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the national anthems was commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon, Music Director; by Rundfunkchor Berlin, with its chief conductor Simon Halsey; by Yale Choral Artists, Jeffrey Douma, Director: and by Trinity Wall Street, Julian Wachner, Director of Music and the Arts.

the duration is approximately 23 minutes.

depending on the size of the choir, it may be useful to have sound reinforcement or amplification for the string quartet; a chamber choir shouldn’t need it. in addition, the national anthems may be performed as a concert work or with lighting, staging, film and /or choreography.

battle hymns was premiered 8 June 2014 by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Calder Quartet, at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, California.

thanks to the composer Robert Honstein for his help finding all the original anthems.

program note

Every country has a history – how it came to be, how its wars were won or lost, how strong its people are, or how proud, or how sad. We group ourselves into nations, but it has never really been clear to me what that means, or what we get out of it. Are we grouped together because we believe something together and are proud of associating with others who believe the same way? Or are we grouped together because our ancestors found themselves pushed onto a piece of land by people who didn’t want them on theirs? It seems that all nations have some bright periods and some dark periods in their past. Building a national myth out of our bright memories probably creates a different character than if we build one out of the dark.

I had the idea that if I looked carefully at every national anthem I might be able to identify something that everyone in the world could agree on. If I could take just one hopeful sentence from the national anthem of every nation in the world I might be able to make a kind of meta-anthem of the things that we all share. I started combing through the anthems, pulling out from each the sentence that seemed to me the most committed. What I found, to my shock and surprise, was that within almost every anthem is a bloody, war-like, tragic core, in which we cover up our deep fears of losing our freedoms with waves of aggression and bravado.

At first I didn’t know what to do with this text. I didn’t want to make a piece that was aggressive, or angry, or ironic. Instead, I read and re-read the meta-anthem I had made until another thought became clear to me. Hiding in every national anthem is the recognition that we are insecure about our freedoms, that freedom is fragile, and delicate, and easy to lose. Maybe an anthem is a memory informing a kind of prayer, a heartfelt plea:

There was a time when we were forced to live in chains. Please don’t make us live in chains again.

the national anthems words and music by david lang

our land with peace our land with swords all of us are brave we have one wish we have one goal we swear by lightning and by our fragrant blood heaven gave us life and we alone remain we fight for peace our country calls us and we hear her call we hear the sound of our chains breaking we crown ourselves in glory and we die death is the same for everyone but dying for our land will make us blessed for we are young and free land with mountain land with river land with field if you need our death our blood, our heart, our soul we are ready we lift our heads up to the rising sun our peace our values our skies our hearts our songs our tears our time our land our seed our pride we have no doubts or fears our faithful friends are faithful in the battle our land, we swear to you our blood is yours to spill keep watch, angels keep watch, stars keep watch, moon our parents knew how to fight the sun will shine on us forever when the wicked come let them prepare for death for we would rather die than live as slaves

our land, you fill our souls with fire our blessed land our parents left this land to us our hearts defy our deaths a vivid ray of love and hope descends upon us and our land bless us with long life our land is love and beauty without end harvest our vows, which ripen underneath your sun our land, to lead a peaceful life we give our lives we were wounded we were bruised then we rose up our past is sleeping in our forests you are our garden and our grave

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our hearts are glowing sing brother, sister our freedom must be sung we were slaves we were scorned but now, our future is ours our flowers our fields our fertile soil we will die before we let the wicked step upon them we are not slaves we are the seed that sprouts upon the fields of pain we are one blood on our land we were born our heads were bowed –now raise them we are wild with joy and if we have to die what does it matter? our children know the fight has made our faces glow sweet shelter kissed by our sun, our trees, our wind we don’t fear death die for our land and live we know our selves by our terrifying sword ours is our land ours is our beautiful land our land is where our heroes rest

our earth our sky our peace our blood these are our gifts we broke our chains united, firm, determined our face is brighter than our sun we are our loyal guardian in each of us the hero remembers how to fight we walk the path of happiness to our rightful place with our last breath we thank ourselves

3. fame and glory fame and glory no valley no hill no water no shore the bloody flag is raised the wicked howl they come to cut our throats to throw us back in chains no sorcerers no poison no deceivers no fear we strive we work we pray our star rises up and shines between two seas our heart and hand are the pledges of our fortune with mind and strength of arm we recognize ourselves by our terrifying sw ord with heads, with hearts, with hands we will die before we are made slaves our historic past our sun, our sweat, our sea our pain, our hope the flower of our blood branches of the same trunk eyes in the same light the sea, the land, the dawn, the sun are singing our parents never saw the glory that we see we turn our faces up there is a star, the clearest light bring us happier times and ways

each day is like a thousand years victory, victory, victory long live our land, our people, our body, our soul the light in our eyes is the brilliance of our faith will we see you? our woe or our wealth our eyes turn east we are awake

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4. keep us free be our light until pebbles turn to boulders and are covered in moss our light and our guide golden sun, golden seed fill our hearts with thanks when our hearts beat as one show us the way until the mountains wear away and the seas run dry be safe and be glorious build our own fortune move forward our sons sing our daughters bloom our parents and our children await our call our peace our rain be green we are your sacrifice fortunate and faithful the sun drives off the clouds we risk everything we sing new songs for you, for you, for ever our love, our zeal, our loyalty our land, where our blood spills our fields will flower with hope our land gives us our name and we will never leave we walk the path we have chosen we will die while we are on it our land, sweet is your beauty a thousand heroes our full measure of devotion our language is a burning flame our flag flies in the wind our unwavering land our rocky hills from where our lights rise up our name is freedom

our blood waters it we pray for you woven from a hundred flowers we won’t let the wicked wash their hands in this guiltless blood of ours may our blessings flow let nothing dim the light that’s shining in our sky a single leap into the dazzling sky obey our call we are not many but we are enough be happy and may our land be happy interpret our past glorify our present inspire our future we are coming forth with strength and power our seas roar at our feet shout our name shout it again there is no middle ground between the free man and the slave may the light be denied us if we break our solemn vow the burning of the heart in our chests is alive our land will not die as long as we live the rays of the sun are a mother’s kiss we swear by the sky by the spreading light now, or never we will make our fate ourselves it was, it is, it will always be at last, our pride is worth our pride

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5. our common fate our brighter day our loyalty and love and vow our crown our virtuous honor our sacred hymn of combat our light, reflecting guidance our sword with no flaw our sepulcher of ages our only land our voices on high our noble aspiration

our thunders, wildly beating our fire in every vein our tears, flowing down our cheeks our everlasting mountains our milk, our honey, our people working hard our different voices, our one heart our breath of life our death, our glory and our land our fight – there is a fight to fight our fair land, its hills and rivers our memories of days long gone our morning skies, grown red our sacred home, our suns that never set our future is the future, our meaning is the meaning our shields are wisdom, unity and peace our sacrifice of every drop of blood our love, our service, our untiring zeal our prayer for us, unseen our fires of hope and prayer our thunderbolts, our fire our star, and it will shine forever our light and song and soul our song forever more our own dear land our fate, which smiles once more our sacrifice, our blood, our souls our enemies, scattered and confounded our land, our home, our free, our brave our land, our grave our glory, for as long as the world shines our many ways before and our many ways today our rock, our beacon our scream out loud our steps, resounding on the long and tiring road our song – echoing over and over again our brothers and sisters under the sun

may the rains come

selvesinglory

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selvesinglory

wecrownour

selvesinglory

wecrownour

selvesinglory

keepwatch,moon

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bringoutaccents

onthestring-doublestopsareallwithopenstrings

andourguide

goldensun

andourguide

goldensun

waitourcall

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waitourcall

wesingnewsongs

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inthisguiltlessbloodofours

that'sshininginoursky

that'sshining

that'sshininginoursky

that'sshining

that'sshininginoursky

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ourpride