Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

While not wishing to sound ungrateful it is possible to have too much of a good thing. We are Royalists in this part of Buckinghamshire and so it was a happy gathering that watched the wedding of Harry and Meghan live from St George's Chapel, Windsor on 19th May. Having seen it once I was not sure whether I wanted to sit through it again but having the CD enables us to skip the parts where once is sufficient. You may remember that it was a wide ranging programme. We open with the "Royal Salute for the arrival of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh" (or, if you prefer, the groom's paternal grandparents) played with aplomb by The State Trumpeters and close more than an hour later with the traditional "Grandsire Triples" on the chapel bells. In between there is a lot of spoken word: from "The Welcome" by the Right Reverend David Connor KCVO, the Dean of Windsor through to his closing "Blessing". We hear the Vows from Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle followed by the Giving of the Rings, led by The Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury and the now famous sermon from The Most Reverend Michael Curry, all 13 minutes of it. You can probably tell that I was not all that interested in hearing the spoken elements of the service again, important though they were. Not being an Anglican much of what was said and done washed over me. However I did enjoy the music and was glad to hear it again although some of it suffers from what we might call the live album effect: it sounded great on the day but the recording does not match my memory. The hymns, for example, sound out of balance. The Choir of St George's Chapel under James Vivian and with Luke Bond on the organ are almost drowned out by the congregation in "Lord Of All Hopefulness" and "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer". However in their solo spots of "If You Love Me" by Thomas Tallis and John Rutter's "The Lord Bless You And Keep You" we get a much better idea of their capabilities. Older listeners may remember the impact of the previously little known Maori soprano Kiri Te Kanuwa at the wedding of Harry's parents in 1981. Stealing the show this time, so to speak, was cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason although he is given a close run by Karen Gibson's Kingdom Choir with a rousing "Stand By Me" and the concluding "Amen" that segues into "This Little Light Of Mine". While musically there is something for everyone there is probably not enough of anything for this collection to be more than a taster although ardent royalists will treasure it.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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