At the graduation day for Virginia Tech the band was playing one of Elgar's 'Pomp and Circumstance' marches. Apparently this tune is regularly played at graduation days in American universities. How did this tradition originate ?
To anyone British the music seemed incongruous.It's the tune for 'Land of Hope and Glory', a patriotic song, which we sing in nostalgically jingoistic moments, notably at the last night of the Proms ( a festival of classical music that runs every night from mid-July to mid-September, in London's Royal Albert Hall)
"Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the free, How shall we extol thee Who are born of thee? Wider still and wider Shall thy bounds be set. God, who made thee mighty, Make thee mightier yet !"
Excellent. Elgar himself must have been quietly amused. The link states that this piece was performed in 1905 for his doctorate at Yale. Well,by that time its fame and popularity as 'Land of Hope and Glory' was already well established in Britain and the Empire. The setting of words to the music was suggested by Edward V, for his coronation but the coronation was delayed because of Edward's illness and so the song got its first public airing when it was sung by Clara Butt in June 1902. At that time the Boer War had only just ended (May 31st 1902, with the absorption of two South African states into the Empire) and Empire was the theme of the day. The words, by A C Benson,reflect this sentiment. So we have the interesting spectacle of the music, redolent of Empire, being played for innocent American youth We take it that they, of all people, had no ambitions of Empire building or controlling or initimidating foreign lands and nor have their successors
Fred, You hear it everywhere here, from Pre-school graduations to high school and on. Always sounds best though at the Royal Albert Hall. I have been to many concerts there, but nothing moves me like The Last Night of the Proms.
I think it sums up everything that's good about being British. I love the country I live in, but watching these three excerpts makes my heart ache to be back in England again
Forgive my indulgence in posting the links to these :
