Ten contemporary British composers are recreating Handel's Water Music for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations on Saturday June 3. The new work, approximately 50 minutes in length, is being performed on a barge as part of a 1000-boat flotilla travelling on the Thames from Putney to Tower Bridge.

The flotilla – the highlight of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which also includes a festival in riverside Battersea Park – is expected to include 20,000 participants on the water and millions of spectators on the banks, and will be broadcast globally.

The 'New Water Music' draws on Handel's original titles, with each composer contributing a five-minute movement. Film composer Debbie Wiseman, one of the chosen 10, feels immensely privileged to be participating in such an occasion: 'With my fellow composers, we hope to create something that's truly memorable,' she told Gramophone. 'When Handel's Water Music was commissioned for George I, he liked it so much, he asked for it to be performed three times. We’re going to be performing the suite twice, but it would be lovely if the Queen asked to hear it a third time!'

Wiseman, along with Anne Dudley, Graham Fitkin, Gavin Greenaway, Christopher Gunning, Adrian Johnston, John Lunn, Julian Nott, Jocelyn Pook and Stephen Warbeck, have a 15-strong ensemble at their disposal, comprising strings, brass, percussion and woodwind, plus marimba, saxophone and electric keyboard. 'In Handel's day, he was very aware that the music had to travel across the water,' Wiseman said. 'Like him, I’ll probably use brass for that reason, but it will also be interesting to use instruments that wouldn’t have been around in Handel's day.'

Each composer is accompanying the barge on its royal journey and, in most cases, conducting his or her own piece. The New Water Music barge is one of 10 music barges, each marking a different section of the flotilla. The first, the Royal Jubilee Bells, features a floating bell tower; the second features 22 musicians from the Academy of Ancient Music conducted by Richard Egarr, performing music from Handel's day; the final barge features the LPO conducted by David Parry, performing Last-Night-of-the-Proms-style repertoire. Other barges include fanfare trumpeters, the Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, the Jubilant Commonwealth Choir (performing a world premiere of a song composed by Orlando Gough to lyrics by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy) and the Mayor's Junior Jubilee Brass Band, featuring students from London’s four music colleges.

'It's a one-off event, a real celebration,' said Wiseman. 'The Queen has her own royal barge but she will be able to review the other barges as they pass. It's a massively ambitious day, and it’s wonderful that new music plays a part in it.'

Sarah Kirkup