Couple strike the right note with classical British choices

Some of the finest British music ever written was composed for royal occasions.

Think Purcell, think Handel. Nobody composing today has their kind of direct relationship with royalty, and most wouldn't want it. Instead careful thought has gone into this crowd-pleasing selection, which shows the couple were determined to take the music seriously and clearly took professional advice.

This selection ensures a balance between safe tradition and a broadly acceptable modernity. No Michael Nyman, then, certainly no Harrison Birtwistle, but there are, inevitably, contributions from the Master of the Queen's Music, Peter Maxwell Davies and, almost as inevitably, from John Rutter, whose music has adorned countless weddings, royal and otherwise, over recent decades.

Beyond that, the choices emphasise a particular tradition: Elgar, of course, Vaughan Williams, Parry's Jerusalem, as well as his I was Glad, also heard at the wedding of William's parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

That deliberate underlining of royal continuity explains the inclusion of a "courtly dance" from Britten's opera Gloriana, written to mark the coronation of the present Queen. The one surprise inclusion is 35-year-old Welsh composer Paul Mealor, who, as a resident of Anglesey, just happens to be a near neighbour of the couple.

Nick Kimberley is a classical music critic