Prince of Denmark's March

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Prince of Denmark's March
Arrangement for organ
Trumpet Voluntary
Arrangement for trumpet, string orchestra and organ by Henry Wood
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The Prince of Denmark's March (

Trumpet Voluntary, was written around 1700 by the English composer Jeremiah Clarke, the first organist of the then newly-rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral.[1]

Composition

For many years the piece was attributed incorrectly to Clarke's elder and more widely known contemporary

Sir Henry Wood.[2]

The oldest source is A Choice Collection of Ayres,[3] a collection of keyboard pieces published in 1700. A contemporary version for wind instruments also survives.[4] According to some sources,[5] the march was written in honour of Prince George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne of Great Britain.

Clarke also composed "King William's March" in honour of Prince George's brother-in-law William III.

Usage

Historical

Popular as

wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981[6] and during the wedding of Prince Joachim of Denmark and Alexandra Manley in 1995.[citation needed
]

The march was broadcast often by

occupied Denmark, since the march symbolised a connection between those two countries. The broadcasts were introduced by the first bars of the tune voiced over by the words "Her er London. BBC sender til Danmark." ("This is London. BBC is broadcasting to Denmark.") In Denmark the march thus became strongly associated with the opposition to Nazi occupation and propaganda. It is still performed during the annual celebrations of the liberation.[9] For many years, the Trumpet Voluntary remained the European Service signature tune of the BBC World Service.[10][11]

It is the corps march, both slow and quick, of the British Army's Royal Army Chaplains' Department.[12]

A variant of the tune is used in the final chorus of John Gay's ballad opera, Polly, (premiered 1777), where the original is called 'The Temple'.

In popular culture

Peter Sellers parodied the tune in his satire on the use of "classics" by pop musicians, titled "Trumpet Volunteer" from his album The Best of Sellers.

The piece was used on The Colbert Report as the theme for the recurring segments Colbert Platinum (on trumpet) and Colbert Aluminum (on kazoo).

The march is used as the background music during the hourly performance of the Royal Clock in the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, Australia.[citation needed]

The tune was sampled for the Greatest Thing Ever segment from the Cartoon Network show Mad.

The soundtrack by

BBC Russian Service, and an orchestral piece in a similar style was created which could be identified with the spirit of the British Empire.[13]

It was used as Lord Steven Regal's entrance music in World Championship Wrestling while competing as a heel/villain.

References

Notes

  1. ^ Gerald Norris (1981) A musical gazetteer of Great Britain & Ireland p.61. David & Charles, 1981
  2. JSTOR 933069
    .
  3. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05874
    .
  4. ISBN 0-674-37299-9
    .
  5. ^ Geoffrey Newton Sharp (1958) The Music review, Volume 19 p. W. Heffer., 1958
  6. ^ a b Dan Fox (2007) World's Greatest Wedding Music: 50 of the Most Requested Wedding Pieces p.7. Alfred Music Publishing, 2007. Retrieved January 4, 2011
  7. ^ Lefevre, Holly (2010) The Everything Wedding Checklist Book: All You Need to Remember for a Day You'll Never Forget p.127. Adams Media, 2010
  8. ISBN 0-399-52866-0
    .
  9. ^ "Program - Mindelunden-4maj.dk".
  10. ^ "BBC Station Idents and Interval Signals".
  11. ^ "Interval Signals Online - United Kingdom (BBC World Service)".
  12. ^ "Marches of the British Forces". Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  13. ISBN 978-5-04226-805-2
    .

Sources

External links
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