180807 – Toronto Concert Orchestra

You’ll thrill and get those spine tingling chills with some of the most stirring music ever composed. Patriotic favourites from the British Isles including Land of Hope and Glory, Rule, Britannia!, Knightsbridge from the London Suite, The British Grenadiers March, and many more. No doubt, many will sing-along with soloist, mezzosoprano, Danielle MacMillan.

PROGRAMME

[INTERMISSION]

Kenneth J. Alford | Colonel Bogey March
arr. Bobby Herriot | Music of the British Isles
Michael William Balfe | I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls from "The Bohemian Girl"
C. Hubert H. Parry | Jerusalem
Edward Elgar | Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 in D (Land of Hope and Glory)
Ross Parker and Hughie Charles | We’ll Meet Again
Traditional | God Save the Queen

Approx. Timing | 1.8, 3.5, 10.5, 5.0, 3.5, 15.0, 5.0 [20] 4.5, 10.0, 4.5, 2.9, 8.8, 3.5, 2.8

Conductor | Kerry Stratton
Mezzosoprano | Danielle MacMillan

PROGRAMME NOTES
Prepared by TCO's Assistant Conductor, Surinder S. Mundra

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.

-from The Last Rose of Summer

War has been an inescapable complex social phenomenon in the human experience throughout history. From the earliest literary examples of Cain killing Abel in religious narratives, to the ancient chronicles of Lysander, the great Spartan commander who suppressed the Athenians in 405 B.C., Alexander the Great traversing much of the ancient world pillaging and conquering with the sword, or in our modern times where nations like the British Empire for better and for worse, subjugated other nations for power, land, and riches, war has existed as long as humanity has, and we all are a part and product of it.

Our oftentimes tacit acceptance of the atrocities of war may well have been facilitated by the romanticism expressed in art and music inspired by those horrific events, as well as philosophical and religious musings on just war theories.

Then there is the other story relating to war. It is a story of those young men who placing their trust in authorities and on their behalf, went off in to battle, risking and sacrificing their lives, leaving families and loved ones behind for causes they oftentimes didn’t fully understand.

Tonight’s programme is of course not an exaltation of war, but rather a celebration of the heroism of those brave and valiant soldiers who fought for the freedoms we easily take for granted.

Much of tonight’s music pays particular attention to England’s role in humanity’s great story as one of the greatest empires that ruled over much of the world some time ago.

The British Grenadiers March, and Rule, Britannia! describe the Empire in its Golden Age during the 18th century where ‘Britannia rule[s] the waves’, and ‘never shall be slaves.’ Interestingly, these lyrics imply a certain God-given right invested to the Empire to rule over the world. It may be alluded to in that famous hymn, Jerusalem with words by William Blake, where Jesus Christ will visit England establishing a new Heavenly Jerusalem.

The beauty in all of tonight’s music also emphasizes the long hoped and sought-after justice and peace which ensues after those battles have been fought. It is hoped that their sacrifices quell all fighting thereafter, and unite all nations.

And so, it is most appropriate that we be mindful of that beautiful passage by Rudyard Kipling when he writes,

'God of our fathers, known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle line,

Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget!'

LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS

Week 10 | Casa Loma Symphony in the Gardens Series