The sun., 1900-08-12
TUNE or GOD SAVE THE KIN0.~
Origin Of the Music to which Many National
HYMNS Are Sung.

! Recent events have created an interest in the
source of the air which is u,ed to the word, OF
the national anthem OF Great Britain, and also
serves a, the melody for our own America"
Other lands have selected this AIR to use with
their national anthems. Many conflicting ac-
counts Of the tunes origin have been given. Ii
seems certain. however. that IL belongs to Eng
land and II was borrowed from her by the
other land, that now use IL. Some of the more
authentic OF the many theories on the source Of
the melody ar. Z ven
The air seems to possess an element that
adapis 1t particularly to the expression OF
national or ratro &c feeling. else it wo uld never
have been selected BY so many peoples as the
music by which to sing of their country and its
aspirations. 1t was known in England At least
as early a i7io. when Henry Carey sang il at
dinner gwen "a honor Of Admiral Vernon TO
the trS' public hearing OF the song. and
at that time Carey claimed 10 be the
S,nl author ,tI, Of both the words aud the pusc.
for Use with tha nalion4l hymns OF Hanover,
Brunswick. Prussia. Sax, ny, WeImdr and
OF Russia, which a. that time adopted the AR
now IN use. II Is the air sung by the federal
cantons in switzerland, "Ruis, Du. Meln Nater-
land. and the Germans al % sing the music
" III great cu to TO the words, Hell Dir I'm
Sieselkranz' and less frequently 10 'Brause.
)u freiheitsee,ang II ls Of course, familiar
troduce. the air in his Jubel" ovcrtur" and also
into the rarely heard Cantata 'Sl"gund Kampf."
Beethoven composed Tor the piano variations on
God we the King seem, to have been
printed first, 50 far as the authorities can dis
cover, in the ,Harmonia Anslicana" in about
l742 or l7i3 Both worGs ana music are some
what different from tho," known to-day. The
claims oi Henry Carey TO the authorship OF
", rdS and music were substantiated by j.
thrgtnnlRr Al a M
Henry Harrington During the scottish revou-
,n,ns non oi GtS ai, the song ,a,r seem1 to have
.ong or anthem" On Sept 10 Of III 4 year the
pretender was proclaimed al Edinburgh and
God Save the XII z. harmonized by DR. Bur-
ney was SUM- at Covent Garden. Later Arne
made an arrangement Of II for use al Drury
Lane and both u" words and muse OF the song
Gentleman MdDo sino for October, 1873. was iden-
tical with the form now IN use.
There have o. course. been many claimants
persons have attributed it 30 other sources
although as The case stands to-day IL loois al
Il Carey's claims were better than an VI ody
edy previolis airs that IL resembles. as Sir
George Grove. Chappel and other investigators
composer and drama'is, in the first hall OF
pS,sd put e 10 be natural son NJ Of "dj George
great gift for melody, although his scientific
training in music j. said TO have been slight.
tie SCI to music many poems by the authors OF
great success. He composed canta,as and bal
lads, and 1t is by the most famous OF these.
sally IN Our Alley, that he is known to-day.
Ii was hi, Ion who first made for Carey the
claim that he had composed God Save the
King, and investigation served to show the
sorndness Tn OF hs ei pretensions; =. ,,, n. =,
God Save the King has been persistently
given by some authorities 10 DR.. John Bull.
An "Ayre" IN manuscript volume Of Dr. Bulls
compositions publ she'd in 1919 has been said TO
be the original Of the air. This music l. said by
the authorities who have had he opportunity 10
see the manuscript, which is In private possess
sion. 10 be simiia To tareys music, and II has
both the rhN thin am melody of the air in the
first four bars Of the second strain But IL is
WRIT n In the minor MODE Bull has also in
the same manuscrp pt song called God Save
the King which bears no resemblance beyond
the titl- 10 the modern English song.
Scotland claims the right 10 the origin OF the
national anthem, on the ground Of lts rcseni-
amGe Msn iG rom sfRsSn S9C Rs
was a chorister Of ST. Paul and published in
1909 the first collection of rounds. catches and
contain tn. origin of God Save the King is in
two strains of eight bars zach and has the
the first and third bars of the second strain.
The anthem has also been attributed TO the
air Franklin Is Fled Away. printed hist i9
Scotch Christmas carol published In 1882. al
though the air was known as ionR before as
1911. Henry Purcell in 1895 published a Choice
Collection OF Lessons for the HarpsichOrd or
Spinet" that contained piece which was very
similar in the first and third bars OF its tive
sections to God Save the King"
That parts Of the air existed and that the
phrase God Save the King" was known before
Carys time seems to be established, but hs
united them and is for that reason to be - He'd
their author. The work has been placed in
much ear lier period than any TO which i could
belong 1t has been said 10 be an Old anthem
sung in the chapel OF James H.. who was q
Roman Catho ic But as there IL no trace Of Its
ever having been translated into lain this
theory Is disproved. as the anthems in the
chapel at that time were sung In the
lang uase Of the Roman Catholic thurch: That
the French composer Lully, who lived from
1888 20 1897, has claims to the music % God
Save the King" has also been urged. although
authoQties consider them quite without fcun-
dationv 1t l. now known TO be q mere fiction.
which resulted from something contained In
the Souvenirs OF the Maruuse de oTcQui"
Persons who attribute the song 10 the CHAPEL
of James III assert that it was composed Uy his
John Bull to whose "ASro" the
tune Of God Save the King" much resembles.
was educated in Queen Elizabeth chapel and
later became the organist Of the chapel Royal.
| ater he left England to become urgalist Al