A new composition by the late Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is to be revealed at the Battle of Jutland centenary commemorations.

Sir Peter, who died in March this year at his home on Orkney, composed The Golden Solstice to honour those who served at sea during the First World War.

Commissioned by the UK Department for Culture, it will be performed by the Choir and Organist of St Magnus Cathedral in the Orkney Islands.

The Golden Solstice will form part of a commemorative service at the Cathedral attended by Joachim Gauck, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, descendants of those who served at the Battle of Jutland, and local residents.

John Whittingdale, the UK culture secretary, said: "As we mark 100 years since the Battle of Jutland, we will remember those who sacrificed so much. Music is a powerful way to help tell their story and honour their memory.

"Sir Peter was one of the UK’s finest composers and through his magnificent work, we will pay tribute to his adopted home of Orkney and to all those who served at sea during the First World War."

The composition by Sir Peter - a former Master of the Queen’s Music - is part of a programme that "reflects the Orcadian passion for storytelling and music."

The words of The Golden Solstice are by George Mackay Brown, a poet who spent his life in Orkney and was a close friend of the composer. The Kirkwall City Pipe Band, the Band of HM Royal Marines Portsmouth, and the Marinemusikkorps Kiel German Navy Band will also perform at the Battle of Jutland commemorations.

The events will include a morning service on 31 May at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, followed by a ceremony at the Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery at Hoy, where over 400 Commonwealth and German sailors from the First World War are buried.

The German President will be joined by serving members of the German Navy and two German Navy frigates, one of which will join a British ship to drop poppies and forget-me-nots in the seas off Jutland Bank.

The Battle of Jutland was the most significant naval engagement of the First World War.

More than 100,000 sailors were involved in the battle, on 250 ships.

More than 6,000 Royal Navy and 2,500 German sailors were killed.

The Battle of Jutland was fought between 31 May – 1 June 1916.

During the war, the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet was based at Scapa Flow.

St Magnus Cathedral is Britain’s most northerly Cathedral and is known as the ‘Light in the North’.

It was founded in 1137 by the Viking, Earl Rognvald, in honour of his uncle St Magnus.

Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, on the island of Hoy, is the final resting place of more than 450 service personnel who died during WW1, including sailors who died as a result of the Battle of Jutland. It is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission