King Charles’ Scottish Coronation music: Every song, piece and hymn being performed

5 July 2023, 17:31

Members of the armed forces march at the Palace of Holyroodhouse ahead of Honours of Scotland ceremony

By Sophia Alexandra Hall

As Their Majesties The King and Queen are presented with the Royal Honours of Scotland, here is all the music you can expect to hear during the 400-year-old ceremony.

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On 5 July 2023, almost two months after King Charles III was crowned in Westminster Abbey earlier this year, the new monarch and Queen consort will travel to Edinburgh for a ‘National Service of Thanksgiving’.

Colloquially termed a ‘second coronation’, the service, which will be held in St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile, is steeped in history. Originating in 1633, when King Charles I was symbolically crowned in Scotland, as well as in England’s Westminster Abbey to signify that the monarch was not only the King of England but the King of Great Britain too.

Similarly to the Westminster Abbey ceremony, a procession will be held prior to the service. In the case of the Scottish coronation, the day will feature a People’s Procession, a Royal Procession (featuring the pipe and drums bands and the Household Cavalry), the National Service of Thanksgiving, and then a Gun Salute to end the day.

The National Service of Thanksgiving, like the cathedral service earlier this year, will feature a host of music by high-profile soloists including violinist Nicola Benedetti and the Ayoub Sisters, plus five world premieres of new compositions.

Read on for a full list of all the music due to be performed at the service, and the musicians taking part.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be presented with the Honours of Scotland in a service of thanksgiving and dedication at St Giles’ Cathedral on 5th July 2023. Picture: Getty images

Who are the musicians performing at King Charles III’s Scottish Coronation?

The soloists featured during the service are:

Aaron Azunda Akugbo – Trumpet
Laura Ayoub – Violin
Sarah Ayoub – Piano
Nicola Benedetti – Violin
Karen Cargill – Mezzo soprano
Jordan English – Organ
Ryan Corbett – Accordion
Joy Dunlop – Voice
Robert Lovie – Voice
Michael Harris – Conductor at St Giles’ Cathedral
Mark Evans - Conductor of the National Youth Choir of Scotland
Michael Bawtree – Conductor of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Squadron Leader Richard A Murray – Director of Music (RAF)

The ensembles performing during the service are:

National Youth Choir of Scotland Chamber Choir
The Choir of St Giles’ Cathedral
The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry
Fanfare Trumpeters of the Band of the Royal Air Force College

Joining these ensembles are a specially formed group, named The Honours of Scotland Ensemble. The ensemble is made up of musicians from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, representing King Charles III’s three Scottish patronages.

The musicians representing the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are director Stephanie Gonley, Michelle Dierx, Marcus Barcham Stevens, Felix Tanner, Steve King, Niamh Molloy, Adrian Bornet and Eleanor Hudson. Completing the Honours of Scotland Ensemble are Scottish Ballet Principal violinist Stewart Webster, and two students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, violinist Emma Baird and cellist Helen La Grand.

Melodies from Scotland – the Ayoub Sisters

What music will be played before the service at St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh?

Organ
Introduction and Passacaglia – Walter Alcock

The Choir of St Giles’ Cathedral
The King shall rejoice – Handel
Drop down, ye heavens, from above – Judith Weir
O sing unto the Lord – Cecilia McDowall

Organ
White Note Paraphrase – James MacMillan

The Honours of Scotland Ensemble
Highland Memories Op. 30 No. 1: By the Burnside – Hamish MacCunn

The Ayoub Sisters
Melodies from Scotland – Traditional arr. The Ayoub Sisters

The Honours of Scotland Ensemble
Photography 1 – Errollyn Wallen

Karen Cargill & The Honours of Scotland Ensemble
All in the April Evening – Hugh S. Roberton Arr. John Frederick Hudson

Aaron Akugbo (Trumpet) & Organ
Trumpet Tune – Henry Purcell

National Youth Choir of Scotland Chamber Choir
Afton Water (Robert Burns) – Traditional arr. David Willcocks
Ca’ the yowes (Robert Burns) – Traditional arr. Vaughan Williams

Nicola Benedetti & The Honours of Scotland Ensemble
Farewell to Stromness – Peter Maxwell Davies

Ryan Corbett (Accordion)
Loch Katrine’s Lady – Phil Cunningham

Robert Lovie, Ryan Corbett & The Honours of Scotland Ensemble
Caledonia – Dougie MacLean

The Honours of Scotland Ensemble
Schiehallion – Jay Capperauld

Organ
Romance – William McKie

Nicola Benedetti plays Bach's 'Chaconne' in St Paul's Cathedral, London

What music will be played during the service at St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh?

The service will begin with a performance of Balmoral Flourishes, a specially composed work for The State Trumpeters of the Household Calvary by composer Paul Mealor.

Following a reading from the Old Testament by Scotland’s First Minister, The Rt. Hon. Humza Yousaf MSP, Scottish broadcaster and singer Joy Dunlop, will sing the Gaelic Psalm, And I Shall Dwell in God’s House, composed especially for today also by Mealor.

After a reading from the Gospel by Christine De Luca, Former Edinburgh Makar and an Elder of the Church of Scotland, violinist Nicola Benedetti, accompanied by The Honours of Scotland Ensemble, will perform ‘Soay’ from The Lost Songs of St Kilda, a traditional Scottish tune arranged by Rebecca Dale.

Another specially commissioned work for the service is a Song of Thanksgiving and Dedication, a traditional piece of music by Joanna Gill and adapted by Gordon Hay. It is sung by Karen Cargill and played alongside the Ayoub Sisters.

The National Youth Choir of Scotland Chamber Choir, conducted by Mark Evans, will perform Robert Bruns’ Ye banks and braes, a traditional song arranged by John Kitchen.

The Ascension Choir sing at King Charles III’s coronation

What hymns will be sung during the service at St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh?

Technically only one hymn will be sung during the service taking place at St Giles Cathedral, ‘Christ is made the Sure Foundation’, which was also heard at King Charles III’s coronation at Westminster Abbey in May earlier this year.

The congregation will also stand to sing two psalms, Psalm 24, and Psalm 36 during the service, and the ceremony will conclude with the whole cathedral singing the first verse of the British National Anthem together.

‘God Save the King’ sung by The Queen's Six at Windsor Castle

What music will be played after the service at St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh?

Recessional (The Honours of Scotland Ensemble and the Fanfare Trumpeters of the Royal Air Force)
March: The Call of Lochnagar – Paul Mealor

Organ
Voluntary Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 – Edward Elgar

What time will the service at St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh start?

The National Service of Thanksgiving will begin at 2:15 pm at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh on Wednesday, 5 July 2023.

The People’s Procession to the cathedral, starting at Edinburgh Castle, will begin 45 minutes before at 1:30 pm, while the Royal Procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse will leave at 2:05 pm, estimated to take just five minutes.

The Service of Thanksgiving will end at 3:15 pm and the Royal Party is expected to arrive back at Holyroodhouse by 3:27 pm. The day's events will conclude with a flyover by the Red Arrows at 3:45 pm.