Henry Wood

Fantasia On British Sea Songs

The Fantasia on British Sea Songs was arranged by Sir Henry Wood in 1905 to mark the centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. It is a medley of British sea songs and for many years has been seen as an indispensable item at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms concert.
The complete work is made up of nine parts which follow the course of the battle 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'. Individual sections can be omitted if required. The fantasia commences with a series of six naval bugle calls and their responses. These calls were traditionally used to convey orders on a naval warship.
1. Bugle Calls (Admiral's Salute, Action, General Assembly, Landing Party, Prepare to Ram, Quick, Double, Extend and Close.)
2. The Anchor's Weighed
3. The Saucy Arethusa
4. Tom Bowling
5. Jack's The Lad (Hornpipe) (with optional encore)
6. Farewell and Adieu, Ye Spanish Ladies
Clarinet Cadenza
7. Home, Sweet Home
8. See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes
9. Rule, Britannia! (A soloist can be used for the verses/choruses)

Originally for orchestra (with a singer in Rule Britannia), this new arrangement by Peter Lawson has added a choir throughout as all of the tunes used (except the bugle calls) started life as sea songs. The accompaniment can be provided either by an orchestra or just a piano. Four different choral versions are available and four different 48 page vocal scores are available: SATB - GM144 SSA - GM145 TTBB - GM146 SA+Men - GM147
The orchestra score and parts are the same for each and are available under the catalogue number GMCL200
Duration 19 minutes

The audio sample here is of the choir with piano version and begins after the Bugle Calls and omits the clarinet cadenza. Look under GMCL200 to hear the orchestral version.