March: Orb and Sceptre

Sir William Walton’s Orb and Sceptre, written for the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, is the brilliant successor to his even more brilliant first oronation march, Crown Imperial (which is to be heard later in the programme). Like its predecessor – both works, incidentally, takes their title from a pround speech in Henry V – Orb and Sceptre is modelled on Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance marches. What else? If Walton doesn’t excel Elgar in the hymn-like quality of the big tune, the “Land of Hope and Glory” equivalent that comes in the middle and is repeated in full glory at the end, he probably outdoes him in the royal splendour of his orchestration and the swagger of his rhythms.