The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-10-09
NOT ONE NATIONAL SONG.
"A CHANCE FOR PATRIOTIC AMER1-
CAN COMPOSERS.
Inc United tates the Only Country
With No Distinctive National Air
The Worlds National Anthems.

band at Washington, the United States,
one of the greatest and most powerful
nations in the world, is the only one not
having distinctive national air.
For more than a dozen years Professor
Sousa has been collecting national airs
and songs. Last May he was authorized
by the Navy Department to make COM
pilation of these airs and the work is now
nearly completed. This is only the
fourth time any attempt has been made
to publish in book form the national airs
of the world. The last work published
was undertaken by German house as q
private speculation, and included the
songs of fifty nations Professor Sousa
already has 116 airs in type, and before
the work is completed he will have half
as many more.
1t was while discussing national music
that Professor Sousa made the startling
statement that we have no national air.
"But how about Hail Columbia, The
Star Spangled Banner My Country
and a few more of the same sort, gener-
ally considered national airsg" he was
asked.
people confound a national air with
a popular and patriotic one" replied
Professor Sousa. "In Europe they have
national airs because they have been
made so either by the Government or by
the people, and on all ceremonial occa-
sions they are played as matter of
course. For example, England has God
Save the Queen France La Marseil-
laise, and so on. Now, in England, at
an affair of state, whenever the Queen is
present the bands play God Save the
Queen, and the bandmasters of the Life
Guards or the Goldstream Guards or
any other good band do not have to ask
what air they shall play. They know
only one tune is admissible. And when
an Englishman hears the air, no matter
where he is, off comes his hat and he re-
mains standing until the last note. Chill !
dren are taught it at school, and they !
think it is as sacred as a hymn. But !
with us, when the President takes part
in any ceremony, one band may play
America and the other The Star
Spangled Banner, according to the taste
of the conductor
Then Congress by an act could |
create a national air!n
"Well, hardly. Congress can do
great many things but it cannot do that
The national air of the people must come
from some great event in the life of the
Nation, perhaps some crisis. 1t must be
spontaneous; it must appeal to national
pride and the national sentiment and
then, when it does that, the country
takes it up and clings to it as iealouslv
as it does to its other traditions. Take
it as an illustration Rule Britannia
which, while not the national air of Eng
land, is its first cousin. There is a calm
assurance about the words which are
pleasing to the average Englishman.
When Napoleon was assembling his big |
fleet at Boulogne to invade England we !
are told that the people went about sing
ing Rule Britannia, and Iverily believe
they thought that was answer enough to |
the threats of French INVASION"
"Wasn't the Civil War great enough /
crisis to inspire the best efforts of mu-
sicians2"
"Undoubtedly-.b but you must remember
The pep4PlSSyere divided, and the work
0f Northern composer would not have |
been acceptable to the people of the .
South. If, however, the country had
risen against foreign foe any song com
posed at that time would have fired the
national heart, and if of the right kind
would have been accepted by the people
1t is true we went through crises in the
early days of the Republic, but | guess
In those days our ancestors were too
busy fighting to pay much attention to
music. Hail Columbia belongs to the
last century, but it was composed by
German, the leader of the John Street
Theatre, in New York, in compliment to
General Washington, and for many years
1t was known as 'The Presidents March
We ought not to adopt as our national
air the wc-A of foreigner. The words
of the star Spangled Banner are Ameri-
can, but the music is English"
SIN your investigations what have
struck you as the peculiarities Of national
Anthemsl"
'Perhaps the most striking thing is
that the national airs of the great coun-
tries are short, while those of the little
countries are very long. For instance,
God Save the Queen is II bars; the
Russian national is 16 bars, and Hail
Columbia, the foremost among the Amer
lean national airs has 2S bars. On the
other hand, Slams national air has 76
bars, that Of Uruguay, 20; Chili's 46, and
so on. The national air Of China is so
long that when the people want TO hear
It they have 70 take half day off to
listen 10 It's ancient strains. Another
thing | have learned, is that with hardly
an exception the national airs Of all the f,
savage or semi-ciyilizcd natious are writ
Ten in the major key"
care the national airs in any way char
Of the people"
Every seldom, and then only when
they are the music OF a lower order Of I,
Music, YOU see, is the uni
Versal language, and o really great com
poser seldom acquires his education in
one country. But it is worthy of note (,
that with Que or two exceptions the COM
posers Of national airs have been men
totally unknown 10 fame until they wrote
he one air which has given them last.
ng reputation. One Of the exceptions is
Haydn, the composer Of the Austrian
hymn. Most Of thc Old World national
airs were written 90 glorify some great
man or 10 celebrate some great event. TO