The Old Hundredth Psalm Tune

for SATB and orchestra or brassVaughan Williams provided music for royal ceremonies several times during his long career; in the case of this arrangement the occasion was the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It is a gloriously majestic setting of the hymn 'All people that on earth do dwell' with spectacular brass fanfares and opportunities for congregational singing. There are also calmer moments: verse 4, for example, borrows from John Dowland's setting of the psalm, harking back to the previous Elizabethan age. The work was given its first concert performance by the Hallé Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli in 1957, and a year later was sung at the composerâs own funeral at Westminster Abbey.