Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser
Encyclopedia
Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser (God Save Emperor Francis) was an anthem to Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...

, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 and later of Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

. Lorenz Leopold Haschka
Lorenz Leopold Haschka
Lorenz Leopold Haschka was an Austrian poet and author of the words to Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser, Austria's national anthem until 1918....

 (1749–1827) wrote the lyrics, and Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

 composed the melody. It is sometimes called the "Kaiserhymne" (Emperor's Hymn).

The melody, along with several variations, is also the second movement of one of Haydn's most famous string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

s, nicknamed the "Emperor Quartet". The melody was later used in Das Lied der Deutschen
Das Lied der Deutschen
The "'" , has been used wholly or partially as the national anthem of Germany since 1922. The music was written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 as an anthem for the birthday of the Austrian Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire...

, which is to this today 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 Federal Republic of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Words and music

The sound file given below (played on a piano) uses the harmony Haydn employed for the string quartet version of his song, which he prepared later in 1797.


The English translation of the above verse is:

God save Francis the Emperor, our good Emperor Francis!

Long live Francis the Emperor in the brightest splendor of bliss!

May laurel branches bloom for him, wherever he goes, as a wreath of honor.

God save Francis the Emperor, our good Emperor Francis!

History

The song was written when Austria was seriously threatened by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and patriotic sentiments ran high. The story of the song's genesis was narrated in 1847 by Anton Schmid, who was Custodian of the Austrian National Library in Vienna:
In England, Haydn came to know the favourite British national anthem, 'God Save the King
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...

', and he envied the British nation for a song through which it could, at festive occasions, show in full measure its respect, love, and devotion to its ruler.

When the Father of Harmony
Papa Haydn
The composer Joseph Haydn is sometimes given the nickname "Papa" Haydn. The practice began in the composer's lifetime, and has continued to some extent to the present day.-"Papa" as a term of affection:...

 returned to his beloved Kaiserstadt, he related these impressions to that real friend, connoisseur, supporter and encourager of many a great and good one of Art and Science, Freiherr van Swieten
Gottfried van Swieten
Gottfried, Freiherr van Swieten was a diplomat, librarian, and government official who served the Austrian Empire during the 18th century...

, Prefect of the I. R. Court Library, who at the time was at the head of the Concert Spirituel (supported by high aristocracy) and likewise Haydn's particular patron. Haydn wished that Austria, too, could have a similar national anthem, wherein it could display a similar respect and love for its Sovereign. Also, such a song could be used in the fight then taking place with those forcing the Rhine
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1796
The French Revolutionary Wars continued from 1795, with the French in an increasingly strong position as members of the First Coalition made separate peaces. Austria and Great Britain were the main remaining members of the coalition...

; it could be used in a noble way to inflame the heart of the Austrians to new heights of devotion to the princes and fatherland, and to incite to combat, and to increase, the mob of volunteer soldiers who had been collected by a general proclamation.

Freiherr van Swieten hastily took counsel with His Excellency, the then President of Lower Austria Franz Count von Saurau ...; and so there came into being a song which, apart from being one of Haydn's greatest creations, has won the crown of immortality.

It is also true that this high-principled Count used the most opportune moment to introduce a Volksgesang, and thus he called to life those beautiful thoughts which will delight connoisseurs and amateurs here and abroad.

He immediately ordered the poet Lorenz Haschka to draft the poetry and then requested our Haydn to set it to music.

In January 1797, this double task was resolved, and the first performance of the Song was ordered for the birthday of the Monarch.


Saurau himself later wrote:

I had a text fashioned by the worthy poet Haschka; and to have it set to music, I turned to our immortal compatriot Haydn, who, I felt, was the only man capable of creating something that could be placed at the side of ... "God Save the King".


"Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" was first performed on the Emperor's birthday, February 12, 1797. It proved popular, and came to serve unofficially as Austria's first national anthem.

Composition

As elsewhere in Haydn's music, it has been conjectured that Haydn took part of his material from folksongs
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 he knew. This hypothesis has never achieved unanimous agreement; the alternative being that Haydn's original tune was adapted by the people in various versions as folk songs. For discussion, see Haydn and folk music
Haydn and folk music
This article discusses the influence of folk music on the work of the composer Joseph Haydn .-Background:Haydn was of humble family, perhaps unusually so for a famous composer. His parents were working people . They dwelt in an obscure rural village, and had no musical training...

.

One claimed folk source of "Gott erhalte" is a Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n song, known in Međimurje and northern regions of Croatia under the name "Stal se jesem". The version below was collected by a field worker in the Croatian-speaking Austrian village of Schandorf
Schandorf
Schandorf is a village in the district of Oberwart in Burgenland in southeast Austria.- History :The earliest record of the village's existence dates to 1244. In the first half of the 16th century, the region was devastated by attacking Turkish troops, and villages were depopulated...

.

Irrespective of the original source, Haydn's own compositional efforts went through multiple drafts, discussed by Rosemary Hughes in her biography of the composer. Hughes reproduces the draft fragment given below (i.e., the fifth through eighth lines of the song) and writes, "His sketches, preserved in the Vienna National Library, show the self-denial and economy with which he struggled to achieve [the song's] seemingly inevitably climax, pruning the earlier and more obviously interesting version of the fifth and sixth lines, which would have anticipated, and so lessened, its overwhelming effect."

The original version of the song (see autograph score, above) included a single line for voice with a rather crude piano accompaniment, with no dynamic indications and what Jones calls "an unevenness of keyboard sonority." This version was printed in many copies (two different printers were assigned to the work) and sent to theaters and opera houses across the Austrian territories with instructions for performance. The Vienna premiere took place in the Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...

 on 12 February 1797, the day the song was officially released. The Emperor was present, attending a performance of Dittersdorf
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
----August Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was an Austrian composer, violinist and silvologist.-1739-1764:...

's opera Doktor und Apotheker and Joseph Weigl
Joseph Weigl
Joseph Weigl , was an Austrian composer and conductor.The son of Joseph Franz Weigl , the principal cellist in the orchestra of the Esterházy family, he was born in Eisenstadt and studied music under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri...

's ballet Alonzo und Cora. The occasion celebrated his 29th birthday.

Not long after, Haydn later wrote three additional versions of his song,
  • He first wrote a version for orchestra, called "much more refined" by Jones.

  • During 1797, Haydn was working on a commission for six string quartets from Count Joseph Erdödy
    Erdody
    Erdődy is the name of a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary . The Habsburg Monarchy granted them the title Graf / Gräfin....

    . He conceived the idea of composing a slow movement for one of the quartets consisting of the Emperor's hymn as theme, followed by four variations, each involving the melody played by one member of the quartet. The finished quartet, now often called the "Emperor" quartet, was published as the third of the Opus 76 quartets
    String Quartets, Op. 76 (Haydn)
    Joseph Haydn's string quartets, Op. 76 were composed in 1796 or 1797 and dedicated to the Hungarian Count Joseph Erdödy. The six quartets are the last complete set that Haydn composed...

    , dedicated to Count Erdödy. It is perhaps Haydn's most famous work in this genre.

  • The last version Haydn wrote was a piano reduction of the quartet movement, published by Artaria
    Artaria
    Artaria and company was one of the most important music publishing firms of the late 18th and 19th century. Founded in the 18th century in Vienna, the company is associated with many leading names of the classical era.- History :...

     in 1799. The publisher printed it with the original cruder piano version of the theme, though a modern edition corrects this error.

Haydn's own view of the song

Joseph Haydn seems to have been particularly fond of his creation. During his frail and sickly old age (1802–1809), the composer often would struggle to the piano to play his song, often with great feeling, as a form of consolation; and as his servant Johann Elssler narrated, it was the last music Haydn ever played:
The Kayser Lied was still played three times a day, though, but on May 26th [1809] at half-past midday the Song was played for the last time and that 3 times over, with such expression and taste, well! that our good Papa was astonished about it himself and said he hadn't played the Song like that for a long time and was very pleased about it and felt well altogether till evening at 5 o'clock then our good Papa began to lament that he didn't feel well...


Elssler goes on to narrate the composer's final decline and death, which occurred on May 31.

Later uses of the tune in classical music

  • Carl Czerny
    Carl Czerny
    Carl Czerny was an Austrian pianist, composer and teacher. He is best remembered today for his books of études for the piano. Czerny's music was profoundly influenced by his teachers, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri and Ludwig van Beethoven.-Early life:Carl Czerny was born...

     wrote a set of variations for piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

     and string quartet
    String quartet
    A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

    , his Opus 73.
  • Niccolò Paganini
    Niccolò Paganini
    Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...

     wrote a set of variations on this tune for violin and orchestra (Maestosa Sonata Sentimentale for Violin & Orchestra-1828)
  • Henryk Wieniawski
    Henryk Wieniawski
    Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer.-Biography:Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, had converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris...

     wrote a set of variations on the tune for unaccompanied violin (Variations on the Austrian National Anthem, from L'école Moderne, opus 10).
  • Tchaikovsky
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...

     arranged the work for orchestra
    Orchestra
    An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

     in 1876.
  • Gioachino Rossini used the tune in his opera, Il viaggio a Reims
    Il viaggio a Reims
    Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts, by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Balocchi, based in part on Corinne, ou L'Italie by Mme de Staël.Rossini's last opera in the Italian language Il viaggio a...

    .
  • Bedřich Smetana
    Bedrich Smetana
    Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...

     used the tune in his Festive Symphony, which the composer intended to dedicate to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.
  • Gaetano Donizetti
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...

     used the tune in his opera Linda di Chamounix
    Linda di Chamounix
    Linda di Chamounix is an operatic melodramma semiserio in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on May 19, 1842.-Performance history:...

     at the end of first act
  • Gaetano Donizetti
    Gaetano Donizetti
    Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...

     used the tune in his opera Maria Stuarda
    Maria Stuarda
    Maria Stuarda is a tragic opera, , in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play Maria Stuart....

     Act 3 No Scene VIII "Deh! Tu di un'umile preghiera ..."

Austria-Hungary

After the death of Francis in 1835, the tune was given new lyrics that praised his successor, Ferdinand
Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia , as well as associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child...

: "Segen Öst'reichs hohem Sohne / Unserm Kaiser Ferdinand!" ("Blessings to Austria's high son / Our Emperor Ferdinand!"). After Ferdinand's abdication in 1848, the original lyrics were used again because his successor (Francis Joseph) was also named Francis. However, in 1854, yet again new lyrics were selected: "Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze / Unsern Kaiser, unser Land!" ("God preserve, God protect / Our Emperor, our country!").
There were versions of the hymn in several languages of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 (e.g., Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

, Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

, Slovene, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

). The tune stopped being used for official purposes in Austria when monarchy was abolished in 1918. It was revived in 1929 with completely new lyrics, known as Sei gesegnet ohne Ende
Sei gesegnet ohne Ende
"Sei gesegnet ohne Ende", , also known as the "Kernstock-Hymne", is a German language song that was the national anthem of Austria from 1929 until 1938.- Lyrics :...

, which remained the national anthem until the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....

.

Germany

Long after Haydn's death, his melody was used as the tune of Hoffmann von Fallersleben's Das Lied der Deutschen
Das Lied der Deutschen
The "'" , has been used wholly or partially as the national anthem of Germany since 1922. The music was written by Joseph Haydn in 1797 as an anthem for the birthday of the Austrian Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire...

(1841), whose text begins "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles".

Hymns

  • The tune has also been used as a hymn
    Hymn
    A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

     in English, to lyrics by John Newton
    John Newton
    John Henry Newton was a British sailor and Anglican clergyman. Starting his career on the sea at a young age, he became involved with the slave trade for a few years. After experiencing a religious conversion, he became a minister, hymn-writer, and later a prominent supporter of the abolition of...

     which begins "Glorious things of thee are spoken/Zion, city of our God." See Olney Hymns
    Olney Hymns
    The Olney Hymns were first published in February 1779, and are the combined work of curate John Newton and his poet friend, William Cowper . The hymns were written for use in Newton's rural parish which was made up of relatively poor and uneducated followers...

    , and 1, 2
  • The music is also used with the hymn, Praise the Lord! O Heav'ns adore Him. The name of this tune in English-language hymnals is "Austria".
  • The text tantum ergo
    Tantum Ergo
    Tantum ergo are the opening words of the last two verses of Pange Lingua, a Mediaeval Latin hymn written by St Thomas Aquinas. These last two verses are sung during veneration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and other churches that practice this devotion...

     used at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
    Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
    Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional ceremony celebrated within the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in some Anglican and Lutheran Churches, Liberal Catholic churches, Western Rite Orthodox churches, and Latinised Eastern Catholic Churches.Benediction of the...

     has been set to the tune.

University hymns

Various American Universities and colleges use Haydn's music as the tune for university hymns. For example, The University of the South
Sewanee, The University of the South
The University of the South is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by twenty-eight southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church and its School of Theology is an official seminary of the church. The university's School of Letters offers graduate...

 in Sewanee
Sewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee is an unincorporated locality in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States, treated by the U.S. Census as a census-designated place . The population was 2,361 at the 2000 census...

, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 uses the tune for its ("God of Light, Whose face beholding ..."). Other universities that do so include Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

,
the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

, Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...

, College of Charleston
College of Charleston
The College of Charleston is a public, sea-grant and space-grant university located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, United States...

 and Adrian College
Adrian College
Adrian College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college related to the United Methodist Church in the city of Adrian, Michigan.-Campus:The school is approximately a 45-minute drive from Ann Arbor and Toledo, Ohio, and 90 minutes from Detroit...

. In addition Fishburne Military School
Fishburne Military School
Fishburne Military School is located in Waynesboro, Virginia. Founded by James A. Fishburne in 1879, it is one of the oldest military schools in the country...

 in Waynesboro, Virginia uses the tune for the "Fishburne Hymn."

Original version (1797)

Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz!

Lange lebe Franz, der Kaiser,

In des Glückes hellstem Glanz!

Ihm erblühen Lorbeerreiser,

Wo er geht, zum Ehrenkranz!

|: Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|



Laß von seiner Fahne Spitzen

Strahlen Sieg und Fruchtbarkeit!

Laß in seinem Rate Sitzen

Weisheit, Klugheit, Redlichkeit;

Und mit Seiner Hoheit Blitzen

Schalten nur Gerechtigkeit!

|: Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|



Ströme deiner Gaben Fülle

Über ihn, sein Haus und Reich!

Brich der Bosheit Macht, enthülle

Jeden Schelm- und Bubenstreich!

Dein Gesetz sei stets sein Wille,

Dieser uns Gesetzen gleich.

|: Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|



Froh erleb' er seiner Lande,

Seiner Völker höchsten Flor!

Seh' sie, Eins durch Bruderbande,

Ragen allen andern vor!

Und vernehm' noch an dem Rande

Später Gruft der Enkel Chor.

|: Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|


Translation:

God keep Francis the emperor,

Our good Emperor Francis!

Long live Francis the emperor,

In the brightest splendor of happines!

May springs of laurel bloom for him

As a garland of honor, wherever he goes.

God keep Francis the emperor,

Our good Emperor Francis!



From the tips of his flag

May victory and fruitfulness shine!

In his council

May knowledge, wisdom and honesty sit!

And with his Highness's lightning

May justice but prevail!

God keep Francis the emperor,

Our good Emperor Francis!



May the abundance of thy gifts

Pour over him, his house and Empire!

Break the power of wickedness, and reveal

Every trick of rogues and knaves!

May thy Law always be his Will,

And may this be like laws to us.

God keep Francis the emperor,

Our good Emperor Francis!



May he gladly experience the highest bloom

Of his land and of his peoples!

May he see them, united by the bonds of brothers,

Loom over all others!

And may he hear at the edge

Of his late tomb his grandchildren's chorus.

God keep Francis the emperor,

Our good Emperor Francis!


During Haydn's lifetime, his friend the musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...

 Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...

, made an English translation of the first verse which is more felicitous if less literal than the one given above:

God preserve the Emp'ror Francis

Sov'reign ever good and great;

Save, o save him from mischances

In Prosperity and State!

May his Laurels ever blooming

Be by Patriot Virtue fed;

May his worth the world illumine

And bring back the Sheep misled!

God preserve our Emp'ror Francis!

Sov'reign ever good and great.


Burney's penultimate couplet about sheep has no counterpart in the original German and appears to be Burney's own contribution.

For translations into several of the languages that were spoken in the Austrian Empire, see Translations of Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser
Translations of Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser
"Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" is an anthem to the Austrian Emperor Francis II, set to music by Joseph Haydn, the anthem served as the national anthem of Austria-Hungary....

.

1826 version

Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz,

Hoch als Herrscher, hoch als Weiser,

Steht er in des Ruhmes Glanz;

Liebe windet Lorbeerreiser

Ihm zum ewig grünen Kranz.

|: Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|



Über blühende Gefilde

Reicht sein Zepter weit und breit;

Säulen seines Throns sind milde,

Biedersinn und Redlichkeit,

Und von seinem Wappenschilde

Strahlet die Gerechtigkeit.

|: Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|



Sich mit Tugenden zu schmücken,

Achtet er der Sorgen werth,

Nicht um Völker zu erdrücken

Flammt in seiner Hand das Schwert:

Sie zu segnen, zu beglücken,

Ist der Preis, den er begehrt,

|: Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|



Er zerbrach der Knechtschaft Bande,

Hob zur Freiheit uns empor!

Früh' erleb' er deutscher Lande,

Deutscher Völker höchsten Flor,

Und vernehme noch am Rande

Später Gruft der Enkel Chor:

|: Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser,

Unsern guten Kaiser Franz! :|

English Translation

God Save Emperor Franz,

Our good Emperor Francis,

High as a ruler, high as a sage,

Is it in the splendor of glory;

Love conquers laurel twigs

Him to the evergreen wreath.

|: God Save Emperor Franz,

Our good Emperor Francis! : |

 

Over blooming fields

Extends his scepter far and wide;

Pillars of his throne are mild,

Bieder sense and honesty,


And escutcheons of his
Justice shines.

|: God Save Emperor Franz,

Our good Emperor Francis! : |



To adorn themselves with virtues,

He respects the concerns worth

Not to crush peoples

Flaming sword in his hand:

Bless them, to bless,

Is the price he desires,

|: God Save Emperor Franz,

Our good Emperor Francis! : |



He broke the bondage gang

Picked us up for freedom!

Early 'experience' he German countryside,

German peoples of the highest pile,

And hear more on the edge

Later, the grandson of choir crypt:

|: God Save Emperor Franz,

Our good Emperor Francis! : |

1854 version

Source: http://ingeb.org/Lieder/gotterha.html:
1. Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze
Unsern Kaiser, unser Land!
Mächtig durch des Glaubens Stütze,
Führt er uns mit weiser Hand!
Laßt uns seiner Väter Krone
Schirmen wider jeden Feind!
|: Innig bleibt mit Habsburgs Throne
Österreichs Geschick vereint! :|

2. Fromm und bieder, wahr und offen
Laßt für Recht und Pflicht uns stehn;
Laßt, wenns gilt, mit frohem Hoffen
Mutvoll in den Kampf uns gehn
Eingedenk der Lorbeerreiser
Die das Heer so oft sich wand
|: Gut und Blut für unsern Kaiser,
Gut und Blut fürs Vaterland! :|

3. Was der Bürger Fleiß geschaffen
Schütze treu des Kaisers Kraft;
Mit des Geistes heitren Waffen
Siege Kunst und Wissenschaft!
Segen sei dem Land beschieden
Und sein Ruhm dem Segen gleich;
|: Gottes Sonne strahl' in Frieden
Auf ein glücklich Österreich!

4. Laßt uns fest zusammenhalten,
In der Eintracht liegt die Macht;
Mit vereinter Kräfte Walten
Wird das Schwere leicht vollbracht,
Laßt uns Eins durch Brüderbande
Gleichem Ziel entgegengehn
|: Heil dem Kaiser, Heil dem Lande,
Österreich wird ewig stehn! :|

An des Kaisers Seite waltet,
Ihm verwandt durch Stamm und Sinn,
Reich an Reiz, der nie veraltet,
Uns're holde Kaiserin.
Was als Glück zu höchst gepriesen
Ström' auf sie der Himmel aus:
|: Heil Franz Josef, Heil Elisen,
Segen Habsburgs ganzem Haus! :|

Heil auch Öst'reichs Kaisersohne,
Froher Zukunft Unterpfand,
Seiner Eltern Freud' und Wonne,
Rudolf tönt's im ganzen Land,
Unsern Kronprinz Gott behüte,
Segne und beglücke ihn,
|: Von der ersten Jugendblüthe
Bis in fernste Zeiten hin. :|

English Translation

1. God save, God protect
Our Emperor, Our Country!
Powerful support through faith,
He leads us with a wise hand!
Let the Crown of his Fathers
shield against any foe!
|: Austria's Destiny remains
intimately united with the Habsburg throne! : |

2. Pious and honest, true and open
Let us stand for the right and duty;
Let, if and only if, with joyful hope
Go courageously in the fight to us
Mindful of the bay sprigs
The army is often the case, the wall
|: Blood and Treasure for Our Emperor,
Blood and Treasure for Our Country! : |

3. What the citizens diligently created
Sagittarius faithful to the emperor's power;
With the cheery spirit weapons
Victory Arts and Science!
Blessed is the land allotted
And his fame the same blessing;
|: God's bright sun in peace
On a happy Austria!

4 Let us stand together firmly,
In the unity is power;
With the combined forces rule
If the severity accomplished easily,
Let us band of brothers through one
Go towards the same goal
|: Hail to the Emperor, healing the land,
Austria will stand forever! : |

At the Emperor's side prevails,
He related by common sense and,
Rich in charm that never outdated,
Our gracious empress.
What luck to be praised as highly
Stream from the sky on them:
|: Hail Franz Josef, Hail Elise,
Blessing to the entire House of Habsburg! : |

Hail Emperor Without even belonged to Austria,
Joyful future pledge,
His parents' joy and gladness;
Rudolf's drowned out in the country,
Crown God forbid our people,
Bless him and gladden,
|: From the first Youth bloom
Up to the remotest times. : |

1922 version

After the last Emperor, Charles I, died in 1922, monarchist
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...

s created an original stanza for his son Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...

. Since Austria had deposed its emperor in 1918 and become a republic, this version never had official standing.
In Verbannung, fern den Landen
Weilst Du, Hoffnung Österreichs.
Otto, treu in festen Banden
Steh'n zu Dir wir felsengleich.
Dir, mein Kaiser, sei beschieden
Alter Ruhm und neues Glück!
|: Bring den Völkern endlich Frieden,
Kehr zur Heimat bald zurück!:|

English Translation

In exile, Thou art
far from land , Austria's Hope.
Otto, faithful in fixed bands
Stand to you, we rock the same.
You, my Emperor, be granted
Old Glory and new Luck!
|: Bring the people Peace at last,
Return to home soon back: |

Audio versions


RCA Recording of Haydn's Emperor Quartet by Felicia Blumenthal/Helmut Klothauer & Vienna Sym Orch.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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