Scored for chorus, organ and orchestra, Sir Edward Elgar's short offertory O Harken Thou was composed for the coronation ceremony of King George V, June 22, 1911, in Westminster Abbey. Only about four minutes in length, it was performed while the King made the communion offering of bread and wine. For his text, Elgar chose to set the second and third verses of Psalm 5, in which the speaker requests aid from God and his King. Elgar's setting capitalizes upon the hushed morning expectation of the text with music that presents a general atmosphere of peace. Although occasionally overly saccharine in its use of chromaticism, the composition's searching harmonies work to create a mood that is clearly tender in its devotion. The mood is similar to that found in portions of the composer's second symphony, which had been completed the year before.



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