Jubilee reflections: From St Paul’s to Draycott

These days Barry Rose is regularly seen playing the organ at Draycott, where he lives, and at Rodney Stoke, but as the former organist at St Paul’s, he had an important role to play in the celbrations of HRH the Queen’s Silver Jubliee in 1977. Barry still performs concerts and teaches master classes in the USA and beyond, but during lockdown found time to write his autobiography which has since been published.

His reflection on the Silver Jubilee celebrations first appeared in the Rodney Stoke and Draycott Church Magazine.

Royalty remembered 45 years on 

The morning of 7 June 1977 dawned cloudy and overcast. This was the day of HM The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Service in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

I hadn’t slept well the night before. You don’t, on these ’big’ occasions, despite all the meticulous planning months before, and the final rehearsals in the Cathedral in the previous few days.

Usually, I would either have been directing the choir, or playing the organ – but this time it was to be both! (my organist colleague and I had agreed we would change places half way through the service). Would everything go well?

We had chosen the music in conjunction with Buckingham Palace, though there were to be no less than three musical premieres, two of which would be sung by the choir, and the other, for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s procession from the West Door, to be played on the organ.

Her Majesty does not come to rehearsals, so Buffie (my wife) had stood in for her several evenings before. whilst we worked out, as best we could, at what speed I should play, and whether or not to include musical repeats.

These occasions run like clockwork – right down to the last minute. Among the many details on the 11.30 am Order of Service are these: –

At 11.12 am Her Majesty, The Queen Mother, will be received at the West Door….

and

At 11.28 Her Majesty the Queen with His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will arrive at the Cathedral, and will be received at the foot of the steps by the Lord Mayor…

On the stroke of 11.30 am the State Trumpets sounded, and I started to play.

An hour later, following the sermon by Archbishop Donald Coggan, the final hymn, and The National Anthem, it was all over. My new setting of Psalm 121 had been heard around the world for the first time, and has since been included in several other Royal Occasions.

We could now relax. Everything had gone without a hitch. All those months of planning and later rehearsals had been well worth it.

From that experience, you can imagine that I will now have more than a passing interest in the forthcoming Platinum Jubilee Service in St. Paul’s at 11.30 am on 3 June.

Barry Rose