Australian born William McKie (1901-84) had a long association with Westminster Abbey. He was appointed Organist there in 1941 and retained the post until 1963. During this period, he officiated at three important Royal occasions: the Wedding of HRH The Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in 1947, the Coronation in 1953 and the marriage of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones in 1960.
The beautiful anthem We wait
for they loving kindness was commissioned for the Royal Wedding in 1947. It
is one of McKie’s few published compositions.
The text set is taken from Psalm
48 vv. 8-9 and 118, v.25 which focuses on the confirmation of God's promise
regarding Jerusalem's protection and the people's contemplation of God's love
and mercy within His temple:
We wait for Thy loving kindness, O God: in the midst of Thy temple. Alleluia.
O God, according to Thy name, so is Thy praise unto the world’s end.
Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Alleluia.
We wait for Thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple.
O Lord, send us now prosperity. Amen.
The anthem is solidly in the Anglican tradition of Edward Bairstow and William H. Harris. It is characterised by a subtle combination of romanticism, more than a hint of Gregorian chant and a touching simplicity.
Other music heard at the 1947
Royal Wedding included a fanfare specially composed by Sir Arnold Bax and the
couple processed out to Felix Mendelssohn’s Wedding March from the
incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
For his service to the Crown at
this time, William McKie was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order. In
1953 he was knighted in the Coronation Honours list.
William McKie’s We wait for
they loving kindness has been uploaded to YouTube. The Cambridge
Singers are conducted by John Rutter.
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