Chapel Royal
A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family.
Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applied to the chapels within royal palaces,[1] or a title granted to churches by the monarch. In the Church of England, working royal chapels may also be referred to as royal peculiars, an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the monarch. The dean of His Majesty's chapels royal is a royal household office in the United Kingdom that, in modern times, is usually held by the Bishop of London.[2] In Canada, the three chapels royal are affiliated with some of the country's First Nations.
A British chapel royal's most public role is to perform
History
Middle Ages
In its early history, the English Chapel Royal travelled, like the rest of the court, with the monarch and performed its functions wherever he or she was residing at the time. The earliest written record of the Chapel dates from c. 1135, in the reign of Henry I. Specified in this document of household regulations are two gentlemen and four servants; although, there may have been other people within the Chapel at that time.[5] An ordinance from the reign of Henry VI sets out the full membership of the Chapel as of 1455: one dean, 20 chaplains and clerks, seven children, one chaplain confessor for the household, and one yeoman. However, in the same year, the clerks petitioned the King asking that their number be increased to 24 singing men, due to "the grete labour that thei have daily in your chapell".[5] The master of the children of the Chapel Royal had, until at least 1684, the power to impress promising boy trebles from provincial choirs for service in the Chapel.
From the reign of
Tudor period
The Chapel remained stable throughout the reign of
The Chapel increasingly took on another, unofficial function that grew in importance into the 17th century – performing in dramas. The affiliated theatre company, known as the Children of the Chapel, produced plays by playwrights including John Lyly, Ben Jonson, and George Chapman, and performed them at court and then commercially until the 1620s. Both the gentlemen and the children would act in pageants and plays for the royal family, held in court on feast days such as Christmas. For example, at Christmas 1514, the play The Triumph of Love and Beauty was written and presented by William Cornysh, then-Master of the Children, and was performed to the King by members of the Chapel, including the children.[7]
The Chapel achieved its greatest eminence during the reign of
.17th century
In the 17th century, the Chapel Royal had its own building in Whitehall, which burned in 1698; since 1702, it has been based at St James's Palace. The English Chapel Royal became increasingly associated with Westminster Abbey, so that, by 1625, over half of the gentlemen of the English Chapel Royal were also members of the Westminster Abbey choir.[8] In the 18th century, the choristers sang the soprano parts in performances of Handel's oratorios and other works. Under Charles II, the choir was often augmented by violinists from the royal consort; at various times, the Chapel has also employed composers, lutenists, and viol players.
Functions and functionaries in the chapels royal of the United Kingdom
The Chapel Royal in the United Kingdom is a department of the
Since the 18th century, the dean of the Chapel Royal in England has been the sitting Bishop of London, with control of music vested in the sub-dean (currently Paul Wright).[9] The Chapel Royal conducts the Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in Whitehall and combines with the choir of the host abbey or cathedral at the Royal Maundy service. The choir was among those selected to sing at the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in 2023.[12]
Locations
United Kingdom
The location of the United Kingdom's Chapel Royal has varied over the years. For example, in the early Tudor period and in Elizabeth I's reign, the Chapel's activity was often centred on the Greenwich Palace and the Palace of Whitehall.[13] During and since the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the Chapel's primary location is at St James's Palace.
St James's Palace
The chapel at St James's has been regularly used by the canons and singers since 1702, after the loss of the Chapel Royal at
The separate Queen's Chapel, once also physically connected to the main building of St James's Palace, was built between 1623 and 1625 as a Roman Catholic chapel for Queen Henrietta Maria, consort of Charles I, at a time when the construction of Catholic churches was otherwise prohibited in England. From the 1690s, it was used by continental Lutheran courtiers and became known as the German chapel. The "Minister for many years" of the "royal French chapel"[14] at St James's Palace was Pierre Rival (d. 1730), one of whose sermons is published as no: Sermon prononcé le 7 de Juillet 1713 jour d'action de graces pour la paix dans la chapelle royale françoise du palais de Saint James. The adjacent palace apartments burnt down in 1809; but, they were not rebuilt and, between 1856 and 1857, Marlborough Road was laid out between the palace and the Queen's Chapel.
Windsor
At
Scotland
In the 15th century, it is believed that the Chapel Royal referred to a
Other chapels royal
At the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace, a permanent chorus was created in 1868. The chorus, which sings on Sundays and major feast days, consists of 14 boy members and six gentlemen members.[15] An organ was built in 1712 and, most recently, restored in 2013.[16][15]
Two patronised chapels royal almost never attended by the monarch are the Chapels of
Several other locations have formerly hosted the Chapel Royal, including the
Canada
Chapels royal in Canada are religious establishments which have been granted a rare honorific distinction by the monarch in recognition of their unique role or place.[21] Three sanctuaries in Canada, all located in the province of Ontario, have been designated as chapels royal. All have associations with First Nations communities and the connection between them and the Canadian Crown.
The first two chapels royal are situated within Mohawk communities that were established in Canada after the American Revolutionary War.[25] Several gifts from the Crown were bestowed on these chapels royal, including silver communion services and a Bible from Queen Anne, a triptych from King George III, a Bible from Queen Victoria, and a bicentennial chalice from Queen Elizabeth II.[22] In 2010, Elizabeth II presented to the Mohawk Chapel a set of silver hand bells engraved with the words Silver Chain of Friendship, 1710–2010, to commemorate the tricentennial of the first meeting between Mohawk representatives and the Crown.[25][23]
In April 2016, the Queen approved in principle that
See also
- Anglican church music
- Honorary Chaplain to the King
- Religion in Canada
- Religion in the United Kingdom
References
- ^ "The Tudor Palace and Chapel Royal". HM Chapel Royal and The Choral Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- ^ a b Jenny.minard (15 May 2019). "Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal". The Royal Family. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ISBN 9780199579365.
- Gramophone Magazine.
- ^ S2CID 161210987.
- ISBN 9781843839606.
- ISBN 9780521045209.
- ^ Le Huray, Peter (1978). Music and the Reformation in England, 1549–1660. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 73–74.
- ^ a b c d Charles Edward McGuire & Steven E. Plank, Historical Dictionary of English Music: ca. 1400-1958, pp, 78-79.
- ^ Constitutional Reform: Reforming the Office of the Lord Chancellor (Department of Constitutional Affairs, 2003), p. 32.
- ^ Stuart D.B. Picken, Historical Dictionary of Calvinism (Scarecrow Press), p. 62.
- ^ New music commissions for the coronation service at Westminster Abbey, Royal Household, 17 April 2023, retrieved 9 May 2023
- ISBN 9780199579365.
- ^ Per the inscribed ledger stone in Catfield Church, Norfolk, of his daughter Harriot Judith Rival (1706-1776), wife of Roger Donne (d.1773), Rector of CatfieldFile:All Saints, Catfield, Norfolk - Ledger slab - geograph.org.uk - 966632.jpg
- ^ a b Lewis Foreman & Susan Foreman, London: A Musical Gazetteer (Yale University Press, 2005), p. 80.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Roger Hall installed as Canon of the Chapels Royal". Diocese of London. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy - Duchy of Lancaster". www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ISBN 0-415-00863-8.
- ^ "RCIN 919912 - Buckingham Palace: The Private Chapel". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ a b Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (11 June 2019), Background Information: A "Council" at the Chapel Royal, Queen's Printer for Ontario, retrieved 30 May 2023
- ^ a b "Royal Designation". Mohawk Chapel. 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ a b "The Anglican Parish of Tyendinaga". parishoftyendinaga.org. The Anglican Parish of Tyendinaga. 2015. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Balogh, Meghan (12 November 2018). "Mohawk Royal chapel bells toll for armistice". The High River Times. Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4597-4574-2.
- ^ a b The Chapel Royal, Gi-Chi-Twaa Gimaa Nini Mississauga Anishinaabek Aname Amik, Massey College, retrieved 9 May 2023
- ^ a b Bykova, Alina (20 June 2017). "Massey College chapel designated third Chapel Royal". The Toronto Star. Torstar Corporation. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- "London (i), §II, 1: Music at court: The Chapel Royal", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 16 September 2004), Grovemusic.com Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- The Buildings of England, London 6: Westminster (2003) page 587.
- "Blow, John." Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 13 December 2006), Grovemusic.com Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- "Purcell." Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 13 December 2006), Grovemusic.com Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine