Re: [GZG] Martians & La Marseillaise

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inordinately fond of old English drinking songs, the United Systems
quickly adopted "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- although during the Siege,
the USN embassy at Terra continuously played an orchestral arrangement
of Chopin's Op 40 No 1 in A Major (Military) over the loudspeakers, for
some reason.
   
  I think the ESU ought to just go with the Internationale. Terrible
ideas, but a stirring melody. ;-)
   
  The NSL could rework the theme from The Guns of Navarone (and you
should hear the ska version--really cool). ;-)
   
  Best,
  Ken
  USN BuShips
  
Stephen Bond <daibaka2000@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
	  Maybe you're thinking of "Jerusalem"? 
   
  And did those feet in ancient time
  Walk upon Englands mountains green?
   
  Etc., dark satanic mills and chariots of fire included. According to
Wikipedia, the Church of Scotland considered changing the references in
the lyrics from England to Albion, so theres a bit of a precedent.
   
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_did_those_feet_in_ancient_time
   
  Steve.

  ----- Original Message ----
From: Phillip Atcliffe <atcliffe@ntlworld.com>
To: gzg-l@lists.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU
Sent: Thursday, 17 January, 2008 3:18:20 PM
Subject: Re: [GZG] Martians & La Marseillaise

Brian Burger wrote:   
[...] any guesses as to how banal/cloying/triumphal the state songs of
the GZGverse superstates are?
Let's see:

NAC -- the "old guard", the same faction that wants the Navy to re-adopt
the HMS prefix for its ships, probably backs "God Save The King/Queen",
but hasn't convinced Parliament. It's possible that the current (2180s)
anthem is either something we don't know or a re-worked version of an
existing anthem -- "Land of Hope and Glory" with references to England
being replaced by "Albion", for instance. In either case, it'll be
something that lends itself to large-scale orchestration a la Elgar;
something heavy on the brass and percussion with at least pretensions to
gravitas so that it can be included in State occasions and ceremonies,
played either by a full orchestra or a Marine band.

ESU -- depends on the balance in the government between the ex-Russian
influence and the Chinese influence. Either way, it's likely to be
something suitably neo-Communist in style -- big, boastful, made for
mass singing and military bands -- but what it sounds like will depend
on which musical tradition was followed.

NSL -- well, it's going to be Germanic-style on steroids. A march,
definitely -- possibly Mozart (original or re-worked).

FSE -- what's wrong with "Ode to Joy"? The FSE sees itself as the
successor state to the EU, so they'd likely keep the latter's anthem to
promote continuity for their citizens, and as an attraction for anyone
from the other states who wishes to "rejoin the fold". There may well be
a French movement that would like La Marseillaise adopted, but they
don't (yet?) have the votes.

The other powers could have quite different styles of anthems following
their own musical traditions; the OU anthem could be quite interesting
if they tried to incorporate South Pacific influences.

With Humanity spread out among the start in a multitude of nations,
great and small, I can see a return to the old-style anthems of the
pre-20th century Great Powers -- triumphal, bombastic, rather
militaristic and, above all else, big, made for large occasions. The
banality of the words is in the ear of the beholder and has more to do
with the context in which they are encountered; songs with complex
lyrics requre simple music if they are to be heard and register, but
simple words allow complex music, which may be more to the taste of the
governments.

Phil