For the second week in a row and on opposite sides of the globe, church services have featured Anthems by composers more commonly associated with popular musical theatre.

At the invitation of King Charles, Andrew Lloyd Webber was commissioned to adapt Psalm 98 for the Coronation Anthem Make a Joyful Noise. Following the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, it was subsequently distributed to 6000 churches throughout Britain.

Yesterday, Arthur Sullivan’s Te Deum Laudamus (A Thanksgiving for Victory) featured in the Choral Evensong officiated by The Rt Rev’d Chris McLeod at St Peter’s Cathedral in Adelaide. It was first performed in 1902 at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the end of the Second Boer War.

The sacred works of both composers speak volumes about the quality of their writing, which is all too often dismissed as little more than commercial light entertainment.

The St Peter’s Cathedral Choir in Sacred Sullivan. Photo © JJ Antmann

Sullivan’s accomplishments should come as no surprise. Before writing his Savoy Operas with WS Gilbert, he had been a celebrated church organist. He composed such sacred works as the oratorio The Prodigal Son in 1871 and the Festival Te Deum to mark...