OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

Colonist, Issue 18, 22 December 1857, Page 4

OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

Much research has been bestowed in the endeavour to ascertain the origin of this popular air, and to collect all that has been said would fill volumes. 1. It is said to have been composed by Doctor John Bull, in,the year 1607; but this composition, which was published by Doctor Kitchiner, from the original manuscript in his possession, was found to be nothing more than a ground for the organ on four notes, C GJF E, with twenty-six different basses, and bearing not the most distant resemblance to the air in question, 2. The Duchess of Perth has stated, in her ' Memoirs,' that the said anthem is of French origin, and was first sung by the nuns of St. Oyr to James II.; \ and that Handel procured a copy of it when i in France, and then passed it on to George J I. and the English, nation as his own com- | position. The Duchess has also given a 'verse of the anthem to confirm her. account. ißut the works of Handel were much better knowniri England than inl?rance, and not one syllable can be fbun.d throughout his life or writings about his claiming to be the author or composer of * God save the King.' On the contrary^ his own musical amaniverjsisi Johni' Christopher ;^mith/, commonly called HaMeLii3mith,;is thievery individual. who; in a(letter to Dr.:Hemintonj declares that Harry Garey was: both the author and composer.' The verse her, Grace has given is also at ? variance with* her statement, for the verses or stanzas of our, national anthem k have each seven lines—the one given in French has ten lines; anddt is absolutely impossible to adapt all the syllables in those ten lines to the notes of ' God save the King,' unless we had six bars to the last strain. 3. Mr. Pinkerton, in his.' Recollections of Paris,' vol. ii., says, that 'the supposed national air is a mere transcript of a Scottish anthem' in a collection printed in 1682. In this bold assertion he, no doubt, alludes to a work which excited some interest a few years ago, from this imagined discovery, ' Cantus; Songs and Fancies to several musical parts, &c., as taught in the Music School of Aberdeen,' printed by John Forbes, in Aberdeen. Mr. Gross, in his account of the Yorkshire Musical Festival, informs us that a copy of this work was sold by auction, by Evans, in February, 1819, for £11, on the supposition of its containing the original of' God save the King!' This singular publication, commonly called Forbes' Cantus, is an odd voice part of some old English glees, Christmas carrols, '&<;.; and yet, in its imperfect state, it went through three editions, viz., in 1662, 1666, and 1682; moreover this, the only known publication of music in Scotland during the whole of the seventeenth century.; is now universally admitted not to contain a single Scottish air. The tune in question, 0 thou man,' is a Christmas carrol, taken from Ravenscroft's Melismata, printed in London in 1611., 4i A writer; in the " The original tune of* f {x6d, saveftjie' King' —the tune, at least, whiclv evidently furnished the subject of it—is]to be found in a book of harpsichord lessons published by Purcell's widow, in Dean's yard, Westminster;" but it is certain that " God save the King" has never yet been discovered in Purcell's works, or with his name attached to it in any manner f whatever. It now only remains to make a few remarksupon Henry Carey's claim, to the author•ship. Carey, who was a Jacobite, in common with all who fixed their hopes on James, is said to have written it.on the eve of the contest with ,the Pretender, in 1715, at which time he was upwards of fifty years of age, and, according to his constant practice, set his own music to his own words.; But the hopes of the Jacobites were defeated, and the song laid by and forgotten till 1740. .It has been proved that the author sang it publicly, and with the greatest success, at a dinner g;iven to celebrate the victory of AdmiralVernon,, 1740; and on this, occasion Carey himself applied the song to George, in consequence of the recent splendid victorySend him victorious, Happy and,glorious, Long to reign over us. The original words were applied to James — -som to reign over us. Carey himself

applied the words to George, altering soon*Wlong. Thus applied, it then became popular beyond conception. By Dr. Pepeescfy • it was altered in the melody of the,first bar,, and immediately afterwards, with a< perfect bass, introduced on the stage; and it hag." been constantly and enthusiastically sung to the same words, which it has retained from 1740 till the death of the last George-