That Was Bracingly Educational.

In recent weeks Britain has been vaguely aware of a row over the Last Night of the Proms concert.

Specifically whether the lyrics to Rule Britannia! should be sung. Or whether the notion that people never shall be slaves is offensive to the Black Lives Matter movement.

This entire argument completely fails to understand the Last Night of the Proms and its use of Rule Britannia!

For starters the Last Night of the Proms isn't really part of the Proms festival. Instead it is the drunken party at the end of the Proms festival. Thrown  and attended by the highly intelligent and creative people who've been working hard putting on a series of concerts over the past eight weeks.

Furthermore Rule Britannia! is not actually played at the Last Night of the Proms. Instead elements of it are used as part of a much larger medley of songs. Known as the Hornpipe Medley.

This has its roots in Sea Shanties/Work Songs. Where the tempo of the song sets the pace for a collective task that must be completed in unison. For example rowing or yanking on a rope to pull up a sail. 

In turn this type of song have their roots in Irish set dances. Where the pace at which a dance routine must be performed is set by the tempo of the music. And therefore the spite of the musician.

That historical relationship between Britain and Ireland obviously has some Brexity connotations to it.

The Horn Pipe Medley starts of slowly. Then gets progressively faster and faster. Forcing musicans, who are often drunk by that point, to try and keep up.

It also forces the definitely drunk audience to try and keep up. As they perform a dance loosely based on a seaman's jig. Or at least as close as you can get in concert hall seats

I didn't watch Last Night of the Proms. I did though randomly manage to tune just as the Rule Britannia! sequence.

This time the medley went from Rule Britannia! into a lone Scottish piper performing a set dance reel. Which got progressively faster and faster. It then went onto to a Welsh folk band performing an Irish inspired song.

All in an effort to educate the audience.

Well. That's what I assume. I went off to do the dishes.