Church blessing
At 11.30 the Church blessing of the marriage took place in the Nieuwe Kerk church on Dam square in Amsterdam. Carel A. ter Linden, emeritus minister of the Kloosterkerkgemeente church community in The Hague, conducted the church ceremony.
The ceremony was attended by royal guests, government representatives, family and friends of the Royal Couple.
The service on 2 February 2002 was held under the ecclesiastical responsibility of the Inner City (East) parish of the Amsterdam Dutch Reformed Community. Musical accompaniment to the ceremony was provided among others by the organist Bernard Winsemius, the soprano Miranda van Kralingen and the Netherlands Chamber Choir, together with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ed Spanjaard.
MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT
CONDUCTOR
The musical accompaniment to the church ceremony was led by conductor Ed Spanjaard. He studied in Amsterdam and London and has assisted Bernard Haitink, Georg Solti and Herbert von Karajan. For some time he was on the staff of the Glyndebourne Opera and the Royal Opera Covent Garden.
Since 1982 he has been senior conductor of the Nieuw Ensemble orchestra, with which he has given concerts in Paris, New York, Edinburgh, Berlin, Prague and at many other prestigious festivals. In March 2001 he conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which he will again be leading in the 2002-2003 season. Since September 2001 Ed Spanjaard has been senior conductor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra.
ORGANIST
The organist during the church ceremony was Bernard Winsemius. He is the town carilloneur for Haarlem and Amsterdam. Together with Gustav Leonhardt he is also the organist of the historic organs in the Nieuwe Kerk church in Amsterdam.
He studied the organ with Anthon van der Horst and Albert de Klerk at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he also studied choir and orchestra conducting. He also studied bellringing at the Netherlands Carillon School in Amersfoort. His studies earned him the Prix d’Excellence for organ (1970) and carillon (1971). The Friends of the Concertgebouw Orchestra Association awarded him the ‘Friends Silver Garland’ in 1971.
Bernard Winsemius teaches organ at the Rotterdam Conservatory and bellringing at the Netherlands Carillon School. He gives regular courses as a guest lecturer, especially in the fields of Renaissance and Baroque music.
SOPRANO
Miranda van Kralingen (soloist) sang during the church ceremony. She studied with Ank Reinders at what was then Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam. She also attended a masterclass given by Elisabeth Schwartzkopf in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw concert hall. This was followed by a successful Opera and concert career at home and abroad.
She sang the lead role in the world premiere of Rosa, a horse drama by Louis Andriessen at The Netherlands Opera and was also in Schönberg’s Von heute auf Morgen. Her repertoire is very varied, ranging from performances as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Mozart) in Maastricht, La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart), Elisabetta in Don Carlo (Verdi) and especially Hanna Glawari in Die lustige Witwe, to Fewronia in Die Legende von der unsichtbaren Stadt Kitesch (Rimsky-Korsakov) and Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio.
BANDONEON
Carel Kraayenhof played the bandoneon during the Church ceremony. A self-taught player, Kraayenhof founded his first tango orchestra, Tango Cuatro, in 1985. A year later he was asked by the great tango maestro Astor Piazzolla to play as a soloist in the Broadway musical Tango Apasionado.
In 1988 Kraayenhof formed the Sexteto Canyengue tango orchestra, which he still leads today. This was followed by a tour of Uruguay and Argentina, where he met the tango maestro Osvaldo Pugliese. In 1991 he appeared together with Pugliese at the Royal Carré Theatre in Amsterdam.
In 1993 Carel Kraayenhof founded a department for Argentinian tango at the Rotterdam Conservatory, still the only place in the world where tango is taught at this level.
Kraayenhof has appeared with several Dutch orchestras and ensembles, including Het Brabants Orkest, the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch National Ballet.
CHOIR
The Netherlands Chamber Choir provided the choral accompaniment during the Church ceremony. The Choir was founded in 1937 and is a full-time independent vocal ensemble. The Choir comprises 28 vocal soloists and concentrates primarily on a capella repertoire, from the early Middle Ages to the present day. The British conductor Stephen Layton took over as senior conductor at the start of this year.
Permanent guest conductors include the Estonian Tõnu Kaljuste and the Belgian ancient music specialist Paul Van Nevel. There are also regular appearances by other guest conductors, such as the Swedish doyen of choir music Eric Ericson and Uwe Gronostay, the German conductor and former senior conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, as well as the Dutch conductor Ed Spanjaard.
The Netherlands Chamber Choir performs its own series of a capella concerts each year in around ten towns throughout the Netherlands. It also performs regularly in other concert halls in the Netherlands and abroad.
The Netherlands Chamber Choir regularly works with a variety of instrumental ensembles, such as the Schönberg Ensemble led by Reinbert de Leeuw and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, led by Frans Brüggen. A recent performance of the St. John Passion, performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and led by Ton Koopman, was broadcast live on Dutch and foreign television.
ORCHESTRA
The Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra provided the instrumental accompaniment to the church ceremony. The Orchestra was founded in 1987 and consists of members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. Before that time it was known as the Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra. The Orchestra gives concerts in the Netherlands and abroad. The Italian Marco Boni has been the permanent conductor of the ensemble since January 1995.
The Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra has performed at other major national events in the past, such as the investiture ceremony of Beatrix as the Queen of the Netherlands on 30 April 1980 in the Nieuwe Kerk church in Amsterdam.
Among the well-known soloists with whom the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra has performed are Maria João Pires, Friedrich Gulda, Eliane Rodrigues, Lynn Harrel, Jaap van Zweden, Marietta Petkova, Vesko Eschkenazy and Ronald Brautigam.
DECORATION OF NIEUWE KERK
The flower displays used for decorating the Nieuwe Kerk church and the Beurs van Berlage were presented to the bridal couple by the Association of Dutch Flower Auctions. The flowers have been arranged by the Flower Council of Holland under the direction of Johan Weisz.
KNEELING BENCH
The oak kneeling bench was made for the wedding of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Hendrik in 1901. The bench was manufactured by the firm H.P. Mutters & Zn in The Hague, and was completed on 6 February 1901 (one day before the wedding). The bench was made in Louis XIV style and bears the monograms W & H in the carving. The Church blessing took place in the Grote Kerk (St. Jacobskerk) church in The Hague on 7 February 1901. The bench was used again for the blessing of the wedding of Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard on 7 January 1937, again in the Grote Kerk church.
The bench was not used at the weddings of Princess Beatrix, Princess Margriet and Princess Christina, but was used at the weddings of Princess Margriet’s sons, Prince Maurits and Prince Bernhard, in 1998 and 2000. The kneeling bench was last used at the wedding of Prince Constantijn and Laurentien Brinkhorst in the Grote Kerk (St. Jacobskerk) in The Hague on 19 May 2001.
For the Royal Wedding on 2 February, the original green velvet covering has been replaced by Italian brocatel with gold ground and a red Venetian design. The bench is part of the collection held by the National Museum Het Loo Palace, where it may be viewed by the public.
Tabourets
During their wedding on 2 February, the Bridal Couple was sitting on gilded wooden tabourets in Empire style. The cushions for these come from Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and are covered in the same brocatel as the kneeling bench.
Kneeling cushions
Special kneeling cushions were made for placing on the kneeling bench for the weddings of Queen Wilhelmina and Princess Juliana. The Prince of Orange and Máxima Zorreguieta have expressed a wish to continue this tradition. The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order will offer the specially made kneeling cushions to the Bridal Couple as part of their wedding gift. This Order was founded in 1199 as an order of military knights following the founding of a hospital in the Holy Land. Now a Protestant organisation, the Order continues its charitable tradition by actively supporting aid services in the Netherlands.
The cushions are made from bordeaux duchesse satin The monograms WA and M are embroidered on the centre of the cushions in gold thread, surmounted by the Royal crown. Surrounding this are embroidered and appliquéd orange blossom branches. The cushions are trimmed with a silk fringe and tassels in the corners. Máxima herself chose the design to be depicted on the cushions. The design and making of the cushions was carried out by Marten Loonstra (Curator of HM the Queen’s Art Collection), Jan Ruijs (Ruys Interieurs), Sytske Stratenus-Duma (needlework) and Margreet Beemsterboer (needlework).
Children's' seats
The six pageboys and flower girls were sitting on armchairs made in Hindeloopen in the province of Friesland. They are painted white and decorated in the traditional Hindeloopen style with tendrils and flower motifs. The chairs have rush seats.
WEDDING CAR
The Bridal Couple was driven in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Limousine Landaulette with the registration number AA-58. This special automobile was purchased in 1957 by Queen Juliana. It is the only left-hand drive Rolls-Royce Landaulette in existence. The word ‘Landaulette’ means that the rear part of the roof can be folded down. The car has been used mainly for state visits, being used for the first time for the state visit to the Netherlands by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, on 20 March 1958.
Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus also used the Rolls-Royce on their tour of Dutch provinces and towns following their engagement in the autumn of 1965.
At the end of the 1970s it was decided that the Rolls-Royce would no longer be used for official occasions. In the early 1980s the car moved to the specialist automotive company Autobedrijf Meijers in Utrecht, where it began a new lease of life.
A number of cars from the Royal fleet will also be used on the wedding day.