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BackgroundAnthems rose to prominence in Europe during the nineteenth century; the oldest national anthem is "Het Wilhelmus", the Dutch national anthem, written between 1568 and 1572 during the Eighty Years' War. It should be noted that the Japanese national anthem has older lyrics, but the melody wasn't added until the early 20th century, and it wasn't considered to be the official national anthem until 1999.
During the rise of the national state in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most remaining nations adopted an anthem upon attaining nationhood. Because of European colonial influence, many were influenced in a similar way to adopt a national anthem, and thus several anthems outside Europe are in the European style. Only a handful of non-European countries have anthems rooted in indigenous traditions, including China, Japan, Costa Rica, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Types of anthemAn anthem can become a country's national anthem by a provision in the country's constitution (such as in France), by a law enacted by its legislature (as in the United States), or simply by tradition (as is the case in the United Kingdom). The majority of national anthems are either marches or hymns in style. The countries of Latin America tend towards more operatic pieces, while a handful of countries use a simple fanfare. Anthems by their nature have to be brief (the average is about one minute in length), yet many, if not most, manage to make them musically significant, and a true representation of the nation's musical character.
ComposersAmong the very few countries with a national anthem written by a world renowned composer are:
Most of the best-known national anthems were written by little-known or unknown composers:
LyricsFew anthems have been praised for having lyrics of any great poetic merit. India and Bangladesh adopted two songs written by the Nobel prize winner and noted poet/author Rabindranath Tagore as their national anthems, Jana Gana Mana and Amar Shonar Bangla, respectively (India has declared Vande Mataram, the song of its freedom struggle, as its National Song). Nobel prize winner Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson wrote the lyrics for the Norwegian national anthem. Singapore's anthem was chosen during an inter-citizen competition in the 1950s. Some national anthems have no official lyrics at all, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, and San Marino. (The European anthem also lacks official lyrics, but several unofficial lyrics have been written; the lyrics of Ode to Joy have also been unofficially used.) UsageImage:LakeGenevaRaceway FinalNationalAnthem.jpg At the commencement of international sporting events, or occasionally (such as in the United States, here pictured) at domestic events, spectators customarily stand for the duration of the national anthem. National anthems are used in a wide array of contexts. They are played on national holidays and festivals, and have also come to be closely connected with sporting events. At the Olympic Games and similar official international competitions the national anthem of the gold medal winner is played at each medal ceremony. National anthems are also played before games in many sports leagues. The use of a national anthem outside of its country, however, is dependent on the international recognition of that country. Thus, countries such as Taiwan which is not recognized by the Olympics as a separate nation but must compete as Chinese Taipei, its National Banner Song is used instead of its national anthem. In some countries, the national anthem is played to students each day at the start of school, as an exercise in patriotism, similar to (and possibly combined with) a flag salute. In other countries the anthem may be played in a theatre before a play or in a cinema before a movie. Many radio and television stations have adopted this and play the national anthem when they sign on in the morning and again when they sign off at night. On most occasions, only one stanza of the anthem is played (usually the first, although Germany uses the third). Many states also have unofficial anthems, e.g., "Sare Jahanse Achcha" in India. Nations in the cultural sense or subnational units may also have royal anthems, presidential anthems, state anthems, or anthems for officially recognized constitutive parts of federal or confederal states. These may be better described as "regional anthems", as in the case of the regions of Belgium. Larger entities also sometimes have anthems. There are a handful of multinational or international anthems. The Internationale is the anthem of the socialist movement and then of the world communist movement - and so also adopted by the Comintern. The tune of the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is the European anthem; the United Nations and the African Union also have unofficial anthems. See also
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