How God Save the King became the world’s 1st national anthem

It is one of the most famous songs in the world. And on Saturday in London’s Westminster Abbey, it will be the heart of the ceremony when King Charles III is officially crowned as the head of state of England, Canada and 13 other countries. The event will be celebrated with singing God Save the King.

No one knows when the song was written or when the words and lyrics were first put together. The earliest known publication of the work was in 1744, according to The Oxford Companion to Musicwho noted that the song was the first national anthem of the world.

It all began on September 28, 1745, at London’s Drury Lane Theatre. The nation is in crisis. A Scottish army led by Charles Edward Stuart – known as Bonnie Prince Charlie – marched south, intent on reclaiming the English crown that had been taken from his grandfather.

Paul Monod, a Montreal-born historian who teaches 18th-century British history at Middlebury College in Vermont, said the threat of the Jacobite Rebellion was very real.

“London is in a panic,” he said in an interview with CBC News. “And it seems to have led to the first public singing God Save the King that we know.”

The king was the German-born George II, whose father had been given the throne to ensure England was ruled by Protestants. At the end of September 1745, with the Catholic army of Charles about 160 kilometers from the capital, the possibility of regime change in London.

One of England’s most famous composers wanted to help raise morale. Thomas Arne was the musical director of the Drury Lane Theater and a composer of patriotic songs. Rule, Britannia!

He decided that these difficult times needed another inspirational song, so he made a new arrangement of the work published the year before in the songbook. Music Treasure He then asked his sister, the famous singer Susannah Maria Cibber, to lead a surprise performance to end the evening’s entertainment at the theater.

The impossible national anthem

The song is God Save the King, and it was a huge hit. The Daily Advertiser newspaper reported that it was greeted with “universal applause” and “repeated Huzzas.” Other theaters adopted the practice, even using the song as a selling point.

The Public Advertiser carried this news four days later: “At the Theater in Goodman’s Fields, by desire, God Save the Kingas played at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane, to great applause.” Popular magazines printed the music and lyrics.

The Jacobite rebellion was crushed, but the song proved resilient.

“No one thinks of it as an anthem,” Monod said. “It is considered an interesting and pleasant song, which could have a place at the end of a theater show, but not one that will be used more. In all probability, it should have gone down in history, unless they continue to do it.”

The English satirical novelist and diarist, Fanny Burney, noted during a royal visit to Cheltenham in 1788 that the King (now, George III) could not travel any distance “without encountering a most formidable band of fiddlers, scraping. God Save the King with all his might, no match, no time, and all in the rain.”

If the English queen now had her own introduction to music it was ignored by other European rulers. If the King of England had a song, he’d want it too – and often, it is set to the same tune.

The King of Prussia got his own version, which later became the national anthem of the German Empire. During World War I, the German and British national anthems sounded the same.

Liechtenstein still uses the musicwhich can be very confusing when the country plays England in a football match and both national anthems are played.

The music even crossed the Atlantic and almost became the American national anthem when it was used My country ‘Tis of Theeprincipal of the presidential inauguration.

Charles had asked for the song lyrics

No one knows who composed the song. And that’s part of the mystique, according to British composer and musician Philip Sheppard, an authority on national anthems. He organized and recorded 205 for the 2012 London Olympics, and his recordings will be used during medal ceremonies until at least 2036.

“It’s not something that gives people goosebumps just in terms of musical achievement,” he told CBC News.

Sheppard said he thinks the song’s success lies in its ability to connect people at the right time, in the right place and on the right occasion — just like a gold medal victory. Or the coronation.

Once the habit of having a national anthem was established, it spread throughout the world. Most countries eventually adopted songs about the nation instead of the ruler, but despite occasional advice England should do the same, God Save the King has stuck around.

Not all British kings are fans of the song. King George V is said to have preferred it Jerusalempoem by William Blake set to music by Hubert Parry (who also wrote music for Newfoundland and Labrador songs. Ode to Newfoundland).

And the King has now asked the lyrics, referring to them as “non-politically correct” in apparent reference to a rare sung verse that says, “scatter our enemies and make them fall.” Or perhaps he was concerned about the line “Rebellious Scotland to crush,” which appears in another verse that will not be sung at the coronation.

But if Charles doesn’t like the national anthem, he has the power to change it. At official website of the Royal Family noted that “there is no official version of the National Anthem because the words are a tradition.”

That’s what Philip Sheppard wants to see. She shared that Charles was a supporter of classical music and the arts. The King, who is also an accomplished cellist, is a member of the student orchestra at Cambridge University.

“I like that the incoming King has to write his own national anthem. Charles has got some musical training. So, maybe it’s time to check it out.”

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David Pate is a writer and broadcaster in Halifax. His podcast, National Anthem: The World’s Best Songs, explores why so many national anthems are violent, sexist and religious. He is currently writing a book on the history and origins of the national anthem.