God save the King
I purchased a recording of the Variations on God save the King WoO78 and was surprised to listen that the Thema is the same than God save the Queen, which is ussually regarded to be the official british national anthem. As the site managers are british, they can tell me what is the difference between God save the King and God save the Queen.
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I think they are exactly the same, just that the version sung depends on who the monarch at the time is. Same tune, same words (except King/Queen). But I'm not from the UK, so I have no real clue. As far as I'm concerned it's "My Country 'Tis of Thee." -
Chris is right, the music is the same for both - our national anthem is bisexual! Interestingly the tune has its origins in 16th century dance music and possibly derives from vocal music of an earlier date. It was first published in 1744 as a national song and arranged the following year by Thomas Arne. In the same year the 'Gentleman's magazine' published words to fit the tune which are basically the same as todays. It is the most influential national anthem having been used by Prussia (1795), Switzerland (1811), many german states in the 19th century. Composers who have used the theme in their works include J.C.Bach, Beethoven, Weber, Brahms, Ives, and Dvorak.Originally posted by chopithoven:
I purchased a recording of the Variations on God save the King WoO78 and was surprised to listen that the Thema is the same than God save the Queen, which is ussually regarded to be the official british national anthem. As the site managers are british, they can tell me what is the difference between God save the King and God save the Queen.
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'Man know thyself''Man know thyself'Comment
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And Queen (the band) had a nice arrangment of it that was played at the end of every concert as they left the statge. Shame that Freddie's gone...Comment
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This is extraordinary! So when Elizabeth II dies the tune will change its name for God save the King, and when Beethoven composed the variations there was a King in England, not a Queen, right?Originally posted by Peter:
Tmusic is the same for both - our national anthem is bisexual!
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Is there a recording of this arrangement?Originally posted by Chris:
And Queen (the band) had a nice arrangment of it that was played at the end of every concert as they left the statge. Shame that Freddie's gone...Comment
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Yep, it's on Queen's A Night at the Opera album. The arrangement is by Brian May, the group's guitarist. Queen was a rock band, and so the arrangement uses mostly electric guitars (no vocals), but don't let that put you off if you're not a fan of rock music - Brian is perhaps the most sophisticated guitarist ever, and his playing and writing is highly intelligent. Not to mention that guitar he uses - he made it himself, with help from his father, and it's got just a beautiful sound. The wiring of the pickups is highly innovative, and the guitar is thus able to produce a great variety of sounds. Sometimes you'd swear it was a cello. There is another track on A Night at the Opera, called "Good Company," and there are all these instruments in it - trumpets, clarinets, etc., but as it turns out, all of those were actually Brian's guitar! I still cannot believe the clarinet in that song is a guitar. If I didn't know it for a fact, I wouldn't believe it. I'm looking in to purchasing one of the replicas of that guitar that Burns has started producing. Very nice.Originally posted by chopithoven:
Is there a recording of this arrangement?Comment
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Well, yes, Queen really produced many good songs, like A hard life (where they notably quoted the aria Vesti la giubba from I Pagliacci), and regarding May, there is a song called Lazing on a sunday afternoon in which, near the end, the guitar plays the main melody but it sounds as if there were many guitars playing. Where there really many guitars or May's special effects?Originally posted by Chris:
Yep, it's on Queen's A Night at the Opera album. The arrangement is by Brian May, the group's guitarist. Queen was a rock band, and so the arrangement uses mostly electric guitars (no vocals), but don't let that put you off if you're not a fan of rock music - Brian is perhaps the most sophisticated guitarist ever, and his playing and writing is highly intelligent. Not to mention that guitar he uses - he made it himself, with help from his father, and it's got just a beautiful sound. The wiring of the pickups is highly innovative, and the guitar is thus able to produce a great variety of sounds. Sometimes you'd swear it was a cello. There is another track on A Night at the Opera, called "Good Company," and there are all these instruments in it - trumpets, clarinets, etc., but as it turns out, all of those were actually Brian's guitar! I still cannot believe the clarinet in that song is a guitar. If I didn't know it for a fact, I wouldn't believe it. I'm looking in to purchasing one of the replicas of that guitar that Burns has started producing. Very nice.
PS: I apologize for talking about a non-classical subject.
[This message has been edited by chopithoven (edited September 25, 2002).]Comment
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Eh, it's on topic.
With "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" there were many guitars playing. That was another thing Brian is famous for - using a large number of guitar tracks on a song to achieve some nice harmonies and effects. I have a book of Queen songs in complete score, and there are not many songs with less than five guitar parts, and often as many as seven or eight. And there are examples where he uses many more guitar tracks than that. (He uses the multiple guitar technique on "God Save the Queen" too.) It is odd that you mention that song, because it too is from A Night at the Opera.
[This message has been edited by Chris (edited September 25, 2002).]Comment
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Correct - George III otherwise known as 'farmer George' or 'mad king George' (have you seen the film?) was on the British throne from 1760-1820.Originally posted by chopithoven:
This is extraordinary! So when Elizabeth II dies the tune will change its name for God save the King, and when Beethoven composed the variations there was a King in England, not a Queen, right?
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'Man know thyself'
[This message has been edited by Peter (edited September 25, 2002).]'Man know thyself'Comment
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But did he play all the guitars or what?Originally posted by Chris:
Eh, it's on topic.
That was another thing Brian is famous for - using a large number of guitar tracks on a song to achieve some nice harmonies and effects.
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Yes - he just recorded the parts one at a time and then mixed them all together.Originally posted by chopithoven:
But did he play all the guitars or what?
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