Re: Relay time! Beethoven's Ninth

--- Roger Mills <romilly@...> wrote:

> Among my favorite anthems:  US, Canada, France, Japan, ARGENTINA
> (quite
> Verdian), and the former Soviet one.  One of my complaints about US
> broadcasts of the Olympics is that they don't let us hear any but our
> own.
> (I also like the one I composed, assigned to Ruritania for lack of
> anyone
> better)
Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

Russia (the new one), which is Glinka's "Patriotic Song".  No words, at
least not yet.

India, composed by Bengali author Ravindranath Tagore (who also penned
Bangladesh's anthem).  Great counterpoint in the arrangement I've
heard.

Israel: <Ha-Tikvah> "The Hope".  Very solemn.

Mexico, which I've heard performed a few times here in Lufkin (HUGE
Mexican-American population even in a town of 30000 like this).

Vatican City (yes, the Pope has an anthem of his own).  "Papal
Procession", by Charles Gounod, who also set Bach's first Prelude to
his melody and came up with one of the two better-known Ave Marias (the
other one of course being Schubert's).
*I also wrote my own setting for the Ave Maria.  A guitar and piano
duet (possibly guitar and sitar eventually), in 5/4 time.  I have a
MIDI file somewhere, gotta upload it to my new homepage...

Greece: sounds like a Chopin polonaise, and it has 158 stanzas.  But
you only hear one during the closing ceremonies of Olympic games.

Others: Australia, Argentina, Canada (probably my favorite of all),
Uzbekistan, United Kingdom (we stole your anthem, my dear Brits, and
called it "America", sorry), Bulgaria, Poland, Morocco, Azerbaijan,
Mauritania (probably the most unusual one), Kenya (the only anthem
written by a group of citizens rather than one composer), and the new
South African anthem, which is actually two: "God Bless Africa" and
"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (the old "White" national hymn).  Also, the
unofficial (and very anti-theocratic) Iranian anthem "Ey Iraan" (I was
gonna dedicate my own arrangement to my infamous bride-to-(would) be,
but...)

DaW.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites.
http://invites.yahoo.com/