To help ease the passing of summer for the British public the BBC annually organises an eight week audio bonanza celebrating everything that's good about classical music and classical-ish music. They call it
The Proms, and the format is nightly concerts and musical events that are about as big a rip-roaring celebration of this Land of Hope and Glory, the Ruling of Britannia, and Jerusalem as the UK can get away with in polite company these days.
In 2010 the music starts on the 16th of July and keeps it up until the 11th of September with the number of concerts and events hovering around 100. A lot of it's classical, but there's plenty of tasters for people who, for example, like the scores from films or musicals more than they fancy a symphony or concerto.
This year there's a few Dr. Who themed proms, the children's prom includes Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet', you can hear Humperdinck's 'Hansel and Gretel' or the Penguin Café and there's a sing-a-long West Side Story event. It's cheap too – supposedly the world's most democratic music festival, as decreed by someone famous from the music world.
The main venue is the Albert Hall, which hosts 70 concerts of its own, but there are also a series of chamber concerts in smaller venues. There are people who go to every concert, or have a season ticket, and you can
buy your tickets in advance, but in most cases you have to buy your ticket on the day (which could be more democratic if it didn't exclude people who have to go to work in the morning – but it is quite entertaining to go by on the bus and see all the little grey haired old ladies in a neat queue). Traditionally the thing to do is to stand for the performances, the initial idea was to 'prom'enade around the hall and have a little indoor picnic, but that's not allowed any more, sigh. These days you can buy seated tickets if that's a more realistic option for you.
One of the most inclusive, also read fun, events in the series happens on the last night, when as well as an evening in the Albert Hall, the Proms spreads out into the night all around Britain in a live link up of indoor and outdoor events. One of the largest gatherings happens in Hyde Park, across the Serpentine from the Albert Hall. Called the
Proms in the Park, it's part picnic, part concert and part sing-a-long, where you can eat pigs in blankets, drink warm white wine and see people draped happily in Union Jacks standing to sing the national anthem. Wogan's hosting, as usual, and in
Hyde Park he's being joined by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and José Carreras, representing the West End, Kerry Ellis, and representing rock down the ages, Brian May, guitarist from Queen. Which is a suitably patriotic booking.
There are similar events held up and down the country, and this year everyone's invited to practice in advance to take part in the largest ever operatic chorus singing the Bridal Chorus from Wagner's Lohengrin, and if that's not your style then try the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic 'You'll Never Walk Alone' (the one from the football.).
