Norway

Norway (ⁱ/ˈnɔːrweɪ/ NAWR-way; Norwegian:  Norge (Bokmål) or  Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a sovereign and unitary monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus the island Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land. Until 1814, the Kingdom included the Faroe Islands (since 1035), Greenland (1261), and Iceland (1262). It also included Shetland and Orkney until 1468.

Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of 5,109,059 people (2014). The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden (1,619 km or 1,006 mi long). Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, and the Skagerrak Strait to the south, with Denmark on the other side. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea.

National anthem

A national anthem (also state anthem, national hymn, national song etc.) is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. 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.

Languages

Although national anthems are usually in the most common language of the country, whether de facto' or official, there are notable exceptions-

States with more than one national language may offer several versions of their anthem: for instance, Switzerland's anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh). Canada's national anthem has different lyrics in each of the country's official languages (English and French), and on some occasions is sung with a mixture of stanzas taken from its French and English versions. The Irish national anthem was written in English; an Irish translation, although never formally adopted, is now almost always sung.

National anthem of Norway

Norway does not have an official national anthem, but over the last 200 years, a number of anthems have been commonly regarded as de facto national anthems. At times, multiple anthems have enjoyed this status simultaneously. Today, the anthem Ja, vi elsker dette landet is the most recognised national anthem, but until the early 20th century, Sønner av Norge occupied this position.

In the early 19th century, the anthem Norges Skaal was regarded by many as a de facto national anthem. From 1820, the anthem Norsk Nationalsang (literally, "Norwegian National Anthem") became the most recognised national anthem. It came to be known as Sønner av Norge (originally Sønner af Norge), after its first stanza. Sønner av Norge was written by Henrik Anker Bjerregaard (1792–1842) and the melody by Christian Blom (1782–1861), after Det Kongelige Selskap for Norges Vel had announced a competition to write a national anthem for Norway in 1819. Norsk Nationalsang (Sønner af Norge) was announced as the winner.Blant alle Lande (also called Nordmandssang) by Ole Vig has also been used as a national anthem. Henrik Wergeland also wrote an anthem originally titled Smaagutternes Nationalsang ("The Young Boys' National Anthem"), and commonly known as Vi ere en Nation, vi med.

Honors music

The honors music for a person, office or rank is music played on formal or ceremonial occasions in the presence of the person, office-holder, or rank-holder, especially by a military band. The head of state in many countries is honored with a prescribed piece of music; in some countries the national anthem serves this purpose, while others have a separate royal, presidential, or, historically, imperial anthem. Other officials may also have anthems, such as the vice-regal salute in several Commonwealth realms for the governor-general, governor, or lieutenant governor. Ruffles and flourishes may be played instead of, or preceding, honors music.

Current honors music

Countries where the national anthem is also the royal anthem include Jamaica,Malaysia, the Netherlands,Norfolk Island, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brunei and Cambodia. Additionally, the royal anthems of both Denmark and New Zealand have co-official status as national anthem along with a separate national anthem.

Instances of honors music other than the relevant national anthem include the following:

Kong Christian stod ved højen mast

Kong Christian stod ved højen mast (Danish pronunciation: [ɡ̊ʰʌŋ ˈɡ̊ʰʁεsdjan ˈstoːˀð ve ˈhʌjən masd]) ("King Christian stood by the lofty mast"), commonly shortened to Kong Christian, is the royal anthem of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also has equal status of national anthem together with Der er et yndigt land, though it is almost exclusively used in relation to the Danish royal house and the military. The theme of the song is about the heroics of Danish sailors during the wars against Sweden in the 17th and 18th centuries.

On New Year's Eve it is tradition to sing along as the Danmarks Radio Girl's Choir sing the song on television, immediately after midnight following the other national anthem. Usually only the first verse is sung on official occasions. Adopted in 1780, it is one of the oldest national anthems in the world.

The lyrics

History of the lyrics

The lyrics first appeared in May 1778, in Johannes Ewald's vaudeville play, The Fishermen, which premiered at the Royal Danish Theatre in January 1780 on the birthday of King Christian VII. The play depicts the heroics of fishermen from the northern part of Zealand, who saved a lot of sailors from drowning and then refused to take pay for it. For this reason, the play was seen as a tribute to the navy, in particular because of the King Christian song. In the original staging of the play, however, only the final 4th verse was ever sung. The first three verses were omitted because of the animosity they showed towards Sweden, who at the time were an important ally against the United Kingdom as members of the League of Armed Neutrality.