The coronation of
Charles III
in May of 2023 brought with it the expected stream of musical releases. Some were detailed examinations of the music of past coronation ceremonies; others were quickie collections of music recorded in the past.
Crown and Glory
falls into the latter category, providing plenty of music on a double CD. One might note that although
Charles
' coronation made a decent effort to represent Britain's present-day diversity, this release, with its mixture of overtures, Anglican hymns, orchestral classics, choral works, and familiar folk tunes, might have been more suited to the coronation of
Elizabeth II
in 1952. The recordings date back to just four years after that, and minimal remastering seems to have been done. All this said, much of the music is a lot of fun and hasn't been heard for quite a while. Consider
Edwin Franko Goldman
's
On the Mall
, a classic among American marches and appropriate enough for a British coronation. There is plenty of
Handel
, but also
Hubert Parry
,
Eric Coates
, and a host of other names from the past, and it is an enjoyable evocation of a bygone era. ~ James Manheim