Fantasia On British Sea Songs - Performance During The Last Night of The Proms

Performance During The Last Night of The Proms

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 crescendoing clapping 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 the solemn humming with 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!. During the various solos, the performing artist 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.