Great Britain’s famous Proms concerts usually end with a program that is British to the core, featuring many favorites that English audiences expect in the same way that Viennese audiences expect their Radetzky March on New Year’s. Let’s make this clear, then, from the start. This is not an actual Proms performance but a studio recording of music that is usually heard at that event. It is English to the core; about four tracks in, you’ll feel like you should be saluting as the Queen passes by. Though the performances are quite good, most of this repertoire can be found elsewhere in better overall performances–all except the Wood Fantasia on British Sea Songs, which includes Handel’s “See The Conquering Hero” and “Rule Britannia”, the only movement of this work in which the chorus joins in with the instrumentalists. This is apparently the only recording of it available at the moment and it is a handsome one, allowing almost all the soloists in the orchestra a good virtuoso turn. Since Naxos offers its CDs at such a low price, I can recommend acquiring it for this jolly seafaring piece alone, since the other works make handsome second versions. The recorded sound is somewhat remote and lacking in presence. Upper strings and percussion suffer the most.
