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Fantasia on British Sea Songs or Fantasy on British Sea Songs is a medley of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
sea songs
''Sea Songs'' is an arrangement of three British sea-songs by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. It is based on the songs "Princess Royal", " Admiral Benbow" and "Portsmouth". The work is a march of roughly four minutes duration. It fol ...
arranged by
Sir Henry Wood
Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...
in 1905 to mark the centenary of the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...
. For many years it has been an indispensable item at the
BBC's #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
concert.
Contents
The ''Fantasia on British Sea Songs'' was first performed by Henry Wood and the
Queen's Hall Orchestra
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it ...
at a
Promenade Concert on 21 October 1905.
It comprises nine parts which follow the course of the Battle of Trafalgar from the point of view of a British sailor, starting with the call to arms, progressing through the death of a comrade, thoughts of home, and ending with a victorious return and the assertion that Britain will continue to 'rule the waves':
#
Bugle Calls
A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used fo ...
# The Anchor's Weighed
#
The Saucy Arethusa
''The Saucy Arethusa'' is a nautical song () which, although usually considered "traditional", has been attributed to Prince Hoare, a comic opera librettist, as part of a "musical entertainment" titled ''The Lock and Key'', performed at the Theat ...
#
Tom Bowling
#
Jack's The Lad (
Hornpipe
The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others ...
)
#
Farewell and Adieu, Ye Spanish Ladies
#
Home, Sweet Home
#
See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes
''Judas Maccabaeus'' ( HWV 63) is an oratorio in three acts composed in 1746 by George Frideric Handel based on a libretto written by Thomas Morell. The oratorio was devised as a compliment to the victorious Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cum ...
#
Rule, Britannia!
"Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...
The opening series of six naval
bugle call
A bugle call is a short tune, originating as a military signal announcing scheduled and certain non-scheduled events on a military installation, battlefield, or ship. Historically, bugles, drums, and other loud musical instruments were used fo ...
s and their responses are taken from the calls traditionally used to convey orders on a naval warship. The first call is ''Admiral's salute'', followed by ''Action'', ''General Assembly'', ''Landing Party'', ''Prepare to Ram'' and finally ''Quick, Double, Extend and Close''.
Instrumentation
Wood scored the ''Fantasia'' for one
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...
, three
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedles ...
s, three
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s, one
English horn
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alt ...
, three
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...
s in B-Flat, two
bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...
s, one
contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.
Differences from the bassoon
The reed is consi ...
; six
horns in F, four
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s in B-Flat, three
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
s, one
bass trombone
The bass trombone (german: Bassposaune, it, trombone basso) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to ...
, one
euphonium
The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
, two
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
s; a percussion section with
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
,
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, tho ...
,
glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone.
The gloc ...
,
side drum,
tenor drum A tenor drum is a membranophone without a snare. There are several types of tenor drums.
Early music
Early music tenor drums, or long drums, are cylindrical membranophone without snare used in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. They consi ...
,
bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
,
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC.
In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...
and
cymbal
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
s;
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
; two
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...
s and
strings. Wood also included an offstage horn on the left, as well as four offstage trumpets and a side drum on the right.
Last Night of the Proms
For many years, the ''Fantasia'' has been a staple item in the BBC's "Last Night of the Proms" concert, often with modifications. It was omitted from the programme, however, in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015. "Rule, Britannia!" has been given a place in the programme in its own right, and was still performed in the years in which the full ''Fantasia'' was omitted.
"
Rule, Britannia!
"Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...
" was originally included in the ''Fantasia'', but for many years up to 2000 it had been performed in an arrangement by
Sir Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...
, with a noted opera singer to encourage the audience to sing the refrain. From 2002 to 2007, the BBC reverted to the original arrangement that Sir Henry Wood made for the ''Fantasia'', performing just one verse with chorus for audience participation.
In 2009 the original arrangement by
Thomas Arne
Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song "A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', wh ...
was used, and the Sargent version was again heard in 2012.
In 2005, the bugle calls were restored to the ''Fantasia'' after a long absence. At the same time, with the development of related concerts running simultaneously in different parts of Britain, "Ye Spanish Ladies" was removed and replaced by the Welsh, Scottish and Irish songs, arranged by
Bob Chilcott
Robert "Bob" Chilcott (born 9 April 1955) is a British choral composer, conductor, and singer, based in Oxfordshire, England. He was a member of the King's Singers from 1985 to 1997, singing tenor. He has been a composer since 1997.
Ear ...
: "''
Ar Hyd y Nos "Ar Hyd y Nos" () is a Welsh song sung to a tune that was first recorded in Edward Jones' ''Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welsh Bards'' (1784). The most commonly sung Welsh lyrics were written by John Ceiriog Hughes (1832-1887), and have b ...
''", "
The Skye Boat Song
"The Skye Boat Song" is a late 19th-century Scottish song recalling the journey of Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") from Benbecula to the Isle of Skye as he evaded capture by government troops after his defeat at the Bat ...
" and "
Danny Boy
"Danny Boy" is a ballad, written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly in 1913, and set to the traditional Irish melody of " Londonderry Air".
History
In 1910, in Bath, Somerset, the English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly initial ...
", which have obscured Wood's original 'plot'.
Crowd participation is often noted in the ''Fantasia'' performance during the
Last Night of the Proms. Mock tears were shed by the audience during "Tom Bowling", feet were stamped in time to the introduction of "Jack's the Lad", a familiar tune which gets faster and faster, being followed by the honking of hooters and a clapping crescendo during the climax. Occasionally the orchestra have been known to deliberately perform this part out of tune in response to the audience. The frantic pace was then juxtaposed with solemn humming in "Home, Sweet Home" and then the whistling of the melody of "See, The Conquering Hero Comes". This culminated in the "prommers" singing the refrain of "
Rule, Britannia!
"Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...
". During the various solos, the performing artists often ''ad libbed'' their own variation on the melody and various parts of the ''Fantasia'' were often repeated at the request of the audience, whose participation was usually encouraged by light-hearted mockery on the part of the conductor.
References
External links
BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Last Night of the Proms 2006 (YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fantasia On British Sea Songs
British patriotic songs
Sea shanties albums
Music medleys
1905 compositions
Wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...