National anthem of Slovenia

The national anthem of Slovenia is based on "Zdravljica", a carmen figuratum poem by the 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet France Prešeren, inspired by the ideals of Liberté, égalité, fraternité,[1] and set to music by Stanko Premrl. As the country's national anthem, it is one of the state symbols of Slovenia.

Zdravljica
English: 'A Toast'
The national anthem of Slovenia as defined in the 1994 law adopting it. As typically performed, it consists of a part of the "Zdravljica" poem, specifically the 7th stanza, which is frequently regarded as the national anthem.

National anthem of Slovenia
LyricsFrance Prešeren, 1844
MusicStanko Premrl, 1905
Adopted1989 (as regional anthem)
1994 (as national anthem)
Preceded by"Naprej, zastava slave"
Audio sample
U.S. Navy Band instrumental rendition in B-flat major

History

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Background

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Historically, the national anthem from 1860[2][3] until the beginning of the 1990s,[4] was "Naprej, zastava slave" ("Forward, Flag of Glory"),[i] the first ever piece of Slovene literature to be translated into English.[7]

Lyrics and music

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The words of the current Slovene national anthem are all or part[ii] of "Zdravljica", written by the 19th-century Slovene poet France Prešeren for which music was written by the Slovene composer Stanko Premrl in 1905. Emphasising internationalism,[10] it was defined in 1994[11] as the anthem with the Act on the national symbols of Slovenia. However, even before the breakup of Yugoslavia, the lyrics and music were together adopted as the regional anthem of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia on 27 September 1989. Therefore, it was the regional anthem of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia (known as simply the "Republic of Slovenia" from 1990 to 1991) as a constituent republic of Yugoslavia from 8 March 1990 to 25 June 1991, as well.

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As a work of arts, published in the official journal Official Gazette, the text and melody of the seventh stanza of "Zdravljica" qualify as an official work and are per Article 9 of the Slovene Copyright and Related Rights Act not protected by the copyrights.[12] Their usage is regulated by the Act Regulating the Coat-of-Arms, Flag and Anthem of the Republic of Slovenia and the Flag of the Slovene Nation, published in the Official Gazette in 1994.[13] The official melody is played in B-flat major.

Lyrics

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Slovene original[14] English translation[15]
(Janko Lavrin, 1954)

Žive naj vsi narodi
Ki hrepene dočakat' dan
Da koder sonce hodi
Prepir iz sveta bo pregnan

Da rojak
Prost bo vsak
Ne vrag, le sosed bo mejak!

Da rojak
Prost bo vsak
Ne vrag, le sosed bo
Ne vrag, le sosed bo mejak!

[ʒi.ʋe naj ʍsi nàː.ɾo.di]
[ki xɾɛ.pɛ.ne dɔ.t͡ʃàː.kad‿dáːn]
[dá kòː.dəɾ sóːn.t͡sɛ xo.di]
[pɾɛ.piɾ is sʋe.ta bóː pɾɛg.nàn ‖]

[dá ɾɔ.jàk]
[pɾɔ́zd‿bóː ʍsàk]
[nɛ́ ʋɾàk lɛ́ sɔ̀ː.sɛd‿bóː mɛ.jàːk ‖]

[dá ɾɔ.jàk]
[pɾɔ́zd‿bóː ʍsàk]
[nɛ́ ʋɾàk lɛ́ sɔ̀ː.sɛd‿bóː]
[nɛ́ ʋɾàg‿lɛ́ sɔ̀ː.sɛd‿bóː mɛ.jàːk ‖]
[a]

God's blessing on all nations
Who long and work for that bright day
When o'er earth's habitations
No war, no strife shall hold its sway

Who long to see
That all men free
No more shall foes, but neighbours be!

Who long to see
That all men free
No more shall foes, but neighbours,
No more shall foes, but neighbours be!

 
A sculpture with the first line of the poem, translated into various languages, near the Schuman roundabout, Brussels

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Where the last word can be capitalized to mean "Slavic" instead of "Glory", but despite a popular interpretation that it could refer to the Slavic people in general, the word slava was written uncapitalised by Jenko. It was capitalised by public in 1863.[5] Nowadays, it is written with small letters.[6]
  2. ^ The question whether the entire "Zdravljica" or only its seventh stanza constitutes the Slovene national anthem, remains unresolved. Whereas the Constitution of Slovenia determines the title of the poem, the Act about the anthem specifically determines its seventh stanza. It has been argued that the act contradicts the constitution and that the question should be resolved by the Slovenian Constitutional Court.[8][9] In practice, mostly only the seventh stanza is sung and reproduced as the national anthem.

References

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  1. ^ Danica Veceric (2006). Slovenia. Looking at Europe, The Oliver Press, Inc., ISBN 1881508749
  2. ^ Rupnik, Janko; Cijan, Rafael; Grafenauer, Božo (1993). Ustavno pravo [Constitutional Law] (in Slovenian). Faculty of Law, University of Maribor. p. 51. ISBN 978-961-6009-39-3.
  3. ^ Javornik, Marijan, ed. (2001). Enciklopedija Slovenije [Encyclopedia of Slovenia] (in Slovenian). Vol. 15. Mladinska knjiga. p. 403. ISBN 978-86-11-14288-3.
  4. ^ "Državni simboli in znamka Slovenije" [National Symbols and the Trademark of Slovenia] (in Slovenian). Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia. 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  5. ^ Kristen, Samo (2007). "V Pragi "Naprej zastava slave", v Ljubljani "Kde domov můj?" Jan Masaryk in Slovenci" [In Prague "Naprej zastava slave", in Ljubljana "Kde domov můj?" Jan Masaryk and Slovenes] (PDF). Anthropos (in Slovenian). 39 (3–4): 272–274. ISSN 0587-5161. COBISS 11065421.
  6. ^ Lisjak Gabrijelčič, Luka (2008). "The Dissolution of the Slavic Identity of the Slovenes in the 1980s. The case of the Venetic Theory" (PDF). Department of History, Central European University: 34. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ Dobrovoljc, France (1951). "Razgledi: dve zanimivi epizodi iz zgodovine slovensko-angleških kulturnih stikov" [Views: Two Interesting Episodes from the History of the Slovene-English Cultural Contacts]. Novi svet [New World] (in Slovenian). 6 (10). Državna založba Slovenije [State Publishing House of Slovenia]: 958–959. ISSN 1318-2242. COBISS 37239808.
  8. ^ Lotnar Černič, Jernej (24 September 2010). "Himna Slovenije je Zdravljica in ne samo njena sedma kitica" [The Anthem of Slovenia is "Zdravljica" and not only its Seventh Stanza]. IUS-INFO. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  9. ^ Škrinjar, Klara (3 September 2012). "Zdravljica v političnem in pravnem primežu" [Zdravljica in the Political and Legal Vice]. Delo.si (in Slovenian).
  10. ^ Božič, Dragan (3 November 2010). "Katero kitico č'mo kot himno zapet'" [Which Stanza Should We As the Anthem Sing?] (in Slovenian). Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  11. ^ Jesenovec, Stanislav (17 February 2009). "Pesniku toplo, skladatelju vroče" [Warm to the Poet, Hot to the Composer]. Delo.si (in Slovenian). ISSN 1854-6544.
  12. ^ M. B. Jančič, M. B. Breznik, M. Damjan, M. Kovačič, M. Milohnić. Upravljanje avtorskih in sorodnih pravic na Internetu - Vidik javnih inštitucij (in Slovene) [The Management of Copyright and Related Rights on Internet - The Aspect of Public Institutions]. August 2010. Peace Institute; Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana. Pg. 28.
  13. ^ Zakon o grbu, zastavi in himni Republike Slovenije ter o slovenski narodni zastavi (Slovene) [Act Regulating the Coat-of-Arms, Flag and Anthem of the Republic of Slovenia and the Flag of the Slovene Nation]. Official Gazette. 67/1994.
  14. ^ "National anthem of the Republic of Slovenia". Protocol of the Republic of Slovenia. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  15. ^ 1954 translation Archived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
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