Archive for September 3, 2020
Lyrics of “Rule, Britannia” to be sung at Proms
The BBC’s new director-general yesterday reversed the ban on singing Rule, Britannia at the Last Night of the Proms (which will take place this year on September, 12th) and encouraged the nation to sing along.
On just his second day in post, BBC’s new director-general Tim Davie ordered the about-turn amid fierce criticism of the corporation over claims that the lyrics to Rule, Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory had been ditched over their associations with colonialism.
In place of a full choir, the BBC has now decided to put in place a “select group of singers” who will perform the pieces inside the Royal Albert Hall with “audiences free to sing along at home”.
More than 100 singers normally perform Rule Britannia! – but a spokesperson for the BBC Proms said the change in the arrangement this year was due to the coronavirus outbreak.
They said in a statement: “The pandemic means a different Proms this year and one of the consequences, under COVID-19 restrictions, is we are not able to bring together massed voices.”
The broadcaster will provide subtitles so viewers can join in and also plans to light up the Royal Albert Hall in red, white and blue in a further outward demonstration of its patriotic intent.
Lyrics to sing along: https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/programm/promstexte100.pdf
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