The Royal Wedding Order of Service

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With just a day before the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton the final preparations are taking place. Following a rehearsal at Westminster Abbey attended by William and Kate, both look very relaxed also in attendance was Prince Harry and Carol and Michael Middleton the brides parents.

THE ORDER OF SERVICE:

The Order of Service can be downloaded for free in two electronic formats, page-turning Ceros PDF (using Flash) and an iBook compatible with Apple products, which can be downloaded from the Apple iBookstore.

“On the day of the wedding, 150,000 copies of the programme will be sold by 60 Explorer Scouts and 80 Cadets (supervised by adults) for £2 per copy at locations in Green Park, Hyde Park, St James’s Park and Trafalgar Square. Profits from the sale of the Official Programme will go to benefit The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. ”

MUSIC FOR THE ROYAL WEDDING SERVICE:

During the wedding service, the music the couple have chosen will be largely British mixing traditional with some newly commissioned pieces. Before the Service there will be a selection of organ pieces: Fantasia in G (Pièce d’orgue à 5) by Johann Sebastian Bach, followed by Veni Creator Spiritus by the Master of The Queen’s Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies; Prelude on St. Columba Op. 28 by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and Sonata for Organ Op. 28 (Allegro maestoso and Allegretto) by Edward Elgar.

After which, there will be seven orchestral pieces:

• Serenade for Strings in E minor Op. 20 (Allegro piacevole, Larghetto and Allegretto) by Edward Elgar
• Courtly Dance V: Galliard from Gloriana (Symphonic Suite) Op. 53a no. 7 by Benjamin Britten
• Fantasia on Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Farewell to Stromness by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
• On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring by Frederick Delius
• Touch Her Soft Lips and Part from Henry V Suite by William Walton
• Romance for String Orchestra Op. 11 by Gerald Finzi

Three of these pieces – Farewell to Stromness, Touch Her Soft Lips and Part and Romance for String Orchestra Op. 11 and Canzona from Organ Sonata in C minor by Percy Whitlock.

Processional Music

The opening of the Service will begin with a Fanfare by The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry to mark the arrival of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.  The Fanfare will be followed by three Processionals.  For the Procession of The Queen, Prince William and Miss Middleton have chosen March from The Birds by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry.  Prelude on Rhosymedre by Ralph Vaughan Williams will accompany the Procession of the Clergy, and was chosen for its Welsh echoes.  The Couple have selected ‘I was Glad’, also by Parry, for the Procession of the Bride.

Hymns

There will be three hymns for the Service:

• Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer’, words by William Williams, translated by Peter Williams and others, and music by John Hughes.
• Love Divine All Love Excelling’, words by Charles Wesley and music by William Penfro Rowlands.
• Jerusalem, by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, words by William Blake.  All three hymns have been chosen because they are favourites of the Couple.

The Anthem and Motet

The Anthem, ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made’, composed specially for the occasion by John Rutter and is a gift to Prince Williams and Miss Kate Middleton from Westminster Abbey. It will be performed by both the Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal Choir.  Mr. Rutter is a British composer, conductor, editor and arranger who specialises in choral music.

The Anthem will be followed by the Motet ‘Ubi caritas’ by Paul Mealor, a Welsh composer, who is currently Reader in Composition at The University of Aberdeen.

The National Anthem will be sung  before the Signing of the Registers.

The Signing of the Registers and the Recessional

‘Blest pair of Sirens’, will be sung during the Signing of the Registers, words by John Milton from At a Solemn Musick, music by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry.

A Fanfare by the Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force will be played Following the Signing of the Registers. The Fanfare, called Valiant and Brave, after the motto of No. 22 Squadron (Search and Rescue Force) was specially composed for this Service by Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs, Principal Director of Music in the Royal Air Force.

The Recessional, for the Procession of the Bride and Bridegroom, will be Crown Imperial by William Walton.  Toccata from Symphonie V by Charles-Marie Widor and Pomp and Circumstance March no. 5 by Edward Elgar will follow the Service.

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