A Brit and Emmy-nominated composer from Bristol has been commissioned by the King to write music for his coronation. Sarah Class, who has composed musical scores for Sir David Attenborough’s natural world programmes and National Geographic documentaries, was personally invited by Charles to write music for the coronation.
She spoke of her pride in attending the coronation and that in Charles, the country has a monarch who is as passionate about the environment as she is. “I feel very honoured and privileged and excited to be part of it,” she said.
“I think for me, it’s not just a contribution, I just feel so happy that I’m lending my support through my music and that is the ultimate for me. I love the fact that we have somebody in this position, who has these values about the planet who cares about the environment and our biodiversity.
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“It’s something that’s very important to me and it’s crucial at the moment that all of these issues are looked at, and to have somebody in that position is so special and valuable,” she added.
She first came to the attention of the then-prince of Wales after writing to him and mentioning his visit to her school when she was a child and then detailing her work with music and the environment. Charles wrote back and asked her write music for the Cop26 Climate Change summit in Glasgow, which she did with her song Rhythm Of The Earth – Terra Carta theme.
The Bristol-based artist is an accomplished musician and songwriter and her music is known for its rich, atmospheric soundscapes and emotional depth. She grew up on the Isle of Wight and nature and music are her two passions, which she now combines in her professional work.
She has received Emmy nominations for her work on the BBC Series Madagascar and Sir David Attenborough’s Africa series. Following the premiere of Rhythm Of The Earth – Terra Carta at Cop26, Ms Class has been commissioned by Charles to create one of 12 new works of music to be performed in Westminster Abbey.
She has worked with lyricist Grahame Davies to write the score being performed by opera singer Pretty Yende. “When I first heard about it, I was extremely inspired,” she said.
“I feel very honoured and privileged of course. The first thing that came to my mind was, how can I just create the most beautiful piece of music I’ve ever written?
“It’s got to be absolutely amazing, so I just started getting inspired very quickly with it and I just started writing pretty much the day after I heard I was going to be one of the composers chosen to write the music for coronation. When I knew I was going to be writing for Pretty Yende, I just knew that what I wanted to portray was something very emotive, very cinematic and something really moving.
“I was really feeling that I wanted to do something on the level of something like Dvorak’s Song To The Moon, something so beautiful and uplifting. I really hope that I’ve captured that.”
Ms Class said she hoped people would feel inspired when hearing her music that despite all the current difficulties in the world things would get better. “My belief is that we will get through those times, and we will come to some more peace,” she said.
“Maybe not tomorrow, but they’re going to come and that that we’re going to feel better. I think I’d love people to feel hope and in the knowledge that everything’s going to be OK.”
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