The magnitude of Queen Elizabeth II’s service to the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world remains both incalculable and indescribable. If, similarly, our gratitude to her is destined to remain beyond expression, music can help us in apprehending and releasing our feelings. As the state funeral made abundantly clear, music – not least when adding a further dimension to words – evokes deep, sometimes visceral responses. Like the readings, the musical pieces expressed the profound personal beliefs of a committed Christian as much as of a monarch who vowed to “maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel”.