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National Anthem
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A '''national anthem''' is a generally
patriotism patriotic musical composition that is formally recognized by a country's
government as their official national song.
During the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the rise of the
nationalism national state, most countries adopted a national anthem, which in some cases coexists with other commonly sung
patriotic songs. The oldest song purporting to be a national anthem is the "
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Wilhelmus" from
the Netherlands, written between
1568 and
1572 during the
Eighty Years' War. It is unusual among national anthems in referring not to a country but to a national founder hero. More typically, anthems seek to reflect the unity of a nation by evoking and eulogizing the history, traditions and struggles of its people.
Anthems first rose to prominence in Europe in the nineteenth century, and the musical style of that time has been used in almost every national anthem. Even in African and Asian countries, where western orchestral music is foreign, the national anthem is usually in European style. Only a handful of non-European countries have anthems rooted in indigenous traditions, most notably
Japan (whose lyrics are the oldest anthem lyrics in the world,
Kimi Ga Yo),
Costa Rica,
Iran,
Sri Lanka, and
Myanmar.
Some other countries have challenged the dominance of dated orchestral music. In
Australia, for instance, the official anthem since
1984 has been "
Advance Australia Fair", but there is much support for the folk ballad "
Waltzing Matilda" as a national song, even a candidate for the national anthem.
The majority of national anthems are either
March (music) marches or
hymns in style. The countries of
Latin America tend towards more
operatic pieces, while a handful of countries use a simple
fanfare. Anthems by their nature have to be brief (the average is about one minute in length), yet many, if not most, manage to make them musically significant, and a true representation of the nation's musical character.
Few anthems have been written by notable composers. The French anthem "
La Marseillaise" was written by the otherwise unknown
Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle; the tune of "
The Star-Spangled Banner" was taken from "
To Anacreon in Heaven" by the otherwise unknown Englishman
John Stafford Smith; and "
God Save the Queen" was written by a composer whose identity is not known with any certainty. While the music to the German anthem was written by
Joseph Haydn to the words "
Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser," it became notorious during the
Nazism Nazi era as "
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles."
Among the very few countries with an anthem written by a world renowned composer are:
Germany, which uses one by
Joseph Haydn; the
Austrian national anthem which was possibly written by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (though there is not a lot of evidence); the
Vatican City, whose anthem was written by
Charles Gounod; and
Newfoundland (since 1949 no longer a sovereign state but a province of Canada) whose national anthem was by Sir
Hubert Parry. Few anthems have been praised for having lyrics of any great poetic merit, though the noted poet
Rabindranath Tagore wrote the lyrics and music for both the
India Indian and the
Bangladesh Bangladeshi national anthems.
National anthems are used in a wide array of contexts. They are played on national holidays and festivals, and have also come to be closely connected with sporting events. At the
Olympic Games the national anthem of the gold medal winner is played at each medal ceremony. National anthems are also played before games in many sports leagues. In some countries the national anthem is played to students each day at the start of school. In other countries the anthem is played in a
theatre before a
play or in a
movie theater cinema before a
film movie. Many radio and
television stations have adopted this and play the national anthem when they sign on in the morning and again when they sign off at night. On most occasions, only one stanza of the anthem is played (usually the first, although Germany uses the third).
Many states also have unofficial anthems, and countries may also have
royal anthems,
presidential anthems,
state anthems, or anthems for sub-national entities that are also officially recognized.
Larger entities also sometimes have anthems. There are a handful of multinational or international anthems. The tune of the
Ode to Joy from
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is the official anthem of the
European Union; the
United Nations and the
African Union also have unofficial anthems. In 2005, the
British and Irish Lions rugby team, comprising players from
Great Britain and both the North and Republic of
Ireland, used
The Power of Four as their anthem.
See also
*
List of national anthems
*
Anthem
External links
-
The World All Countries Anthems, a website about National symbols, including the national anthems of all nations.
-
Recordings of countries' anthems around the world by the
US Navy band
-
A collection of national and territorial anthems in
mp3 formats. Vocal renditions are included.
Category:National symbols
Category:National anthems *
Category:Anthems
ar:نشيد وطني
bg:Ð?ационален химн
ca:Himne nacional
cs:Národnà hymna
cy:Anthem genedlaethol
da:Nationalsang
de:Nationalhymne
el:Εθνικός Ï?μνος
eo:Nacia himno
es:Lista de himnos nacionales
fa:Ù?هرست سرودهای ملی کشورها
fi:Kansallislaulu
fr:Hymne national
gl:Himno Nacional
he:×”×ž× ×•×Ÿ ל×?ומי
hu:Nemzeti himnusz
id:Lagu Kebangsaan
ilo:Nailian a kanta
is:Þjóðsöngur
it:Inno nazionale
ja:国æŒ
ka:ს�ხელმწიფ� ჰიმნი
ko:êµê°€ (노래)
li:Volkshymne
lt:Valstybinis himnas
lv:Valsts himna
ms:Lagu kebangsaan
nl:Volkslied
nb:Nasjonalsang
nn:Nasjonalsong
pl:Hymn państwowy
pt:hino nacional
ro:Listă de imnuri naţionale
sh:Državna himna
simple:National anthem
sl:državna himna
sv:Nationalsång
th:เพลงชาติ
tl:Pambansang awit
tr:Ulusal marÅŸ
fiu-vro:Riigihümn'
zh:国æŒ
see
National anthem
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