Horns, jigs and hosannas: your guide to Charles’s coronation composers
Nobody thought that King Charles would sit back and let someone else choose all the music for his big day. The list of 12 composers he has commissioned to write new pieces – chosen himself, we are told – does indeed bear a personal stamp. Nor will anyone be surprised that he has played things safe, leaning on composers who have written for royal occasions before, and with the central new anthem assigned to Andrew Lloyd Webber.
What those. Weir’s short overture Brighter Visions Shine Afar aims, she says, to set a tone of optimism and renewal – which is about as much as she or anyone else involved has been allowed to reveal in advance. We also know that this will be the first of presumably many moments spotlighting the horns of the Coronation Orchestra – expect the brass section to be working hard for the conductor .
