All Princely Graces
(Vocal Score)

£2.75

  • Duration: 4 minutes
  • Chorus: SATB
  • Instrumentation: Strings or Military Band

Written for the HM’s Bands of the Household Division and Royal Choral Society to mark the Platinum Jubilee and based on Shakespeare’s text from Henry VIII.

Description

Patrick was delighted to be asked to write this work for the Band of the Household Division and the Royal Choral Society to celebrate HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

All Princely Graces was premiered as part of the annual Military Musical Spectacular, a series of wonderful pageants of music and military precision drill.  These concerts are performed on Horse Guards parade in front of the beautiful backdrop of St James’s Park each year.  Patrick arranged another version for choir and strings for a special concert in Norwich Cathedral for Norwich Cathedral Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra to mark the coronation of HM King Charles III.

The beautiful text, taken from the final scene of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, is delivered by Archbishop Cranmer to the King following the birth of the future Queen Elizabeth I.  As Prince of Wales, it was chosen by His Majesty King Charles III to be read on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and was the perfect starting point for a new commission to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

The text’s pace, mood, and meter were crafted with the grandeur of Horse Guards Parade in mind, with a slow march style influencing the stately tempo, dignified harmonies, and rhythms.  For the version with strings, the tempo should be as marked but, with military band, a metronome marking of 66 beats per minute is more suitable for a slow march.


All princely graces
That mold up such a mighty piece as this is,
With all the virtues that attend the good,
Shall still be doubled on her. Truth shall nurse her;  
Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her.
She shall be loved and feared. Her own shall bless her; 
Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn
And hang their heads with sorrow. Good grows with her.Words: from Henry VIII William Shakespeare (ca. 1564 – 1616)

Additional information

Choose Format

Hardcopy, Download Edition (UK A4 size), Download Edition (US Letter size)

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