 the finlandia hymn () refers to a serene hymn-like section of the patriotic symphonic poem finlandia, written in 1899 and 1900 by the finnish composer jean sibelius. it was later re-worked by the composer into a stand-alone piece. with words written in 1941 by veikko antero koskenniemi, the finlandia hymn is one of the most important national songs of finland (though maamme is the de facto national anthem). other words commonly sung to the same melody include six christian hymns (be still, my soul; i sought the lord; we rest on thee; a christian home; this is my song; and i then shall live), gweddi dros gymru or a prayer for wales (a national song of wales), ambrosian oaks (the alma mater of st. ambrose university in davenport, iowa), and land of the rising sun (the national anthem of the short-lived african state of biafra), and at thy call we gather (the alma mater of iolani school in honolulu, hawaii). it is also the tune for capital university's alma mater, "o capital." ==finnish national song== after the success of the full-length symphonic poem (most of which consists of rousing and turbulent passages, evoking the national struggle of the finnish people), sibelius published a stand-alone version of the hymn as the last of twelve numbers in his masonic ritual music, op. 113, with a text by opera singer wÃ¤inÃ¶ sola. the version usually heard today has lyrics written by veikko antero koskenniemi and was first performed in 1941. sibelius himself arranged the hymn for choral performances. the de facto national anthem of finland is maamme (our land), but it has never been officially recognised. there have been numerous suggestions that the finlandia hymn should become the national anthem. however, maamme is already so widely recognised and used that it would be difficult to dislodge it. ==christian hymns== other words commonly sung to the same melody include many christian hymns, namely "be still, my soul"; "we rest on thee"; "i sought the lord"; "a christian home"; "this is my song"; and "i then shall live" ==="be still, my soul"=== the christian hymn "be still, my soul", written in german ("stille meine wille, dein jesus hilft siegen") in 1752 by katharina amalia dorothea von schlegel (1697â1768) and translated into english in 1855 by jane laurie borthwick (1813â1897), is usually sung to this tune.{{cite web | url=http://www.hym
1900_compositions Compositions_by_Jean_Sibelius Hymn_tunes