Promenade concert facts for kids
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Promenade Concerts are special music shows where people can walk around while listening. The word "promenade" comes from French and means "to walk". Today, when most people hear "Promenade Concert," they think of the famous BBC Proms that started in 1895 with Henry Wood.
But long before the BBC Proms, there were other promenade concerts. These happened in big, beautiful parks in London. People would pay to enter these "leisure gardens" and enjoy many fun things.
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What Were Leisure Gardens Like?
Leisure gardens were like big amusement parks of their time. They offered lots of entertainment for everyone. You could see exciting fireworks, watch people dancing, or be amazed by acrobatics. And, of course, there was always music!
Orchestras played music for the visitors. Sometimes they played in special bandstands. Other times, the music was performed inside proper buildings within the gardens.
Famous Gardens and Composers
Two of the most famous leisure gardens were Vauxhall Gardens and Ranelagh Gardens. These places were very popular and fashionable until the 19th century. Rich people, royalty, and ordinary people all went there and mixed together.
The famous composer George Frideric Handel had his music played in these gardens. His piece, Music for the Royal Fireworks, was even performed in Vauxhall Gardens. This was to celebrate a peace treaty called the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
Dr Thomas Arne became the composer for Vauxhall Gardens in 1745. Many of his songs became very popular there. One of his most famous songs, Rule Britannia, gained popularity at Vauxhall. Later, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn also performed in Ranelagh Gardens when they visited London.
Classical Music Becomes Popular
In the 19th century, concerts of classical music became even more popular. A conductor named Louis Antoine Jullien led many of these concerts. His orchestra sometimes played with military bands. For example, the bands of the Royal Artillery or drummers from the French National Guard would join them.
Concerts were also held in Crystal Palace. This was a huge building made of glass. It was built for the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Many English composers had their music played in these parks. The music often included long songs called ballads. Drinking songs were also common. Sometimes, choirs would sing parts of big musical works called oratorios by Handel.
Later in the 19th century, the concert programs changed. They started to include more music by famous composers from other countries. These included Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Smetana, and Wagner.
The Start of the BBC Proms
In 1895, Henry Wood began his own series of promenade concerts. He wanted to help people learn to love good music. This series of concerts is still going strong today! You can find them at the Royal Albert Hall, and they are now known as the BBC Proms.
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Images for kids
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Vauxhall Gardens, from the Microcosm of London, 1810
