National anthem of the Faroe Islands
Tu alfagra land mitt
English: Thou fairest land of mine
|
---|
Original manuscript of 1906
|
National anthem of
Faroe Islands
|
Also known as
| Mitt alfagra land (English: My fairest land)
|
---|
Lyrics
| Simun av Skarði
, 1 February 1906
|
---|
Music
| Petur Alberg
, 1907
|
---|
Adopted
| 1938
|
---|
|
|
Instrumental version
|
|
"
Tu alfagra land mitt
" ("Thou fairest land of mine"), officially "
Mitt alfagra land
" ("My fairest land"), is the
national anthem
of the
Faroe Islands
. It was written in 1906 by headteacher
Simun av Skarði
, and the melody was composed in 1907 by violinist
Petur Alberg
.
History
[
edit
]
Composition
[
edit
]
The song was written in a work dated 1 February 1906 by
Simun av Skarði
, the headmaster of a high school in Føgrulið, southwest of
Klaksvik
. It was written during a time of strong division in the Faroe Islands between conservatives who wanted to preserve
Danish rule
and autonomists who wanted more self-government, of which Simun was the latter.
[1]
[2]
Violinist
Petur Alberg
wrote the first notes of the music of the anthem on 4 September 1907, after the melody came to him that evening. He later sang the melody down the phone in the
Løgting
to Simun av Skarði, who liked it. Petur then sent it to a music teacher he knew in
Akureyri
,
Iceland
, and to asked him to harmonise it for a male quartet. In October 1907, the male quartet arrangement arrived, and singers began to practice it for a Boxing Day concert in
Sloan's
Hall in
Torshavn
. Petur, not daring to reveal the song's author, told the singers the song was Icelandic, by a certain
Jon Sveinsson
. However, the singers liked the song. The song was performed at the concert on 26 December 1907, which was the first time any song by Petur had been performed publicly and the first time "Tu alfagra land mitt" was performed publicly.
[1]
Distribution
[
edit
]
On 8 January 1908, "Tu alfagra land mitt" was published in the Faroese newspaper
Tingakrossur
.
[1]
[2]
It was then published in the
Lesibok
, a literary history in chronological order, in 1911. It was later published in many editions of the
Songbok Føroya folks
(Faroese People's Songbook), generally in the number one position, from 1913 through 1959.
[1]
In 1925, a
Nynorsk
translation of the song by Rolf Hjort Schøgen was published in the
Tingakrossur
.
[1]
In 1928, a Danish translation by university student Tormod Jørgensen was published in
Højskolebladet
No. 7928.
[1]
[2]
An Icelandic translation by Jochum M. Eggertsson appeared in the magazine
Dvol
in 1935. The same year, a German translation by Ernst Krenn was published in the
Føroyaheftið
("Faroese Instalment"), a Faroese booklet at the Nordic Society in
Vienna
, Austria. In 1943, an English translation by Padre G. C. C. Knowleson was featured in the notes of the magazine
The Pioneer
by some British soldiers in the Faroe Islands during World War II.
[1]
As the national anthem
[
edit
]
"Tu alfagra land mitt" won out in a rivalry with "Eg oyggjar veit" ("I know some islands"), from 1877, on which song should become the national anthem of the Faroe Islands. "Tu alfagra land mitt" has been sung at all festivals in the Faroe Islands, and it has been in the psalm book of the
Faroese Church
since 1990. The national radio station
Utvarp Føroya
, established in 1957, played it every night before ending its broadcast for the evening.
[1]
Lyrics
[
edit
]
Faroese
original
[3]
|
IPA
transcription
[a]
|
Literal English translation
|
I
Tu alfagra land mitt, min dyrasta ogn!
a vetri so randhvitt, a sumri við logn,
tu tekur meg at tær so tætt i tin favn.
Tit oyggjar so mætar, Guð signi tað navn,
sum menn tykkum govu, ta teir tykkum sou.
Ja, Guð signi Føroyar, mitt land!
II
Hin roðin, sum skinur a sumri i lið,
hin odnin, sum tynir mangt liv vetrartið,
og myrkrið, sum fjalir mær bjartasta mal,
og ljosið, sum spælir mær sigur i sal:
alt streingir, ið tona, sum vaga og vona,
at eg verji Føroyar, mitt land.
III
Eg nigi ti niður i bøn til tin, Guð:
Hin heilagi friður mær falli i lut!
Lat sal mina tvaa sær i tini dyrd!
So torir hon vaga - av Gudi væl skird -
at bera tað merkið, sum eyðkennir verkið,
ið varðveitir Føroyar, mitt land!
|
1
[t?u?ː ?al?.fa.g?ra?ː lant m?i?t m?i?n t?i?ː.?as.ta ?g?n]
[?aː ?veː.t?? soː ??an(t).kv?i?t (??)aː ?s?m.?? viː l?kn]
[t??u?ː ?t?eː.k?? meː ?a?ː?t t??a?ː? soː t?atː(?) ?i?ː t??i?ːjn fau?n]
[t?iːt ??d.d??a? soː ?m?a?ː?.ta? kuː(t) ?s?k.n? t??a? nau?n]
[s?mː m?nː ?t???.kun ???u?.?? t????ː t?ai?ː? ?t???.kun ?s?u?.w?]
[j?a?ː kuː(t) ?s?k.n? ?fœ?.ja? m?i?t lant]
2
[hiːn ??oː.j?n suːmː ?sk?i?.n?? (??)aː ?s?m.?? ?i?ː l?i?ː]
[hiːn ?œt.n?n s?mː ?t??i?.n?? m?ŋ(k)t l?i?ːv ?veː.t?a?.t??i?ːj]
[o(??)ː ?m??.k?? s?mː ?fjaː.l?? m?a?ː? ?bja?.tas.ta m???ːl]
[o(??)ː ?lj?u?ː.s? s?mː ?sp?a?ː.l?? m?a?ː? ?siː.j?? ?i?ː s???ːl]
[al?t ?st?a?.d???? ?i?ːj ?t??u?.na s?mː v?ː.(w)a oː v?u?ː.na]
[?a?ː?t eː ?v??.j? ?fœ?.ja? m?i?t lant]
3
[eː ?n?i?ː.j? t??i?ː ?niː.j?? ?i?ː bøːn t?iːl t??i?ːjn kuː(t)]
[hiːn ?hai?ː.la.j? ?f?iː.j?? m?a?ː? fat.l? ?i?ː luː(t)]
[l?a?ːt s???ːl ?m?i?.na t?v?ː.(w)a s?a?? ?i?ː t??i?.n? t??t]
[soː ?t?oː.??? hoːn v?ː.(w)a ?a?ː? kuː.t? v?a?ːl sk??t]
[?a?ː?t ?peː.?a t??a? ?m??.t??? s?mː ??(j)?.t??n.n?? v??.t???]
[?i?ːj ?va?.vai?.t?? ?fœ?.ja? m?i?t lant]
|
I
You fairest land of mine, my dearest own!
in winter so edge-white, in summer with calm,
you take me to you so tight in your embrace.
You islands so valuable, God bless the name
that men gave to you when they saw you.
Yes, God bless the Faroes, my land!
II
The red that you shine in summer on hillside,
the tempest that destroys many lives wintertime,
and the darkness that hides from me the brightest goal,
and the light that plays me victory in the soul:
all strings that sound, that dare and hope
that I defend the Faroes, my land!
III
I bow therefore down in prayer to you, God:
The holy peace, that I fall to fate!
Let my soul be washed itself in your glory!
So may it be dared ? well cleansed by God ?
to bear the
flag
that distinguishes the work
that preserves the Faroes, my land!
|
Metered
Danish
translation
(by Tormod Jørgensen, 1928)
[2]
|
Metered English translation
[3]
|
I
O, Færø sa fager, min dyreste skat!
Nar vinterstorm brager, i lun sommernat
du drager derude mig hjem i din favn.
I øer sa prude, Gud signe det navn,
som fædrene gav jer, da de fandt bag hav jer.
Ja, Gud signe Færø, mit land.
II
Hin solglans, som svæver om sommergrøn lid,
og stormen, som kræver mangt liv vintertid,
og mørket, som dølger mig fjeldryg og tind,
og lyset, som bølger og hvisker i sind:
Alt strenge, som klinger og lønligt mig tvinger
at værge dig, Færø, mit land.
III
Mit knæ vil jeg bøje i bøn til dig, Gud:
Din fred, o du høje, lad bringe mig bud!
Min sjæl vil sig sænke i dit nadebad,
sa tør den vel tænke ? frimodig og glad ?.
at frembære mærket, som vidner om værket,
der tjerner dig, Færø, mit land!
|
I
My land, oh most beauteous, possession most dear,
Thou drawest me to thee, embracing me near;
becalmed in the summer, in winter snow covered,
magnificent islands, by God named beloved.
The name which men gave thee when they thee discovered,
Oh, God bless thee, Faroes my land.
II
Bright gleam, which in summer makes hill-tops so fair;
rough gale, which in winter drives men to despair;
oh life taking storm, oh conquest of soul,
all making sweet music uniting the whole.
Each hoping and trusting, inspiring us all,
To guard thee, O Faroes my land.
III
And therefore, I kneel down, to Thee God, in prayer,
may peaceful my lot be, and do thou me spare,
my soul cleansed; in glory; I ask Thee to bless,
when I raise my banner and venture the stress.
The sign of my task, be it lifted on high,
To guard thee, O Faroes my land.
|
Literature
[
edit
]
- W.B. Lockwood:
An Introduction to Modern Faroese
, Torshavn 1977
[1]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Countries
| |
---|
Territories,
dependencies,
other areas
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|