National anthem of Austria

The national anthem of Austria (Austrian German: Bundeshymne der Republik Österreich), also known by its incipit "Land der Berge, Land am Strome" (pronounced [lant deːɐ̯ ˈbɛʁɡə lant ʔam ˈʃtʁoːmə]; Land of the mountains, land by the river), was adopted in 1946. The melody, originally attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but now disputed among various composers (most probably by Johann Holzer), was matched with a text by Paula von Preradović the following year.

History

Nineteen days before his death on 5 December 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his last complete work, the Freimaurerkantate, K. 623. In parts of the printed edition of this cantata there appeared the song K. 623a "Lasst uns mit geschlungnen Händen" ("Let us with joined hands"). To this melody the Austrian national anthem is sung. Today, Mozart's authorship is regarded as dubious and the song is attributed to Johann Holzer (either solely or co-authored with Mozart) or Paul Wranitzky.

Before the World War II Anschluss, Austria's state anthem was "Sei gesegnet ohne Ende", set to the tune of Haydn's "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser", the state anthem of imperial Austria since 1797. The current German national anthem "Deutschlandlied" uses the same tune, but with different words (it was also the co-national anthem of Germany during National Socialist rule). To avoid the association, and because singing it was banned for a time after the war, a new state anthem was created. The lyrics were written by Paula von Preradović, one of the few women to have written lyrics for a national anthem. On 22 October 1946, the song was officially declared Austria's national anthem, albeit without words. Lyrics were added in February 1947. On 1 January 2012, parts of the lyrics were changed to make the composition gender-neutral.

Attempts at gender-neutral language

Since the 1990s, several attempts have been made to modify the lyrics to use more gender-neutral language. In 2005, Women's Minister Maria Rauch-Kallat of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) stated her objection to the words sons, fraternal and fatherland in the lyrics and proposed changes. Her proposal met strong resistance by Austria's largest newspaper, the Kronen Zeitung, and failed to gain support from the then coalition partner, the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ).

In January 2010 Austrian pop singer Christina Stürmer presented a pop version of the hymn "Heimat bist du großer Söhne und Töchter" ("Thou art home to great sons and daughters") as part of a campaign by the Austrian federal ministry of education. She was sued for violation of copyright by the estate of Paula von Preradović but subsequently cleared by the Austrian Supreme Court of Justice who called it "a mere modernisation" and allowed the version to stand.

Since 1 January 2012 a few words in the state anthem are different from before. The text and notes of the state anthem were officially codified in the "Bundesgesetz über die Bundeshymne der Republik Österreich" (English: Federal act about the federal anthem of the Republic of Austria).

Lyrics

Only the first verse is considered official and performed during official events.

The original (pre-2012) lyrics had the line Heimat bist du großer Söhne (Home art thou to great sons) instead of Heimat großer Töchter und Söhne on first verse as well as Brüderchören (fraternal choirs) instead of Jubelchören (jolly choirs) in the third verse. The anthem is currently sung to the following melody:

Parody

The same evening after von Preradović learned that her lyrics were chosen for the national anthem, her sons, Otto and Fritz Molden, composed a satirical version of them.

According to media researcher Peter Diem, the first two of these lines were popular in the schools of Vienna in 1955.

References

Notes

External links

• Media related to National anthem of the Republic of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
•  "Lasst uns mit geschlungnen Händen": Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
• Bundeshymne at Chancellery, Austrian Federal Government
• "Land der Berge, Land am Strome" – audio, lyrics and information (archive link)
• Vocal version
• Instrumental version

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