Andrew Lloyd Webber, the English composer who created the scores for blockbuster musicals such as “Cats,’’ “The Phantom of the Opera’’ and “Evita,’’ has written the anthem for King Charles III’s coronation, adapting a piece of church music that encourages singers to make a “joyful noise.”
The work by Webber is one of a dozen new pieces Charles commissioned for the grand occasion taking place May 6 at Westminster Abbey. It includes words adapted from Psalm 98 and is scored specifically for the abbey’s choir and organ.
“I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion,” Webber said in a statement distributed by Buckingham Palace.
The program for the king’s coronation ceremony includes older music and new compositions as the palace seeks to blend traditional and modern elements that reflect the realities of modern Britain. New pieces were composed by artists with roots in all four of the United Kingdom’s constituent nations, as well as in the Commonwealth and foreign countries that have sent so many people to its shores.
