Anthem - Intellect

Signifying Europe
(1) In the discussion at the ‘What Story Should Europe Tell’ website mentioned
in Chapter 6, it was the anthem that sparked the whole debate. The administrator
initiated the debate by asking if the anthem could be played at European sports events
such as the EuroCup or Champion’s League. The critical user Gheryando found this
idea ‘ridiculous’ since this is ‘an artificial anthem’ that may well be used at political
‘meetings, or celebrating important EU dates’, but not otherwise. 423 He argued that
‘a symbol must mean something to people’, but people have little attachment to
European symbols since they have not through a long history been anchored in public
consciousness and memory and thereby linked to collective identity: ‘Most EU symbols
are empty’. His counter-examples were the Portuguese National Anthem ‘A Portuguesa’
and the French ‘La Marseillaise’, both of which were linked to historical events of
great and continued importance to the citizens of each country. By comparison, the
European anthem seemed irrelevant to him: ‘What does the “anthem” of EU mean…?’
Therefore, it should not be imposed ‘in all events in Europe’, though it may be useful
to just celebrate important EU dates.
Like ‘Ode to Joy’ in its slow Karajan adaptation from 1972, the British national
anthem ‘God Save the Queen/King’ is of the hymn type, though in triple time. It
has been widely used in other works as well: for instance by Beethoven who in the
early 1800s developed it into a set of piano variations (WoO 78, 1803) as well as
in his battle symphony Wellington’s Victory, or The Battle of Vitoria (op. 91, 1813).
Even if the British and European anthems belong to the same main category of
rather slow and solemn hymns, Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ actually has more melodic
and rhythmic similarities with the French ‘La Marseillaise’, which is an anthem of
the more energetic march type (and which in turn is also related to the socialist
‘The Internationale’). The melodic structure is more similar, with a rising arch
ending in a fall back to a stable level, as is the march-inviting 4/4 time. This is not
surprising, given its inspiration from songs and marches of the French Revolution.
In the symphony context, it is also performed in a steady quasi march-like tempo,
though its melodic contour is considerably more calm and limited than the bolder
‘La Marseillaise’. In comparison to many European national anthems, ‘Ode to Joy’
seems to present a kind of common denominator: a strict basic melody of folk-like
character, avoiding extravagant embellishments that would bind it to any specific
nation or region. This way, in line with its composer’s intentions, it makes itself
available for representing transnational humanism, and thus for pan-European
unity, even aspiring to universality.
There are various ways for national anthems to solve the linguistic problems that
caused the European anthem to be deprived of its lyrics. There are of course always
immigrant populations that problematise the idea of a dominant national language
everywhere, but also prominently bi- or multilingual nation states such as Belgium,
Finland, Spain or Switzerland still have sung national hymns with lyrics, with varying
182