A national anthem is one of the attributes of a national state, a
\nsign of sovereignty and independence. It emerged in the Western world in the
\nsecond half of the 18th century, becoming a powerful tool for
\nnationalism.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The history of the national anthem in Romania has been rich in the
\nlast century and a half. It begins in the second half of the 19th
\ncentury, after Moldavia united with Wallachia, in 1859. In 1862, composer
\nEduard Hubsch became the winner of the contest to write an anthem for the
\nUnited Principalities. He was a Slovak of German extraction, born in 1833 in
\nthe Habsburg Empire. At the time of the contest, he was a kapellmeister in
\nIasi. He had pursued a military career, and his name is tightly knit into the
\nbeginnings of Romanian military music. In 1867 he was appointed general
\ninspector for military music in the Ministry of War. The anthem composed by
\nHubsch was a march without lyrics, titled ‘Triumphal March and the Welcoming of
\nHis Highness the Prince’, and was used up to 1884. This march continued to be
\nused by the armed forces, and used as music for ceremonies when the head of
\nstate received visits from foreign dignitaries. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In 1881, Romania became a kingdom under Carol I. Hubsch once again
\nwrote an anthem, ‘Long Live the King’, with lyrics by Vasile Alecsandri. The
\npoet had written the poem by the same name for the king’s crowning, in 1881,
\nand the anthem was first heard in 1884. Alongside the National Day, May 10th,
\nthe royal anthem became the most powerful symbol of Romania up to 1948, the
\nyear when Romania was forced into communism. The lyrics spoke of the efforts of
\nthe Romanian nation, embodied by the king, with the help of divinity, to build
\na happy and prosperous country. The royal anthem was, especially between 1944
\nand 1948, a strong expression of support for King Mihai I in the face of
\ncommunist aggression and the specter of the country’s subjugation by the
\nSoviets. Such was its prestige, that composer George Enescu included it at the
\nend of his ‘Romanian Poem’ symphonic work. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In 1948, after the overthrow of the legitimate democratic rule, the
\ncommunist regime replaced the royal anthem with ‘Shattered Shackles’, on a tune
\nby Matei Socor. The lyrics spoke of a Romania where the working class and the
\npeasantry had triumphed, glorifying the republic and its happy future, removing
\nany trace of the previous regime. The anthem of the Romanian People’s Republic
\nwas in use up until 1953, a period dominated by proletarian culture. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
After Stalin’s death in 1953, a fourth anthem was adopted, ‘We Hail
\nThee, Romania!’ It was once again written by Matei Socor, with lyrics by
\ncommunist poets Eugen Frunza and Dan Desliu. Its message was similar to the
\nprevious one, extolling the communists who were building a new country after
\noverthrowing the bourgeois rule. The republic and the communist party were the
\nobligatory ingredients, alongside the Leninist societal model. The Soviet
\nUnion, included in the anthem as a source of inspiration for Romania’s new path,
\nwas a new element. Peace and freedom, also figuring prominently, were empty
\npromises. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
After Romania changed its name from the People’s Republic of Romania
\nto the Socialist Republic of Romania, in 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu decided to
\nchange the anthem once again, replacing it with ‘Three Colors’, composed by
\nCiprian Porumbescu in the 19th century, with lyrics based on
\npatriotic poetry from the 1848 revolutionary period. In 1977, the tune stayed
\nthe same, but the new lyrics were praising the supposed bright future of the
\ncountry. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In 1989, the anti-communist revolution chose as its anthem the song
\n‘Awaken, Romanians!’, composed by Anton Pann, on lyrics by 1848 revolutionary
\nwriter Andrei Muresan. It was the symbol of a rebirth, a return to democratic values,
\nbanned during communist years. In spite of calls to replace it, ‘Awaken,
\nRomanians’ is a strong reminder of the events of late 1989, when Romanians
\nregained their freedom. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The history of the national anthem in Romania has been rich in the last century and a half.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-168119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n