A NEW composition by the late Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is to be premiered before a VIP-packed audience at the centenary commemorations for the Battle of Jutland.
The former Master of the Queen’s Music was commissioned by the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport to compose a piece to mark the centenary on May 31 to honour those who served at sea during the First World War.
Davies wrote The Golden Solstice just before his death in March. It will be performed by the choir and organist of St Magnus Cathedral at Kirkwall, Orkney, where Davies lived.
It will form part of a service attended by German President Joachim Gauck, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Vice-
Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, descendants of those who fought in the battle and local residents. Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said: “Sir Peter was one of the UK’s finest composers and through his magnificent work we will pay tribute to his adopted home of Orkney and to all those who served at sea during the First World War.”
The composition is part of a culturally rich programme that reflects the Orcadian passion for storytelling and music. The words of The Golden
Solstice are by the poet George
Mackay Brown, who spent his life in Orkney and was a close friend of the composer. Kirkwall City Pipe Band, the Band of HM Royal Marines, Portsmouth, and the Marinemusikkorps Kiel German Navy band will also perform at the commemorations.
The events will include a morning service at St Magnus Cathedral, followed by a ceremony at the Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery at Hoy, where more than 400 Commonwealth and German sailors from the war are buried, some as young as 16.
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