The Portland daily press., 1900-08-17
GOOD SAVE THE KING"
Origin of the Music to Which Many
National Hymns are Sung.
New York SUM-

1anuS nave S616cG9O GnlS air TO use WIN
their national anthems. Many conflict
ing accounts of the tunes origin have
been given.
1t seems certain, however, that it be-
longs to England, and it was Borrowed
from her by the other lands that now
use it. Some Of the more authentic of
the many theories on the source of the
melody are given.
The air seems to possess an element
that adapts it particularly to the express
sion of national or patriotic feeling, else
it would never have been selected by SO
many peoples as the music by which to
sing of their country and It's aspirations.
1t was known in England at least as
early as 174O, when Henry Carey sang it
at dinner given in honor of Admiral
Vernon to celebrate the taking of Borto-
bello. This was the first public hearing
of the song, and at that time Carey
claimed to be the author of both the
words and the music. Since that time
the air has been chosen for use with the
national hymns of Hanover, Bruins wick,
Prussia, SaxOny, Weimar and Sweden.
Until 1888 it was also the national air OF
Russia, which at that time adopted the
air now in use. 1t is the air sung by the
federal cantons in Switzerland, "Rufst
Du, Main Vaterland,'' and the Germans
also sing the music with great gus5o to
the words, Hell Dir I'm Siegelkranz, -
and less frequently to "Brause, Du
Freiheitsgesang. 1t is, OF course,
Fo- A 8
Won Weber introduces the air in his
'Jubelf overture and also into the rarely
heard cantata, 'S1egmund Kampf.''
beethoven composed for the plano
variations on the air in G major, which
were published in 1904.
GOD Save the King seems to have
been printed first so far as the authori-
ties can discover, in the Harmonic An
glicana In about 1742 or l743. Both
words and music are somewhat different
from those known today The claims OF
Henry Carey to the authorship OF words
and music were substantiated by Chris
TOPPER Smith, the ananuensls, and DR..
Henry Harrington. During the Scottish
revolution Of l745 the song seems to have
assumed first it's national character. 1t
was sung at the theatres as loyal song
or anthem" On September 10 Of that
year the Pretender was proclaimed at
Edinburgh and "GOd Save the King -
harm onized by DR.. Burney was sung at
Covent Garden. Later Arne made an
arrangement of it for use at Drury Lane
and both the words and music of the
song were printed. Arne's version,
printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for
October, 1875, was Identical with the
form now IN use.
kIhero have, OF course, been many claim
ants to the air besides Henry Carey; and
many persons have attributed it to other
sources, although as the case stands to-
day it looks as If Carey claims were
better than any body else IS to the compost
tiOn. There were undoubtedly previous
airs ii at it re embles, as Sir George Grove,
Chapel and other investigators have |
shown. Henry Carey was popular
composer and dramatist in the first half
Of the eighteenth century. He was re-
puted to be a natural son of George Sa-
vile, Marquis Of Halifax He had a
great gift for melody, although his scien-
titic training In music is said to have
been slight He set to music many
poems by the authors of the day and
wrote ballad opera that met with great
success. He composed cantatas and bal
lads,-and it is by the most famous of
these. sally in Our Alley that he is
known today. 1t was his son who first
made for Carey the claim that he had
composed God Save the King, and in
vestigation served to show the soundness
OF his pretens1ons.
The credit OF having composed the |
music of ''God Save the King has been
Dersistently given by some authorities to |
DR.. John Bull, although that theory is |
little regarded today. An "Ayre" in a
manuscript of DR.. Bulbs compositions |
published in 1919 has been said to be the |
original of the air. This music is said by |
the authorities who have had the OppOr-
tunitY to see the manuscript, which is /
in private possession, to be similar to |
Carey's music and it has both the rhythm |
- I'D IL.
bars of the second strain. But 1T is writ |
ten in the minor mode. Bull has also in |
the same manuscript song called "GOd |
Save the King which bears no resem- |
blance beyond the title to the modern |
English song
Scotland claims the right to the origin
OF the national anthem, on the ground |
OF its resemblance to a Scotch carol, IRE |
member, 0 Thou Man." from Raven |
croft's 81 Melismata." He was a chorister !
Of st. Paul and published in 1909 the first |
collection OF rounds, catches and canOns |
to appear in England. Later he COM
posed many songs. The air to the carol |
said to contain the origin of "God |
Save the King is in two strains foreign |
bars each and has the rhythm and melody |
of the more modern air in the first and |
third bars of the second strain.
The anthem has also been attributed to |
the air Franklin Is Fled Away" print |
ed first in 1869 1t has also been said to
come from an old Scotch Christmas
carol published in 1852, although the air
was known as long before as 1911 Henry
Purcell in 1896 published "a Choice Col |
lection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or
Splnet| that contained q piece which |
was very similar in the first and third |
bars Of It's two sections to "God Save 1.-THE |
King"
That parts of the air existed and that
the phrase ''God Save the King was
-
H ENC DedOre S Caly Sine seems 10 pc
for that reason TO be called their author.
The work has been placed in a much |
earlier period than any to which it could |
belong 1T has been said to be an old /
anthem sung in the chapel of James II
who was q Roman Catholic But as
there is no trace OF it's ever having been
translated into Latin this theory is dis
proved. as the anthems in the chapel at
that time were sung in the language Of