Gentle classics with Margherita Taylor
10:00 pm – 1:00 am
3 Elisabeth Suite (2)
Eric Coates
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A fanfare of the « Three Lions » on a giant organ while a nation raises its voices in support of its soccer heroes.
Gareth Southgate’s England team has one of the greatest musical instruments in the world on the eve of the decisive semi-final game the EM 2020 against Denmark supported.
The organ is played by one of the best organists in the country, Robert Quinney, organist and music tutor at New College, Oxford. And he knew the melody of the occasion: he swaps Bach for Baddiel and thunders the English football anthem « Three Lions ».
With the roaring organ at full volume, Quinney plays the iconic refrain of the song « It’s coming home » on the solo pipe and leaves the walls of the Royal Albert Hall rattle.
Hours before the knockout game and with the anticipation of the nation, we will certainly shake some nerves.
In the run-up to the game and at the request of HRH The Prince of Wales the band of the Coldstream Guards played the same tune outside Clarence House in London.
Read more: Prince Charles asks the royal band to play Three Lions in front of England against Denmark
As “the voice of Jupiter “, The organ in the hall was once the largest instrument in the world. It now stands at 9,999 and is 70 feet tall.
« Three Lions » was written and released by English comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner and the rock band The Lightning Seeds in May 1996 when England was hosting the European Championship.
The song and especially the chorus « It’s coming home » have since become an integral part of the English championship successes.
As England advanced at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the song went viral with appearances, including by the superstar -Composers Andrew Lloyd Webber, the Norwich Cathedral Choir, the Bands of the Guards Division at Buckingham Palace and many others.
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