Chinese and American national anthems

[Sean]

I rather like the Chinese piece, it's complex and changeable and very different to the simple if memorable symmetries of the American theme; here's a few notes...

The Chinese national anthem is The March of the Volunteers and was written by Nie Er from Kunming, Yunnan province in 1934; he died that year from drowning aged 23. The words are by Tian Han, from Changsha in Hunan and he may have written them while in a Kuomintang jail in 1935.

Here it is in Chinese by a choir with orchestra
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTgxNjQ2Mzk2.html

And here sung in English with piano
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTU5OTEzMTA4.html

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the USA and is also a name for the American flag: the words for the music are about the flag during a battle with the British.

The music is a tune by the minor British composer John Stafford Smith, first published in 1778; it was long popular in the US and became the national anthem in 1931. Smith's piece was originally called The Anacreontic Song, written for a London musicians club.

It became the national anthem after a poem called The defence of Fort McHenry of 1814 by American Francis Scott Key was set to it. Key wrote the poem after witnessing the bombing of Fort McHenry by British ships; he was a lawyer and amature poet.

Fort McHenry is in Chesapeake Bay and the Battle of Fort McHenry took place there during the War of 1812. Chesapeake Bay is the largest US estuary and lies between Maryland and Virginia; many rivers drain into it. The War of 1812 was begun by the US against Britain in 1812 and lasted several years, consolidating US independence.

There are four verses in Key's Defence of Fort McHenry but often only the first is played for the national anthem.

Here it is sung by a men's choir
http://video.sina.com.cn/v/b/87764306-2991243403.html

And here sung by one man at a formal occasion
http://v.pps.tv/play_30PWUE.html

And here in a slushy but patriotic version
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTg3MjMxNTg4.html

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Stars and Stripes forever

This is another US national piece of music, a military march by American John Sousa written in 1897; again Stars and stripes is also an informal name for the American flag.

Sousa wrote words for this piece but they're not usually sung.

Here's the music, with patriotic images

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzcwODUwNzQw.html