The Isle of Man National Anthem

The National Anthem of the Isle of Man, known in Manx as Arrane Ashoonagh dy Vannin, was written and composed by William Henry Gill (1839-1923), with the Manx translation by John J. Kneen (1873-1939). The anthem is sung to an adaptation of the traditional Manx melody of Mylecharaine's March and its English title is normally O Land of Our Birth.

First performed at the Manx Music Festival on Thursday 21 March 1907, there are eight verses in total, but the first and last verses are those usually sung. The anthem was given official status by the Isle of Man's legislature Tynwald at a sitting on 22 January 2003, with God Save the Queen, being designated as the Royal Anthem. The National Anthem is used on official and ceremonial occasions and in schools, the Royal Anthem is normally reserved for use additionally on those occasions when the Sovereign, members of the Royal Family or the Lieutenant Governor are present.

William Henry Gill (24 October 1839 - 27 June 1923) a Manx musical scholar was born at Marsala, Sicily to Manx parents, and he was educated at King William's College. He lived in London most of his life but remained interested in his roots. The anthem is a traditional Manx ballad. Gill's words were published as "Eaisht oo as lash-tyn" ("Listen and Hear") in Manx National Songs in 1896, "The Manx Fisherman's Evening Hymn" and "Peel Castle. Gill also published A Manx Wedding and Other Songs.

John Joseph Kneen (12 September 1873 – 21 November 1938) was a British linguist specializing in Manx who translated the Isle of Man National Anthem, "Arrane Ashoonagh Dy Vannin," into Manx. Kneen was born in Douglas, Isle of Man. He studied Manx and became interested in its preservation. In 1910 Kneen completed A Grammar of the Manx Language. He also published a multi-volume list of place names in each sheading. His work earned him a Master of Arts from University of Liverpool in 1929. He was later bestowed a Knighthood of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olaf in 1933 by King Haakon of Norway.

Above is a first day cover showing the composer William Henry Gill, issued on April 24, 1985. Below is Gill with the score of the anthem.

Isle of Man Anthem on Europa Stamps

This is a Europa stamp featuring the lyrics of the anthem of the Isle of Man on the tab.  This set is compose of two stamps values of  25p and 30p.  Previously the anthem of the Isle of Man was already feature here.  The anthem composer and lyricist were shown in the stamp.  A Europa stamps are special stamps issued by European postal administrations under the aegis of PostEurop and which have Europe as their central theme. Europa stamps should underline cooperation in the domain of posts, particularly as regards the promotion of philately and contribute to making the public aware of common roots, culture and history of Europe and common goals." In 2002, more than 50 European countries and territories issued Europa Stamps. The first issue dates from 1956 with 6 countries participating.

From 1993 all the stamps have "Europa" inserted into the design in small print. For the new millennium in 2000, the common design once more replaced the common theme. The stamp design for 2000 clearly shows a column of 6 stars representing the original 6 members of the ECSC. 4 Children,(of different heritage) represent Europe's future and are adding to the Vertical Star Column with the background depicting the GREEN letter E meaning a fertile Europe. CEPT is from the French acronym Conférence Européenne des administrations des Postes et des Télécommunications.

Who Composed "God Save The Queen"?

"God Save the Queen" (alternatively "God Save the King") is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms. It is the national anthem of the United Kingdom and its territories and dependencies, Norfolk Island, one of the two national anthems of the Cayman Islands and New Zealand (since 1977) and the royal anthem of Australia (since 1984), Canada (since 1980), Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Jamaica, and Tuvalu. In countries not previously part of the British Empire, the tune of "God Save the Queen" has also been used as the basis for different patriotic songs, though still generally connected with royal ceremony.

The authorship of the song is unknown, and beyond its first verse, which is consistent, it has many historic and extant versions: Since its first publication, different verses have been added and taken away and, even today, different publications include various selections of verses in various orders. In general only one, or sometimes two verses are sung, but on rare occasions three.

The sovereign and his or her consort are saluted with the entire anthem, while other members of the royal family who are entitled to royal salute (such as the Prince of Wales) receive just the first six bars. The first six bars also form all or part of the Vice Regal Salute in some Commonwealth realms outside the UK (e.g., in Canada, governors general and lieutenant governors are at official events saluted with the first six bars of "God Save the Queen" followed by the first four and last four bars of " O Canada"), as well as the salute given to governors of British overseas territories. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns.

God Save the Queen" (or "God Save the King", depending on the gender of the ruling monarch) was a patriotic song first publicly performed in London in 1745 after the king, George II defeated the Jacobite claimant to the throne, "Bonnie Prince Charlie". The song came to be referred to as the national anthem from the beginning of the nineteenth century.

The words and tune are anonymous, and may date back to the seventeenth century. There are various claimants to authorship of both the words and tune, the words can be found as early as 1545, when the watchword at night was "God save the King", the reply was "Long to reign over us." The authorship of the melody has been claimed by many, including John Bull (the author of the earliest piece of music that resembles the work), Henry Carey, Henry Purcell, and Joseph Haydn (although he probably borrowed the tune upon hearing it in London), Marc-Antoine Charpentier, J.B. Lully, and James Oswald.

There is no authorized version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of tradition. The anthem has also never been officially declared as the national anthem of the country, the royal anthem (as this technically is) is used as the national anthem as a matter of tradition, but this is also due to the unique constitutional situation in the United Kingdom, as the nation doesn't have a formal constitution. The words used are those sung in 1745, substituting 'Queen' for 'King' (and female pronouns with male ones) where appropriate. On official (and most other) occasions, the first verse only is sung, on a small number of occasions, the third verse is heard as well; very rarely is the second verse heard due to its militaristic nature. There exist many other verses, some dating as far back as the first three verses, but the first three are what can best be represented as the "standard" British national anthem.

The British tune has since become one of the world's most recognizable anthems, and has has been used in other countries - as European visitors to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of a country possessing such a recognized musical symbol - including Germany, Russia, Switzerland, the United States (where use of the tune continued after independence as a patriotic song and one of several unofficial anthems before 1931), and even today by Liechtenstein and as the royal anthem of Norway. (One might say that because of this fact, that the United Kingdom was the creator of the concept of a "national anthem".) Some 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms, have used the tune in their compositions.

"God Save the Queen" also serves as the royal anthem for most Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and Canada. (Governor-generals of Commonwealth countries usually have bits and pieces of the national anthem strung together played as their anthem.)

The stamps above features some of the "claimants" to the anthem authorship- Haydn, Purcell and Lully. Below is a first day cover issued in February 6 1992, on the 40th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne. A postmark of "God Save the Queen" is seen.

"The Wall of Steel", Taldir Jaffrenou ,Writer and Anthem Composer

Francois Joseph-Claude Jaffrennou (March 15, 1879 - March 26, 1956) was a Breton language writer and editor. He was a Breton nationalist and a neo-druid bard. He is also known as François Taldir-Jaffrennou, since he also used the Druid name Taldir ("Wall of Steel"). He was one of the pioneers of the Breton autonomous movement. He composed the National anthem of Britanny.

Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Scotland). Like the nationalism of many neighboring regions, Breton nationalism combines political as well as cultural aspects.

The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire to obtain the right to self-rule, whether within France or independently of it, and to acquire more power in the European Union, United Nations and other international bodies.

Breton cultural nationalism includes an important linguistic component, with Breton and Gallo speakers seeking equality with French language in the region. Cultural nationalists also seek a re invigoration of Breton music, traditions and symbols, and the forging of strong links with other Celtic nations.

The French government's official position is to consider Brittany as a part of France, a position claimed to date from the time when the March of Neustria was controlled by Roland, but dating officially from the dynastic marriage in 1491 of Anne, Duchess of Brittany with the king of France. This could include a range of views, from allowing Brittany a devolved government to curbing wishes for independence through to the extremes of banning Breton nationalist parties entirely and the Breton and Gallo languages.