The coronation of Queen Victoria is the first time the entire musical service is transcribed, in part because of George Smart, who was in charge of the coronation’s music. The anthem also includes the acclamation “God save the King! Long live the King!” - linking the anointing to the later acclamation from the Homage of the Peers, where those with hereditary titles swear fealty to the monarch. It is believed that the introduction was written to help provide flow in the order of service, specifically giving time for the monarchs to change robes in preparation for the anointing. The anthem begins with a lengthy orchestral introduction, building tension up to the entrance of the choir, accompanied by pealing brass and timpani. The anthem is in two parts, beginning with a bright and lilting section in triple meter marking James’s entrance into Westminster Abbey. Also known by its Latin name, “Laetatus sum,” the text is a setting of Psalm 122. One of Henry Purcell’s settings of “I was glad” is used for the entrance anthem. Music by more familiar composers appears with the coronation of James II.

The first coronation music was likely sung chants, which, starting in 1603 with the coronation of James I, were refashioned into coronation anthems now with English text. The book provides the coronation text but gives no information on the music itself coronations would have music composed specifically for them, and some works only became fixed in later centuries. In 1382, the “Liber Regalis” (“Royal Book”) was written to provide a detailed account of the coronation order of service, likely for Anne of Bohemia. The coronation itself is a religious ceremony, centered around the Eucharist, and so, from 973 to 1603, the coronation ended with a Catholic mass. This coronation provided the overall structure that has been filled out since the 10th century: the procession and recognition, the oath, the anointing, as well as the investiture, enthronement and homage. The first coronation of an English monarch that resembles what we see today was for Edgar in 973.

The man in my basement by walter mosley