The Six Wives of Henry VIII Live at Hampton Court Palace


The Six Wives of Henry VIII Live at Hampton Court Palace is a live album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 5 October 2009 by Eagle Records. It documents Wakeman's two concerts in May 2009 at Hampton Court Palace that featured his instrumental rock concept album The Six Wives of Henry VIII performed in its entirety, as part of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne. Wakeman performs with his band and the Orchestra Europa and English Chamber Choir conducted by Guy Protheroe.

Background

Wakeman's debut solo album, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, was released in January 1973. It is an instrumental progressive rock album based on his interpretations of the musical characteristics of the wives of Henry VIII. It went to No. 9 in the UK and No. 30 in the US, where it reached gold certification in 1975 for surpassing 500,000 copies sold. Around the time of its release Wakeman requested permission to perform the album live at Hampton Court, but he was denied. Wakeman recalled: "I got the impression that what I had asked was tantamount to treason". The idea was shelved until he was invited to stage the concerts for 2009, as part of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary to Henry VIII's accession to the throne.
The DVD/BD version differs slightly from the CD, in that the CD version has the narration by Brian Blessed edited out, leaving only the music. The CD version also omits the tracks "Henry's Fanfare" and "Jayne's Prelude"

Track listing

The track "Defender of the Faith" was intended for release on the original album, but there was no space left due to time limitations of vinyl records.

CD

DVD and Blu-ray

Personnel

Production