National Anthems

[antdad]

I was thinking about my favorites, not on nationalistic grounds. Musicality, structure, emotional content, ability to arouse?

Nobody does full orchestration like the Russians, brilliant.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0g1MTsYZSE&feature=related[/youtube]

Iti's are operatic and so volatile.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uDyOLgf2jo&feature=related[/youtube]

The French? Ah well....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt1vQ81jNWw&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[SirPrize]

Nobody does full orchestration like the Russians, brilliant.

How right you are - makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up - and I have no idea what they are saying.
Same for the Marseillaise - quite inspiring.
I blush to say that I do not know what the new Russian National anthem is - must find out.

 

[antdad]

Thankfully I think the old Russian anthem was adopted.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owNjMWkcZGk[/youtube]

Unfortunate positioning of the Italian anthem after the Russian one, most would sound weedy after that.

You might warm to the Italian anthem if they lost the clarinets, damn that trad Italian folk music.

 

[brg]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqjdtkWNF60[/youtube]

Despite the Anglo-Portuguese being the oldest alliance in the world and the good relations between the two nations, this song was composed as a response to the British Ultimatum (see video description). It was chosen as the National Anthem not because of its origin, but because of its association with the Republican movement.

(On a side note, specifically for England, you may remember hearing this 90 to 120 minutes before going home in the World Cup/European championship...)