Royal Wedding: Kate,William choose a mix of traditional,modern music

The music before the Service will begin with a selection of organ pieces.

The music chosen by Prince William and Kate Middleton for their wedding service tomorrow shows their preference for a British theme and a mix of traditional and modern compositions.

The music before the Service will begin with a selection of organ pieces: Fantasia in G (Pièce dorgue à 5) by Johann Sebastian Bach,followed by Veni Creator Spiritus by the Master of The Queens 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.

This will be followed by 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; and Romance for String Orchestra Op. 11 by Gerald Finzi.

Official sources said three of these pieces Farewell to Stromness,Touch Her Soft Lips and Part and Romance for String Orchestra Op. 11 were played at the Service of Prayer and Dedication for The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2005.

The sources added that Prince William and Kate specifically chose these pieces for that reason.

The final piece of music before the service begins continues the broadly British theme: Canzona from Organ Sonata in C minor by Percy.

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.

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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.

Prince William and Kate have chosen 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.

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The second will be ‘Love Divine All Love Excelling’,words by Charles Wesley and music by William Penfro Rowlands.