THE CORONATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12935, 1 October 1902, Page 3

THE CORONATION.

[Feoji Ote Correspondent.] LONDON, August 15.

THE MUSIC AT THE ABBEY.

Before the arrival of the King and*Queen, several marches were performed by the orchestra. Sir Alexander Mackenzie's “Coronation ” March, rendered with dignity, was followed by one written fur the occasion by M. Saint-Saens, which, with its middle section, based on an old English air and powerful climax, proved highly effective.

Mr Cowen and Mr Percy Godfrey were also

represented, the last-mentioned by the march which recently gained the prize offered by the Worshipful Company of Musician;. The service proper commenced with Sir Hubert Parry'.; anthem “T was Glad,” the first strains of which were heard us their Majesties entered the west door. The “ Vivat Regina Alexandra ” and “ Vivat Rex Edwardus,” the greetings of the boysof Westminster School, which the composer has incorporated into his anthem, were delivered with vigor. The semi -chorus, “ 0 Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem,” near the close, is short, but very beautiful. The/ communion, service commenced with Sir Arthur Sullivan’s brief introit, “ O He ark ere Thou,” and after the reading of the Gospel was heard, S. S. Wesley's characteristics setting of the Niceno Creed, in the centre of which the boys’ clear voices, unaccompanied, were heard, while at the close the rich tone of the choir created a. particularly solemn impression. Handel’s noble music, “ Zadok, the Priest,” sung with breadth and vigour after the anointing, seems destined to last for all time. After the Archbishop had placed the Crown on the King’s head, Sir Waiter Parratt conducted his conforfcare

“ Be Strong and Play the Man ” ; in all it counts only seventeen bars, hut though short and unpretentious, it makes a direct appeal. The anthem “Kings Shall See and Hear,” specially written by Sir Frederick Bridge for the “ homage ” ceremony, is of simple character, but effectively written for the voices, and was done full justice to by the singers. During the communion in the Queen’s Coronation was sung an excerpt from Purcell’s setting ’of the Batin Psalm “ Jehova, quan multi sunt Hostes,” adapted to the words “ Let my Prayer Come up into Thy Presence.” a wonderful piece of music, full of power and feeling. The remaining vocal music consisted of the late Sir John Stainer’s “Sanctus” (with orchestral accompaniment by Sir G. Martin), his “Sevenfold Amen” and “Gloria in Exoelsis,” the “ Threefold Amen ” of Orlando Gibbons (taken from his anthem “Groat King of Gods”), and last of all Sir Charles V. Stanford’s “ Te Deum.” The duties of conductorship were principally undertaken by Sir F. Bridge.; a few numbers were given under the direction of Sir W. Parratt After the service were performed Wagner’s “ Kaiser” March, with the melody sung by the choir to words specially written by Mr A. C. Benson, the prelude to third act of “ Lohengrin,” Gounod's March from LaReina do Saba,” and finally Dr Elgar s dignified “ Imperial ” March. DECORATIONS AND ILLUMINATIONS. The decorations of the route on Coronation Day. although more or less impromptu, were on all hands admitted to be far more effective than the original Itahanate scheme. In the leafy avenues of the Mall and Constitution Hill it was rightly a case of “beauty unadorned.” Over the rest of the route the dowdy garlands and draggled bows had given place to gilt tipped Italian masts, swathed in red, each with its banner, and connected with its neighbours by a double line of Aiglets, In Piccadilly and Pall Mail! the street was roofed in by ropes of many coloured flags, producing bright lined waves. The Ganadian arch, less heavily sheafed with corn, but more garishly dressed in crimson and purple, was hot so artistic as in its earlier and simpler'state, and its legends savoured somewhat of advertisement. “Canada, Britain’s Granary in Peace and War. God Save- the King and Queen,’ faced Charing Cross, while from Westminuter one read, “ Cajn&da.-, free homes for millions God Bless the Royal Family.” The inscription evoked many a joke from the ■waiting crowd on the alleged prolincness of the Royal Family. Only one other “ad.” was displayed on the route: “Edward King of the English ; English King of Shirtmakers.” Blue and'red draperies on the United Service Institution, blue flags with galleys and red flags with B.T. at the Board of Trade, an occasional coloured cloth on the Government offices and a profusion of bunting and hangings on the big stands in Parliament Square completed the main decorations on the way to the Abbev. As the King and Queen emerged from' Whitehall on their return journey, and entered Cockspur, Street the fronts of the buildings that shut in the streets became more lavish in their display of colour, and lines of electric light. Hampton and Sons had a stand hung with handsome crimson and gold draperies with portraits of the King and Queen, Prince and Princess of Vales, and their children, and had given a budding hard by the aspect of an Did English halftimbered house with red gables and oaken beams. Bub by far the finest and most artistic scheme of decoration in London was that of the stand erected by Waring and Gillow at the corner of Cockspur Street. It was arranged! like a Florentine tent of purple of deep and restful .tone, supported by halberds terminating aloft in golden branches, between which on the awning were gilt laurel wreaths. Of the three tiers in the building two had their facias covered with rich green velvet stamped with - rose, shamrock' and thistle, bordered with red and looped with “swags” of foliage, which were decorated with shields exhibiting the arms of the Kings of England and principal English towns. The top facia, in crimson was inscribed “Edwardus Britannia-rum Omnium Rex.” The seats and interior were draped with deep purple, forming . a soft, mysterious background. Crimson branches projecting from bulbous golden roots bore electric ligbts shaded by crimson scallop shells. This was Waring’s chef d’ceuvro, but their artistic hand was manifested in the blue line® of the Carlton Hotel, the stencilled hoarding in Pall Mall in rose, grey, gold and fawn, and in the long lines of red, white and blue electric lamps that depended from their flagpole in Oxford Street like the rigging of q ship. In Pall Mall the treatment of the fronts was mostly a direct and plain combination of crude reds and bines and reds and 1 golds. A great crane hanging over the street bore from its chain a paper crown. One club filled its braziers with red geraniums, outlined..'its balcony with red geraniums, and hung baskets of the same flowers from the first floor. The New Oxford and Cambridge Club was easily 'distinguishable by its dark blue and light bine. Nova Scotia gave its King a loyal greeting in blue and amber lights, displayed its arms prominently and showed the rose and the maple-leaf in electric glow. One of the most striking fronts was ;a golden one at 46, Pal] Mall. Geld plush hangings, friezes of lions, rampant, and frames of golden pomegranates formed the ground work. High up were crystal ovals, like tho tail of some Oriental bird, above that, golden elephants heads, with gilt-ringed ivory tusks. Still higher were Eastern helms, under a canopy of gold plush, supported by spears, and surmounted by a. crown. St James’s Street, if simpler, looked more graceful than, in its original condition. White Corinthian columns, rising from square pedestals, carried crimson cushions and crowns, and were connected by garlands of red and white flowers and green foliage. At the base of the columns where white hydrangeas and scarlet geraniums. The pale white Oriental front of the Royal Societies

Chib, with its pale blue hangings, was again noticeable ; and the Royal Insurance Company’s Office, at the corner of Piccadilly, was clothed in spear-supported canopies of rose and white, spangled with silver stars, and bore the unique inscription, “ God and His angels guard your sacred throne, and may you long become it.” Passing down on the Green Park side of Piccadilly, and looking over the be-flaggfd roof of the roadway, one’s eye was first caught by the heavy white and blue hangings and gold fringes of the Baroness Bur-dett-Coutts’s residence, the great Imperial crowns which served as the clasps- of the loopings, and the shields, with the arms of the colonies, with their trophies of white ensigns. The Baroness had no external scheme of illumination, but at night she lit up her great cut-glass electrolier, and threw open her drawing-room windows. The most elaborate design- was that a.t Bath House, Mr Julius Wernher's. The high flag-pole was treated like a May pole, and ropes of pink and white roses fell from it to the roof, where there was a great sun of electric light.. Everywhere were garlands of white and pink roses, and there was the customary display of masts and banners and coats of arms. The Junior Constitutional Club was not so remarkable for its draperies, which were somewhat crude in colour, as for its complete framework of fairy lamps, and its immense inscription on the fourth floor, “ God Save Our King and Queen,” which -made it one of the best lit buildings at night. The Savile Club, on a background of maroon, had white panels, embroidered with Tudor Rose, Shamrock and Thistle, laurel wreaths above, and St George pennants, falling from pillars, entwined in cherry and white. The Automobile Club was framed in automobile lamps, which glared at the crowd with their bull’seyes. The Cavalry Club garlanded its pillars with laurels, and filled five panels with trophies of helmets and cuirasses, surrounded by stars of swords. Between the panels were sheaves of upright lances, girt with laurels. The general scheme of colour at Lord Glenesk’s was a subdued ton© of ruby velvet, with gold edgings. The. windows were wreathed in laurel, and beautiful baskets of multi-coloured flowers depended from the cornices. The next house was most pretentiously adorned. High np was a great Imperial crown, surrounded by a mantle of ermine, while at the base, again, were ci.mson. and ermine, hangings. A gilt chain of the Order of St Michael and St Geore, with St George _ slaying the dragon, hanging from it, connected the banners and shields of St Patrick and St Andrew, and Royal, .arms and crowns fitted in the interstices. , The mansion at the corner of Park Lane looked very effective, with its pillars draped in- scarlet and entwined with gold. Mr S. Neumann and Lord Rothschild, whose houses adjoin, combined forces, and had one of the handsomest decorative schemes -on the route. A stand was built in frout of both houses, and the boarding Covering the railings was painted to resemble marble. The canopies covering the. stands, and the hangings down the front of\the house, were of crimson and ermine, and on the roof of the stand were numerous trophies, formed by two wreaths of orange fruit and foliage, bound with crimson ribbon, crossing each other at right angles. Trails of oranges and foliage hung at°tlie side of the window's and mirrors, and stars and electric lights were dispersed at intervals. Apsley House, with its classic front, like a Greek temple, was a contrast by its chaste treatment. A large Umon Jack floated above the roof, for the Duke of Wellington bore the Union Standard in the Abbey. The railings were adorned by garlands of laurels, topped by posies of flowers, backed by palms. The garlands were looped from shields of the colonies. On the balcony were several ti-palms, and trophies of ilags of Great Britain and the colonies completed a simple and appropriate scheme. Turning from Apsley House into Constitution Hill, the only decorations that greeted the King and Queen, as they passed down the long green vista were the red coats and medals of the Chelsea pensioners, and the gay attire of thousands of loyal subjects in the long terraces. The want of some common scheme of decoration and the lack of harmony was as noticeable lash Saturday as it was in June, and -a far more artistic and happier general effect would have been produced if, instead of pretentious and conflicting individual colour schemes, the owners of a row of adjoining houses had agreed upon some simple and, if not uniform, at least harmonious method of adornment. Although the Agents-General offices in Victoria Street were quite off the Ime o route, and shut off from Broad Sanctuary by a -great green barricade, ’they made , a brave if not a very tasteful show with their laural garlands, their trophies, of State flags and their crystal illuminations. The blue ensigns, large and small, -hanging over the entrances, made a fine waving Ime of eott colour, but most of the offices added vai-la-nces of the crudest crimson, with fringe® of tire most violent yellow and loyal greetings in the same colour that were a regu av nightmare. Their “ bright smile haujrts me still,” although it is now a week alter the fair. ' “ God Save the King, Long May he Reign,” said Queensland, and its transparency enclosed the Queensland star. “Heartv Greeting from Tasmania” blazoned forth the Apple Orchard. The monogram E.R. was in its crystal, and the lion ramped on its shields. New South Wales went verv strong with the Federal red ensign m the''centre and the State flags on either side. “3S T ew South Wales wishes a Long and Happy Reign” was unexceptionable sentiment. Alono- the parapet on the- first floor was- a series c-f mysterious boxes like- red rabbit) hutches. Thev were not ornamental by day, blit at night they glowed with patriotic fervour. In the centre and largest one: Now South Wales “ offered homage round its arms and above the flannel flower and warata-h. In the smaller hutches were crowns, and E.R.’s and the star of the- Garter and the arms of Australia, with “Advance Australia.”. New Zealand and the Navy League hung out red, white and blue ensions, and the Britain of the South had numerous red stars of the Southern Cross on shields. “ God Bless the King,” said the red rag, and on the crystal oval were the words- “New Zealand’s Greetings” round the Southern Cross. Western^Australia kent fairly sober with blue 'flags with black swans and l the same black swans swimming on yellow shields. Victoria, by way of a change, went in for pale blue hangings (a At of blues generally does follow the process of painting the town red) with gold The Cabbage Garden remarked “Hail King Edward VII.” Gold bannerets over the door no doubt were a broad hint of the State’s mineral- capacities.

The windows and parapets of the offices were outlined in blue, green, amber and ruby fairy lights. It was evident that each Agent-General was a. firm supporter of State rights, and that United Australia was still to seek —in decoration, at all events. The rest of London bedecked itself with variegated bunting, as often a® not topsy-turvy. The Australian Federal flag and the Japanese flag, the red sun, throwing out red rays on a. white sky, wer.e, I noted, much in evidence. THE ILLUMINATIONS were -distinctly patchy, and, as many of those who had made elaborate preparations to “ light up ” lavishly on June 26 determined not to repeat, their loyal manifestations in gas or electric light, it is hardly fair to criticise what light was shed upon the scene. Generally it may be said that it seemed as if each illuminator had been asked the conundrum “Why is Edward VII.?” and had replied on the front of his place ,of business or residence, Because “E.R.” E.R. and a crown shone upon you with damnable iteration, so that even “A.R.” was a relief. Piccadilly, light and darkness alternating, was a very different place from the fairy arcade that it seemed the night of the Diamond Jubilee when the whole street was canopied in lines of delicate light. From the lofty campanile of the Koman Catholic Cathedral, at Westminster, glowed a huge electric crown, and flashed the beams of a, great search light. In Whitehall, the Canadian arch showed like a Routgenrayed skeleton pavilion, outlined in soft white light. Queen Victoria’s statue, in front of Blackfriars’ Bridge, with its auricle of light and the pea.ee trophy erected round the statue of William IV., in the city, with its pictured panels, and its colour scheme of ivory and gold, attracted many pilgrims from the crowds thatflowed slowly up and down the main thoroughfares. The centre of attraction was, however, the great space in front of the Mansion House, where the Bank, the Royal Exchange, and the Mansion House glowed and gleamed a. luminous triangle in the fashion of their June rehearsal then described. Many insurance companies offices and other places of business in the radiating streets from the city’s centre of gravity made a fine show with celluloid balls, gas and electric light. Pall Mall was fairly well aglow, and on the gates of Marlborough House were branches of laurel leaves in cut crystal, of various natural tints, jewelled with ruby berries, the whole being trained across the doorways and gateway to form a main arch over all. On a great crystal medallion, surmounted' by the Royal crown and Lion, was the King’s cipher in the centre, surmounted' by the Garter and motto of the Order. Tudor rose emblems were introduced with the Prince of Wales’s plumes and dragon. The embankment, which would have lent itself so well to a simple outline of lights, was a dark crescent, St Paul’s and the towers of the Houses of Parliament looming dark at. either end. The police arrangements were wonderfully effective. A thin line of policemen at several paces intervals was stationed down the centre of each street, knots of men being kept in reserve at comers. On the whole)’ the people observed the injunction " Keep to the right ” with marvellous unanimity, and the two living streams flowed' slowly, but steadily onward. At the Bank, round the Canadian arch, and at the junction of St James’s Street, and the Mall, where the people coming down the former thoroughfare had to be diverted into the park, there was congestion and considerable pressure, but the crowd was considerate and good tempered, and fathers and mothers, with their babies in their arms managed to keep going quite comfortably. In the side streets a few lads and lasses, with tricolour caps, a cross between a jockey’s cap and' a Chinese lantern, paper sun bonnets, or paper coronets on their bowler hats, were prancing along with “We'll all he merry, drinking whisky, wine and sherry, on Coronation day!” inquiring, “ Oh, Flo, why do you go, riding along on a motor car?” or carolling “ Good-bye Dolly, 1' must leave you,” but the Hooligan, the tin-trumpet, the ticklers, the squirts and the confetti were all absent. The characteristic feature of both the day’s and the night’s proceedings was the entire absence- of Mafficking, The people were once more clothed and in their right minds, and the police wisely left the populate to regulate itself.