All too soon the Last Night of the Proms was upon us, that uproarious party where audiences and performers let their hair down after eight weeks of serious music-making.
As always the home teams of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and BBC Singers were on the platform, led by the Finn who’s now an old hand at English Last Night jokiness, Sakari Oramo. As for the music, all the old favourites were reassuringly present and correct, proving there really is nothing in the world more stubborn than a Proms tradition. There was Rule Britannia, hanging in there despite years of condemnation, belted out lustily by the packed house without a trace of embarrassment. There was Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea-Songs, there was Jerusalem. Flags of all nations were waved, and balloons popped noisily at the most inappropriate times.
In his speech from the podium Oramo reminded us how this summer we’ve been entertained with two sorts of excellence, one sporting at the Olympics and one musical, at the Proms. If only he’d gone on to say that although sporting excellence has been handsomely supported classical music is increasingly starved of resources, even though it too brings joy to millions.