Vincent Novello was a British composer and Organist who gave the Novello publishing company its first embryonic form. Here he arranges Rule Britannia! for Voice SATB with Piano accompaniment to introduce some contrapuntal interest in the verse.When 18th century British composer Thomas Arne included his song Rule Britannia! in a masque based on the life of Alfred the Great that was presented at Cliveden the country home of Frederick Prince of Wales he could not have imagined that more than two hundred seventy years later his ditty would be known throughout the British Isles and beyond. Rule Britannia! is widely used in the Royal Navy and British Army and is featuredeach year at the Last Night of the Proms in the Royal Albert Hall as a national sing-along.At the time of writing the Dutch actually ‘ruled the waves ’ so this song was more an exhortation than a status report. The lyrics were also a statement of civil liberty. Since Cromwell’s time Britain had had a standing army which could be turned against the native population. A standing navy however existed solely to protect the nation from invaders protecting a free populace.
