11, 2023 at 12:48 AM

    Hey Abbey, I recently learned about this so I enjoyed this post from you. Zadok the priest is a beautiful piece that I hope to sing a choir one day. I agree that it is extremely repetitive, it has a few parts that kind of catch you off guard and surprise you. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

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