Hubert Parry - Composer of Music for the Monarchy and Nation

     Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry was one of Britain's greatest musical composers who wrote some of the most colorful pieces of British music.

Sir Hubert Parry

     He is noted for setting a bucolic tune to the words of the William Blake poem, And did those feet in ancient time, which became the choral song famously known as Jerusalem, which has caught on recently as an national anthem for England (instead of God Save the Queen, which is the UK National Anthem).

     Here is Jerusalem as it was performed at the 2011 Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge...

...as well as at the Last Night of the Proms in 2012.

     Parry also wrote the musical setting for I Was Glad, the coronation anthem whose lyrics come the 122nd Book of Psalms, specifically verses 1–3, 6, and 7.

     This rendition of I Was Glad has been performed at every coronation since that of Edward VII in 1902. It is played at the beginning as the monarch processes down the nave of Westminster Abbey. 

     For the purposes of the coronation, the song incorporates a central section of the chant of "Vivat Rex ... " or "Vivat Regina ... " ("Long live King/Queen ...") with which the King's or Queen's Scholars of Westminster School traditionally greet the entrance of the monarch as he or she pass through the choir and into the Coronation Theater. This section has to be rewritten for every coronation since the monarch's name is included in the chant, and at the coronation of a king (regnant) and queen (consort), the queen is acclaimed before the king.

     Here is being performed at St. Paul's Cathedral for the Golden Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving in 2002...

...and at the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation at Westminster Abbey, complete with the King's or Queen's Scholars of Westminster School.

     The performances of Parry's I Was Glad in 2002 and 2013 include the acclamations of "Vivat Regina! Vivat Regina Elizabetha!" which means "Long Live the Queen! Long Live Queen Elizabeth!" (which was performed at the Queen's coronation in 1953).

     I Was Glad has also been played (without its central "Vivat" section) at several other occasions, including the weddings of Charles and Diana in 1981 and of William and Kate in 2011.

     Hubert Parry was made a Knight Bachelor by Queen Victoria in 1898 and a Baronet by Edward VII in 1902.

     A Knight Bachelor is the most basic rank of man who has been knighted, but not as a member of the Orders of Chivalry (Garter, Thistle, British Empire, etc.).

     A Baronet (styled as Sir or Dame) ranks above all knighthoods expect for the Garter and Thistle, and it is the only hereditary honor not in peerage.

     Parry died in 1918 as a result of Spanish flu pandemic and was buried at St. Paul's Cathedral, leaving behind a rich and colorful musical legacy.