National Anthem of Canada
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Concert Band Community Band Nepean Ottawa Ontario
Nepean Concert Band (NCB) are Wednesday evenings, 7:30to 9:30 PM, at the Nepean Creative Arts Centre, 35 Stafford Road, Ottawa, Ontario. The NCB is always open to new members. The NCB is a provincially-registered non-profit organization and depends upon membership fees, concert revenue, and sponsorship from patrons in the public and private sectors, to pay for the necessities such as conductor's honorarium, rehearsal space rental, equipment maintenance and the purchase of quality concert band arrangements.
Song Info
Genre
Classical • Ensembles
Charts
Peak #67
Peak in subgenre #6
Author
arr. J. Waldron
Rights
Public Domain
Uploaded
February 18, 2007
Track Files
MP3
MP3 1.0 MB • 128 kbps • 1:08
Story behind the song
Summary "O Canada" was proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years after it was first sung on June 24, 1880. The music was composed by Calixa Lavallee, a well-known composer; French lyrics to accompany the music were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The song gained steadily in popularity. Many English versions have appeared over the years. The version on which the official English lyrics are based was written in 1908 by Mr. Justice Robert Stanley Weir. The official English version includes changes recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The French lyrics remain unaltered. Full History of "O Canada" Many people think of Calixa Lavallee as an obscure music teacher who dashed off a patriotic song in a moment of inspiration. The truth is quite different. Lavallee was, in fact, known as "Canada's national musician" and it was on this account that he was asked to compose the music for a poem written by Judge Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The occasion was the "Congres national des Canadiens-Francais" in1880, which was being held at the same time as the St. Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations. There had been some thought of holding a competition for a national hymn to have its first performance on St. Jean-Baptiste Day, June 24, but by January the committee in charge decided there was not enough time, so the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Honourable Theodore Robitaille, commissioned Judge Routhier to write a hymn and Lavallee to compose the tune. Lavallee made a number of drafts before the tune we know was greeted with enthusiasm by his musical friends. It is said that in the excitement of success Lavallee rushed to show his music to the Lieutenant Governor without even stopping to sign the manuscript. The first performance took place on June 24, 1880 at a banquet in the "Pavillon des Patineurs" in Quebec City as the climax of a"Mosaique sur des airs populaires canadiens" arranged by Joseph Vezina, a prominent composer and bandmaster. Although this first performance of "O Canada" with Routhier's French words was well received on the evening, it does not seem to have made a lasting impression at that time. Arthur Lavigne, a Quebec musician and music dealer, published it without copyright but there was no rush to reprint. Lavallee's obit in 1891 doesn't mention it among his accomplishments, nor does a biography of Judge Routhier published in 1898. French Canada is represented in the 1887 edition of the University of Toronto song book by "Vive la canadienne", "A la claire fontaine" and "Un canadien errant". English Canada in general probably first heard "O Canada" when school children sang it when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (later King George V and Queen Mary) toured Canada in 1901. Five years later Whaley and Royce in Toronto published the music with the French text and a translation into English made by Dr. Thomas Bedford Richardson, a Toronto doctor. The Mendelssohn Choir used the Richardson lyrics in one of their performances about this time and Judge Routhier and the French press complimented the author. Richardson version: O Canada! Our fathers' land of old Thy brow is crown'd with leaves of red and gold. Beneath the shade of the Holy Cross Thy children own their birth No stains thy glorious annals gloss Since valour shield thy hearth. Almighty God! On thee we call Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall, Defend our rights, forfend this nation's thrall. In 1908 Collier's Weekly inaugurated its Canadian edition with a competition for an English text to Lavallee's music. It was won by Mercy E. Powell McCulloch, but her version did not take. McCulloch version : O Canada! in praise of thee we sing; From echoing hills our anthems pr
Lyrics
O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
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