National anthem

A national anthem (in Switzerland as a national anthem called) is usually the anthem of a country , in states known as national anthem. It is the solemn hymn of praise, the song or piece of music (hymn) with which a state presents itself on special occasions. This national anthem is played or sung, for example, at state receptions, international sporting events or at special state events. In the monarchies of Great Britain and Spain , the national anthem is the royal anthem .

General

Which national anthem is the oldest in the world depends on the definition. The Japanese national anthem Kimi Ga Yo has a text of 905 at the latest; however, their melody was not written until the end of the 19th century. If a national anthem is defined as a unity of text and melody, then the Dutch hymn Het Wilhelmus, sung since the 16th century, is probably the oldest of today's national anthems.

Publication of the Dutch hymn from 1626

A national anthem usually consists of a melody and text. The melody of the British national anthem God Save the King / Queen was adopted by some other countries, such as Prussia ( Heil dir im Siegerkranz - German imperial anthem from 1871), Switzerland ( Calling my fatherland - no longer the national anthem today) or Liechtenstein ( Up on the young Rhine ). Similarly, the melody of the Austrian imperial anthem for the Deutschlandlied ( German national anthem from 1922 ) was adopted. The national anthems without text include Marcha Real (Spain), Inno Nazionale della Repubblica (San Marino) and Historically Risen from the Ruins (GDR - the text has not been sung since the early 1970s). A text has already been selected for the hymn Intermeco from Bosnia and Herzegovina after a text competition, but confirmation by the responsible ministry and parliament is still pending.

When the form of government changes , the national anthem is often changed or supplemented by a party anthem.

Many national anthems have a military origin, for example the American Star-Spangled Banner , the Irish Soldier's Song or the French war song La Marseillaise . Another group are hymns to a monarch, such as the British God Save the Queen . Denmark , Sweden and Norway have both a king and a national anthem. Other national anthems have a distinctly sacred, chorale-like character, such as the Swiss psalm , the Icelandic hymn Lofsöngur or Het Wilhelmus (Netherlands), which are also printed in church hymn books.

Reception with military honors in 2005: the Brazilian President Lula walks the front of an honorary formation of the French Garde républicaine .

Use of the national anthem

Since the beginning of the 19th century, states have been represented on state visits by their representatives and similar diplomatic events by playing so-called national anthems. This is often associated with military ceremonies as well.

At international sporting events, the national anthem of the respective home country is played at the award ceremony. It is also common for international football matches to play the national anthems of both teams right before kick-off.

Conduct when playing a national anthem

When playing a national anthem in public, it is common practice to stand up and stand in an upright position until the music has faded away. Men may take off their headgear, women are free to do so. For soldiers in uniform different rules apply when the military greeting is to prove. These expressions of respect have to be shown for every national anthem, regardless of whether it is the anthem of one's own country or another; Exceptions are music events at which national anthems are played as part of a concert, such as the music show of the nations .

In addition, there are country-specific features when playing a national anthem. So z. B. in the United States and in many Central and South American countries put the right hand on the heart. The national anthem is sung along on suitable occasions (especially at sporting events or public celebrations).

Unofficial national anthems

Some states also have several national anthems, of which only one is officially a national anthem, but the others have the same strong symbolic power in public and are sometimes also played on official occasions.

In the United Kingdom , in addition to the national anthem God Save the Queen , the anthems Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory established.

In the United States, in addition to the national anthem ( The Star-Spangled Banner ) , songs such as God Bless America , America the Beautiful and The Battle Hymn of the Republic are sung. The song Lift Every Voice and Sing , written by James Weldon Johnson , is considered the anthem of African Americans.

Another example is Australia , where the folk song Waltzing Matilda gained unofficial anthem status and was even used in Olympic medal ceremonies at times when Australia did not have its own national anthem, but rather the British one. Even after the introduction of its own Australian anthem, Waltzing Matilda has retained a strong meaning.

In the Czech Republic , besides the hymn Kde domov můj , which has been established since 1918 , the song Hospodine, pomiluj ny and the St. Wenceslas Choral , both of which have been sung since the Middle Ages, have the character of a national anthem.

For the Hungarian people, in addition to the national anthem Isten áldd meg a magyart , the Szózat is also considered an anthem.

In Austria, in addition to the national anthem (“Land der Berge, Land am Strome”), for example, the famous Radetzky March and the waltz On the beautiful blue Danube are also used as unofficial anthems. But I Am from Austria by Rainhard Fendrich is also often seen as an unofficial national anthem.

In Israel , the song Yerushalayim Shel Zahav ("Jerusalem of Gold") is associated with the victory in the Six Day War of 1967, which is viewed as redemption , that there have even been efforts to elevate it to the rank of Israeli national anthem instead of the Hatikvah .

Scotland , as part of the United Kingdom, does not have its own national anthem; at national sporting events, however, the hymns Flower of Scotland and Scotland the Brave are usually sung.

Special

The hymns of Zambia , South Africa and Tanzania all go back to the song Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika .
The national anthems of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ( God Save the Queen ) and Liechtenstein ( Oben am young Rhine ) have the same melody. With the text Heil dir in the wreath this was also the melody of the imperial hymn of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The melody was also used in Russia , Greece , Saxony , Bavaria and Switzerland and partly in Romania as a national or royal anthem , as well as a quasi-national anthem in Iceland . The Hawaiian hymn Hawaiʻi ponoʻī goes back to the same melody.
The former national anthem of Austria-Hungary (God receive ...) , the so-called Kernstock-Hymne (Austrian national anthem 1929–1938) and the Deutschlandlied , the third stanza of which is the national anthem of the Federal Republic of Germany (unity and law and freedom) , have the same melody.
The national anthems of Finland and Estonia have the same melody composed by Fredrik Pacius .
The lyrics of the Uruguayan and Paraguayan national anthems were both written by Francisco Acuña de Figueroa .
The Greek national anthem , which is also the national anthem of Cyprus , consists of the first 24 stanzas of an originally 158 stanzas poem, making it one of the longest. The first two stanzas of the text are heard on official occasions.
In the Swedish national anthem Du gamla, du fria , Sweden is not mentioned in the two original stanzas.
The Micronesian national anthem, Patriots of Micronesia, has the same melody as the song Ich hab surrendered , which served as a German substitute anthem, along with other songs, immediately after the Second World War. In addition, at least the text of the first stanza of the Micronesian hymn seems to be inspired by I have surrendered .

Supplement with party anthems

In the right-wing dictatorships of the 20th century in particular, it was common for the national anthem to be immediately followed by the respective party anthem, which thus claimed a status similar to the national anthem itself. So followed, for example

in fascist Italy the King's March ( Marcia Reale ) the (fascist) party anthem Giovinezza ,

In the time of National Socialism the Germany song, the Horst Wessel song of the National Socialists ,

in French-speaking Spain the King's March ( Marcha Real ), the anthem of the Carlist movement ( Marcha de Oriamendi ) and the Falange Española ( Cara al Sol ) ,

in authoritarian Austria between 1934 and 1938 the national anthem Be blessed without end, the song of the youth of the Austrofascists ,

in the État français of the Marseillaise a song in honor of Pétain ( Maréchal, nous voilà ) .

In many communist countries it was or is customary to play Die Internationale after the corresponding official national anthem ; In the Soviet Union , The International also served as the national anthem from 1917 to 1944.

In the People's Republic of China at the time of the Cultural Revolution, the song The East is Red , a hymn to the person of Mao Zedong (but also to the party), took a dominant position and almost overshadowed the national anthem March of the Volunteers .

In the Republic of China (Taiwan) the national anthem San Min Chu-i is also the party anthem of the Kuomintang , which is why the national flag song is also used as an unofficial anthem.

music

Various works of contemporary music are dedicated to the topic of "national anthems", for example

Karlheinz Stockhausen : Hymns
The solo piano composition Hämmerklavier XIX: Hymns of the World (Afghanistan to Zimbabwe) by Moritz Eggert (2006) quotes almost all the then current national anthems of the world in alphabetical order in eleven minutes.

literature

National anthems. Texts and melodies. 11th edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-15-010595-1 (with notes).

Harry D. Schurdel: National Anthem of the World. Origin and salary. Atlantis, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-254-08221-4 .

Jakob Seibert (Ed.): National anthems. Songbook. Schott, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-7957-5773-8 (sheet music and texts of 50 hymns).

Jakob Seibert (Ed.): National anthems. 50 hymns for piano and voice. Schott, Mainz 2006, ISBN 3-7957-5772-X (piano arrangements for playing and singing along).

Peter Häberle : National anthems as cultural identity elements of the constitutional state. 2nd Edition. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-428-14224-8 .

WL Reed, MJ Bristow: National Anthems of the World . 10th edition. 2002, ISBN 0-304-36382-0 .

Web links

Commons : National Anthem - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: National anthem - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

↑ "The melody was based on the Prussian hymn originally titled 'Heil Dir Im Siegerkranz'." Hawaiʻi ponoʻī . Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.

↑ Information about the Greek national anthem: Εθνικός Ύμνος ( Memento of the original from February 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Greek President website (Greek) @1@ 2

↑ In the version of Triple Himno , the Carlist and Falangist anthems of the Marcha Real even preceded them.

↑ http://www.moritzeggert.de/index.php?reqNav=work&subGenre=14&work=346 ; accessed on August 8, 2019.

[1] "The melody was based on the Prussian hymn originally titled 'Heil Dir Im Siegerkranz'." Hawaiʻi ponoʻī . Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.