Classic hymns, classic composers and a lone piper will provide the musical backdrop for the late Queen's state funeral.
Before the service, Matthew Jorysz, assistant organist of the Westminster Abbey, will play a series of pieces including Elegy Op 58 by Sir Edward Elgar, Reliqui Domum Meum by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, and Fantasy On O Paradise by Malcolm Williamson.
He will also play Romanza (Symphony no 5 in D) by Ralph Vaughan Williams, arranged by Robert Quinney The sub-organist will play two pieces by Elgar – Andante Espressivo (Sonata in G Op 28) and Sospiri Op 70.
Hymns sung during the service will include The Lord’s My Shepherd, The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.
The Lord’s My Shepherd, featuring lyrics from Psalm 23, featured during the Queen’s wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 and was said to have been a favourite of hers.
The sub-organist will also play the Johann Sebastian Bach piece Fantasia in C Minor as the procession of the coffin begins.
As the coffin enters, everybody in the abbey will stand and the Choir of Westminster Abbey will sing, a constant theme throughout the service.
The Monet by William Henry Harris will be played as a tribute to the renowned organist and composer who taught the Queen to play the piano. Once a week at Windsor, as he led practice, Princess Elizabeth and sister Margaret would sing alongside senior members of the choir.
The Queen’s Piper, Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Paul Burns, will play the lament Sleep, Dearie, Sleep. It will follow the Last Post, the Reveille, and the national anthem.
Before the service, the tenor bell will toll every minute for 96 minutes, reflecting the years of the Queen’s life.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, will say in The Bidding: “Here, where Queen Elizabeth was married and crowned, we gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service.”
He will speak of the Queen’s “unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years” as Queen and Head of the Commonwealth.
“With affection we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear,” the Dean will say.
The hymns will be The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want; The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended; and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.
The latter was sung at royal weddings including William and Kate’s, Charles and Camilla’s wedding blessing, and Eugenie’s.
Prayers will be said by the Reverend Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, for her “long life and reign, recalling with gratitude her gifts of wisdom, diligence, and service”.
The Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally will pray for “gracious Sovereign Lord King Charles, Camilla the Queen Consort, William Prince of Wales, and all the Royal Family”.
In a final tribute, the Reverend Canon Helen Cameron, Moderator of the Free Churches Group, will praise the Queen’s “unstinting devotion to duty, her compassion for her subjects, and her counsel to her ministers”.
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