British PM could not name composer of 'Rule Britannia'

[Neil McGowan]

A bit frustrating about the lack of available recordings of Thomas Arne opera's. Thomas and Sally,sounds fun! If anyone has the Lp,maybe they could supply an upload? Gramophone's 1985 review of the 1985 Pye reissue describes it as a "captivating little opera".

It's a robust little piece :) It was clearly written for a 'mass audience', and thus both the music and libretto tend towards broad farce - what they lose, perhaps, in subtlety, they gain in humour.  We performed it in our Summer C18th Opera seasons at the Scheremetev Palace at Ostankino, in Moscow. (Soviet administrators renamed the palace "Ostankino", to expunge the name of the aristo owner).  I'm afraid we had to make quite a few cuts, as the budget available was almost nil - I'd like to come back to the piece and restore the cut material.  A facsimile of the original imprint of the piano score can be downloaded for free from IMSLP - it's mostly usable 'as is', there are no 'period' clefs etc, and it's an engraved edition - so you don't have to struggle with spidery handwriting :)  Anyone with moderate piano skills could play it over for their own pleasure  :)  Like many operas of the period (Dibdin, Arne, Storace, etc) you'd have to make a conjectural orchestration, and realise the basso-continuo.

[Dundonnell]

Not that anybody has asked ;D   but I should just have added that the British Prime Minister who loved reading the novels of Anthony Trollope was Harold Macmillan(1957-63) and the last Prime Minister to exhibit any genuine interest in and love for classical music was, of course, Edward Heath(1970-74).

Nowadays the spin-doctors will determine that the PM's taste are "cool" and "in touch" with popular fashion.

If a politician told a reporter or chant-show presenter "do you know what...I don't know anything about Radiohead, Coldplay or the Arctic Penguins and don't care because I happen to prefer Bruckner's symphonies" I would be cheering from the rooftops ;D But it ain't going to happen :(

[kyjo]

It's rather sad that even the people highest up in the social class feel like they have to be "cool" :(. People just don't have the courage to display a passion for something that isn't "cool" and popular because they fear the public will ridicule them. Believe me, the situation is no better (or even worse) here in the colonies :o >:(!

[jimfin]

I think Nick Clegg listens to classical music, but of a very 'sung' nature: Puccini, etc. Or maybe he thought that if he said Sorabji and Le Flem he might get blank looks from journalists who prefer 'Coldplay' and 'Justin Beaver'.

[Neil McGowan]

It's rather sad that even the people highest up in the social class feel like they have to be "cool" :(. People just don't have the courage to display a passion for something that isn't "cool" and popular because they fear the public will ridicule them. Believe me, the situation is no better (or even worse) here in the colonies :o >:(!

I fear it's because they don't really have any musical interests at all - and so their spin-doctors 'invent' some 'likes' for them which they believe will 'play well' with the public.

Tony Blair was filmed several times carting a guitar case about (by some strange and mysterious coincidence, it was in his hand when moving into No 10). What was in the case, however, we never saw.

If a politician told a reporter or chant-show presenter "do you know what...I don't know anything about Radiohead, Coldplay or the Arctic Penguins and don't care because I happen to prefer Bruckner's symphonies" I would be cheering from the rooftops ;D But it ain't going to happen :(

Of course it ain't gonna happen :) Because a British PM must listen only to music written in Britain - Elgar, or Vaughan Williams. (Britten and Tippett are hors de combat for obvious reasons). Now if a British Prime-Minister confessed to liking Dunstable or Power...  or Havergal Brian, or PMD... then a trip to the rooftops might be justified :)  However, the only classical music they're likely to have encountered is Darke or Dyson...  in the CofE chapels of their public schools.