God Save the Queen

: This article is on the British patriotic anthem. For the Sex Pistols song, see God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song).

Performance

The style of performance most commonly heard in official performances was that proposed as the 'proper interpretation' by King George V, who considered himself something of an expert, in view of the number of times he had heard it played. An Army Order was duly issued, in 1933, which laid down regulations for tempo, dynamics and orchestration. This included instructions such as that the opening "six bars will be played quietly by the reed band with horns and basses in a single phrase. Cornets and side-drum are to be added at the little scale-passage leading into the second half of the tune, and the full brass enters for the last eight bars". The official tempo for the opening section is a metronome setting of 60, with the second part played in a broader manner, at a metronome setting of 52{{fn|2}}.

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This slow and sombre pace can sound dreary to those having more modern tastes than George V, and more recent performances sometimes use a faster and livelier beat to reduce the dreary effect. Comedian Billy Connolly performed a sketch broadcast on TV comparing the UK's slow tune to the lively ones of many other nations and suggested that it should be replaced by the theme tune to The Archers.

Related Topics:
Billy Connolly - The Archers

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So far, Parliament has declined to take action.

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At the end of theatre performances the audience was expected to stand to attention while the anthem was played. In cinemas this brought a tendency for audiences to rush out while the credits played at the end of the film to avoid this formality.

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The anthem was traditionally played at closedown on the BBC and with the introduction of commercial television to the UK this practice was adopted by some ITV regions. BBC Two never played the anthem at closedown, and ITV dropped the practice in the late 1980s, but it continued on BBC One until 8 November 1997 and is still done on BBC Radio 4.

Related Topics:
BBC - ITV - BBC Two - BBC One - 8 November - 1997 - BBC Radio 4

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The rock band Queen put a version of God Save the Queen on their 1975 album A Night at the Opera. During the Queen's Golden Jubilee pop concert at Buckingham Palace on June 4, 2002, Brian May performed the anthem on electric guitar from the palace roof.

Related Topics:
Queen - 1975 - A Night at the Opera - Golden Jubilee - Pop - Buckingham Palace - June 4 - 2002 - Brian May - Guitar

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The Broadway musical West Side Story (1957) also features the Jets (a street gang of Polish-Americans) whistling the first six bars of "My Country Tis of Thee", which has the same tune as God Save the Queen.

Related Topics:
West Side Story - 1957 - Bars

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