God Save the Tsar!
Encyclopedia
"God Save the Tsar!" was the national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem 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.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...

 of the late Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

. The song was chosen from a competition held in 1833. The composer was violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist Alexei Lvov, and the lyrics were by the court poet Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Zhukovsky
Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century...

. It was the anthem until the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

, after which "Worker's Marseillaise" was adopted as the new national anthem until the overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...

.

Many composers made use of the theme in their compositions, most notably Tchaikovsky who quoted it in the 1812 Overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...

, the Marche Slave and his overture on the Danish national anthem. During the Soviet era
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, authorities altered Tchaikovsky's music (such as the 1812 Overture and Marche Slave), substituting other patriotic melodies for "God Save the Tsar." Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...

 uses the theme in his Fantaisie sur l'Hymne National Russe (Fantasy on the Russian National Hymn). William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...

's score for the 1970 film Three Sisters is dominated by the theme.
In 1842, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 author Henry F. Chorley
Henry Fothergill Chorley
Henry Fothergill Chorley was an English literary, art and music critic and editor. He was also an author of novels, drama, poetry and lyrics....

 wrote God, the Omnipotent!
God, the Omnipotent!
"God, the Omnipotent!" is a hymn with words written in 1842 by Henry F. Chorley and 3rd and 4th stanzas by John Ellerton in 1870. It is based on a text from , "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth"...

set to Lvov's tune and published in 19th and 20th century hymnals as the Russian Hymn. The Russian Hymn tune continues to appear in various modern English language hymnals, such as those of the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...

, the Lutheran Book of Worship
Lutheran Book of Worship
Lutheran Book of Worship is a worship book and hymnal used by several Lutheran denominations in North America. It is often referred to by its initials as the LBW, and in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America the LBW is sometimes called the "green book" as opposed to With One Voice, a...

 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...

, or as Russia in The Hymnal 1982 of the U.S. Episcopal Church.

The same melody is also used with different lyrics for Hail, Pennsylvania!
Hail, Pennsylvania!
"Hail, Pennsylvania!" written by Edgar M. Dilley , as a submission to an University of Pennsylvania alumni committee-sponsored contest to write a song to the tune of "God Save the Tsar!", the national anthem of Imperial Russia, by Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov. Edgar Dilley was awarded $25.Edgar M....

(alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...

 of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

), Dear Old Macalester (alma mater of Macalester College
Macalester College
Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...

), Firm Bound in Brotherhood (official song of the Order of the Arrow
Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...

), and the alma mater of Tabor Academy
Tabor Academy
Tabor Academy is a highly selective independent preparatory school located in Marion, Massachusetts, United States. Tabor is known for its marine science courses...

 in Marion, Massachusetts and Grant High School (Portland, Oregon).

Maurice Jarre
Maurice Jarre
Maurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...

's score for the film 1965 film
1965 in film
The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...

 Doctor Zhivago uses this song in several tracks, most notably in the Overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...

.

In 1998, singer-songwriter Alexander Gradsky
Alexander Gradsky
Alexander Borisovich Gradsky is a Russian rock singer, bard, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia. His diverse repertoire includes rock 'n' roll, traditional folk songs performed with a rock twist, and operatic arias...

, one of the best-known rock artists during the Soviet period, proposed using the song again as the Russian national anthem, but with substantially different lyrics from those originally written by Zhukovsky.

Russian

Боже, Царя храни!
Сильный, державный,
Царствуй на славу, на славу нам!

Царствуй на страх врагам,
Царь православный!
Боже, Царя, Царя храни!

Боже, Царя храни!
Славному долги дни
Дай на земли! Дай на земли!

Гордых смирителю,
Слабых хранителю,
Всех утешителю — всё ниспошли!

Перводержавную
Русь православную,
Боже, храни! Боже, храни!

Царство ей стройное,
В силе спокойное!
Все ж недостойное прочь отжени!

Воинство бранное,
Славой избранное,
Боже, храни! Боже, храни!

Воинам-мстителям,
Чести спасителям,
Миротворителям долгие дни!

Мирных воителей,
Правды блюстителей
Боже, храни! Боже, храни!

Жизнь их примерную
Нелицемерную,
Доблестям верную воспомяни!

О, Провидение!
Благословение
Нам ниспошли! Нам ниспошли!

К благу стремление,
В счастье смирение,
В скорби терпение дай на земли!

Будь нам заступником,
Верным сопутником
Нас провожай! Нас провожай!

Светло-прелестная,
Жизнь поднебесная,
Сердцу известная, сердцу сияй!

Transliteration

Bozhe, Tsarya khrani !
Sil'niy, derzhavniy,
Tsarstvuiy na 'slavu, Na 'slavu nam !

Tsarstvuiy na strakh vragam,
Tsar pravoslavniy.
Bozhe, Tsarya khrani !

Bozhe, Carja hrani!
Slavnomu dolgi dni
Daj na zemli! Daj na zemli!

Gordyh smiritelju,
Slabyh hranitelju,
Vseh uteshitelju — vsjo nisposhli!

Pervoderzhavnuju
Rus' pravoslavnuju,
Bozhe, hrani! Bozhe, hrani!

Carstvo ej strojnoe,
V sile spokojnoe!
Vse zh nedostojnoe proch' otzheni!

Voinstvo brannoe,
Slavoj izbrannoe,
Bozhe, hrani! Bozhe, hrani!

Voinam-mstiteljam,
Chesti spasiteljam,
Mirotvoriteljam dolgie dni!

Mirnyh voitelej,
Pravdy bljustitelej
Bozhe, hrani! Bozhe, hrani!

Zhizn' ih primernuju
Nelicemernuju,
Doblestjam vernuju vospomjani!

O, Providenie!
Blagoslovenie
Nam nisposhli! Nam nisposhli!

K blagu stremlenie,
V schast'e smirenie,
V skorbi terpenie daj na zemli!

Bud' nam zastupnikom,
Vernym soputnikom
Nas provozhaj! Nas provozhaj!

Svetlo-prelestnaja,
Zhizn' podnebesnaja,
Serdcu izvestnaja, serdcu sijaj!

English translation (literal)

God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, protect the Tsar !
Strong and majestic,
Reign for glory, For our glory !

Reign to foes’ fear,
Orthodox Tsar.
God, protect the Tsar !

God save the Tsar!
Give number of days on earth
The venerable,

The conqueror of the arrogant,
The protector of the weak,
All this sends us
The sky!

The land of the first throne,

Orthodox Russia,

God, do save!
(Make) her tzardom harmonious,


Calm in strength;

And everything unworthy

Drive away!

Host brane
Favorites glory,
God Bless! God Bless!

Soldiers-avengers,
Honor rescuers,
long days!

Peacekeeping
Peaceful warrior,
guardians of the truth

God Bless! God Bless!
Life was rough
unfeigned,
Valor faithful will remember!

O Providence!

Blessing 

Grant to us!


Aspiration to good,

Humility in happiness,

Patience in sorrow

Give on this earth!

Be our protector,
faithful companions
Us off! Us off!

Lovely light,
Life Celestial Empire
Heart of the famous, heart shine!

External links

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