The Fantasia on British Sea Songs was arranged by Sir Henry Wood in 1905 to mark the centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar. It is a medley of British sea songs and for many years has been seen as an indispensable item at the BBC's Last Night of the Proms concert.
The complete work is made up of nine parts which follow the course of the battle from the point of view of a British sailor, starting with the call to arms, progressing through the death of a comrade, thoughts of home, and ending with a victorious return and the assertion that Britain will continue to 'rule the waves'. Individual sections can be omitted if required. The fantasia commences with a series of six naval bugle calls and their responses. These calls were traditionally used to convey orders on a naval warship.
1. Bugle Calls (Admiral’s Salute, Action, General Assembly, Landing Party, Prepare to Ram, Quick, Double, Extend and Close.)
2. The Anchor's Weighed
3. The Saucy Arethusa
4. Tom Bowling
5. Jack's The Lad (Hornpipe) (with optional encore)
6. Farewell and Adieu, Ye Spanish Ladies
Clarinet Cadenza
7. Home, Sweet Home
8. See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes
9. Rule, Britannia! (A soloist can be used for the verses/choruses)
Originally for orchestra (with a singer in Rule Britannia), this new arrangement by Peter Lawson has added a choir throughout as all of the tunes used (except the bugle calls) started life as sea songs. The accompaniment can be provided either by an orchestra or just a piano. Four different choral versions are available and four different 48 page vocal scores are available: SATB (GM144) - SSA (GM145) - TTBB (GM146) - SA+Men (GM147)
The orchestra score and parts are the same for each and are available here (GMCL200).
Audio Sample
Click the play button below to hear a performance which has been computer generated from the score.
ORCHESTRATION: 2 Flutes (2nd db.piccolo), 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns in F, 2 Trumpets in Bb, 3 Trombones, Tuba (opt.db.Euphonium), Timpani, Percussion (4 players: Triangle, Side Drum, Tenor Drum, Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tambourine, Wood Block, Swanee Whistle), Harp (or Keyboard), Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass) plus Choir [optional] either SATB, SA+Men, SSA or TTBB
International Shipping Suspended
With regret we have decided to suspend all international shipping options indefinitely, due to a significant increase in failed deliveries related to customs procedures and lost parcels. We are here to provide a reliable and prompt service to our customers and unfortunately the international solutions available to us are not up to our standards. We will review this decision in the future.
Item prices quoted on our website do not include delivery. All delivery charges are calculated by order value.
Deliveries to the United Kingdom
- £3.00 for orders under £25
- FREE for orders over £25
All deliveries within the UK are sent by Royal Mail First Class Post or 24-Hour Parcelforce dependent on weight. Please see our notes on Delivery Times below for more information.
Deliveries to Europe (SUSPENDED)
Your delivery charge will be calculated at the checkout. All deliveries to the EU will be sent via a tracked service where available.
If you need to place an order with a net value of more than £500 please call +44 (0)1304 872 812 or email us with your requirements.
Deliveries to International (SUSPENDED)
Your delivery charge will be calculated at the checkout. All international deliveries will be sent via a tracked service where available.
If you need to place an order with a value of more than £200 please call +44 (0)1304 872 812 or email us with your requirements.
Delivery Times
We aim to dispatch every order within 24 hours excluding weekends.
However, we have learned from experience not to make promises regarding delivery. We aim simply to provide you with a reliable service at a reasonable cost. To keep our prices competitive we do not keep huge stocks of any particular item. No matter how good our stock control, there will occasionally be times when a particular item is not immediately available.
Sometimes this will be due to overwhelming demand, and sometimes it will be due to circumstances beyond our control, such as the item having gone to reprint or out of print. You should be aware that your payment is taken automatically online at the time you place your order. In the circumstances outlined above, we will do our best to contact you and inform you of any anticipated delays. You may cancel your order at any time if you are not happy to wait.
Although we make every effort to ship your order according to these guidelines, we will not be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by delayed delivery.
Stock information:
Regularly updated stock information is now available to view online at ScoreStore. This information can, on occasion, be incorrect due to delays of up to 12 hours in updating. Our system will also allow you to order more items than we have in stock at any one time. If you require urgent delivery of a large order, please contact us to confirm current stock levels. Our Freephone number is 0800 072 0354 and we are in the office 9-5, Monday to Friday.
If you wish to cancel your order prior to dispatch, please email us at sales@scorestore.co.uk. We will terminate the transaction and refund any payments already made relating to your order. Once an order has been dispatched, we will accept returns where they meet the following conditions:
In the event that your item is faulty you may return it to us within thirty days and we will refund the cost of the item and reimburse the cost of returning the item to us.
If our error has led to an item has been mistakenly supplied to you and it is unopened and in as-new condition, you may return it to us within thirty days and we will refund the cost of the item and reimburse the cost of returning the item to us.
If you have decided that you do not wish to keep an item that has been correctly supplied, you may return it to us unopened in as-new condition within thirty days. In this case we will refund the cost of the item and you will be responsible for the cost of returning the item to us. You may not return items that we have ordered specially for you unless they are faulty or supplied in error.
If you wish to return an item to us, please email sales@scorestore.co.uk for instructions. We will not accept unsolicited returns arriving at our warehouse.
