The National Anthem of Maldives

Until the late 1940s the state anthem of the Maldives was a melody with no lyrics. It was called the Salaamathi and was performed by the royal band on state occasions at the Etherekoilu, the official residence of the King.

In 1948 it was determined that the Salaamathi needed replacement with lyrics to accompany a new melody. The words were composed by a young poet and later a chief justice, Mohamed Jameel Didi.

Jameel Didi looked around for a tune to accompany his poem. His uncle, the chief justice Hussain Salahuddine, had just acquired a new-fangled clock that played an excellent tune at the stroke of midday, the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne", and Jameel decided to use that tune for his poem.

Although the Salaamathi survived as the royal anthem until 1964, it did not occur to anyone to adopt it as the national anthem. In 1972, for the first time in history, the Maldives hosted a foreign head of state - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Maldive government of the time deemed it necessary to compose a different tune for the anthem instead. Hastily they commissioned the composition of a new melody. The new melody of the Maldive national anthem was composed by a distinguished Sri Lankan maestro, Pandit Wannakuwattawaduge Don Amaradeva. The original lyrics were used, with some changes to mark the fact that Maldives has been a republic since 1968.

Wannakulawattawaduge Don Albert Perera (born December 5, 1927 in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka), better known by his adopted name Amaradeva, is a Sri Lankan vocalist and musical composer. Primarily using traditional instruments like sitars, tablas and harmoniums, Amaradeva incoporates Sinhala folk music with Indian ragas in his work.

In the mid-1950s, Amaradeva in his Janagayana project consulted experts of the Kandyan dance tradition like Pani Bharata, Kiriganita, Gunamala, Ukkuva and Suramba in his path to understand what constituted Sinhala folk music. Noting that it mostly revolved around a single melody, he decided to add verses that would lead up to the central melody which would now be a chorus thus forming two parts (unseen earlier in traditional Sri Lankan music) removing restrictions that had existed earlier. In doing so, Amaradeva created a uniquely Sinhalese music style that stayed true to folk tradition while incorporating outside influences. His work was vital in the creation of the sarala gee genre practiced subsequently by artists like Victor Ratnayake, Sunil Edirisinghe and Sanath Nandasiri.

Pandit Amaradeva has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Philippine Ramon Magsaysay Award (2001), Indian Padma Sri Award and Sri Lankan "President's Award of Kala Keerthi" (1986) and Deshamanya Award (1998). He has also represented Sri Lanka in many forums including the UNESCO 1967 Manila Symposium, and composed the melody for the Maldives national anthem, Gaumii salaam, at the request of British Queen Elizabeth II in 1972.

The Olympic Hymn Writer

Kostis Palamas , (13 January 1859 — 27 February 1943) was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the co-founders of the so-called New Athenian School (or Palamian School) along with Georgios Drosinis and Nikos Kampas.

Born in Patras, he received his primary and secondary education in Missolonghi. In 1880s, he worked as a journalist. He published his first collection of verses, "The Songs of My Fatherland," in 1886. He held a position at the University of Athens between 1897 and 1926. He died during the German occupation of Greece during World War II and his funeral was a major event of the Greek resistance. It ended as a protest of a hundred thousand Greeks against Nazi occupying forces in Athens. Palamas wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras. It was first performed at the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games. The Hymn was then shelved as each host city from then until the 1960 Summer Olympics commissioned an original piece for its edition of the Games, but the version by Samaras and Palamas was declared the official Olympic Anthem in 1958 and has been performed at each edition of the Games since the 1964 Summer Olympics.

He has been called the "national" poet of Greece and was closely associated with the struggle to rid Modern Greece of the "purist" language and with political liberalism. He dominated literary life for 30 or more years and greatly influenced the entire political-intellectual climate of his time. Romain Rolland considered him the greatest poet of Europe and he was twice nominated for the Nobel prize for poetry but never received it. His most important poem ["The twelve lays (or words) of the gypsy]" (1907) is a poetical-philosophical journey. His "Gypsy" is a free thinking, intellectual rebel. He is a Greek Gypsy, in a post classical, post-Byzantine Greek world. He explores work, love, art, country, history, religion and science, keenly aware of his roots and of the contradictions between his classical and Christian heritage.

The stamp above is of the Olympic hymn lyricist, Kostis Palamas issued in 1960. Below, issued in 2007.

The National Anthem of Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls. Its population of 11,992 makes it the third-least-populated independent country in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. It is also one of the smallest member by population of the United Nations. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City—0.44 km²; Monaco—1.95 km² and Nauru—21 km².

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. The islands came under the UK's sphere of influence in the late 19th century. The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a protectorate from 1892 to 1916 and as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1974. In 1974 the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati upon independence. Tuvalu became fully independent within The Commonwealth in 1978.

Also the national motto, the title of the national anthem "Tuvalu mo te Atua" or "Tuvalu for the Almighty", also appears on the nation's coat of arms. It was composed by Afaese Manoa and adopted as anthem upon independence in 1978.

The National Anthem of Angola

"Angola Avante" (Forward Angola), was composed by Rui Alberto Vieira Dias Mingao and written by Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro, and adopted as official national anthem in 1975.

During Portuguese rule, Angola had an unofficial local anthem, entitled "Angola é nossa" ("Angola is ours"), used by the Portuguese colonizers and European settlers in Angola, it was not performed after independence negotiations were started, and a different anthem, "Angola Avante" was adopted upon independence from Portugal.

There has been a commission appointed to study any possible changes needed in Angola's national symbols (there are references in the national anthem to important dates and events for the previous sole ruling party, made obsolete after multi-party elections were declared), thus the anthem may change in the near future.

The above stamp is a souvenir sheet containing the lyrics of the Angolan National Anthem issued 10 years after the anthem was adopted on November 11, 1985.

The National Anthem of Finland

Our Land, Maamme (Finnish), or Vårt land (Swedish), is the title of Finland's national anthem. There is no law on an official national anthem in Finland, but Maamme is firmly established by convention.

The music was composed by the German immigrant Fredrik Pacius, with (original Swedish) words by Johan Ludvig Runeberg, and was performed for the first time on 13 May 1848. The original poem, written in 1846 but not printed until 1848, had 11 stanzas and formed the prologue to the great verse cycle The Tales of Ensign Stål ("Fänrik Ståhls Sägner"), a masterpiece of Romantic nationalism. The current Finnish text is usually attributed to the 1889 translation of Ensign Stål by Paavo Cajander, but in fact originates from the 1867 translation by Julius Krohn.

The Tales of Ensign Stål were much appreciated throughout all of Scandinavia. Up until the time of Finland's independence in 1917–18, when the song began to be recognized as specifically applying to Finland, Pacius's tune and Runeberg's text were often also sung in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Note that in the original Swedish text there is no reference to Finland (except for in verses 4 and 10, which are rarely sung), only to a country in the north, but the Finnish text explicitly refers to Finland. The poem's theme is, furthermore, remarkably similar to that of the national anthems of Sweden (Du gamla, Du fria) and Norway (Ja, vi elsker dette landet).

Some Finns have proposed that the Finnish national anthem be changed to Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, with lyrics by V.A. Koskenniemi (Finnish) and Joel Rundt (Swedish). It is also said that Pacius composed the tune in a mere fifteen minutes, with no idea that it would become so important to the people of Finland that they would eventually make it their national anthem. There are also those who simply prefer Finlandia as a musical piece, although critics call it difficult to sing.

The tune of Maamme has similarities with the German drinking song Papst und Sultan. Many believe that Fredrik Pacius intentionally or unintentionally copied parts of the tune. Another Finnish patriotic song, Sotilaspoika, composed by Pacius, also includes similarities with Papst und Sultan.

The melody of Maamme is also used for the national anthem of Estonia with a similarly themed text, Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm, My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy (1869). It is also considered to be national anthem for Livonians with text Min izāmō, min sindimō, My Fatherland, my native land.

The National Anthem of Liberia

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire. Liberia, which means "Land of the Free", was founded as an independent nation by free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans. Recently it has witnessed two civil wars, the Liberian Civil War (1989–1996), and the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003), that have displaced hundreds of thousands and destroyed its economy.

The national anthem of Liberia, "All Hail, Liberia Hail" was composed by Olmstead Luca in 1869. The words to the anthem of this second oldest independent African nation were written by the nation's third president, Daniel Bashiel Warner, and adopted upon independence in 1847. Presumably, the anthem first had a different melody, as the current music was written in 1860.

Warner, an African-American, was born on Hookstown Road in Baltimore County, Maryland to a father who was a farmer and ex-slave who acquired his freedom one year before Warner was born. Warner's date of birth is unclear. Some records show that he was born on April 19, 1815. However, American Colonization Society documents list him as age nine when he emigrated to Liberia, with eight relatives, on the ship Oswego in 1823.That would put his birth year as 1814.

A member of the Americo-Liberian elite, he also served as a member of the Liberian House of Representatives and Liberian Senate.In 1877, he became an agent of the American Colonization Society.

Warner's main concern as President was how the indigenous people, particularly the indigenous people in the interior, could be brought into society and become cooperating citizens. He organized the first expedition into the dense forest, led by Benjamin J. K. Anderson. In 1868, Anderson journeyed into Liberia's interior to sign a treaty with the king of Musardo. He took careful notes describing the peoples, the customs, and the natural resources of those areas he passed through, writing a published report of his journey. Using the information from Anderson's report, the Liberian government moved to assert limited control over the inland region.

The National Anthem of Norway

The words for the national anthem, written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, one of Norway's great dramatists and poets, were first published in 1859. The original poem had six verses; the first verse and last two verses are used nowadays as the anthem. The music was composed by Rikard Nordraak, cousin of Bjørnson and a friend of the famed Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, in 1864. It was first performed later that year for the 50th anniversary of their constitution, and caught on quickly. It became a part of the reading books in schools all over the country, and was sung by the children in the children's parades organized by Bjørnson on every 17th of May.

Rikard Nordraak was a Norwegian composer, born in Christiana (Oslo). He is best known for having composed the Norwegian national anthem. Nordraak's musical gifts became evident at an early age, but as for many other artists at that time, a different career was already planned. He was going to pursue a career within business, and when he was fifteen he was sent to business school in Copenhagen. Nonetheless his musical interests prevailed and instead of studying business he ended up studying music, and in 1859 he went to Berlin for advanced studies. After six months he had to return home and he continued studies in Oslo, and his first compositions came during the winter of 1859-60. In 1861 he went back to Berlin to continue his studies, and he stayed there for two more years.

The compositions that he himself marked opus 1, were published in 1863, and contained six songs with texts by the poet Bjornstjerne Bjornson, amongst others. At this time Nordraak also composed Ja, vi elsker, which in 1864 became the Norwegian national anthem.

He later wrote music for Bjørnson's play Maria Stuart of Scotland, and he published his Opus 2, Five Norwegian Poems, consisting of songs and poems by Bjørnson and Jonas Lie. This was the last of his compositions that would be published during his lifetime. In May 1865 he returned to Berlin to continue his education, but he was stricken with tuberculosis in October and died the following March, only 23 years old. Part of his life-story was dramatised in the musical Song of Norway.

Nordraak did not live long enough to produce much music. About forty compositions, mostly smaller works like songs, pieces for male choir and a few piano compositions, have been preserved. The biggest of these compositions, is the Scherzo Capricio for piano solo, given the opus number 3, published posthumously by Edvard Grieg. This is a kind of rondo, using several features from the Norwegian folk music; rhythms typical in slatter, and dissonances typical for the hardingfele. However, the thematic material does not have this connection with the folk music.

Nordraak’s main contribution to the Norwegian music history was, with his passionate patriotism and great love to the folk music, to be an inspiration for contemporary composers, such as Edvard Grieg. They met in Copenhagen and became close friends. When Grieg heard of Nordraak's death, he composed the famous Funeral March in Memory of Rikard Nordraak.

Hymn of the Russian Federation

In the last few days of 2000, Russia's new president Vladimir Putin, decided to give the Russian people a new anthem, since a common complaint was not having words to their current anthem. So Putin, upon the advice of the Communists in the parliament who could vote down the bill, adopted the old anthem from the Soviet Union, identifying with the country's past. However, only the music passed the legislative process in early to mid December, 1999. The new words that were written by Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (the same person who wrote the lyrics to the old Soviet anthem!) to replace the Communist-style words were passed by Presidential order on December 30 of that year (many deputies objected to the mention of God in the anthem text.

Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov was born on April 13 in Plakhino, a village south-east of Moscow. As a boy his singing was so impressive that he travelled to Saint Petersburg to become a chorister in Kazan Cathedral. A pupil of Medtner, he studied composition at Saint Petersburg and in Moscow, where he eventually became professor of music in 1918.

Alexandrov founded the Alexandrov Ensemble, and spent many years as its director, in which role he first gained favor with Joseph Stalin, the country's ruler during the last two decades of Alexandrov's life. His choir participated successfully in the Universal Exposition of 1937 in Paris, and in 1942, Stalin commissioned him and lyrist Sergey Mikhalkov to create a new Soviet national anthem, which was officially adopted on January 1, 1944. It was very popular that it was used by the Soviet Union until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It later became the National Anthem of Russia in December 2000, with Mikhalkov writing the new lyrics. He died on July 8, 1946, while on tour in Berlin.

Above is a stamp of the anthem composer, Alexandrov issued in Russia on 1983.

An Autographed Glove from The Pacman and Freddie

Whether he wins or lose in his next fight, Pacquiao has already established himself as one of the greatest boxers of all time. It is not the number or quality of the fighters he defeated that made him great but the way he demolished these fighters. Any memorabilia from this great warrior would surely become a cherished possession in the not so distant future. Our children would be very thankful on inheriting something from "The Man" from Gensan. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise that Jinky, a college friend based in the United States who had friends close to Manny, volunteered (thru Facebook) to have an Everlast glove autographed during Pacman's pre-Hatton fight propaganda in Las Vegas. Here in this picture, is Jinky with Freddie Roach signing the glove and with Manny in a group picture. Thanks Jinks, I will never forget to tell my grandchildren you were the one who had the gloved signed.

A win against Shane Mosley in his possible next fight would earn him a record seven belts in different weight classes. Then an encounter and subsequent demolition of "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather would forever cement his status as one of the greatest, if not the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time. Good luck Manny! I hope you'll come visit us soon so you can sign my Pacman Stamp.

Running Log

Club Ultima 5Km 44:20

The National Anthem of Cuba

El Himno de Bayamo is the national anthem of Cuba. It was first performed during the Battle of Bayamo in 1868. Perucho Figueredo who took part in the battle, wrote and composed the song. The melody, also called La Bayamesa, was composed by Figueredo in 1867. In October 20, 1868 the Cuban forces obtained the capitulation of the Spaniard authorities in Bayamo, the jubilant people surrounded Figueredo and asked him to write an anthem with the melody they were humming. Right on the saddle of his horse, Figueredo wrote the lyrics of the anthem, which was longer than the current official version. Figueredo was captured and executed by the Spaniards two years later. Just before the firing squad received the Fire command, Figueredo shouted the line from his anthem: Morir por la Patria es vivir. Officially adopted in 1902, the anthem was retained after the revolution of 1959. The arrangement commonly used, without credit in Cuba, is believed to be that of José Norman, author of Cuban Pete. The Cuban composer, Antonio Rodriguez-Ferrer was the author of the musical introductory notes to the Cuban national anthem^.

In addition to the Himno de Bayamo, there are two other well-known Cuban songs called La Bayamesa. The first Bayamesa was composed in 1851 by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes and José Fornaris at the request of their friend Francisco Castillo Moreno, who is sometimes also credited with the lyrics. Many years later, in 1918, the composer Sindo Garay from, Santiago de Cuba composed a song that he called Mujer Bayamesa; popular usage shortened the title to La Bayamesa.

The Olympic Hymn

The Olympics Games (an international sporting event played every four years) has its own flag and "hymn", used when the Olympic flag is raised, usually during the opening ceremonies.

The Olympic Hymn first appeared at the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The lyrics were written in Greek by Greece's national poet, Costis Palamas and set to music by Spirou Samara for the 1896 Games. The hymn was unofficial until 1958, when the International Olympic Committee formally adopted it. (From 1896 to the 1960 Games, each country would commission local composers to compose an Olympic hymn for that particular Games. The 1960 Games was the first that the Olympic Hymn was played for since the first games.) Usually every nation that hosts the Games performs the Olympic Hymn in their own language, the original Greek lyrics, and a translation into English, is presented for reference.

National anthems play a big part in the Olympic Games. Starting with the 1924 Games, the winner's national anthem for each event is played as their flag is hoisted in celebration. Also, according to Olympic rules, national anthems cannot be longer than 80 seconds in length, causing some countries to create a shortened version of their anthem to be played at the Games in the event that their participant wins. (Ironically, the full version of the Olympic Hymn is several minutes long!) Also, a nation may choose to have another anthem played instead of their national one if they so choose; for example, at the 1992 Games, the former Soviet republics united under a team known as the "Unified Team", whenever a member of this team won their event, they chose the song "Ode to Joy" (currently used as the European anthem) to be played. During the 1980 Games in Moscow, several non-Communist countries that were participating chose to have the Olympic Hymn played. Also, because of conflicts with China, Taiwan has a special song which they use for such events known as the "Flag Raising Song".