National Anthem of Uruguay
National anthem of Uruguay / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "Himno Nacional de Uruguay" (English: "National Anthem of Uruguay"), also known by its incipit "Orientales, la Patria o la Tumba" (English: "Easterners,[lower-alpha 1] the Country or the Tomb"),[1] is the longest national anthem in terms of duration with 105 bars of music.[2] When performed in its entirety, the anthem lasts about four-and-a-half to six minutes, although nowadays only the first verse and chorus are sung on most occasions,[3] such as before sporting events.
English: National Anthem of Uruguay | |
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National anthem of ![]() | |
Also known as | Orientales, la Patria o la Tumba (English: Easterners, the Fatherland or the grave) |
Lyrics | Francisco Acuña de Figueroa, 1833 |
Music | Francisco José Debali, 1845 |
Adopted | 1848 |
Audio sample | |
U.S. Navy Band instrumental version | |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg/50px-Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg.png)
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Its martial[4] lyrics are by the Uruguayan poet Francisco Acuña de Figueroa, who also wrote the lyrics for Paraguay's national anthem, "Paraguayos, República o Muerte". The lyrics were officially declared the national anthem in July 1833.[5] Several proposed musical settings failed to gain public support.[6] The Rossini-inspired[7] music that eventually became universally associated with the anthem was composed by the Hungarian-born composer Francisco José Debali, with the assistance of Fernando Quijano, a Uruguayan actor and musician.[6] A few days after the first performance in July 1845, Debali's score was officially recognized as the music for the anthem.[8] As with other South American national anthems, the music was inspired by the local popularity of Italian opera.[7] It includes several references to La Cenerentola and other operas by Rossini, as well as a direct musical quotation from Lucrezia Borgia by Gaetano Donizetti.[7]
The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns is sometimes erroneously credited with having composed the music: although he was requested to write a hymn to celebrate the national independence day, his composition never became the national anthem.[9]