Prom 46 (11.09.21) - Last Night of the Proms 2021

[ardcarp]

Mrs A and I are often a bit dismissive of The Last Night...but not this one. A really enjoyable evening with just bearable waffle from presenters and not too much leaving the RAH for goings on in Wapping-on-Sea. Accordionist wonderful, though balance (as mentioned above) not quite right IMO....orchestra a bit over-loud. Great shame about Skelton's voice problems. He managed it very well under the circumstances, using a lot of mezza-voce (eg in Brigg Fair) for some high notes. The Prize Song suffered, sadly, but like a true professional he coped...and luckily the trad Australian Song was largely in the baritone register.

The Gipps/Arnold piece was fun.

[mrbouffant]

Interesting to be in the back row stalls last night. I didn't have any issues personally with people unmasking as the evening went on, even if I chose to stay fully masked throughout. Everyone's risk appetite is different, is it not?
I found the atmosphere in the hall to be more "rugby club" than in previous LNOTP visits. Perhaps the fact that tickets were easily available via the box office almost up to kickoff had something to do with this.
One group of young bucks in the row in front arrived shortly before the start, carrying two pints each. Later they dispatched one of their number to the bar at least twice during proceedings. This made for an awkward shuffle along the row, merrily dripping lager on their fellow concert goers as they returned to their colleagues.
Lubricated boorishness was in evidence with the inelegant bellows of "Encore" after Jerusalem from various parts of the hall.
Some wag on the front row of the arena prom felt the need to shout "humorous" slogans every now and again. These seemed to amuse him and nobody else.
The hornpipe was ruined by a small group of prommers who, ignoring the dictum that 'less is more' decided to punctuate almost every cadence with a pyrotechnic. Tiresome.
That apart... thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I went ostensibly for the Arnold but enjoyed the accordion works very much as well as the orchestration of the opening piece.
Interesting that with the reduced orchestra (a) it could not be heard during the feet stomping/clapping of the hornpipe and (b) the organ absolute overwhelmed it during Land of Hope and Glory.
Just a few rambling notes from the trenches!

[mrbouffant]

I wonder if the mods could please split the mask discussion off into a separate thread/different subforum and leave this thread for the discussion of the mostly-musical aspects of LNOTP?

[french frank]

This is now the thread to discuss the LNOTP concert programme/performance. The subject of mask-wearing is here.

I wonder if the mods could please split the mask discussion off into a separate thread/different subforum and leave this thread for the discussion of the mostly-musical aspects of LNOTP?

Reasonable. I'll check where it begins to derail.

[ardcarp]

We tend to listen to the fun bit of the Last Night (i.e. the end stuff) with only half an ear. But was there something unusual in the Sea Songs? I distinctly heard The Saucy Arethusa solo being played on the (double?) bassoon. Surely it's the tuba's big moment? Has someone 'got at' Henry Wood's version?

[Tony Halstead]

Maybe I am identifying the wrong piece(!) but I thought it was a (very nice) bass clarinet.

[mrbouffant]

We tend to listen to the fun bit of the Last Night (i.e. the end stuff) with only half an ear. But was there something unusual in the Sea Songs? I distinctly heard The Saucy Arethusa solo being played on the (double?) bassoon. Surely it's the tuba's big moment? Has someone 'got at' Henry Wood's version?

We heard Mark Milidge's re-orchestration/re-arrangement of the Henry Wood arrangement. This is a version for smaller orchestra, hence the sharing out of parts amongst the reduced forces.
P&C No. 1 similarly was presented in Anne Dudley's arrangement for smaller forces.

[ardcarp]

Maybe I am identifying the wrong piece(!) but I thought it was a (very nice) bass clarinet.

No. You're quite right, my mistake. Sorry.