Virgin Islands March
The Virgin Islands March ( German Virgin Islands-march ) is the national anthem of the United States Virgin Islands . It was the unofficial national anthem of the United States until it was declared an official symbol of the state in 1963 .
Emergence
The Virgin Islands March was composed in 1919 by Alton Augustus Adams (1889–1987), a conductor in the Navy, who himself came from the Virgin Islands.
melody
The hymn, written at a brisk march and in the tried and tested, popular gesture of the American marching band tradition, is similar in structure and effect to John Philip Sousa's famous The Stars and Stripes Forever . It is introduced by a rather long instrumental prelude (18 bars) in B flat major , which in turn begins with a short fanfare. The stanzas (16 bars) begin with the quieter trio in E flat major . After an interlude (8 bars) the stanza melody is repeated. The standard arrangement for a wind orchestra therefore only provides for two stanzas "in one piece".
text
original English text | free German translation |
All hail, our Virgin Islands. |
Hail to our Virgin Islands, |