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Queen Alexandra's Memorial Ode is an ode "So many true Princesses who have gone" written by John Masefield and set to music for choir and orchestra by Sir Edward Elgar for the occasion of the unveiling of Sir Alfred Gilbert's memorial to Queen Alexandra on 8 June 1932 outside Marlborough House in London.
Contents
History
It was Masefield's first commission as Poet Laureate, and Elgar, as Master of the King's Musick, was requested to set the verses in mid-May 1932, shortly before his seventy-fifth birthday. Elgar originally set the poem to an orchestral accompaniment but, due to a change of plan, the accompaniment was hurriedly re-arranged by Captain Andrew Harris of the Welsh Guards so it could be played by a military band.
The day chosen for the unveiling of the memorial by the King was Alexandra Rose Day. At the beginning of the ceremony outside Marlborough House, Elgar, wearing magnificent robes, conducted the chorister children of the Chapels Royal, the choir of Westminster Abbey, and the band of the Guards in a performance of the Ode.
The orchestra and band parts have since been lost. The only manuscript of the work is in the Library of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle: a vocal score handwritten by the composer, which includes indications of the orchestral instrumentation.
The music
The work starts with a short fanfare-like figure, followed by a lengthy prelude by the orchestra (or band) before the choir enters, unaccompanied, with the words "So many true princesses who have gone". The effect of the whole is of appropriate simplicity and wistfulness, and seems to ask for delicacy of instrumentation.
There are four verses of four lines, and the performing time is about six minutes.
Lyrics
The lyrics to the song were written by John Masefield.