1897 was the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, one of the most momentous occasions of the last decade of the nineteenth century and one that England celebrated with all possible grandeur and a near religious fervor. Such celebrations were not only to acclaim the sovereign, but the country itself, at that time the dominant world power, the British Empire at its mightiest. If one stretches, one can find symbolism here; the British Empire is largely vanished and so is most of this score.

Rather than an oratorio (he was even offered a text by poet laureate Alfred Austin), a genre in which he had previously shone, he returned to ballet. Rather than a story with a plot, he chose to depict a series of eight representative vignettes from England's past, from Druidic times through Victoria's coronation, ending in a contemporary dance for soldiers from the various parts of Great Britain and its colonies.

Even though it was a tremendous success, the score was never published, so when Arthur Sullivan's manuscript was lost, all that remained were the subsequent suites and Wildred Bendall's piano reduction. However, the suites give a strong impression of the work, as does the reduction.

The Introduction opens with a powerful, swelling theme, during which the winds and strings dominate, leading to the tranquil Berceuse as Britannia sleeps. This is followed by a mystical Druidical march, largely for the harps, though as the Druidical scene progresses it is interspersed with a light theme suggesting pastoral dances rather than sacred rites. The "Mistletoe Dance" is massive and yet lyrical as it opens, with the sweeping string phrases accented by the brass, though the middle segment is lighter, even puckish, as the violins dominate. The "May Day Festivities," which conclude the suite, open with a theme worthy of an operetta finale. The mood briefly becomes reverent with an almost hymn-like middle passage, but the mood reverts to its earlier lightheartedness as the work concludes.

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