Over the years, I have conducted any number of Last Night of the Proms-style concerts, most recently in Perth with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. We had three pretty much sold-out shows in the Perth Concert Hall, which was garlanded with Union Jacks. These concerts are very popular, but I’m not sure how long they will continue, given the modern nervousness about the colonial subject matter of some of the material at the end of the performance – which of course is the bit that most audiences turn up for.
The BBC Proms. Photo courtesy amandabhslater/Wikimedia Commons
Particularly on the nose are the words of Rule, Britannia!, which features lines like: “The nations, not so blest as thee, Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall; While thou shalt flourish great and free, The dread and envy of them all.” These lyrics were written by James Thomson in 1740, when the British Empire was in full swing, and set to music by Thomas Arne that same year. Land of Hope and Glory is less offensive,...
An interesting idea Guy but one destined to fail I think as I recall we attended a proms night in Auckland for the Queens birthday some years ago. Not only was it packed with folk from every nation, a German man and his daughter standing next to us sang it with great gusto as did the Japanese couple in front of us. We were completely outdone by them on a singing vigour scale! A brilliant night and one we cherish having never attended RAH for it. There’s nothing like a hearty bellow and other than “you’re the voice” – it’s possibly the only song everyone knows by heart. Most still grapple with our anthem 🤣🤣