The circumstances surrounding the composition of the "Granada" Prelude make it, quite paradoxically, one of the most obscure pieces in William Walton's catalogue and the most often heard. It was commissioned by the Granada Television Corporation in 1961, which needed background music to accompany broadcast materials. In addition to the prelude, the television company also requested music for "Call Signs" and "End Music." While Walton's scores for the latter two purposes were never used by Granada, the music of the prelude, in a version rescored by Gilbert Vintner for symphonic wind ensemble and retitled March for Concert Band, was heard on the Granada channel at the beginning of each broadcast day from the mid 1960s until 1973. Walton's original version for orchestra did not receive its first public performance until 1977, when it was programmed by the Young Musician's Symphony Orchestra in London.

A distinctly Waltonian fanfare of brass arpeggios opens the piece, which cedes to a more subdued march with snare drum and castanet accompaniment. The quieter material swells through a unison string transition to a more strident brass passage. This settles into the slower secondary theme, rendered in long, arching lines by the strings. The secondary theme is then reiterated in broad, bold tones by the entire ensemble. A sudden accelerando leads to more playful material utilizing more agile textures and featuring the winds, followed by an allargando introducing a return of the tutti secondary theme. This in turn is answered by an increase in tempo and a long crescendo that bring the prelude to a close.

One hears in the sharp contrasts between bold brassy fanfares and lyrical melodies a style similar to that in the famous Crown Imperial March. In fact, in the context of the work's commission, the alternation between loud and quiet music served a practical purpose: the regal opening and the subsequent forte returns of the stirring main themes provided the kind of ceremonious musical invocation needed to begin each day, while the intervening quiet passages were unobtrusive enough to underscore the television announcer's voice-overs.

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