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BBC Last Night of the PROMS
Satuday September 10, 2005
The last night of the largest music festival in the world is a huge celebration in Britain every year. This was the 111th year of the PROMS celebration and I was asked at the last minute to sing. This also became a Christmas special on the BBC in 2005, airing on Christmas eve on BBC1.
Here is the review in "The Scotsman"
http://www.living.scotsman.com/features/BBC-Proms-in-the-Park.2660463.jp
12 September 2005 By KENNETH WALTON BBC PROMS IN THE PARK GLASGOW GREEN ****
GLASGOW has tried its hand at hosting a BBC Proms in the Park twice before. Last year was a washout, literally, and the whole thing was cancelled. The previous year, the sound system was inadequate. This year, though, with a move from Pacific Quay to Glasgow Green, and technology that worked, the city had a winning event. Well, almost.
The weather was generous with hardly a breath of wind and the entertainment was slick. The balletic Mugenkyo (Japanese drummers from Lanarkshire) teamed up with the upbeat testosterone-charged piper Stuart Cassells; soprano Ailish Tynan and last-minute substitute for tenor Jamie MacDougall, David Curry, were a seamless duo in numbers from West Side Story. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, under John Wilson, were a constant tour de force; the National Youth Choir of Scotland offered their usual perfection.
As the evening gathered steam - presented by the amiable MacDougall (able to speak, but not sing) and Sally Magnusson - it all seemed a million miles from the fusty, formula-driven Last Night of the Proms happening simultaneously in London.
But then the Glasgow stage fell silent, and the air chilled as a posh London conductor on the big screen thanked everyone but the Albert Hall tea lady. It was a complete irrelevance. Only MacDougall's poignant quips - "in your own time, son" - staved off potential hostility. But it killed the night.
The anti-jingoistic irony of Tommy Fowler's Beating the Retreat was diluted. Highland Cathedral and the fireworks were more a relief than a thrill.
Here is the review in "The Scotsman"
http://www.living.scotsman.com/features/BBC-Proms-in-the-Park.2660463.jp
12 September 2005 By KENNETH WALTON BBC PROMS IN THE PARK GLASGOW GREEN ****
GLASGOW has tried its hand at hosting a BBC Proms in the Park twice before. Last year was a washout, literally, and the whole thing was cancelled. The previous year, the sound system was inadequate. This year, though, with a move from Pacific Quay to Glasgow Green, and technology that worked, the city had a winning event. Well, almost.
The weather was generous with hardly a breath of wind and the entertainment was slick. The balletic Mugenkyo (Japanese drummers from Lanarkshire) teamed up with the upbeat testosterone-charged piper Stuart Cassells; soprano Ailish Tynan and last-minute substitute for tenor Jamie MacDougall, David Curry, were a seamless duo in numbers from West Side Story. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, under John Wilson, were a constant tour de force; the National Youth Choir of Scotland offered their usual perfection.
As the evening gathered steam - presented by the amiable MacDougall (able to speak, but not sing) and Sally Magnusson - it all seemed a million miles from the fusty, formula-driven Last Night of the Proms happening simultaneously in London.
But then the Glasgow stage fell silent, and the air chilled as a posh London conductor on the big screen thanked everyone but the Albert Hall tea lady. It was a complete irrelevance. Only MacDougall's poignant quips - "in your own time, son" - staved off potential hostility. But it killed the night.
The anti-jingoistic irony of Tommy Fowler's Beating the Retreat was diluted. Highland Cathedral and the fireworks were more a relief than a thrill.
